Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 1140 — page 9: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

murdered a family of settlers—man, wife and four chil near Klamath e, last sum 7 “ner. I hal Bie to be in that neighborhood, just the ad ao) . > an: : e 2 _ sitions by the .camp-fire, where the out and went to sleep as before, and seemingly ; ; . ” A ‘se a ' * . + — a4 . .. is - * Ly se, - AS a ->/ES cl ate LU pr a hx i + * a 4 v . ot aS Hu} ¢ “— * a Fae ee ee Fee 2S eS or Se et P - i gel” tN . Me Pe om ir. cae tae ~ oS te Ges Wi hd “} - ko = one i i) a: Fr un ‘ — "White boy, as cotched u a the care of the boats with their goes, guarding against an in the way of storm, ind or thieves, others be- : and started in pursuit of ’em; but they all got off in the lava-beds, where it was no use and follow ’em.” ‘+i you didn’t seen him, how do you know that he’s the animile?”’ “Don’t you obsarve that scar that runs across his face from one eye to the corner of the mouth on t?other side, taking in the lower part of the nose, on its way? There’s Scar-Faced Charley, that is marked different, and this is the only one in this tribe that has such a scar, I’ve eard him spoke of a good many times, as one of the worst skunks in that little tribe, that in’t got any thing else in it but skuhks: He t tha ‘when he was trying to murder a a hatchet and gave him a wipe across the face that laid him out furatime. Wonder if there’s any more of them - eritters’ bout?’ ‘¢ Guess not. I think he’s been sert here; but if there be any more, we kin depend upon Ca- lamity more nor on ourselves.” They decided to remove the body, which was carried to the river and consigned to the rapid current, which speedily carried him beyond all human sight. f ‘This done, the trappers returned to their po- stretched fo of frightful tragedy in which they had so recently acted a part. Fitzsimmons did not open his eyes until after daylight, when the others were stirring, and as they tol him nothing of what happened, he does not even to this day, how it was that Nick was the means of saving him from a sudden and terrible death. At an early hour the three resumed their y northward, on their way to Blackfoot ie CHAPTER VIII. ‘ . THE FUR BRIGADE. THE sun was low in the sky, on a beautiful day in summer, when a party of hunters, piri pers and voyageurs, to the number of fifty odd, their half-dozen large canoes close to the re, and springing out, began their prepara- for the night encampment. were in British territory, and were on their return to Fort Alfred, having been absent from the for several months, employed in making their tour along the Saskatchewan and tributaries, for Sepa pose of gathering in the furs and peltries that their agents had been col- lecting during the winter months. They had secured af and valuable coillec- tion, too, most of the canoes being piled ge with the soft, velvety furs, which oifsred the most pleasant of couches, where, at night in nidsummer, the air was cool and bracing. In some of the boats there was scarcely room for the rowers, while the rich burdens bore all down in the water within a few inches of the gunwales. On the morrow the hardy woodmen expected to reach the fort, and this halt was, as we have intimated in another plecs, in accordance with ent made between‘ Nick Whiffles and an Captain Green, the leader of the Hudson Bay 2 The mutual pledge was given, half a ear before, that on this night the company of trappers were to encamp at Blackfoot Rock, or, in case they could not make it in time, Cap- tain Green agreed to have a representative spot, to receive the message of Nick | the Whiffles and Oregon Sol, and pay them the a pa ate that was remarkable, when the length of the time is considered, the brigade, as they were termed, had struck the place on the very day agreed upon, and in Green ittle pleased at the neat manner in which it had been brought about. Of the two score and a half of men, there was not one who did not know what his duty was, and who did not set about it at once. They ee Coes san oetnce avatean thet reigned sight note the perfect em that reis all. While some devoted eesditves' to ious car- mishap of the night, wn and gathering fuel for the indled, and road, page. ge of thenight. Still oth- uld be ced bringing cooking utensils . Goan tie cae most ind sable ments from the and perfecting their for the wolf-like appetites of thesé brawny Anaks of the North-west. Captain Green, the director and head of all this Sette and work, stood near one of the camp-fires, watching the movements of his men, and exchanging a word. now and then with a young gentleman standing beside him. come from London in the same vessel that brought over Mr. Fitzsimmons. He had little taste for the life of the backwoods, and had de- | clared almost before he had seen the frontier post over which his father presided, that he meant to get back to London and civilization as speedily as possible. necessarily elapse before he could return in the supply ship of the Company, he consented to o with his friend Fitzsimmons on a tour with the brigade. At the time the scientific gen- tleman got lost, young Swoper "was tempora- rily absent on a hunt, or he would have got lost Swoper was rather conceited, and treated the hunters with such undisgui contempt, that he was not popular with them, and even Cap- tain Green only endured him for the sake of his father. They had not much liking for Fitz- simmons, but he was not as offensive in his manner as the young cockney. Captain Green somewhat apart from the others, and he would have preferred to stand alone, but as. he was about the only one who would hold any converse with Swoper, and that | | away up here in the Nor’-west, that fool is sure affo The captain had just made some nse to some observation of his companions, when the latter exclaimed: ‘‘Helloa,,’ere is my friend, as sure as I'm alive. I’m dooced glad to see ’im, but who the dooce hare them beggars that he ’as with ’im?”’ ‘‘Be careful,” admonished the leader, as he turned and Lage monte the men approaching. ‘‘ One of them is known as Ore n Bok aia e- what celebrated trapper, and the other is t famous philosopher and hunter, Nick Whiffles, that you have heard me speak of so often.” ‘Oo! and that’s the man,” replied the cockney, elevating his eye-brows with surprise; ‘he don’t look like much of a feller.” As the trio i, ghee there was naturally hand-shaking around, and an exchange of courtesies between the two Londoners who ‘had been separated for the past fewdays. Then fol- lowed several introductions, and while Oregon Sol sauntered off to exchange greetings and re- new acquaintanges with the members of the brigade, and those who remained behind paired off, Fitzsimmons and Swoper, and Captain Green and Nick Whiffles, the young cockney showed considerable .curiosity regarding the famous trapper philosopher, and asked nu- merous questions of Fitzsimmons about him. He bey his oy ee him, and when he saw the captain pay was a suitable occasion to open a conversation with him. “ And so you trappers work for money, do you? Al thought you tramped the w shot bears and trap beavers and Aalligators, = I don’t know what not, for the love of the thing.’ young gentleman was there, he could not well rd to dismiss him. As several months must | said Swoper, in mock compliment. “ | sure torun ag’in one oi them c the skunks—good for nothin’ except to smell back he writ a oe a handsome sum of money,in | you’ve just said. tion of his services, he seemed to think it oods and © Young Swoper was compelled to hear the. snicker of his friends acne? he hastened to - drown it in some more : ons. The hight of his ability enabled him to ask a few questions in the way of quizzing, as he had frequently done at home among his companions. | This, the resort of the weakest wits, be proceed- — The latter was the son of the commandant of | Fort Alfred, and was a “city chap,” who had | ed to carry out, by making his questions as ir- relevant and absurd as possible, in the hepe of coptpening the trapper to appear ridiculous. : you gentlemen ‘ave good appetites?” ‘‘Good appetites allers run in the Whiffles family, but the biggest hogs d ever see’d Was the Englishmen that sometimes come over with the Hudson Bay folks. Howsumever, appetite is a good thing, which Providence ginerally gives to poor folks, so that they may like what they «at, while the rich don’t often have it, cause they _may eat what they like.” ‘* You are quite a remarkable pil et ch a man as-you ought to travel and let the world see more of you.” Nick Whiffles shook his head. “The objection to that is that ’'d see more fools than I would wise men, Out here in the w when I don’t meet one of my own race and color sometimes for days and weeks, I begin to think that there ain’t a great many fools and scamps of my own race arter all; but the minit I approach a dozen or twenty white men, ’'m that are like sweet and strong. No matter if it’s the brigade toturnup. But then Ihad an uncle once that was a great traveler.” | ‘“ Ah—a! you did. What part of the world a rary nats I d when he oi ery may say, and when come beok about em. There was Chi- na, now, I call to mind what he said t thet.” * “You do, eh? what did he write about that?’ ‘“« He said it was the land of contraries. That | flowers didn’t have any smell, and that female ladies. didn’t wear any petticoats: the roads didn’t have any carriages, their ships were like our gery ogee any keels; tye old men rf kites, and compasses all p’int south, ough, fur that matter, they don’t p’int nortb in part of the world, as Persimmons there has found out. zled he never scratches his head, where if you take off your hat you insult a man, and when ht: id a to go in mourning you put on white u “Well done,” added Fitzsimm enthusi- astically ; ‘‘there’s more in your head looks to be. You’ve come in contact before with _men who have made some investigations in sci- _ ence and history. What you've said I can cer- tify as being truth. ‘Sorry you said that,” replied Nick, “* cause I never any doubt of what my uncle, the traveler, writ fill you throwed it on by what hope this other pup won’t say he agrees with me, for then Ill be sartin that some of the Whiffies family lie. **T guess you two tlemen had better let Nick alone,” laughed Captain Green, who thor- of the two ough Wy. ee ‘the : _ would-be wi “You can’t make anything off of him, and the more you try the worse you Nick Whiffles turned about and looked steadi- | catch it.” ly at the young man a moment,as if to take his measure. It required but a few seconds for him to do so, when he made answer in his drawling way: “Bears and beavers would be easy ‘nough cotched, if they was all as big fools as you are. But as ther@ ain’t a beaver in the Nor’-west but what has m@re brains than you have, you see there is more work than play about it, Fact, by mighty!” Captain Green and Fitzsimmons both laughed at this rather personal reply of Nick, uttered svith such an irresistible waggishness. ah “od flushed, and showed that he was - stead of laug hing the whole thing off, and back- ing out of such an unequal contest, he was on- ly the more eager to overthrow his antagonist. “You are doubtless unaware hof whom you're | hI would ’ave you know that | before dressing, sir. had hI'm ‘erbert Swoper, son hof the commandant | hot Fort hAlfred. “You be, eh?’ returned Nick, scanning him from head to foot. ‘Colonel Swoper is a man, every inch of him, and when you tell me yore his son, I can’t help think what a double shame you commit; for you derive n from your ancestor, as it wereé,. disgrace to your rity —that is, if you ever have any, which ee Lord forbid ‘ s oniah Doee at - c -4 —. ul ‘hI aren’t ’alf tried,” replied Swoper, pom- usly; ‘if Mr. es was a man of some education, AI shouldn’t be afraid to measure swords with im; butit’s "ard to talk to a man that ’asn’t the brains to com nd you.” — ‘* Then I s’pose you allus diffikilty in talking with any one,” said the trap- per, “pecially if he’s a man of sense. Some ill nt Mlle sie ec Be or reaming. * Do hever hindulge in the luxury dreams?” asked Swo catching him u stantly. “Whatd ve bia gk " 0 w ST don sir . , more seriously man can’t come to my age, even though he spends most of his time in the wooxs, vith larning something. When a man in China gets puz- have told a % pretend t oh book-lareine aiid ; pretend to mu ‘arning,’ id , ae aN . 810% —_ they foller him everywhere, and. he can’t 1 ee orget ’em in his sleep. You ax me wt