Beadle's Dime Library, No. 149 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

2 P The Border Rifles, A Tale of the Texan War. BY GUSTAVE AIMARD, AUTHOR OF ‘“‘ LOYAL HEART,” “PRAIRIE FLOWER,” ‘‘THE TRAPPER’S DAUGHTER,’ “THE BANDIT AT BAY," ETC., ETC. CHAPTER I. THE RUNAWAY. Tue immense virgin forests which once covered the soil of North America are more and more disap- pearing before the unary Sees of the squatters and meng whose insatiable activity removes the frontier further and further to the west. Flourishing towns, well-tilled and y-sown fields, now oceupy region’ where, scarce ten years ago, rose impenetrable forests, whose dense foliage hardly allowed the sunbeams to penetrate, and whose unexplored depths sheltered animals of every on, and served as a retreat for hordes of , Indians, who, in their martial ardor, fre- quently caused these majestic domes of verdure to re-echo their war-yell. Now that the forests have fallen, their gloomy denizens, gradually repulsed by the civilization that poceensy ues them, have fled step by step be- fore it, ve sought far away other and safer retreats, to which they have borne the bones of their fathers with them, lest they might be dug up and desecrated by the inexorable plowshare of the white men, as it traces its long and productive furrow over their old hunting-grounds. Is this constant disafforesting and clearing of the American continent a misfortune? Certainly not; on the contrary, the progress which marches with a ant’s step, and tend fore a century, to trans- orm the soil of the New World, possesses all our sympathy; still we cannot refrainfrom a feeling of pained, commiseration for that unfortunate race which is a a beyond the pale of the law, and pitiless! ked in all directions; which is daily diminis ing, and is fatally condemned soon to disappear from that earth whose immense territory it covered less than four centuries ago with innu- merable tribes. Perhaps if the people chosen by God to effect the changes to which we allude had understood their mission, they might have converted a work of blood and carnage into one of peace and paternity, and arming themselves with the divine precepts of the Gospel, instead of seizing rifles, torches and scalp- ing-knives, they might, in a given time, have pro- duced a fusion of the white and red races, and have attained a result more profitable to progress, civili- zation, and before all, to that great fraternity of na- tions which no one is permitted to despise, and for which those who forgetits divine and sacred pre- — will have a terrible account some day to ren- er. Men cannot with impunity become the murderers of an entire race, and constantly wade in blood;, for that blood must at some time cry for vengeance and the day of justice break, when the sworc will be cast in the ce between conquerors and con- quered, At the peftiod when our narrative commences, that is to say, about the close of 1812, the emigra- tion had not yet assumed that immense extension which it was soon to acquire, for it was only in- ning, as it were, and the immense forests that stretched out and covered an enormous be- tween the borders of the United States and Mexico were only traversed by the furtive footsteps o traders and wood-rangers, or by thesilent moccasins of the red-skins, It is in the center of one of the immense forests to which we have alluded, that our story ins, at about threein the afternoon of October 1812, The heat had been stifling under the covert, but at this moment the ee more and more oblique, lengthened thé tall shadows of the trees, and the evening breeze that was to rise refreshed the atmosphere, and carried far away the clouds of musketoes which during the whole mid- oy bee buzzed over the marshes in the clearings, e find ourselves on the bank of an unknown affluent of the Arkansas; the sien -inclined trees on either side the stream formed ‘a thick canopy of verdure over the wat which were scarce rippled by the inconstant breath of the breeze; here and ere pink flamingos and white herons, perched on their tall legs, were fishing for their dinner, with that careless ease which generally characterizes the race of great aquatic birds; but suddenly they stop- ped, stretched out their necks asif listening to some unusual sound, then ran hurriedly along to catch the wind, and - away with cries of alarm. All at once the sound of a musket-shot was re- echoed through the forest, and two flamingos fell. At.the same instant alight canoe doubled a little cape formed by some mangrove trees jutting out into the bed of the stream, and darted in pr t of the flamingos which had fallen in the water. _One of them had killed on the spot, and was oda with the current; bub the other, apparently J Slightly wounded, was with extreme rapidity, and swimming vigorously. : . | The boat was an I canoe, made of birch bark removed from the tree by the aid t water, and there wag only one-man in it; the bows and still smoking, showing that it was he who had just fired. We will draw the portrait of this person, who is destined to play an important part in our narrative, ieee as As far as could be judged from his tion in the canoe, he was aman of great hight; his small head was attached by a powerful neck to shoulders of more than ordinary breadth; muscles, as cords, stood out on his arms at each of his movements; in a word, the whole appearance of this individual de- =~, a Fee, vx eee) = gtciny vite face umin y jlarge blue eyes, r with sense, had an expression of frankness and hon- yy which pleased at the first glance, and com- pleted the ensemble of his regular features and wide mouth, round which an a smile of good- humor played. He might be twenty-three, or The Border Rifles. twenty-four at the most, although his complexion, bronzed by the ~ ages of the weather, and the dense, lig! t-brown be that covered the lower part of his face, made him appear older. This man was dressed in the garb of a wood- ranger; a beaver-skin cap, whose tween his shoulders, hardly restrained the thick eurls of his golden hair, which hung in disorder down back; a hunting-shirt of blue calico, fast- ened round his hips by a deerskin belt, fell a little below his muscular knees; mitasses, or a species of tight drawers, covered his and his feet were rotected against brambles e stings of reptiles y Indian moccasins. His game-bag, of tanned leather, h over his shoulder, and, like al] the bold pioneers of the forest, his weapons consisted of a good Kentu rifle, a straight-bladed knife, ten inches long and two wide, and a tomahawk that glistened like a mirror. These weapons, of course with the exception of the rifle, were passed through his belt, which also sup- pasted two buffalo-horns filled with powder and ets. The as of the man thus equipped, and standing in the canoe amid the imposing scenery that’surrounded him, had something grand about it oan —— an involuntary er eer * ; wood-ranger, pro so term one 0 those numerous ty ~ petthe New World which must soon entirely ppear before the incessant progres of civilization. e wood-ran those bold explorers of th gers, deserts, in which their whole existence was opens, were men who, yy by a spirit of independence and an unbridled desire for liberty, shook off all the trammels of society, and who, with no other object than that of living and dying unrestrained by any other will save their own, and in no way impelled by the hope of any sort of lucre, which they de: spised, abandoned the towns, and boldly buried themselves in the virgin forests, where they lived from day to day indifferent about the present, care- less asto the future, convinced that God would not desert them in the hour of need, and thus placed themselves outside of that common law they misun derstood, on the extreme limit that separates bar- barism from civilization. Most of the celebrated wood-rangers were French Canadians; in truth, there is in the Norman char- acter something daring and adventurous, which is well adapted to this mode of life,so full as it isof strange interlndes and delicious sensations, whose intoxicating charms only those who have led it can understand. The Canadians have never admitted in principle the change of nationality which the English tried to impose on them; they still regard themselves as Frenchmen, and their eyes are constantly fixed on that ungrateful mother-country which has aban- doned them with such cruel indifference. Even at the present day, afterso many years, the Canadians have still remained French; their fusion with the Anglo-Saxon race is only apparent, and the slightest pretext would suffice to produce a de- finitive rupture between them andthe English. The British government is well aware of this fact, and hence displays toward the,Canadian colonies a marked kindliness and deference. At the earlier period of the conquest this repul- sion (not to call it hatred) was so prominent between the two races, that the Canadians emigrated ina mass, sooner than endure the humiliating yoke which was attempted to be placed on them. ose of them who, too poor to leave their country de- finitively, were compelled to remain in a country henceforth sullied. by a foreign occupation, chose the rude trade of wood-rangers, and preferred such an existence of misery and —— to the oo of enduring thelaws of a detested conqueror. Shak- ing the dust. from their shoes on the paternal roof, they threw their riflesover their shoulders, and sti- fling a sigh of regret, went away not to return, bury- ing themselves in the ae forests of Can- a, and laying unconsciously the foundation of that generation of intrepid pioneers, to one of the finest (ee ae we of whom we introduced the reader at the beginning of this chapter, The hunter went on paddling vigorously; he soon reached the first flamingo, which he threw into the bottom of his canoe, But the second gave him more trouble. It was for a while a struggle of speed be- tween the wounded bird and the hunter: still the former gradually lost its stréngth; its movements uncertain, and it beat the waters convul- sively. A blow from the Canadian’s dle at length put an end to its agony, and it joined its mate in the bottom of the canoe. : So soon as he had seeured his game, the hunter shipped his paddles, and prepared to reload his rifle, with the care which all devote to the operation who know that their life depends on ac of powder. When his gun was in order again, the Canadian took an cg glance around. “Why,” he presently said, talking to. himself, a habit which men who live in solitude very frequen uire, “hang me! if I have not reached the mee ing piace without pany 2 aim it. I cannot be mis- taken; over there are the two oaks fallenacrosseach other, and that rock, which stands out over the water. But what's that?’’ he exclaimed, as he stoop- ed, and cocked his rifle. furious barking of several dogs beeame sud- denly audible in the center of the forest; the bushes were eagerly, and a negro appeared on the top o oe rock, at which the Canadian hag this @ e@x- moment loo ., a m on in | tremi of the Fock, stopped ‘for an in t, and seemed to listen attentively, while ying signs -of the most extreme agitation. But halt was short, for he had y rested there for a few seconds, ere, raising his eyes to heaven in despair, he leaped into the river, and swam vigorously to the opposite bank e sound of the negro’s fall into the water had died away, when several dogs dashed onto the platform, and began a concert of horrible bark- ing. These dogs were werful, animals; their tongues were pendent, their eyes infested with blood, and their hair standing on end, as if they had come a long distance. The hunter shook his head several times while giving a glance of pity at the hapless n who was swimming with that energy of d which doubles the strength—and seizing his pad he turned the canoe toward him, with the evident intention of rendering him assistance. At thismoment a hoarse voice was heard on the river-bank. ‘“*Hilloh, there! Silence, you demons incarnate’ —— I tell you!”’ ; e ve vent to a few whines of pain, and were sud ix silent. The individual who had re- proved the animals then said, in alouder key— ‘* Hilloh, you fellow in the canoe there—hilloh!”’ The Canadian had just peled to the opposite bank; he ran his canoe on the and then care lessly turned to the person who addressed him. This was a man of middle hight, muscular, and dressed like the majority of rich mers. His face was brutal, crafty, and four persons, apparently servants, stood by his side; it is needless to say that all were armed with guns. The stream at this spot was rather wide, being about ~~! yards, which, —— 2 at any rate, established a respectable er between the negro and his pursuers. The Canad “Are you by chance speaking to me?” he asked, ina apt on | contemptuous on ‘ fe) Oo you suppose?” the first speaker con- tinued, angrily; ‘‘so try to answer my Test ‘“‘And why should I answer them? Will be good ae to teil me?’ the Canadian continued. with a lang “Because I a to do so, you scoundrel!” the other said, bru The hunter shrugged his shoulders disdainfully. Good-by,” he said, and made a movement as if to retire. _,. Stop where you are!” the American shouted, or so truly as my name is John Davis I will put a bullet through your skull.”’ While uttering the threat he leveled his gun. Bt Ah! ah!” the Canadian went on, with a laugh ‘then you’re John Davis, the famous slave-dealer?”’ ‘* Yes, Iam,"’ the other said, harshly. ‘Pardon me; but I had hitherto onl by reputation. By Jove! Iam delight ou.’ ian leaned against a known you to have seen “ Well, and now that you know me, are you dis- posed to answer my questions?” “I must know their nature first, so you had better ask them.”’ ** What has become of my slave?” “Do you mean the man who leaped off the plat- form just before you reached it?” “Yes. Where is he?” “ Here, by my side.”’ In fact, the negro, his strength and courage quite exhausted from the desperate efforts had made during the obstinate pursuit of which he had been the object, had dragged himself to the spot where the Canadian stood, and now lay in a half fainting condition at his feet. On hearing the hunter reveal his presence so clear- ly, he clasped his hands with an effort, and raised toward him a face bathed in tears. ‘*“Oh! master, master!” he cried, with an expres- sion of agony impossible to render, ‘“‘ save me! save me!”’ **Ah! ah!” John Davis shouted, with a grin, ‘I fancy we can come to an understanding, my fine fellow, and that you will not be sorry to gain the re- w ’ **In truth I should not be sorry to hear the price set on human flesh in what is called your free coun- try. Is the reward large?” : Twenty dollars for a runaway nigger.” * Pooh!” the Canadian said, thrusting out his lower lip in disgust, “‘ that is a trifle!” **Do you think so?” nay ey ESO. ** Still, I only ask you to do a v simple matt in order to earn them.”’ te ANE . What is it?”’ ‘ Tie that nigger, put him in your canoe, and bring him to me.” ‘Very good, It is not difficult, I allow; and when he is in your power. fupposing I do what you wish, what do you intend doing him?” ‘* That is not your business*”’ “Granted; hence I only ask you for information.” ‘Come! make up your mind; I have no time to waste in genta What is your decision?” “This is what I have to say to you, Mr. John Davis, who hunt men with dogs less ferocious than ourself, which in obeying you only yield to their nstincts—you are a villain! and if you only reckon on ™m oe regaining your negro, you may con- s(Pah, that is it!” the American gh ! e® American shouted, as he gnashed his teeth furiously, and turned to bis ser- vants. ‘“ Fire at him! fire dre!” % ining example to presept, he dered his gun and fired. . His servants imitated him, and four shots were confounded in a single explo- sion, which the echoes of the forest mournfully re- CHAPTER II. QUONIAM. Tae Canadian did not lose one of his adversaries’ movements while he was speaking with them; hence, when the shots ordered by John Davis were fired, ey, proved ineffectual; he had rapidly hidden him- self behind a tree, and the bullets whistled harmless- ly ya his ears, e Slave-dealer was furious at being thus foiled by the hunter; he gave him the most fearful threats, hemed, and serael his foot in : But threats and imprecations availed but little; un- less they swam the river, wk was impracticable, the face of a man go resolute as the hunter seemed to be, there was no means of taking any vengeance on him, or Pw yea the slave he had so deliber- ately taken under his protection. the American racked his brains in vain to find an expedient that would enable him to gain the advantage, a bullet dashed the rifle he held in his hand to pieces. **Accursed dog!” he yelled in his fury, “‘do you wish to assassinate me?” : “IT should have a right to do so,”’ the Canadian re- plied, ‘‘ for I am only defending myself fairly, after rou attempt to kill me; but I prefer dealing amica- ee with you, a . oat on oe I should vs Oing & great service lodging acou of slugs in your brain.”’ red . S CGOMIIGEVOO ickly shoul- , (E@) + =. -~. ——— |