Beadle's Dime Library, No. 149 — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

‘ : : > 2 ee . . ~~ -— oo ~ * —_————w _ Blue-fox, with a wid 22 The Border Rifles. a ee; eee ee mm a ee horse’s chest, was hurled twenty feet, and fell to | looking around him absently, without any con- the und; at the same instant his comrade’s skull was broken, and he expired without a groan. This last instance geve the finishing stroke to the Indians, who, unable to overcome the terror with | which this extraordinary man ee them, began | 9) fiying in all directions with yells of terror. The or vea glance of triumph and satis- fied hat at the ry arena, where a dozen bodies lay stretched out, and urging his horse on he caught up a fugitive, lifted him by the hair, and threw him over his saddle-bow, and disappeared in the forest with a horrible ey Once again the Scalper had opened a bloody pas- sage for himself. s for Fray Antonio, as soon as he saw that the fight had begun, he thought it needless to await its issue; he, therefore, took advantage of the oppor- tunity, ane gating gently from tree to tree, he ef- fected as ul retreat and got clear off. CHAPTER XXIV. AFTER THE FIGHT. For more than half an hour the silence of death hovered over the clearing, whieh offered a most sad and lugubrious aspect through the fight we de- scribed in the preceding chapter. At length John Davis, who in reality had received no serious wound, for his fall was merely occasioned “Sess shock of the Scalper’s — horse, apmen his eyes and looked around him in amazement; the fall had been sufficiently violent to cause him seri- ous bruises, and throw him into a deep fainting fit; hence, on regaining consciousness e Tere still stunned, did not remember a single thing tha had happened, and asked himself very seriously what he had been doing to find himself in this singu- Jar situation. Still, his ideas grew gradually clearer, his memory returned, and he remembered the strange and dis- proportioned fight of one man against twenty, in which the former remained the victor, after killing and dispersing his assailants. ‘Hum?!’ be muttered to himself, ‘ whether he be man or demon, that individual is a sturdy fellow.” He got up with some difficulty, carefully feeling his paining limbs; and when he was quite assured he had nothing broken, he continued with evident sat- isfaction: “Thank Heaven! I got off more cheaply than I had a right to suppose, after the way in’ which I was upset.’” Then he added, as he gave a glance of pity to his comrade, who lay dead near him: * That or Jim was not so lucky as I, and his fun is over. Vhat a tremendous machete stroke he received! Nonsense!’’ he then said with the egotistic philoso- phy of the desert; ‘‘ we.are all mortal, each has his turn; to-day it’s he, to-morrow I, so goesthe world.” Leaning on his rifle, for he still experienced some difficulty in walking, he took a few steps on the clearing in order to convince himself by a conclusive experiment that his limbs. were in a sound state. After a few moments of an exercise that restored firmly on his feet, but even walked seve sciousness of the situation in which he was, or of the objects that surrounded him. John attentively watched him, ready to give him help again, were it necessary; but it was not so. By degrees the red-skin ap to grow livelier; eyes lost their vacant expression, he sat up and his hand over his dank brow. “Is the fight over?” he asked. ‘* Yes,"’ John answered, “in our complete defeat; — was a splendid idea we had of capturing such a emon.”’ ' ** Has he escaped, then?” ** Most pectese y so, and without a single woun after killing at least a dozenof your warriors, an ers my poor Jim’s skull down to the ul- ers."’ “ Oh!’’ the Indian muttered hoarsely, “ he is not a man, but the spirit of evil.” ‘Let him be what he likes,"’ John exclaimed, energetically; *‘ Lintend to fight it out some day, for I hope to come across the demon again.”’ — “May the Wacondah preserve my brother from such a meeting, for this demon would kill him.” * Perhaps so; as it is, if he did not do so to-day, it was no fault of his, but let him take care; we may some day stand face to face with equal weapons, and then—"’ What does he care for weapons? Did you not see that they have no power over him, and that his body is invulnerable ?"’ ‘Hum! that is possible; but for the present let us leave the subject and attend to matters that af- —_ us much more closely. How do you find your- se ed “Better, much better; the remedy you have ap- plied to my wound does me great g ; | am begin- ning to feel quite comfortable.”’ ‘** All the better; now try to rest for two or three hours, while I watch over your sleep; after that, we will consult as to the best way of getting out of this scrape. The red-skin smiled on h this remark. **Blue-fox is no cowardly old woman whom a tooth-ache or ear-ache renders incapable of mov- ing.”’ I know that you are a brave warrior, chief; but nature has limits, which cannot be passed, and, between his warriors and those of my brother, in order that peace may unite them, and that, instead of ——s with vad other, they may pursue the buffalo on the same hunting gro and avenge themselves on their common enemies. What answer shall I give the Jaguar?”’ The Indian remained silent for along time; at length he raised his head. ‘*My brother will open his ears,’ he said, “a sa- chem is about to speak. y ‘*T am listening,’’ the American answered. The chief went on: “ The words my bosom breathes are sincere—the Wacondah inspires me with them; the pale-faces, since they were brought i the genius of evil in their large medicine-canoes to the territories of my fathers have ever been the virulent enemies of the red-men; invading their richest and most fertile hunting naires pursuing them like wild beasts whenever ey met with them, burning their callis, and dis- persing the bones of their ancestors to the four winds of Heaven. Has not such constantly been the conduct of the pale-faces? I await my brother's answer.” * Well,” the American said, with a certain amount of embarrassment, *‘ I cannot deny, chief, that there is some truth in what you say; but still, all tre men of my color have not *n unkind to the red-skins, and several have tried to do them good,”’ ““ Wah! two or three have done so, but that only goes to prove what I assert. Let us come to the question we*wish to discuss at present.” ** Yes. I believe that will be the best,’ the Ameri- can replied, delighted in his heart at not having to sustain a discussion which he knew would not result in victory to him. « ‘*My nation hates the pale-faces,”’ the chief con- tinued; “* the condor does not make its nest with the aoe 8 the grizzly béar pair with the antelope. I, myself have an instinctive hatred for the pale- faces. This morning, then, Ishould have peremp- torily declined the Jaguar's. proposals, for how do the wars the pale faces wageatogether concern us? When the coyotes devour each other, the deer re- oice; we are happy to see our cruel oppressors aring one another; but now, though my hatred is egually vivid, 1 am bound to bury it in my heart. brother has saved my life; he helped when I however great your courage and will may be, the | was stretched out on the ground, and the Genius of abundant hemorrhage which your wound has caused | Death was hovering over my head; ingratitudeis a you must have reduced you to a state of extreme weakness.”’ **T thank you, ~ brother; those words come from a friend; but Blue-fox is a sachem in his na- tion; death alone can render him unable to move, My brother will judge of the chief's weakness.” Vhile uttering these words, the Indian made a su- preme effort; fighting against pain, with the energy and contempt of suffering that characterize the red race, he succeeded in rising, and not ony stood yards - without assistance, or the slightest trace of emotion | appearing on his face. circulation to his blood and elasticity to his joints, | compietely reassured about himself, the thought oc- curred to him of trying whether among the bodies lyinge around him any still breathed. * They are enly Indians,’’ he muttered, “ but, after } 16 American i, ae him with profound admira- tion; he could not ne, though he himself justly enjoyed a reputation for bravery, that it was possi- ble to carry so far the triumph of moral over physi- cal force. ali, they are men: although they are nearly deprived | of reason, humanity orders me to help them; the more sO, aS my present situation has nothing very agreeable about it, and if 1 succeed in saving any of ' The Indian smiled udly on reading in the Amer- ican’s eyes the astonishment his performance caused m™. ‘* Does my brother still believe that Blue-fox is so them, their knowledge of the desert will be of great | weak?’’ he asked him. Service to me.” This last consideration determined him on “ys em men whom probably without it he would have aban- doned to their fate, that is to say, to the teeth of the wild beasts which, attracted by the scent of blood, Heyy have certainly made them their prey after k. Still, itis our duty to render the egotistic citizen of the United States the justice of ing that, as soon as he formed this determination, he uitted himself conscientiously and ously of self- imposed task, which was easy to him after all; for . the numerous professions he had carried on during the course of his adventurous life had given him a medical knowledge and experience which placed him ina ion to give sick persons that care their con- enDat er. t of th he inspected ortunately, most of the persons he had received such serious wounds that life had long fled their bodies, and help was quite unavailing. “Hang it, hang it)’’ the American muttered at every corpse he turned over, ‘“‘these poor savages were killed by a master-hand. At any rate they did not suffer long, for with such f wounds the must have surrendered their souls to the Creator al- most instantaneously.” He thus reached the spot where lay the body of e, Sap wound in his chest. ** Ah, ah! hereis the worthy chief,’ he went on. **What a gash! let us see if he is dead too.” He beut over the motionless body, and put the blade of his knife to the Indian's lips, “ He does not stir,’ he continued, with an air of discouragement; ‘*‘ I am afraid I shall have some difficulty in bringing him round.”’ In a few minutes, however, he looked at the blade of his knife and saw it was slightly tarnished, * Come, he is not dead yet; so long as the soul ee to the body, there is hope, so I will have to After this aside, John Davis fetched some water in his hat, mixed a small quantity of spirits with it, and began carefully ey | the wound; this duty per- formed, he. sounded it and found it of no great depth, and the abundant loss of blood had in all robability brought on the state of unconsciousness. ieisawe by this perfectly correct reflection, he pounded some crrgaro leaves between two stones, made a species of cataplasm of them, laid it on the wound, and secured it with a strip of bark; then un- clinching the wounded man’s teeth with the biade of his knife, he thrust. in the mouth of his flask, and - Made him drink a quantity of spirits. Success almost immediately crowned the Ameri- can’s tentatives, for the chief gave vent to a deep sich, and opened his eyes almost instantaneously, “Bravo!” John exclaimed, delighted at the un- hoped-for result he had achieved. ‘‘Co chief, you a.e saved. By Jove! you may boast of having come back a precious long distance.” For some minutes the Indian remained stunned, en oe “On my word, chief, I know not what to think; what you have just done confo me; J am pre- pared to suppose you capable of accomplishing im- bilities. ‘* The chiefs of my nation are renowned warriors, who laugh at , and for them suffering does not | exist,’’ the -skin said, proudly. TAs aa re “I should be inclined to believe it, after your way of acting.” “My brother is a man; he has understood me. We will inspect together the warriors lying on the ground, and then think of ourselves.” * As for your poor comrades, chief, I am compelled to tell you that we have no occasion to trouble our- selves about them, for they are all dead.”’ “Good! they fell nobly -while fighting; the Wa- condah will receive them into his m, and per- mit Le of hunt with him on the happy prairies."’ ** Now, before all-else, let us settle the affair we began this morning, and which was so unexpectedly broken off.” John Davis, in spite of his acquaintance with des- ert life, was confounded by the coolness of this man, who,having eseaped death by a miracle, still suffering from a terrible wound, and who had regained pos- session of his intellectual faculties only a few mo- ments before, seemed no longer to think of what had occurred, considered the events to which he had all but fallen a victim as the very natural accidents of the life he led, and began again, with the greatest freedom of mind, a conversation interrupted by a terrible fight, at the very point where he left it. The fact was, that, despite the lengthened intercourse the American had hitherto had with the red-skins, he had never taken the trouble to ee their char- acter seriously, for he was persuaded, like most of the whites indeed devoid of intelligence, and that the life t places them almost on a level with the brute, while, on the contrary, this life of liberty and incessant rils renders danger so familiar to them that the ave grown to despise it, and only attach a second- ary importance to it. ‘Be it so,”’ he said presently; “since you wish it, chief, I will deliver the message intrusted to me for ou.” ‘* My brother will take a place by my side.” The American sat down on the ground by the chief, not without a certain feeli of apprehension through his isolation on this battle-field strewn with corpses; but the Indian appeared so calm and tran- quil that John Davis felt aahataea to let his anxiety be seen, and affecting carelessness he was very far from feeling, he began to speak. “‘Iam sent to my brother by a great warrior of the eats og Nh } “IT know him; he is called the Jaguar. His arm is strong, and his eye flashes like that of the animal whose name he bears.” **Good! The Jaguar wishes to bury the hatchet , that these men are vaings aimbot : ley | when the Ar white vice, titude a red virtue. From this day the hatchet is buried between the Jaruar and Blue- fox for five succeeding moons; for five moons the enemies of the Jaguar will be thosg of Blue-fox; the two chiefs will fight side by side, like loving brothers; in three suns from this one, the sachem will join the pale-face chief at the head of five hundred renowned warriors, whose heels are adorned with numerous coyote tails, and who form the pick of the nation. What will. the Jaguar do for Blue-fox and bis war- riors?"’ “The Jaguar isa generous chief; if he is terrible for his enemies, his hand is always open for his friends; each Apache warrior will receive a rifle, one hundred charges of PE alpine and a scalping- knife, The sachem will also receive in addition to these presents two vicuna skins filled with fire- water.” “Wah!” the chief exclaimed, with evident satis- faction, ‘‘ my brother bas said truly that the Jaguar is a generous chief. Here ismy totem ds signal of alliance, as well as my feather of command.” While thus‘speaking the chief drew from his game bag or medicine bag, which he wore slung, a square e of parchment, on which was clumsily drawn e totem or animal emblematic of the tribe, handed it to the American, who — it in his bosom; then removing the eagle feather fixed in his war-lock, he also gave him that. ' “I thank my brother the sachem,” John Davis then said, “for having acceded to my proposal; he will have no cause to wo x.” ‘‘A chief has given his word; but see, the sun is lengthening the shadow of the trees, the maukawis will soon strike up the evening song; the hour has come he pay the last duties to the chiefs who are dead, and then separate to rejoin our common friends.”’ : “On foot as we are, that appears to me rather difficult,’ John remarked. The Ind s ; ‘The warriors of Blue-fox are watching over him,”’ he said. In fact, the chief had hardly twice given a private signal, ere fifty Apache warriors burst into the clearing, and assembled silently around bim, The tugitives who escaped from the Scalper'’s ter- rible arm, soon collected again; they returned to their camp and announced news of their defeat to their comrades, and then detachment was sent off under the orders of a subaltern chief to look for their sachem. But these horsemen, seeing Blue- fox in conference with a pale-face remained uncer covert, patiently waiting till it pleased liim to sum- mon them, The sachem gave orders to bury the dead. The funeral ceremony then began, which circumstances compelled them to abbreviate. The bodies were carefully washed, wrapped in new buffalo robes, and then pages in a Sitting posture in trenches dug for each of them, with their weapons, bit, and provisions by their side,in order that they ht want for nothing on their journey to the happy hunting grounds, and be able to mount and hunt so soon as they joined the Wacondah. When these several rites had been performed, the trenches were filled up, and covered with heavy stones, lest the wild beasts should grub up and devour the bodies, ! The sun was just disappearing on the horizon, ‘hes finished the jast duties to their brothers. Blue-fox then walked up to the hunter, who had hitherto been a silent, if not indifferent, spectator of the ceremony. ‘ ‘*My brother wishes to returm to the warriors of his nation?” he said to him. * Yes,’ the American laconically answered. “ The pale-face has lost his horse, so he will mount the mustang Blue-fox offers him; within two hours be can have returned to his friends.” John Davis Bye Bcacgier the present so renerously made him, mounted at once, and after takin leave of the Apaches, set off at full speed. their side, the Indians, at omicboo (Ele) 4