Beadle's Dime Library, No. 149 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

rae § remained, shook off the stiffening feeling which “— the proportions of a Lhe Border Rifles. —E 5 revealed the speedy dawn of day. The owl, hidden beneath the foliage, had twice saluted the return of light with its melancholy too-whit—it was about three o’clock in the morning. Tranquil left the rustic seat on which he had hith- seized on , and walked a few paces up and down the sand to restore the circulation in his limbs. When a man, we will not say awakes—for the worthy Canadian had not closed his eyes once dur- ing the whole of this long watch—but shakes off the torpor into which the silence, darkn and, above all, the piercing cold of the night have plunged him he requires a few minutes to regain on oO his faculties and restore perfect lucidity of mind, This is what happened to the hunter; still, long habituated as he had been to desert life, the time was shorter to him than to another, and he was soon as acute and watchful as he had n on the pre- vious evening; be therefore pre to arouse his comrade, who was still enjoying that good and re- freshing sleep which is only shared here below by children and men whose conscience is void of any evil thought—when he suddenly stopped, and began listening anxiously. From the remote depths of the forest, which formed a thick curtain behind his camping-place, the Canadian had heard an inexplicable rumor rise, which increased with ns | moment, and soon as- oarsely-rolling thunder. noise ap nearer; it seemed like sharp and hurried stamping of hoofs, rustling of trees and b hoarse bellowing, which nothing human about it; in short, it was af Lape inexplicable sound, momentarily growing lo an louder, and yet vba kage wager am ine, oniam, start y thes noise, was stand- ing, rifle in wa his poo ta on the hunter, ready to act at the first sign, though unable to ac- count for what was occurring, a prey to that in- stinctive terror which assails the bravest man when he feels himself menaced by a terrible and unknown r. Several minutes thus. * What is to be done?” Tranquil murmured, hesi- tatingly, as he tried in vain to explore the depths of the forest, and account for what was occurring. Pha: oes a shrill whistle was audible a short dis- nee off. * Ah!” arene exclaimed, with a start of joy as he threw up his head, ‘now I shall know what I his fingers in his mouth, he imitated the of the heron; at the same moment a man bounded from the forest, and with two tiger-like leaps was by his side. * Wah!"’ he exclaimed, “‘ what is my brother doing have to depend on.”’ And, pla here?” It was Black-deer, the Indian chief. “T am awaiting you, chief,’ the Canadian an- swered. The red-skin was a man of twenty-six to twenty- ‘seven years of age, of middle hight, but admira by fs proportioned. He wore the | gm war-garb of nation, and was painted and armed as if on the war trail; his face was handsome, his features in- telligent, and his whole countenance indicated bray- ery and kindness. t this moment he seemed suffering from an agi- tation, the more extraordinary because the red-skins make it a point of honor never to appear affected by any event, however terrible in its nature; his eyes flashed fire, his words were quick and harsh, and his voice had a metallic accent. * Quick,”’ he said, ‘“‘we have lost too much time y. *’ What is the matter?” Tranquil asked. .* The buffaloes!"’ said the chief, “Oh! oh!” Tranquil exclaimed, in alarm. He understcod ; the noise he had heard for some time past was occasioned by a manada of buf- faloes, com from the east, probably proceed- ing to the higher western prairies. hat the hunter so quickly comprehended requires to be briefly explained to the reader, in order that he may understand to what a terrible danger our characters weresuddenly exposed. Manada is the name given in the old Spanish sessions to an assemblace of several thousand wild animals. Buffaloes,in their perenne migrations during the pairing season, collect at tines in mana- das of fifteen and twenty thousand animals, forming a compact herd; and traveling together, they go straight onward, closely L_geekes together, leaping over ever) and overthrewing every obstacle that opposes their . Woe to the rash man who would attempt to check or change the direction of their mad course, for he would be vemgow att like &@ wisp of straw beneath the feet of these stupid an- i which would pass over him witho noti him, The position of the three hunters was consequent- even ly extremely critical, for hazard had placed them ex- actly in front of the ma which was coming to- ward them at ligh Flight was impossible, and could not be thought of, while resistance was more papoasible still, The noise approached with fearful rapidity; al- ready the savage bello of the buffaloes could ee ne me Serge, ehri arn bs of tha whe i Which dashed ‘alo ° x ing chasing e laggards or those t i gurned to the right or left. deatilstitratid Within a quarter of an hour all would be over; the hideous avalanche already appeared, sw wa all in its pessage with that irresistible brane fore which nothing can overcome. Black-d ph eee * b yy ting-place eer was n mee - he had himself indicated to the Canadian hunter, and was not more than three or four leagues from t where he to find him, when his prac- ticed ear caught the sound of the mad chase of the buffaloes. ve minutes had sufficed for him to danger curred; with that rapidity of decision which charac- terizes red-skins in extreme cases, he had resolved to warn his friend, and to save or perish with him, He had then rushed forward, leaping with headlong dover the space that separated him from the ,o of meeting, having only oné t ht, that of ‘escape. e the mapada, so that the hunter might nhappily, however quickly he went—and the Indians are remarkable for their fabulous agility —he had not been able to arrive soon enough to save his friend. When the chief, after warning the hunter, recog- nized the futility of his efforts, a sudden change too place in him. His features reassumed their old stoicism; a sad smile played round his gare: lips, and he sunk to the ground, muttering, in a hollow voice— “The Wacondah would not permit it.” But Tranquil did not sa the position with the same resignation and fatalism, for he belon to that race of energetic men whose powerful charac- ter causes them to struggle to their whee Sep see When he saw that the mggdkin, with the fatalism peculiar to his race, gave the contest for life, he resolved to make a supreme effort, and attempt im- possibilities. About twenty yards in front of the spot where the hunter had established his bivuwuac, were several trees | on the ground, dead, and, as it were iled on each other; then, behind this species o reastwork a clump of five orsix oaks grew, isolated from all the rest, aud formed a sort of oasis in the midst of the sand on the river bank. “‘Quick!"’ the hunter shouted. ‘“ Quoniam, pick up as much dead wood as you can find, and come here. Chief, do the same.”’ The two men obeyed without comprehending, but reassured by their comrade’s coolness. In a few minutes a considerable pile of dead wood was piled over the fallen oaks. ri ! the hunter exclaimed; “by Heaven! all is not lost yet—take courage!”’ Then, carrying to this improvised bonfire the re- mains of the fire he had lit at his bivouac, to defeat the night cold, he enlarged the flames with resinous matters, and in less than five minutes a large column rose whirling to the clouds, and soon formed a dense curtain more than ten yards in width. “Back! back!"’ the hunter then shouted,—* fol- low me." Black-deer and Quoniam dashed after him. The Canadian did not go far; on reaching the e clump of trees we have alluded to, he clambered u the largest with unparalleled skill and agility, an soon he and his comrades found themselves perched a hight of fifty feet in the air, comfortably lodged - foliag branches, and completely concealed by e foliage. “There,” the Canadian said, with the utmost coolness, “‘this is our last resource; so soon as the column. appears, fire at the leaders: if the flash startles the buffaloes, we are saved; if not, we shall only have death to await. But, at any rate, we shall nee done all that was humanly possible to save our ves.”’ The fire kindled by the hunter had assumed gigan- lighting up the’ it had eee irom jee ie 5 ree, up the grass and shrubs, and thoug re- mote from the forest to kindle it, it soon formed a curtain of flames nearly a quarter of a mile in length, whose reddish gleam tinged the sky for a long distance, and gave the landscape a character of striking and savage grandeur. From the spots where the hunters had sought shelter they commanded this ocean of flame, which could not reach them, and completely hovered over its furnace. All at once a terrible crash was heard, and the raneary of the manada appeared on the skirt of the forest. ~ Looe out!’’ the hunter shouted, as he shouldered e, The buffaloes, startled ng Bo sight of this wall of flame that rose suddenly before them, dazzled by the glare, and at the same time burned by its ex- treme heat, hesitated for an instant, as if consulting, but then rushed forward with blind rage, and utter- ing. snorts of fury. he shots were fired. The three leading buffaloes fell and rolled in the agonies of death. ‘* We are lost !"* Tranquil said, coldly. The buffaloes still advanced. But soon the heat became insupportable; the smoke, driven in the direction of the manada by the wind, blinded the animals; then a reaction was ef- pa there was a delay, soon followed by a re- co The hunters, with panting breasts, followed anx- iously the sirenge interludes of this terrible scene. A question of life or death for them was being de- cided at this moment, and their existence only hung on a thread, In the meanwhile the mass still pushed onward. e animals, that led the manada could not resist the pressure of those that follewed them; they were thrown down and ed ow gts under foot by the rear, but the latter, assailed in their turn by the heat, also tried to turn back. Atthis moment some of the buffaloes dive to the right and left; this was enough; the others followed them; two currents were esta ed on either side the fire, and the ma- nada, cut in two, overflowed like a torrent that has burst its dykes, rejoining on the bank, and crossing i Sain al i a caper ss Pata e was the spectacle presented manada fi in horron, pursued by wild bensta, anid inclosing, amid its ranks, the fire kindled by the hunter, and which seemed like a gloomy lighthouse intended to indicate the track. They soon plunged into the stream, which the crossed in a straig t line, and their long serried col- umns glided up the other bank, where the head of the manada speedily disa ny hy The hunters were sav the coolness and pres- ence of mind of the Canadian: still, for nearly two hours longer, they remained concealed among the branches sh eltered them. The buffaloes continued to on their right and left. The fire had gone out through lack of nourish- ment, but the direction had been given, and, on reaching the fire, which was now but a pile of ashes, the column separated of its own accord in two parts. At length the rearguard made its ra carat harassed by the jaguars that leaped on t eir back and flank, and then all was over. The desert, whose silence had been temporarily disturbed, fell back into its usual calmness, and merely a wide track Witt fallen trees: tegtitied 20. the furions pussege of n e ous o the disorderly herd. : The hunters breathed again; now they could without danger leave their airy fortress, and go back again to earth. CHAPTER V. BLACK-DEER. So soon as the three rangers descended, they col- lected the scattered logs, in order to rekindle the fire over which they would cook their breakfast. As there was no lack of provisions, they had no occasion to draw on their own private resources; several buffaloes that lay lifeless upon the ground ya cabeny them the most succulent meal known in the esert. While Tranquil was engaged in getting a buffalo hump ready, the Black and Red skins examined each other with a curiosity revealed in exclamations of surprise from both sides. The negro laughed like a maniac on remarking the strange appearance of the Indian warrior, whose face was painted of four different colors, and who wore a costume so strange in the Te ty of Quoniam; for that worthy, as he himself said, had never be- fore come in contact with Indians. The other manifested his astonishment in a dif- ferent way; after standing for a long time motion- less, and watching the negro, he walked up to him and not utte a word, seized Quo "Ss arm, an rubbing it with all his strength with the skirt of his buffalo robe. The negro, who at the outset readily indulged the Indian’s whims, soon n to grow impatient; he tried at first to liberate himself, but was unable to succeed, for the chief held him firmly, and conscien- tiously went on with the singular operation. In the meanwhile, the negro, whom this continual rubbing was beginning not only to annoy, but cause terrible suffering, began uttering frequent yells, while mak- ing the most tremendous efforts to escape from his pitiless torturer. Tranquil’s attention was aroused by Quoniam’s cries; he threw up his head smartly, and ran up at full to deliver the negro, who was ro his eyes in terror, leap from one side to the other, and yelling like a condemned man. ““Why does my brother torture that mah so?” the Canadian asked as he inte ‘ “I?” the chief asked in rise, ““I am not tor- turing him; his disguise is not necessary, 50 I am remo ; “What! my ag omg Quoniam shouted. Tranquil made him a sign to be silent. “ This man is not d ed,"’ he continued. ** Why, then, has he painted all his body in this way?” the chief asked obstinately, “warriors only t their face." The hunter could not repress a burst of laughter. ““My brother is mistaken,”’ he said, so soon as he recovered his seriousness; “‘this man belongs to a ery race; the Wacondah has given him a black , in the same way as he made my brother's red and mine white; all the brothers of this man are o his color; the great Spirit has willed it so, in order that they may not be confused with the red-skin nations and the pale-faces; if my brother look at his buffalo robe, he will see that not the least bit of black has come off on it.’' ‘“*'Wah!"’ the Indian said, letting his head sink, like a man placed before an insoluble problem; “ the Wacondah can do everything!” And he mechanically obeyed the hunter by i a itp Soy the tail of his robe; which he had not ye thought of letting fo. “Now,” Tranquil went on, ‘‘be kind enough to regard this man as a friend, and do for him what you would do, if wanted, for me, and I shall feel un- der the greatest obligations to you.”’ The chief bowed gracefully, and held out his hand to the negro. “The words of my brother the hunter warble in my ears with the sweetness of the song of the cent- zontle,”’ he said. ** Black-deer is a sachem of his nation, his tongue is not forked, and the words his chest. breathes are clear, for they come from his heart; Black-face will have his place at the council- fire of the Pawnees, for, from this moment he is the friend of a chief.” Quoniam bowed to the Indian, and warmly return- ed the pressure of his hand. “I am only a poor black,” he said, ‘‘ but my heart is pure, and the blood is as red in my veins as if I were Indian or white; both of you havea right to ask my life of me, and I will give it you jo ay After this mu exch of assurances of friendship, the three men sat down on the ground, and began their breakfast. . Owing to the excitement of the morning, the three adventurers had a ferocious appetite; they did honor to the buffalo hump, which disappeared al- most entirely before their repeated attacks, and which they washed down with a few horns of water mixed with rum, of which liquor Tranquil had a small stock in a gourd, from his waist belt. When the m Me ollenthy ro aete Hamed, and each began smoking, silently, w Ys) pecul- iar to men who live in the woods. ee. When the chief's pipe was ended, he shook out the ashes on his left thumb-nail, passed the stem through his belt, and turned to Tranquil. “Will my brothers hold a council?” he asked. “y on e Canadian answered: “when I left you on the pper Missouri, at the end of the moon of the burnet t galy), you gave we Bogs meeting at the creek of the oaks of the river on the tenth day of the moon of the as leaves (Sep- tember), two hours before sunrise; both of us were punctual, and 1 am now waiting till it please you to po pei to me, chief, why you gave me this meet- Ml brother is correct, Black-deer will speak." Af these heh 32" the Indian's face seem- ed to grow and he fell into Gy ae pit hay till he spoke “eu. si " At | about a quarter of an hour, the Beaton Chis Peete’ pe wale over his brow several times, his head, took a searching glance around, and made up his mind to speak, though in a low and restrained voice, as if, eveh on the desert, he feared lest his words might fall on hostile ears. “My brother the hunter has known me since childhood,"’ he said, “ for he was brought up by the sachems of my nation, hence I will say ng of The great e-face hunter has an Indian cS JOO (EO) GoM (S