CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.
THE POWER OF SLEEP--PLANS DISCUSSED AND A FAR JOURNEY RESOLVED ON.
It was broad daylight when we once again drew rein, and then we were allso overcome with sleep and exhaustion, after the prolonged watching andexcitement of the night, that we could scarcely sit on our horses.
Eve, who sat behind me, grasping my waist with both arms, swayed soheavily once or twice, as nearly to throw me down.
"We _must_ stop," said I to Big Otter, who was close beside me.
"Yes," replied the Indian; but his tone told that he was barely awake.
"If you doosn't me _drop_," said Salamander. The worthy interpreterseemed to think English the easiest language in the circumstances.
"Oh! I'm _so_ sleepy," said poor Eve, whose grief helped to increaseher exhaustion.
"Come, we will camp in this thicket!" said Big Otter, turning his horsein the direction of a long strip of bush that lay a few hundred yards toour right.
On reaching it, we penetrated, almost mechanically, to the thickest partof it, dismounted, and fastened our horses to the trees. Turninginstantly, to assist Eve in making a couch of leaves, I found that shehad lain down where she had dismounted, and was already fast asleep.
"Here, Salamander, lend a hand to lift her," I said, looking round; butSalamander was also in the land of Nod, flat on his back, with his eyesshut, and his mouth open.
Turning to Big Otter, I found that he was standing staring at me with anexpression of such awful solemnity that I was partially roused with afeeling of alarm.
"Hallo!" I exclaimed, "what has happened?--speak, man!"
But Big Otter only gazed more intensely than ever, swayed slightly toand fro, and gave a sort of wink, or rather a slap together of botheyes. Then I understood that the wretched man was only glaring like anowl in the sunshine, in his tremendous efforts to keep awake. Heassisted me, however, to lift Eve to a more comfortable position, andwhile he was in the act of laying her fair head gently on a pillow ofmoss, I observed that he sank down and instantly fell into a profoundslumber; but even in that hour of mingled danger and exhaustion, theIndian did not neglect to hold his gun to his breast with a firm grasp.I also had enough wit left to keep my double-barrel in my hand, and wasin the act of examining the locks, seated at Eve's feet, where my ownsenses forsook me.
We lay there, perfectly silent and motionless, during the whole of thatday, for it was not until the sun was descending towards the westernhorizon that we awoke. I happened to be the first to move. Risingsoftly, so as not to disturb the others, I went to search for water, andwas fortunate enough to find a small pool, which, though not very clear,was nevertheless sufficiently good to slake our thirst. Sitting downbeside the pool, I lifted my heart and voice in thanksgiving to God forhaving thus far delivered and guided us.
While thus engaged a slight rustling in the bushes caused me to springup. It was caused by Big Otter, who had followed me.
"What does the pale-face think?" he asked, sitting down beside me.
"He thinks that the Great Master of Life has delivered us from ourenemies. He is good," said I, being still influenced by the devotionalfeeling which had been broken in upon.
For a few moments the Indian did not reply, but continued to lookthoughtfully at the ground. At length he spoke.
"Was the Great Master of Life good when He let Waboose's mother die inthe midst of war and weakness? Was He good to Waboose when He left herfatherless and motherless?"
"Yes, He was good," I answered, confidently. "He took the mother ofWaboose home to dwell with Himself and with her father Weeum. And menand women, you know, cannot be taken to the happy land without leavingtheir children behind them--fatherless and motherless."
Big Otter did not reply, but I saw by his grave look that he was notsatisfied. After a brief pause he resumed,--"Was the Great Master ofLife good to the wicked pale-faces, when He allowed the red-men to slaythem in their sins?"
"Yes," I returned, "He was good, because the Great Master of Life cannotbe otherwise than good. He has made our brains capable of understandingthat, and our hearts capable of resting on it. But He is our Father.Children do not understand all that a father does. Big Otter hastouched on a great mystery. But what we know not now we shall knowhereafter. Only let the red-man be sure of this, that whatever we cometo know in the hereafter will tend more and more to prove that the GreatMaster of Life is good."
For a long time the Indian remained silent, and I could not tell by theexpression of his grave face whether my reasoning weighed with him ornot; I therefore offered up a brief prayer that the Spirit of God mightopen his eyes--as well as my own--to see, and our hearts to receive, the_truth_, whatever that might be. Then I said,--"The thoughts of BigOtter are deep, what do they lead to?"
"No," he replied, "his thoughts are not deep, but they are confused, forhe has heard his pale-face brother call Waboose, Eve. How did he cometo know that name? It was only used by Weeum, and seldom by him--neverby any one else."
It struck me that now was as suitable a time as might present itself tolet the Indian know about the contents of the packet, so Isaid,--"Listen, Big Otter, I have something important to tell."
From this point I went on, and, in as few words as possible, related allthat the reader knows about the packet, and the wishes of poor WilliamListon. I also showed him the miniature, at which he gazed with visiblebut suppressed emotion.
"Now," said I, in conclusion, "what do you think we should do?"
"What Weeum wished must be done," he replied simply but firmly.
"You were fond of Weeum?" I said.
"Yes, Big Otter loved him like a brother."
"Don't you think," said I, after some minutes' thought, "that it is ourduty first to return to the camp of your tribe, and also that I shouldsend Salamander back to Fort Wichikagan to tell where I have gone, andfor what purpose? For Salamander is not free like myself. He is stilla servant of the fur-traders."
"No, that is not your duty," said the Indian decidedly. "Your duty isto obey the commands of Weeum! My tribe will not die of grief becauseWaboose does not return. As for Salamander--send him where you please.He is nobody--nothing!"
Although not quite agreeing with Big Otter in his contemptuous estimateof the value of Salamander, I believed that I could get along quite wellwithout him; and therefore resolved to send him back--first to theIndian camp to tell of our safety and intentions, and then to the fortwith an explanatory letter to Lumley, who, I knew full well, would befilled with great anxiety on my account, as well as with uncertainty asto how he should act, destitute as he was of the slightest clue to myfate or my whereabouts.
"And you, my friend," I said, "what will your movements be?"
"Big Otter will go and help you to obey the commands of Weeum," hereplied. "There is no wife, no child, waiting for him to return. Hemust be a father to Waboose. Muxbee will _be_ her brother. The trailto Colorado is long. Big Otter has been there. He has been a solitarywanderer all his life, and knows the wilderness well. He has crossedthe great mountains where the snow lies deep even in summer. He can bea guide, and knows many of the mountain tribes as well as the tribes ofthe prairie--Waugh!"
"Well, my friend," said I, grasping the Indian's strong hand, "I neednot tell you that your decision gives me joy, and I shall be only tooglad to travel with you in the capacity of a son; for, you know, if youare to be a father to Waboose, and I am to be her brother, that makesyou my father--don't you see?"
The grave Indian smiled faintly at this touch of pleasantry, and thenrose.
"We have nothing to eat," he said, as we returned to the place where wehad slept, "and we cannot hunt in the night. Is your bag empty?"
"No," said I, glancing at the contents of my wallet, "there is enough ofbiscuit and pemmican to give us a light meal."
"That will do," he returned; "we need rest more than food just now."
This was indeed true; for, notwithstanding that I had sl
ept so soundlyduring that day, I still felt a strong disinclination to rouse myself toaction, and an intense desire to lie down again. These feelings beingshared by my companions, it was resolved to spend the night where wewere, but we took good care to kindle no fire to betray us a secondtime. We roused Eve and Salamander to take some food, after which weall lay down, and, ere long, were again sound asleep.
This double allowance of rest had the most beneficial effect upon ourframes. We did not awake till an early hour the following morning, andfelt so much refreshed as to be ready and anxious to set off on ourjourney, without the delay of breakfasting. This was fortunate, for thescraps that remained in my wallet would only have sufficed for one mealto a man of ordinary appetite; and, as it was important to expediteSalamander on his return journey, these had to be given to him. Poorfellow! he was much cast down on hearing of my decision in regard tohim.
"But, sar," he said, with a sorrowful countenance, "w'at for I no govith you?"
"Because you are still a servant of the Fur Company, and not entitled tobreak your engagement. Besides, it is desirable that Big Otter's peopleshould know why he and Waboose have left them, and where they have gone;and if you explain matters correctly they will be quite satisfied, forthey all respect the memory of Weeum the Good. Moreover, it isimportant that Mr Lumley should know what has prevented my return, bothto relieve his mind, and prevent his sending out to search for me."
"But sar," objected Salamander, "w'at if me meets vid de vitescoundrils?"
"You must fight them, or run away from them."
"Vell, me kin fight but me kin more joyfulerly run avay. But," hecontinued, still objecting, "me got no grub."
"Here is enough for one day," I said, giving him all I possessed, "ifyou spin it out. To-morrow you can roast and eat your moccasins, andthe third day you can starve. Surely that's not hard on a strong youngfellow like you; and if you push on fast enough you'll reach the camp ofthe redskins early on the third day."
Salamander sighed, but made no further objection, and half an hour laterhe left us.
As we now possessed only two horses, it naturally fell to my lot, beinga light weight compared with Big Otter, to take Eve up behind me.
"We must get a horse for Waboose," said the Indian, as we galloped overthe prairie that day. "There is a tribe of Blackfoot Indians not farfrom here who have good horses, and understand the value of gold, forsome of them have been to the settlements of the pale-faces. You tellme that you have gold?"
"Yes, I found a bag of five hundred gold pieces with the diamonds inWeeum's packet."
Big Otter looked at me inquiringly, but did not speak, yet I guessed histhoughts; for, though I had shown him Liston's letter and the miniature,I had not shown him the gold or the jewels, and he must have wonderedwhere I carried them; for he knew, of course, that they were necessarilysomewhat bulky and were not in my wallet, which I had emptied more thanonce in his presence. I therefore explained to him:--
"You know, perhaps, that gold is heavy, and five hundred pieces arebulky and troublesome to carry; so I have had a piece of cloth made witha hole in the middle of it for my head to go through; one end of ithangs over my breast under my shirt, like a breastplate, and one endhangs over my back, and on each of these plates there are rows of littlepockets, each pocket the size of a gold piece. Thus, you see, the golddoes not feel heavy, being equally distributed, and it does not show, asit would if carried in a heap--besides, it forms a sort of armour--though I fear it would not resist a rifle-bullet!"
"Waugh!" exclaimed Big Otter, with an intelligent look.
"As to the diamonds, they are not bulky. I have concealed them in anunder-belt round my waist."
As Big Otter had predicted, we came to a large village of BlackfootIndians two days afterwards, and were received with cordial friendshipby the inhabitants, who knew my Indian well. He had visited them duringhis wanderings many a time, and once, at a very critical period in theirhistory, had rendered important service to the tribe, besides saving thelife of their chief.
A new tent was set aside for our use, and a small one pitched close toit for Waboose, whose dignified yet modest bearing made a profoundimpression on those children of the wilderness. They recognised, nodoubt that Indian blood flowed in her veins, but that rather increasedtheir respect for her, as it gave them, so to speak, a right to claimkinship with a girl who was obviously one of Nature's aristocracy,besides possessing much of that refinement which the red-men had come torecognise as a characteristic of some of the best of the pale-faces.
Indeed, I myself found, now that I had frequent opportunities ofconversing with Eve Liston, that the man who had been affectionatelystyled Weeum the Good by the Indians, had stored his child's mind withmuch varied secular knowledge, such as Indians never possess, besidesinstilling into her the elevating and refining precepts of Christianity.Being of a poetical turn of mind, he had also repeated to Eve many longand beautiful pieces from our best poets, so that on more than oneoccasion the girl had aptly quoted several well-known passages--to myinexpressible amazement.
"I wonder," said I, when we three were seated in our tent that night,refreshing ourselves with a choice morsel of baked buffalo-hump, withwhich the hospitable Blackfeet had supplied us, "how it comes to passthat Indians, who are usually rather fond of gifts, absolutely refuse toaccept anything for the fine horse they have given to Waboose?"
"Perhaps," said Eve, with a little smile, in which the extreme cornersof her pretty mouth had the peculiar tendency to turn down instead ofup--"perhaps it is because they are grateful. Indians are notaltogether destitute of that feeling."
"True, Eve, true; it must be that. Will you tell us, Big Otter, how youmanaged to make these fellows so grateful?"
"I saved the chief's life," returned the Indian, curtly.
"Yes; but how, and when?"
"Four summers have passed since then. I was returning from a trip tothe Rocky Mountains when it happened. Many bad pale-faces were in themountains at that time. They were idle bad men from many lands, whohated work and loved to fight. One of them had been killed by a SiouxIndian. They all banded together and swore that they would shoot everyIndian they came across. They killed many--some even who were friendlyto the white men. They did not ask to what tribe they belonged. Theywere `redskin varmints,' that was enough!
"The Strong Elk, whose hospitality we enjoy to-night, was chief of theBlackfeet. I was on my way to visit him, when, one evening, I came uponthe camp of the pale-faces. I knew that sometimes they were notfriendly to the red-man, so I waited till dark, and then crept forwardand listened. Their chief was loud-voiced and boastful. He boasted ofhow many Indians he had killed. I could have shot him where I lay andthen escaped easily, but I spared him, for I wished to listen. Theytalked much of the Strong Elk. I understood very little. The languageof the pale-face is difficult to understand, but I came to know that intwo hours, when the moon should sink, they would attack him.
"I waited to hear no more. I ran like the hunted buffalo. I came toStrong Elk and told him. It was too late to move the camp, but we putit in a state of defence. When the pale-faces came, we were ready.Arrows, thick as the snowflakes in winter, met them when they came on,and many of them bit the dust. Some ran away. Some, who were brave,still came on and leaped our barricades. They fought like fiends.Their boastful chief saw Strong Elk and rushed at him. They grappledand fell. The pale-face had a keen knife. It was raised to strike.One moment more, and the Blackfoot chief had been in the happyhunting-grounds with his fathers, when the gun of Big Otter came down onthe skull of the boastful one. It was enough. Strong Elk was saved--and he is grateful; waugh!"
"Well, he has reason to be!" said I, much impressed by the modest way inwhich the story was told. "And now," I added, "since we have got acapital horse, and the journey before us is long, don't you think weshould start to-morrow!"
"Yes, to-morrow--and it is time for Waboose to rest. She is strong, butshe has had mu
ch to weary her, and her grief is deep."
With a kindly acknowledgment of the Indian's thoughtful care of her, Everose and went to her tent. Big Otter lighted his pipe, and I lay downto meditate; but almost before I had time to think, my head drooped andI was in the land of forgetfulness.
It is not my purpose, good reader, to carry you step by step over thelong, varied, and somewhat painful journey that intervened between usand Colorado at that time. It was interesting--deeply so--for we passedthrough some of the most beautiful as well as wildest scenery of theNorth American wilderness. We kept far to the westward, near the baseof the Rocky Mountains, so as to avoid the haunts of civilised men. Butspace will not permit of more than a brief reference to this longjourney.
I can only say that on arriving at a village belonging to a remote tribeof Indians, who were well-known to my guide, it was arranged that BigOtter and Waboose should stay with them, while I should go to the citiesof the pale-faces and endeavour to convert my diamonds into cash.Happening to have a friend in Chicago I went there, and through hisagency effected the sale of the diamonds, which produced a little overthe sum mentioned by William Liston in his paper. This I took with mein the convenient form of bills on well-known mercantile firms, in theregion to which I was bound, and, having wrapped them in a piece ofoiled silk and sewed them inside of the breastplate that contained mygold, I set off with a light heart, though somewhat weighted shoulders,to return to my friends in the Far West.