Chapter VII
The Alleghany Raiders
Sad and heavy of heart were the settlers whom Steve and his friendsmet at the top of the divide which ran between the valley in whichthey had lived and the forest region beyond, stretching right away tothe Alleghany mountains; for each one of the forty or more personsof whom the party consisted had just lost home and belongings. Men,women, and children had been forced to turn out of their log cabinsand take to the woods.
"It air a shame and no mistake," said Jim as the men of the partygathered about Steve's pony and discussed the matter. "But there'sjest one thing that makes it easy so to speak."
"Easy! Yer don't call it an easy thing to have to fire the hutthat took so long to build, do yer, Huntin' Jim?" cried one of thetrappers, Pete Jarvis by name, his brows contracting as his bitternessincreased. "Yer don't say as it's an easy thing fer a man what's fiftyand more to turn his back on what he's given years of his life tomake, to steal like a skunk out'er these woods, where he's trappedand shot, and with his wife and children take the trail back to thewest. Yer don't think that, Huntin' Jim. It's hard enough to break aman's heart."
"It air all that and more, chum," was Jim's consoling answer."Neither me nor you, nor Mac, nor Steve, the young Hawk as he's knownhereabouts, likes havin' to git at the word of them 'ere Frenchies.But fer all that I'm right. Ef it war winter where should we be?"
"'Tis then the poor childer would suffer, so they would," burst inMac. "Sure, 'twould be the death of many a one, the poor darlints.Jim's right, so he is, Pete. We're lucky afther all."
Pete scratched his head at that, for the matter had never crossed hismind before. He had looked at this sudden exodus from a differentpoint of view, and he was filled with bitterness and wrath. Still, nowthat he came to review the case, he saw that Jim was right.
"That air true," he admitted. "We've got a heap to be thankful for,and now that you've put it before me, why I'm downright glad that thetime has come now, and not later. Still, boys, it air hard."
"It is, more than hard," agreed Steve. "But we still have something tobe thankful for. We've been hearing tales of other settlements, andthey have not even been able to leave. The Indians gave no warning.The French did not trouble to come along with their ridiculous bitsof tin, but raided the places, burnt the huts, and massacred the poorsettlers."
"And why ain't they done it here?" demanded Jim eagerly, clenching abig brown fist. "I'll tell yer, Steve, and you too Pete. It's 'costhat feller Jules Lapon air in these parts. Reckon he wanted themhuts and crops. He don't want to walk in and find the hul place burntby his Injuns. So he sends along and gives us the warnin' to quit,knowin' that once we've took the trail he can send the hul crowd ofhis Injun varmint after us. Waal. He ain't a goin' to get the huts,'cos we've put fire to 'em, and the crops got served the same way. Efwe look after ourselves reckon he and them ugly red critters won'thave such an easy time of it. We'd best get the business settled up."
There was, indeed, little doubt that the danger which had suddenlyburst about the heads of the settlers was a real one, and that nowthat the Indians had risen in those parts, the party might be followedand attacked. For the past four or five months tales of massacresof English colonists had come to the ears of Steve and his friends.All along the border-line huts and settlements had been raided, toooften suddenly and without any warning, and hundreds of unfortunatemen, women, and children had been killed and scalped. An Indian warof the most ferocious description had been raging here and there onthe eastern slopes of the Alleghany mountains, and in many placesthe enemy had burst over that range and had annihilated settlementson the far side. Marching with the Indians, egging them on, andsometimes vying with them in their cruel practices, were scores ofFrench _voyageurs_ and settlers, and even many young officers fromthe regular forces; whilst behind these leaders, stimulating themwith promises of land, and aiding them with money, guns, and powder,were the authorities living in Quebec. It was really a matter forwonder that Steve and his friends had not been disturbed before,for they had carved out from the virgin forests a most valuablesettlement, and one which may be said to have stood in the directline of the French advance. It may have been that they owed theirsecurity from interference so far to the fact that the land nearestto them was owned by Jules Lapon, and he happened to be away in otherparts murdering and slaying, and taking stores from any party oftrappers who happened to stumble across his path. Or this ruffianmay have purposely kept his Indian allies away, having determined toobtain possession of such a valuable clearing. Whatever the cause, ithappened that this particular settlement had escaped till now, and hadbeen left so long without interference that many who lived there werebeginning to hope that the impending storm might after all pass overtheir heads. And now, with scarcely any warning, the cloud had burst.They had been ordered to quit, and to leave all that they possessed.It was more than hard. It was cruel to think that these hardytrappers, the pioneers of the land, had no one to look to for help,and must needs pack up hastily and fly for their lives at the biddingof a French monarch whose name had barely come to their ears.
"It does not help us to look upon the hardship of our case, boys,"said Steve, as the men stood about him, dressed in their huntingshirts, their coon-skin caps, their fringed leggings and moccasins."We ought to feel glad that we and the women and children are alive,and our business now is to make arrangements for our journey. Whichway do we make?"
"Due west," answered Jim, with an emphatic wag of his head. "Up theresomewheres on the Alleghanies we'll hit upon colonial troops. Thereain't many of 'em, but they'll be enough to keep these redskin skunksaway, and any of us as has a mind to can take on service with 'em. Efwe was to make north and west, up towards Albany----"
"Reckon that air out of the question," interrupted Pete. "I'm farthestover in that direction, and Silver Fox here can tell you that an armycould not get through. West air our only way."
This was, in fact, the only direction in which the little party couldmake, for Silver Fox had brought information that roving bands ofIndians were on the war-path between the settlement and Albany.
"Then we will turn west," said Steve. "We have got to protectourselves, and I should say that the best way would be to send thewomen and children and half the men ahead, while we others wait andcover the retreat. I suppose we shall make for the old trail?"
"That air what we'll do," replied Jim. "Now, as we're all here,supposin' we pick out those who air to stay. Married men goes inadvance ef possible. Mac, guess you'll lead. You're a good trapper andwoodsman, and yer know that it'll want a 'cute man to see that theway's clear. Me and Steve and a few others'll take the rear."
With such matter-of-fact individuals, accustomed to acting swiftlyand in sudden emergencies, it took only a few minutes to arrange thedetails of their flight, and very soon the party chosen to go inadvance had moved off through the forest, Mac leading and searchingclosely for the blazings on the trees which would tell him that he hadcome across the trail which led to the mountains. After him went themarried men, with their wives and children. The ponies, upon the backsof which the children and some of the women were mounted, were placedin line, and, being thoroughly well trained to work in the forest,stepped one after another along the track. Their rear was brought upby Sammy, leading the lanky pony upon which all Tom's and Steve'spossessions were packed.
"Guess we'll give 'em a good hour's start," said Steve. "Jim, I'llmake back and keep an eye on the river with Silver Fox. If all isright I'll strike once on the trunk of a tree. If they are followingyou will hear two blows."
He and the Indian slipped away from the little band of backwoodsmen,and within an hour were looking down upon the river which they had sorecently left. It was black with canoes which were passing to and fro,while a number were drawn up in front of the bank where Steve had hadhis encounter with Jules Lapon. Above the tops of the trees hung adense pall of smoke, a dozen other columns shewing where the settlershad fired their huts.
"They
will follow to-morrow, Hawk," said Silver Fox, when he hadlooked at the scene for some little while. "They think that they willeasily come up with us. In two days they will surround our party andwe shall have to fight. It would be well to ambush them."
That set Steve thinking, and for an hour he lay there in the brackenstaring down at the river. Then he got to his feet, picked up a fallenbranch and struck the trunk of a massive tree a heavy blow, repeatingthe blow again some two minutes later.
"They will hear that," he said. "Now we will return, Silver Fox. Haveyou ever been on this trail?"
"Once, Hawk," was the answer.
"Do you remember the hills lying a day's march from this? There is agap."
The Indian suddenly came to a stop, for they were returning by now,and stared into Steve's face. "The Hawk is sharp," he said, with aflash of his keen eyes. "Silver Fox remembers that gap. There we willlay an ambush."
They trudged on through the forest and presently came up with Jimand his comrades. Then, with two men scouting in the woods on eitherside, and the same number in rear and in front, the tiny little partyof stern men strode on after the fugitives in advance. And when themorning of the second day broke they struggled up to the risingground which Steve had mentioned to Silver Fox. It was a rugged andprecipitous ridge, with trees growing thickly up to its foot, andthick, long scrub running to its summit. As Steve clambered to the tophe saw that it stretched for some miles on either hand, and he knewthat to cross it at any other spot would be a difficult task, for heand his father had often hunted in the district.
"It is just the place for us," he said to Jim, as the trapper and someof his comrades gathered about him. "From the forest down below theIndians who are pursuing will be able to get a glimpse of our partyafter it has climbed over this ridge, for the land rises again, andyou can see for yourself that it towers above this place. Now whatdo you say to this? We send on the best of the horses, with all thewomen and children, and instruct them to get ahead to that piece ofopen country to which I am pointing. Meanwhile, we will lie here andprepare a nice little ambush."
"While the women and children draw the varmint into it," cried Jim,with every sign of satisfaction. "Steve, you air 'cute. I 'lowed thatmany a day ago, but here yer air agin. Boys, that air a plan that'sworth workin'."
The spot was, in fact, an ideal one for an ambush, and Steve had hadit in his mind's eye the whole of the previous two days, for he waswell acquainted with the district. As he had said, this steep rockyridge cut across the course of the fugitives, running for many mileson either hand. In many places it was almost unclimbable, and at thispoint it happened to be less severe, so much so that many a colonistmaking east into the promised land, the valley of the Ohio, hadfollowed the blaze marks of those who had gone before him, and hadclambered over the rise where others had found a road. It was the mostnatural thing, therefore, for this party of fugitives to take the sametrack, and indeed it was the only course that they could take. TheIndians would know this, so Steve argued, and there was little doubtthat by now they were within a few miles of the ridge. What wouldhappen when they came up to it?
"They will climb over and wipe the whole lot of us out," our hero hadsaid to himself. "We must stop them here if at all."
Then, as he tramped through the forest on the previous day, he hadrecollected that in approaching the ridge from the Ohio valley onecaught a glimpse every now and again of the track far in advance, forthe country to the west rose again, less sharply to be sure, but to agreater elevation. A party making their way over that second rise inthe land would be instantly detected by the Indian pursuers, who wouldimagine that all their pale face enemies were there.
"It is our only chance," said Steve, as the men gathered about him."Our scouts in rear have not yet signalled, so we know that the enemyare not yet up with us, though they were on our trail last night. Thenwe have plenty of time. In an hour the ponies, with the women andchildren, will be on the high ground beyond, and when the Indians seethem----"
"They'll come streamin' up this ridge like hounds," growled Jim. "Thisair the place to stop 'em. You place the boys, my lad."
Very rapidly and coolly Steve told the trappers off to their posts,cautioning them that there was not to be a sound till he fired hismusket. Then he himself took cover close to the edge of the trackand waited. Presently two slim figures appeared down below, flittingbetween the trees, and the trappers left behind as scouts began toclimb the ridge.
"A hundred of the varmint full on the trail," whispered one as he laydown beside Steve. "We watched 'em till half an hour ago, and then meand Stubbs come along at a dog trot. They'll be in sight in less thanno time. Reckon they'll spot the rest of our party. They air right upthere on the high ground beyond, and yer can sight 'em ploddin' alongbeside the ponies."
"STEVE RESTED HIS BARREL IN THE FORK OF A DWARFEDTREE"]
"Hist! That air one of the skunks."
Jim, who happened to be next to Steve, lifted a warning finger andthen pointed below. A painted redskin, hideous in his featheredwar-gear, slipped like a shadow from the trees and stood in the open,staring up over the ridge to the high land beyond. They saw him turnand call softly, and then, one by one, some hundred of his comradesflitted up to his side and stood staring at the white fugitivesbeyond. Some danced with joy and brandished their tomahawks, while oneof their number turned and addressed them.
"My children, these pale faces are ours," he said. "Within the hourtheir scalps shall hang at our belts. Climb the rise and enter thetrees. Do not make a sound till they are enclosed by us. Then rushupon them and slay."
He pointed to the ridge, and, leaping forward, led the way up thesteep ascent. And as the whole party followed, their eyes fixed upontheir leader or upon the summit of the rise, some twenty ponderousmuskets went to as many stout shoulders, and sights were levelled uponthe redskin demons clambering up the track. Steve rested his muzzlein the fork of a dwarfed tree and aligned the sights on the featheredchief who led the party. And there he waited, his cheek well downon the stock, his eye glued to the sights, and his finger pressingever so gently on the trigger. He was as steady as the fork in whichhis weapon rested, for Steve was a hardened fighter by now, and heknew that the lives of all the women and children depended on thecoolness and courage of himself and his comrades. He allowed nothingto frighten him, and where many would have pulled the trigger out ofsheer excitement and inability to put up with the suspense any longer,he crouched there waiting, waiting.
"About thirty yards I make it," he said to himself at last. "I'll givehim another two seconds. That will get the others up a little closer.We want our bullets to strike more than one of the ruffians."
Suddenly there was a loud report, a spurt of flame lit up the shadowin which he lay, while the leader of the Indians threw his handsinto the air, howled in the most diabolical manner, and then fellbackwards, to go sliding and bumping down the track till a fallentree arrested further progress. A second later a volley came from thesurrounding bushes, from behind rocks and boulders, while a storm ofbullets plunged into the very centre of the huddled enemy. When thesmoke blew away, Steve and his friends looked down upon an almostdeserted track, cleared of Indians save for the bodies which lay proneon the hill-side or which rolled and slid down towards the bottom.Here and there in amongst the bushes on either hand the crash of abough told that the enemy was there, but those sounds lasted only afew seconds, and presently figures flitted in amongst the trees downbelow.
"Them critters won't come to a stop till they've reached the river,"laughed Jim, his face lighting up with joy. "Reckon they'll run tillthey've come back to that 'ere Jules Lapon of theirs. Steve, reckonyou've jest saved us."
He stepped over to the young trapper and gripped him by the hand. "Itwar your idea agin what brought us through," he said, "and it air youas'll lead us out of this country. Boys, you've heard tell of our tripup to Albany, and of how young Steve got on to the idea of them boatsand reeds. Waal, this here notion of an ambush air his. Ai
n't he fitter lead us?"
There was a shout of approval.
"He air all that," shouted Pete. "Hawk has made his name, and air realkeen and 'cute. Reckon I don't want no better leader, no more do anyof the others."
"Then, cap'n, you'll take on the command as before," said Jim easily."We air out of the muss with them 'ere beggars. What air we to do now?"
"Push on as fast as we are able," was our hero's answer, when he hadrecovered from his embarrassment. "We will march with scouts outbehind and in front and on either side. I am hoping to reach themountains in four days."
The party pressed on after those in advance, and in due time came upwith them. And thus, taking the utmost precaution against attack fromthe Indians, they marched through the forest in the direction of theAlleghany mountains. Now and again they came upon an open space,where the blackened logs spoke of a settlement which had been fired.And often enough there were signs of the struggle which had takenplace. The bodies of murdered colonists lay among the grass, whilesuch relics of the former inhabitants as a tiny shoe, a rag doll, ora wooden horse, caught the eyes of the men of the party and causedthem to grind their teeth and clench their fists. Men swore into theirbeards, and in low tones vowed that they would repay the authors ofthese massacres.
And so in time they came to the mountains, climbed the long and wearyfoot hills, and at length struggled to the top, still surrounded bythe ever-present forest.
"We ain't far from white folks, cap'n," said Jim as the party began todescend the far slopes. "Pete reports as he's dropped on fresh fires,where the embers air quite warm; and there's been a hul lot of menabout stampin' the ground with hard-soled boots."
"Reckon there's men up there," suddenly exclaimed one of the trappers,pointing to a high peak distinguishable above the forest trees."They've been watchin' us, and the sooner we let 'em know who we airthe better it'll be. They might be shootin' into us."
Steve at once sent off a couple of the backwoodsmen to speak to thestrangers, and in a little while his messengers came back with fourtrappers similar to themselves. They were hardy-looking men, beardedand bronzed, and dressed in the customary hunting shirt and leggings.
"Reckon you air lucky folk," said one, addressing Steve. "There's beenfew come through safely since the French set them Injuns on. Have yerhad a muss with 'em?"
"We beat them back at the range," answered our hero. "We set a trapfor them, and they walked into it. That's the last we saw of them. Butwe have passed many a ruined and burnt-out settlement."
"Ay, there's many of 'em, more's the shame. Ef we up here get news ofthe comin' of the Injuns, why, we goes down and does what we can. Butit ain't often like that. They come down upon the settlements like ahawk, and every one's wiped out. There ain't many settlements left.They say as all the backwoods huts air fired and men scalped, and thatthe bigger settlements just near the Alleghany range have also beenfired. Then some of the varmint have been over the range, and they'vewiped out big farms and hul villages. It makes a man swear to hearit all, and to know that we can do nothing to prevent the murders.But what can you expect when George has only a thousand men, same asus, to look after four hundred miles of frontier? Why, there's Injunsout all along the line from Western New York State right away down toNorth Carolina."
Steve and his friends were indeed amazed at this statement. Theyknew that an Indian war had been raging along the frontiers of thethirteen States, but having been so cut off in the forests, littlenews had come to their ears. They had learned that various expeditionshad been sent against the French and their allies, and that thesehad for the most part been defeated or had failed to effect theirobject. They knew too that massacres had taken place here and there.But this was indeed news. It was terrible to learn that all alongthis frontier, extending over some four hundred miles, farms andsettlements had been exterminated, that bands of Indians had ravagedthe possessions of the colonists, and had even carried their war overthe Alleghanies, wiping out the huts of the pioneers, which may becalled the first line of defences, then firing the settlements whichwere not so far advanced, and which formed a second line, and finally,throwing themselves upon a third and final line, that formed by themore prosperous and more settled villagers on the eastern slopes ofthe Alleghanies.
"But how have they been allowed to do all this?" demanded Steve,indignantly. "Surely there are men in the colonies! Why, if thissort of thing is allowed, the Indians will reach the coast, and willmassacre at Charlestown and other places."
He swung round on his companion, his face flushed and his eyesflashing with indignation. Then he suddenly observed that a fifthstranger, dressed as a hunter like the rest, but with something abouthim which attracted more than usual attention, had joined the group,slipping up to it unheard and unseen from the forest. He was tall andlithe, some twenty-four years of age, and his keen blue eyes fixedthemselves on Steve's figure.
"Excuse me," he said, speaking with the voice of a man who had beenbrought up in a town, "excuse me, sir, but what you say is hardlylikely to occur now. A year ago it seemed more than possible. Butperhaps you have not heard. At last the English Government is tiredof this massacre and this bullying. War has been declared, and troopsare coming to help us. You may ask why the colonies have not donemore. Pooh! They call a blush of shame to the cheek of every honestand patriotic colonist. While the shrieks of these unhappy settlersring almost in their ears and almost within hearing of the coasttowns, these comfortable stay-at-home planters and traders and countrygentlemen sit in their council rooms and squabble. They set asideall thought of assisting their hapless brothers and sisters, whilethey heckle their unfortunate governors. But I must apologise again.You must understand that I feel the position bitterly, for I havehad a hand in these troubles since the very commencement. Allow meto introduce myself. I am George Washington, colonel commanding theirregulars who have been given the task of defending four hundredmiles of frontier."
So this young and determined-looking man was George Washington, ofwhom every trapper and hunter had heard. Steve regarded him with openadmiration, and then, stepping up to him, shook hands eagerly.
"It is a lucky day for us, then, Colonel," he said. "I am SteveMainwaring."
"Cap'n Steve, known as the Hawk amongst the Injuns," burst in Jim,stretching out a big brown paw to grip that of the colonel. "Cap'nSteve, Colonel, and as sharp and 'cute a fighter as ever I see.How'dy?"
"I am glad to meet you, gentlemen," said the young colonial officer."You will come to our camp, where we will endeavour to make youcomfortable."
He took Steve by the arm and led the way through the forest. And verysoon the fugitives were in the middle of the hutted encampment whereGeorge Washington and his men had their quarters. Huts were allottedto the various families, while the colonel took Steve to his own loghouse.
"Come with me, Steve," he said with a friendly smile. "I am ratherlonely, and it will be nice to have a companion to chat with. Besides,I want to hear all about the backwoods and the troubles you have hadwith the French and the Indians."
He led the way to an unpretentious hut, and very soon Steve wasstretched on a rough wooden form, staring at the embers and chattingquietly with George Washington, even then a hero, and destined tobecome one of the greatest of American citizens.