CHAPTER EIGHT.
Life in a fort in the Far West is not as monotonous as may be supposed.There is a variety of work to be done. The hunters are employed inprocuring buffalo, deer, and other game for provisions during the manywinter months. The meat has to be preserved in summer by beingconverted into pemmican, and in winter by being placed in deep pits,with floors of ice between each intervening layer of meat, and thencovered up with snow. When the fort is in the neighbourhood of a lakeor river, fish have to be caught and preserved. This is done by saltingthem in summer, and freezing them as soon as the cold becomes intenseenough. Numerous horses have to be attended to, and dogs trained fordragging the sleighs when the snow covers the ground, the only mode thenpossible of travelling. Sleighs, carts, snow-shoes, and harness of allsorts, have to be manufactured, and moccasins and winter clothingprepared. In the neighbourhood of some forts gardens containingvegetables, and fields of maize, wheat, and oats have to be attended to.In others boats and canoes are built, while at all the gunsmith hasconstant work in repairing damaged fire-arms.
Trappers are constantly coming and going, bringing peltries, buffalo,deer, and wolf-skins, as well as other produce of the chase. Some arehalf-breeds, others white men, but the greater number pure Indians.Some arrive with several bales, others only bring a few skins toexchange for powder and shot, and a new trap or two. Then the skinsobtained have to be sorted, repacked, and despatched either to Yorkfactory in the north, or to Fort Garry in the south; while stores andprovisions at certain periods arrive, and the men transporting them haveto be entertained until they are ready to return to head-quarters.
Such was the existence which the inmates of Fort Duncan were leading.Under other circumstances Loraine might soon have grown tired of solimited a sphere of action, but every day he became more and moreattached--if that were possible--to Sybil; and although he had intendedto perform the journey across the Rocky Mountains to Vancouver's Island,he could not bring himself to leave her exposed to dangers such as thosefrom which she had lately been preserved.
Sybil had no wish to let him go, for though short as was the time sincethey had first met, he had become all in all to her; and no wonder whenHector, who had opportunities of knowing him well, declared that he wasone of the finest, noblest, best fellows he had ever fell in with,right-minded, true and brave; and Sybil was convinced that this accountwas not exaggerated.
Next to Loraine, Hector's chief friend was Allan Keith, whom heconsidered almost the equal of the first. He had become very anxious atthe non-appearance of Allan and the half-breed hunters he had hoped toenlist. Either he must have failed in inducing them to accompany him,or he had encountered some hostile Indians on the way, which was notvery likely, or had been compelled to make a wide circuit to avoid them.At last Hector asked his father's permission to take two or three menwith him, and to travel northward in the direction Keith would mostlikely come, in the hopes of falling in with him, and giving assistanceshould it be required. "He may have met with some such misadventure asLoraine and I did; or he may have expended his ammunition and bestarving," he observed.
Effie was very grateful to Hector when she heard of his proposal.
"I won't ask you to accompany me, Loraine," he said to his friend, "forI suspect that Sybil would greatly object to your going away; and as youare less accustomed to the style of life than our men, you would knockup sooner than they would. I wish that old Sass had been here with hisboy Greensnake; they would, by some means or other, have discovered him,wherever he is."
Loraine made no reply. He certainly had no wish to go, and he agreedwith Hector that the hunters were more accustomed to the style of lifethey would have to lead than he was; still, in his anxiety to assistKeith, he was ready to sacrifice much, but if a sufficient number of menfrom the fort could be spared, his aid would not be required.
To Hector's disappointment, however, Captain Mackintosh objected to histaking any men from the fort.
"The best hunters are required to go out in search of game, and thegarrison is already weakened by those who have accompanied Mr Harvey,"he remarked. "Although I am as anxious as you are about Keith, yet dutycompels me to refuse your request, and I cannot let you go alone, oreven with one man. Had Le Brun been here I might have sent him, as heis worth two or three others; but unless Mr Harvey abandons his stationand takes refuge in the fort, it may be some time before he returns, andI hope before then we shall either see or hear of Keith."
Still Hector did not abandon his plan. Norman was ready to go; andLoraine, when he found that no one else could be spared, withoutconsulting Sybil, volunteered to accompany him.
Captain Mackintosh finding that his sons were so bent on the expedition,and that their guest was ready to sacrifice his own inclination, onfurther considering the matter, gave his consent, and agreed to send oneof the best hunters and guides with them, provided they promised not tobe absent more than ten days, and to leave behind them marks by whichtheir trail could be followed up.
Effie thanked Loraine warmly; and even Sybil acknowledged that as he wasgoing from a generous motive, she could not venture to ask him to staybehind.
The undertaking being determined on, the party rapidly made theirpreparations. Having crossed the river where the horses were waitingfor them, they set out. Besides those they rode, each person had aspare horse on which were carried a few light articles required forcamping.
Sybil and Effie stood on the ramparts facing the river, and bade themadieu, as they wound their way up the hill on the opposite bank.
Effie felt happier than she had been for some time; and it was now herpart to console Sybil for Loraine's absence, assuring her that the partywould not return without bringing tidings of Allan.
Several of the hunters had been out for three days in search of buffalo.They were expected back that night; but as they did not make theirappearance, the gates were closed as usual, and sentries posted to keepwatch at night.
Towards morning the man on duty in one of the towers, saw through thegloom a horseman coming at full speed towards the fort.
"Vite, vite, open the gate; I am well-nigh done for," he shouted. "Therest have been killed, and I have had a hard matter to escape from thesavages."
The sentry gave the alarm, the gates were opened, and Jacques Robe, oneof the hunters, rode in. He almost fell from his horse into the arms oftwo of the men who had hastened out to meet him. An arrow was in hisside, and he was bleeding from other wounds.
The gates being closed, Captain Mackintosh directed the wounded man tobe carried to his house, and as soon as he had sent the garrison to theramparts to be ready should the enemy appear, he hastened to attend tohim.
The poor fellow's wounds though severe were not likely to prove mortal.The arrow was extracted by sawing off the head, the other hurts beingbound up, the bullets having happily not lodged in his body. CaptainMackintosh then left his patient to the care of his wife and went out tomake further arrangements for the defence. He now regretted havingallowed his sons and Loraine to go away, contrary to his betterjudgment. They could not, however, as yet have got to any distance; andas their assistance would be of the greatest value he resolved at onceto recall them. He hoped that they would be able to return in time toassist in the defence of the fort, as probably the Blackfeet, knowingthat notice would be given of their approach by the escape of JacquesRobe, would not venture to attack it, if such was their intention, untilthe following night. He therefore ordered Jules Buffet, an active andintelligent scout, to cross the river and hasten as fast as his horsewould carry him after the party.
"They will not hesitate about returning when they hear what is likely tooccur," he observed.
Jules, stuffing some pemmican and bread into his pouch, without loss ofa moment set off.
It was still too dark to observe his movements; but the man who had goneto assist him in catching and saddling his horse, reported that he hadstarted in safety, and that knowing the country, in spite of theobscurity
, he would have no difficulty in carrying out his instructions.
Captain Mackintosh laid strict injunctions on Sybil and his wife anddaughter, on no account to leave the shelter of the house, observing,"It will become still darker than it is at present before day breaks,and it is possible that during the time the savages may take theopportunity of sending a shower of arrows into the fort. With ourreduced numbers, I must not venture to send out scouts to ascertaintheir position; they may be still at a distance, or they may be creepingup towards the fort hoping to take us by surprise."
The ladies exhibited the courage that might have been expected of themwhen they, without fear, came to live in that remote fort, situated, asthey well knew, in the neighbourhood of hostile tribes.
Mrs Mackintosh got lint and bandages and cordials ready, in case any ofthe garrison should be wounded.
Captain Mackintosh then went round the fort to encourage the scantygarrison, and to see that they were on the watch. He endeavoured topierce the gloom, but could distinguish no objects moving on theprairie. Still, he knew well the various tricks to which the Redskinswere likely to resort. They might be close by, creeping up on hands andknees among the grass, or along the bank of the river so as to attackthe fort at the real as well as in front. He prepared for bothcontingencies, posting careful men at every assailable point.
The minutes went slowly by. He greatly missed his sons, and Loraine,who would have been of essential service in watching the more dangerouspoints. Le Brun, a most trustworthy man, was away, and two of his besthunters and scouts had been killed, while another lay wounded anduseless. Still he endeavoured to make up for the limited number of hismen by his own energy and watchfulness.
As he hurried round and round, he praised those who were most on thealert, and warned the others of the dangers of negligence. He more thanonce went down to examine his watch, and ascertain how the time waspassing, for of course no lights were shown on the ramparts, and thenagain he hurried up to look over the prairie.
At length a bright streak appeared across the eastern sky. The lightincreased, and it was with a sigh of heart-felt relief, when at last,being able to see across the prairie, he discovered that not a singleobject was moving over its broad expanse.
"It is as I thought, then," he said to himself; "the Blackfeet havedeemed it prudent not to show themselves until they can catch us off ourguard. We shall have, I trust, a day's rest, and by the evening my boysand their brave friends will have returned; and even should poor Keithhave met with disaster, Burnett may send us reinforcements fromEdmonton. I pray that the savages have not paid a visit to Harvey'sstation, or it may have gone hard with him. Now I may go down andconsole Mrs Mackintosh and the girls, and get some breakfast;" and thegallant Captain, having again charged the sentries to keep on the alert,returned to his house.
The day wore on, and had it not been for Jacques Robe's positiveassertion that he had escaped from an unusually large body of Blackfeet,it might have been supposed that there was no cause for alarm.
Not even a buffalo or deer appeared. That, however, was not unusual;indeed, the only cause to create suspicion was that no traders, eitherIndians or others, arrived at the fort.
Noon had passed, and had Jules Buffet ridden as fast as he proposed,Loraine and his companions might soon return. Still they did notappear.
Sybil and Effie frequently went to the southern platform to look out,but returned each time disappointed.
Captain Mackintosh, who had gone to the top of the look-out tower, sweptwith his telescope the horizon to the south and west, towards which theglowing sun was once more sinking.
As he looked, he fancied that he could detect objects moving above thetall grass, embrowned with the tints of autumn. If they were Indiansthey probably did not suppose that they could be discovered at so greata distance. They might, indeed, have been only a herd of deerscampering across the plain. Still, as he looked again and againthrough his glass, he fancied that he could distinguish the plumed headsand shoulders of Indian warriors.
"They shall not catch us napping, at all events," he said to himself;"and I trust to Heaven to enable us to make good use of the means at ourdisposal."
He was unwilling to leave his post, while there was sufficient daylightto give him a chance of ascertaining whether the objects he saw weremounted Indians or not: he knew that at such a distance men on footcould not possibly be seen. He had much less to fear from men onhorseback than from the stealthy approach of savages on foot, who mightcreep up almost unperceived close to the walls.
At length the increasing shadows of evening shrouded the view, and hemade another round to warn the sentries, as before, to be on the alert,telling them that they might expect to be attacked before morning.
Just as he reached the river side of the platform, he heard a shout. Itwas Norman's voice, asking for a boat to be sent over.
He immediately, therefore, ordered two of the men usually employed inthe service to pull across, and in a short time his sons and Loraineentered the fort. It need not be said that they were welcomed by thosewho had been so long looking for them. Jules Buffet had fulfilled hispromise by pushing forward at full speed, and had overtaken them just ashis horse fell utterly exhausted, while they were making their noon-dayhalt. They had galloped back on fresh horses, which at the end of theride seemed scarcely able to stand.
"But we have managed it," cried Hector, "and now I hope the Redskinswon't disappoint us. I wish, however, that we could have brought AllanKeith; but we met with no signs of him or his party, and he may be stilla hundred miles away or more."
The addition of five persons in whom he could trust, made CaptainMackintosh hope more than ever that he should be able successfully toresist the expected attack of the Blackfeet. That they would come thatnight he felt almost certain, as also that the great object of theiryoung chief Mysticoose was to carry off Sybil. He had, however,probably induced his people to undertake the expedition by promisingthem the pillage of the fort. They had a few years before thissurprised Bow Fort, which afforded them a rich booty, and they mightnaturally expect to succeed in capturing Fort Duncan, which was notbetter provided with the means of defence. Never, however, before therecent attempt of Mysticoose to take it by treachery, had it beenattacked.
The fresh arrivals, after taking some food, lay down to get the restthey so much required, Captain Mackintosh promising to call them shouldany signs of the approaching enemy be discovered. Each man on theramparts was provided with a lantern, kept shaded until required, tothrow a light on the ground round the fort, which, as was rightlyexpected, would tend greatly to disconcert the assailants, should theycreep up with the expectation of effecting a surprise.
Hour after hour went by.
"They intend, I suspect, as I thought they would yesterday morning, tomake their attack a short time before daylight, when they fancy we shallbe weary with watching, and off our guard," observed Captain Mackintoshto Loraine, who had joined him on the platform.
"Then we may expect them before long," said Loraine, looking at hiswatch by the light of a lantern.
Scarcely had he spoken, than an arrow flew between him and CaptainMackintosh. He had just time to shout to his people to get under cover,when a whole flight came whistling over their heads, followed by aterrific war whoop, the most fearful sound of which the human voice iscapable.
The men in the garrison shouted in return, several of them wellaccustomed to the noise giving vent to derisive laughter.
"The painted savages fancy that we are to be frightened by yells likeyon," cried Sandy Macpherson, an old Scotchman, who had been since hisyouth in the service of the company. "They may shoot their arrows andshout as loud as they like, but it won't help them to get inside thefort, lads, I ken. Wait till we can see their heads, and then send ashower of bullets among them, but dinna fire till the captain gives theword, an' then blaze away as fast as ye can load."
"Bravo, Sandy! That's just what we must do," cried Hector, wh
o waspassing at the moment, having been sent round by his father to see thatthe men were at their proper stations.
A shout from Sandy, of "There they are!" and the word to fire, produceda blaze of light round the fort.
The Blackfeet, many of whom had muskets, fired in return, and thencountless dark forms were seen dashing forward, some to attempt to scalethe walls, others to force open the gate.