In the Wilds of Florida: A Tale of Warfare and Hunting

ascertain the conditionof the place, and whether any Indians still remained in the interveningdistrict.

  Three days having passed, and the scouts not making their appearance, webegan to fear that they had been cut off, and that we should be doomedto be shut up in the fort for an indefinite period. The commandant wasanxious to get rid of us, for we, of course, consumed the storesdestined for the garrison. It was with no small relief, therefore, thatwe saw the two men approaching the fort early on the third day. Theybrought the satisfactory intelligence that the Government had sent asteam-vessel up the river to the mouth of the Ocklawaha, above which shecould not proceed, but that a smaller craft had been despatched up thestream to Silver Spring with stores for the garrison.

  As we were prepared for our journey, we lost no time in setting out,accompanied by Captain Norton, who led a party intended to escort backthe stores. Juanita was thus even better protected than we hadexpected. We had been somewhat anxious on her account, lest by somechance the Indian chief should get notice of our intended journey, andmake an attempt to cut us off. There was, however, not much chance ofhis doing so, as it was believed that he was fully occupied with freshtroops sent against him in the north-west; still so wonderful were themeans of obtaining information possessed by the Redskins, and so rapidtheir movements, that it was impossible to say in what direction theymight not appear. A road had been cut between the fort and the river,which greatly facilitated our progress; although, not having been usedfor some time, it was overgrown with long grass and low bushes, which itwas necessary in some places to cut away.

  My father and I endeavoured to cheer poor Juanita. During all that shehad previously gone through, her spirits and courage had never onceflagged. Now, she appeared to be sadly despondent. She told me thatshe had a foreboding that Castle Kearney had been destroyed by theIndians and all within it massacred. I of course tried to persuade herthat such fears were without foundation, and that we should find hermother and sister well, with the house standing where we had left it.

  "Can you surmise, Maurice, what has become of Mr. Rochford?" she askedsuddenly, showing that, at all events, she had not forgotten our friend,who had so gallantly rescued her from the Indians.

  "I am constantly thinking on the subject, and wondering why he does notappear," I answered. "My father is as puzzled as I am; but we arecertain no unworthy motive keeps him away. I can only conjecture thathe has either gone to try and induce Oceola to make such offers to theGovernment as he thinks will be accepted, or else he has returned to theblack fugitives with a view of benefiting them in some way or other.Whatever he may be doing, I have no doubt that he is influenced by goodmotives, although his plans may not be so feasible as he supposes."

  "Of that I am very sure!" exclaimed Juanita, warmly. "I did notunderstand your friend when he was at Castle Kearney, and I thought himvery presumptuous; but I have since learned to appreciate him as hedeserves."

  I thought it better to make no answer to this remark of my fair cousin.I could only say that I hoped Rochford would escape the dangers to whichhe was exposed, and reappear some day or other.

  We camped at night in a secure position, fully one-third of our forcebeing under arms, so that should any savages attempt to surprise us,they would be kept in check until we were ready to repel them.

  It was not until nearly the end of the next day that we saw the brightwaters of the "Silver Spring" glittering through the trees. On reachingthe buildings, we found that, although empty, they were uninjured. TheIndians, if they had visited them, had perhaps looked upon them astemples built in honour of the spirit presiding over their sacredspring. No boats, however, were there; and unless some should arrive,we should be obliged to construct rafts or canoes to carry us down theriver. To stay where we were without provisions was impossible:although we might shoot birds and perhaps deer in the neighbourhood, yetwe dared not exhaust our ammunition. The scouts told us that they hadreceived the information they had brought from a canoe which had beensent up to ascertain if any Indians were in the neighbourhood, and thatit had afterwards returned down the river.

  Lejoillie and I offered to go down, if we could obtain a canoe, to learnwhat had happened; but though we searched about in every direction, nonecould be found. Dawn had just broken, when one of the sentriesannounced that he saw a thin column of smoke over the trees in thedirection in which the stream ran.

  Presently afterwards we heard a peculiar sound, which we all declaredmust be produced by the paddle-wheels of a steamer. A cheer rose fromus when a curious craft, with high paddle-boxes, and machinery risingabove her deck, hove in sight, and came gliding up the stream. Shebrought the greatly required stores for the fort; and the skipperundertook to convey the whole of our party down the stream to theman-of-war steamer waiting her return. He relieved poor Juanita's fearsin regard to Castle Kearney, by assuring her that the house still stooduninjured, and that it had not been attacked by the Indians.

  We were very sorry to have to part with Captain Norton, who had toreturn to the fort. He promised to pay a visit to Castle Kearney assoon as his duties would allow. He also assured me that he would notfail to try and induce Rochford to rejoin us.

  "Should you be able to send him a message, you may hint that he will notfind my cousin Juanita quite as hard-hearted as he once supposed;indeed, I suspect that she would break her heart should any harm befallhim," I whispered.

  I cannot fully describe the varied beauties of the stream, bordered bypicturesque woods festooned with graceful creepers, many of themproducing rich blossoms of many hues. At night we proceeded, lighted bypitch-pine-torches stuck in the bows of the vessel, which cast a luridglare on either bank, scaring the numberless alligators which ever andanon put their heads above the surface of the water. At times I fanciedthat I could see the figures of Indian warriors brandishing theirspears, and handling their bows ready to shoot at us; but the nextmoment they changed into bushes or the distorted trunks of trees.

  After a voyage of some miles, with the current in our favour, we foundourselves alongside the Government steamer which waited the return ofthe boat. As I stepped on her deck, I enjoyed a sense of security whichI had not enjoyed for many months. We heard sad news, however. Fearfulatrocities had been committed by the Indians in different parts of thecountry--farm-houses attacked, their inhabitants massacred, and wholevillages destroyed. The romantic admiration with which I had beeninclined to regard the red men was completely dissipated; though I wascompelled to acknowledge that, barbarous as was their conduct, they hadbeen cruelly treated, and had bitter wrongs to avenge.

  The distance which had taken us so long a time when we came up the riverwas quickly got over, although we had to stop at several places to takepersons on board who had escaped from the Indian massacres. Our party,with the remainder of my uncle's followers, were landed at CastleKearney. My aunt and Rita had bravely held out, notwithstanding theadvice they had received to abandon the house. My father broke to them,as gently as possible, the sad intelligence we brought, as poor Juanitawas utterly unable to do so.

  Donna Maria, it seemed to me, would never get over it. For many daysand nights her daughters, overcoming their own anxieties, were inconstant attendance on her.

  The poor girls, though they mourned for their father and brother, were,I knew, troubled about Rochford and Captain Norton. Lejoillie had goneon, as he said, to finish his visit to Judge Shurtleff at Roseville,that settlement being one of the very few which had escaped an attackfrom the Indians, owing to the due precautions taken by the inhabitants.

  Several weeks passed away. Donna Maria appeared to be slowlyrecovering; but it was evident that she still remained in a veryprecarious condition. The judge and Mrs. Shurtleff kindly sent up toinvite one or both of my cousins and me to pay them a visit. They,however, declined the invitation, being unwilling to leave their mother.My father, guessing that I was getting somewhat weary of being shut upwithin the narrow boundary of the little island, advised me to return inthe
boat which brought the messenger, but desiring me to come back againin a few days, lest he should require my services. He had not expectedto remain so long in the country, but while Donna Maria continued soill, he was unwilling to speak about their arrangements for the future.I accordingly set off, and arriving at Roseville was received verykindly by the judge and his wife, who had heard as much of ouradventures as Lejoillie was able to give them. They spoke in greatadmiration of the gallant way in which Rochford had rescued Juanita.

  "Brave fellow! noble fellow!" exclaimed the judge. "I only wish that hehad got over his somewhat wild notions of helping the Indians andnegroes. He can do them no good, and will only run a great risk ofgetting into trouble himself."

  "He would not have gained that influence over them which enabled him torescue my cousin, if he had not attempted to help the Indians," Iobserved. "Probably no other white man in the country