CHAPTER XVII.
THE WOLF AT THE DOOR.
Uncle Aleck and Mr. Bryant had gone over to Chapman's Creek to makeinquiries about the prospect of obtaining corn for their cattlethrough the coming winter, as the failure of their own crop had madethat the next thing to be considered. The three boys were over at theYounkins cabin in quest of news from up the river, where, it was said,a party of California emigrants had been fired upon by the Indians.They found that the party attacked was one coming from California, notmigrating thither. It brought the Indian frontier very near the boysto see the shot-riddled wagons, left at Younkins's by the travellers.The Cheyennes had shot into the party and had killed four and woundedtwo, at a point known as Buffalo Creek, some one hundred miles or soup the Republican Fork. It was a daring piece of effrontery, as therewere two military posts not very far away, Fort Kearney above and FortRiley below.
"But they are far enough away by this time," said Younkins, with somebitterness. "Those military posts are good for nothin' but to run toin case of trouble. No soldiers can get out into the plains from anyof them quick enough to catch the slowest Indian of the lot."
Charlie was unwilling to disagree with anything that Younkins said,for he had the highest respect for the opinions of this experiencedold plainsman. But he couldn't help reminding him that it would take avery big army to follow up every stray band of Indians, provided anyof the tribes should take a notion to go on the warpath.
"Just about this time, though, the men that were stationed at FortRiley are all down at Lawrence to keep the free-State people fromsweeping the streets with free-State brooms, or something that-a-way,"said Younkins, determined to have his gibe at the useless soldiery, ashe seemed to think them. Oscar was interested at once. Anything thatrelated to the politics of Kansas the boy listened to greedily.
"It's something like this," explained Younkins. "You see thefree-State men have got a government there at Lawrence which is lawfulunder the Topeka Legislator', as it were. The border-State men havegot a city government under the Lecompton Legislatur'; and so the twoare quarrelling to see which shall govern the city; 'tisn't much of acity, either."
"But what have the troops from Fort Riley to do with it? I don't seethat yet," said Oscar, with some heat.
A GREAT DISASTER.]
"Well," said Younkins, "I am a poor hand at politics; but the way Iunderstand it is that the Washington Government is in favor of theborder-State fellows, and so the troops have been sent down to standby the mayor that belongs to the Lecompton fellows. Leastways, that isthe way the sutler down to the post put it to me when I was down therewith the folks that were fired on up to Buffalo Creek; I talked withhim about it yesterday. That's why I said they were at Lawrence toprevent the streets being swept by free-State brooms. That is thesutler's joke. See?"
"That's what I call outrageous," cried Oscar, his eyes snapping withexcitement. "Here's a people up here on the frontier being massacredby Indians, while the Government troops are down at Lawrence in apolitical quarrel!"
The boys were so excited over this state of things that they paid verylittle attention to anything else while on their way back to thecabin, full of the news of the day. Usually, there was not much newsto discuss on the Fork.
"What's that by the cabin-door?" said Sandy, falling back as he lookedup the trail and beheld a tall white, or light gray, animal smellingaround the door-step of the cabin, only a half-mile away. It seemed tobe about as large as a full-grown calf, and it moved stealthily about,and yet with a certain unconcern, as if not used to being scaredeasily.
"It's a wolf!" cried Oscar. "The Sunday that Uncle Aleck and I saw onefrom the bluff yonder, he was just like that. Hush, Sandy, don't talkso loud, or you'll frighten him off before we can get a crack at him.Let's go up the trail by the ravine, and perhaps we can get a shotbefore he sees us."
It was seldom that the boys stirred abroad without firearms of somesort. This time they had a shot-gun and a rifle with them, and,examining the weapons as they went, they ran down into a dry gully, tofollow which would bring them unperceived almost as directly to thecabin as by the regular trail. As noiselessly as possible, the boysran up the gully trail, their hearts beating high with expectation. Itwould be a big feather in their caps if they could only have a graywolf's skin to show their elders on their return from Chapman's.
"You go round the upper side of the house with your rifle, Oscar, andI'll go round the south side with the shot-gun," was Charlie's adviceto his cousin when they had reached the spring at the head of thegully, back of the log-cabin. With the utmost caution, the two boyscrept around opposite corners of the house, each hoping he would belucky enough to secure the first shot. Sandy remained behind, waitingwith suppressed excitement for the shot. Instead of the report of afirearm, he heard a peal of laughter from both boys.
"What is it?" he cried, rushing from his place of concealment. "What'sthe great joke?"
"Nothing," said Oscar, laughing heartily, "only that as I was stealingaround the corner here by the corral, Charlie was tiptoeing round theother corner with his eyes bulging out of his head as if he expectedto see that wolf."
"Yes," laughed Charlie, "and if Oscar had been a little quicker, hewould have fired at me. He had his gun aimed right straight ahead ashe came around the corner of the cabin."
"And that wolf is probably miles and miles away from here by thistime, while you two fellows were sneaking around to find him. Just asif he was going to wait here for you!" It was Sandy's turn to laugh,then.
The boys examined the tracks left in the soft loam of the garden bythe strange animal, and came to the conclusion that it must have beena very large wolf, for its footsteps were deep as if it were a heavycreature, and their size was larger than that of any wolf-tracks theyhad ever seen.
When the elders heard the story on their arrival from Chapman's, thatevening, Uncle Aleck remarked with some grimness, "So the wolf is atthe door at last, boys." The lads by this understood that povertycould not be far off; but they could not comprehend that poverty couldaffect them in a land where so much to live upon was running wild, soto speak.
"Who is this that rides so fast?" queried Charlie, a day or two afterthe wolf adventure, as he saw a stranger riding up the trail from theford. It was very seldom that any visitor, except the good Younkins,crossed their ford. And Younkins always came over on foot.
Here was a horseman who rode as if in haste. The unaccustomed sightdrew all hands around the cabin to await the coming of the stranger,who rode as if he were on some important errand bent. It was Battles.His errand was indeed momentous. A corporal from the post had come tohis claim, late in the night before, bidding him warn all the settlerson the Fork that the Cheyennes were coming down the Smoky Hill,plundering, burning, and slaying the settlers. Thirteen white peoplehad been killed in the Smoky Hill country, and the savages wereevidently making their way to the fort, which at that time was left inan unprotected condition. The commanding officer sent word to allsettlers that if they valued their lives they would abandon theirclaims and fly to the fort for safety. Arms and ammunition would befurnished to all who came. Haste was necessary, for the Indians weremoving rapidly down the Smoky Hill.
"But the Smoky Hill is twenty-five or thirty miles from here," saidMr. Bryant; "why should they strike across the plains between here andthere?"
Battles did not know; but he supposed, from his talk with thecorporal, that it was expected that the Cheyennes would not go quiteto the fort, but, having raided the Smoky Hill country down as near tothe post as might seem safe, they would strike across to theRepublican Fork at some narrow point between the two rivers, travel upthat stream, and so go back to the plains from which they came,robbing and burning by the way.
The theory seemed a reasonable one. Such a raid was like Indianwarfare.
"How many men are there at the post?" asked Uncle Aleck.
"Ten men including the corporal and a lieutenant of cavalry," repliedBattles, who was a pro-slavery man. "The rest
are down at Lawrence tosuppress the rebellion."
"So the commanding officer at the post wants us to come down and helpdefend the fort, which has been left to take care of itself while thetroops are at Lawrence keeping down the free-State men," said Mr.Bryant, bitterly. "For my part, I don't feel like going. How is itwith you, Aleck?"
"I guess we had better take care of ourselves and the boys, Charlie,"said Uncle Aleck, cheerily. "It's pretty mean for Uncle Sam to leavethe settlers to take care of themselves and the post at this criticaltime, I know; but we can't afford to quibble about that now. Safety isthe first consideration. What does Younkins say?" he asked ofBattles.
"A randyvoo has been appointed at my house to-night," said the man,"and Younkins said he would be there before sundown. He told me totell you not to wait for him; he would meet you there. He has sent hiswife and children over to Fuller's, and Fuller has agreed to send themwith Mrs. Fuller over to the Big Blue, where there is no danger.Fuller will be back to my place by midnight. There is no time to foolaway."
Here was an unexpected crisis. The country was evidently alarmed andup in arms. An Indian raid, even if over twenty miles away, was aterror that they had not reckoned on. After a hurried consultation,the Whittier settlers agreed to be at the "randyvoo," as Battlescalled it, before daybreak next morning. They thought it best to takehis advice and hide what valuables they had in the cabin, make allsnug, and leave things as if they never expected to see their homeagain, and take their way to the post as soon as possible.
THE RETREAT TO BATTLES'S.]
It was yet early morning, for Mr. Battles had wasted no time inwarning the settlers as soon as he had received notice from the fort.They had all the day before them for their preparations. So thesettlers, leaving other plans for the time, went zealously to workpacking up and secreting in the thickets and the gully the things theythought most valuable and they were least willing to spare. Clothing,crockery, and table knives and forks were wrapped up in whatever camehandy and were buried in holes dug in the ploughed ground. Lead,bullets, slugs, and tools of various kinds were buried or concealed inthe forks of trees, high up and out of sight. Where any articles wereburied in the earth, a fire was afterwards built on the surface sothat no trace of the disturbed ground should be left to show theexpected redskins that goods had been there concealed. They lamentedthat a sack of flour and a keg of molasses could not be put away, andthat their supply of side-meat, which had cost them a long journey toManhattan, must be abandoned to the foe--if he came to take it. Buteverything that could be hidden in trees or buried in the earth was sodisposed of as rapidly as possible.
Perhaps the boys, after the first flush of apprehension had passed,rather enjoyed the novelty and the excitement. Their spirits rose asthey privately talked among themselves of the real Indian warfare ofwhich this was a foretaste. They hoped that it would be nothing worse.When the last preparations were made, and they were ready to departfrom their home, uncertain whether they would ever see it again,Sandy, assisted by Oscar, composed the following address. It waswritten in a big, boyish hand on a sheet of letter-paper, and was lefton the table in the middle of their cabin:--
GOOD MISTER INDIAN: We are leaving in a hurry and we want you to be careful of the fire when you come. Don't eat the corn-meal in the sack in the corner; it is poisoned. The flour is full of crickets, and crickets are not good for the stomach. Don't fool with the matches, nor waste the molasses. Be done as you would do by, for that is the golden rule.
Yours truly, THE WHITTIER SETTLERS.
Even in the midst of their uneasiness and trouble, their elderslaughed at this unique composition, although Mr. Bryant thought thatthe boys had mixed their version of the golden rule. Sandy said thatno Cheyenne would be likely to improve upon it. So, with manymisgivings, the little party closed the door of their home behindthem, and took up their line of march to the rendezvous.
The shortest way to Battles's was by a ford farther down the river,and not by the way of the Younkins place. So, crossing the creek on afallen tree near where Sandy had shot his famous flock of ducks, andthen steering straight across the flat bottom-land on the oppositeside, the party struck into a trail that led through the cottonwoodsskirting the west bank of the stream. The moon was full, and thedarkness of the grove through which they wended their way in singlefile was lighted by long shafts of moonbeams that streamed through thedense growth. The silence, save for the steady tramp of the littleexpedition, was absolute. Now and again a night-owl hooted, or asleeping hare, scared from its form, scampered away into theunderbrush; but these few sounds made the solitude only moreoppressive. Charlie, bringing up the rear, noted the glint of themoonlight on the barrels of the firearms carried by the party ahead ofhim, and all the romance in his nature was kindled by the thought thatthis was frontier life in the Indian country. Not far away, hethought, as he turned his face to the southward, the cabins ofsettlers along the Smoky Hill were burning, and death and desolationmarked the trail of the cruel Cheyennes.
Now and again Sandy, shivering in the chill and dampness of the wood,fell back and whispered to Oscar, who followed him in the narrowtrail, that this would be awfully jolly if he were not so sleepy. Thelad was accustomed to go to bed soon after dark; it was now late intothe night.
All hands were glad when the big double cabin of the Battles familycame in sight about midnight, conspicuous on a rise of the rollingprairie and black against the sky. Lights were burning brightly in oneend of the cabin; in the other end a part of the company had gone tosleep, camping on the floor. Hot coffee and corn-bread were ready forthe newcomers, and Younkins, with a tender regard for the lads, whowere unaccustomed to milk when at home, brought out a big pan ofdelicious cool milk for their refreshment. Altogether, as Sandyconfessed to himself, an Indian scare was not without its fun. Helistened with great interest to the tales that the settlers had totell of the exploits of Gray Wolf, the leader and chief of theCheyennes. He was a famous man in his time, and some of the eldersettlers of Kansas will even now remember his name with awe. The boyswere not at all desirous of meeting the Indian foe, but they secretlyhoped that if they met any of the redskins, they would see thefar-famed Gray Wolf.
While the party, refreshed by their late supper, found a lodginganywhere on the floor of the cabin, a watch was set outside, for theIndians might pounce upon them at any hour of the night or day. Thosewho had mounted guard during the earlier part of the evening went totheir rest. Charlie, as he dropped off to sleep, heard the footstepsof the sentry outside and said to himself, half in jest, "The Wolf isat the door."
But no wolf came to disturb their slumbers. The bright and cheerfulday, and the song of birds dispelled the gloom of the night, and fearwas lifted from the minds of the anxious settlers, some of whom,separated from wives and children, were troubled with thoughts ofhomes despoiled and crops destroyed. Just as they had finishedbreakfast and were preparing for the march to the fort, now only twoor three miles away, a mounted man in the uniform of a United Statesdragoon dashed up to the cabin, and, with a flourish of soldierlymanner, informed the company that the commanding officer at the posthad information that the Cheyennes, instead of crossing over to theRepublican as had been expected, or attacking the fort, had turned andgone back the way they came. All was safe, and the settlers might gohome assured that there was no danger to themselves or theirfamilies.
Having delivered this welcome message in a grand and semi-officialmanner, the corporal dismounted from his steed, in answer to apressing invitation from Battles, and unbent himself like an ordinarymortal to partake of a very hearty breakfast of venison, corn-bread,and coffee. The company unslung their guns and rifles, sat down again,and regaled themselves with pipes, occasional cups of strong coffee,and yet more exhilarating tales of the exploits and adventures ofIndian slayers of the earlier time on the Kansas frontier. The greatIndian scare was over. Before night fell again, every settler had gonehis own way to
his claim, glad that things were no worse, but groaningat Uncle Sam for the niggardliness which had left the region sodefenceless when an emergency had come.