American Family Robinson

  Chapter Thirteenth.

  Jane's reception of the Indian woman. Whirlwind's indifference.Condition of the party. Sidney begins to use his broken arm. Theirhealth. They cannot calculate the day nor month. The chief imagines hehas found the locality of the Arapahoes hunting grounds. He becomesenamored of Jane. The party troubled about it. Howe explains hisexperience in love matters. A reconnoitre suggested. Edward joins them.Deer chased by a wild man. The chief lassoes him. A desperate struggle.The wild man captured and taken into camp. Things in the camp, &c.

  The young mother and her babe received a warm welcome from Jane, whosetender heart ached as she scanned the half frozen, emaciated beingsbefore her; and even repining Sidney was forced to acknowledge that hissufferings had been nothing in comparison to those the mother and babehad endured. A few weeks spent under the hands of their gentle nursehad a wonderful effect in their condition, and the babe, especially,had regained its infantile merriment, and played at rough and tumble onthe soft skins before the fire like any other child of two years, asthe squaw reckoned its age. It was very lively and frolicsome, andserved to make merry many an hour that otherwise would have laggedheavily on their hands. Not so its mother; she had regained herstrength, but no effort could bring back the smile to her lip or chasethe look of sadness from her brow. She had, from the first, exhibitedgreat signs of fear of the chief, and did she catch his eye resting onher she would hurriedly gather her child in her arms, and with a wildlook of terror cower away into the corner of the room farthest from himshe could get, and there sit murmuring in wailing tones to the babenestling in her arms.

  The chief, after the first day of her rescue, exhibited perfectindifference to her presence, and rarely gave her a glance; but theyhad noticed that when his eye did rest on her or the child it had apeculiar exulting savage glitter seen at no other times, for his eyeusually had a mild expression, and they had known him to exhibitdisinterested humane acts that set at defiance the supposition that hewas devoid of sensibility.

  This was a new phase in the character of the Indian, and one thathighly amazed the young people. As for Howe, though he did sometimesopen his eyes with wonder, it did not interest him, and he never spoketo them of the "by play" that was every day growing more interesting tothe younger ones, and becoming a great torture to the young mother.Jane, who was daily becoming more and more attached to her guests, usedevery art in her power to inspire her with more confidence, and at thesame time assure her of the kindness and friendship of the chief, butwithout success. She was equally silent as to what tribe she belonged;for, though she had learned to use many words correctly in expressingher wants, she never seemed to learn any to express the past withregard to herself, except that she was lost, and could not find her wayhome. Jane had made her and the babe clothing before she had recoveredher strength; but, though it was as neatly done as that she herselfwore, the squaw had, as soon as she was able to move around, taken someskins, and had manufactured a suit for herself and child, that wasreally pretty, so neatly was it done. This finished, she made one alsofor Jane, presenting it to her with gestures of gratitude for thekindness she and her babe had received at her benefactress' hands.

  Jane looked really much better when adorned in the handiwork of theyoung squaw, than she did in her own, for the suits they had on whencarried off by the Indians, had been worn and torn to shreds in theirwanderings, and they were all dressed in skins dried with the fur on,having been made soft and pliable under the skilful hands of Howe andthe chief.

  It was now midwinter, and the valley was covered with a mantle of snow,but not as deep as they had anticipated it would be. They found theywere partly defended from the storms, by a spur curving round to theprincipal range of mountains, giving the valley the form of a horseshoe--three high, precipitous sides breaking the storms of wind andsnow, so as to make it really a very desirable situation. And a mostfortunate one it was to the wanderers, the trapper often declaring,that if he ever reached home again, he would conduct the whole familyto the spot, as it would not only make a desirable farm, but affordrare facilities for hunting and trapping, which desideratum was of theutmost importance to both Howe and Mr. Duncan.

  It is really surprising to one reared in the lap of luxury, how littleis actually necessary to support the human body healthfully. Take thesewanderers, for instance, utterly debarred from procuring the simplestproducts of civilization, entirely thrown on such resources as savagesare called to practice to sustain life and health, yet they have notonly surmounted great obstacles, but are undaunted by those that laybefore them, and have actually made themselves comfortable. Simple astheir abode and fare were, nay, even extremely rude, yet theyexperienced a satisfaction and enjoyment when they retraced theirwanderings since they were carried away captives, and the feeling ofthankfulness for their wonderful escape from the savage cannibals,begat one of contentment in their present lot. It is true, they werefortunate in having found and occupied the building in ruins, as itafforded them a more secure shelter than they could have built, withthe small complement of tools they possessed, yet it is a safe ventureto conclude, that had they not discovered them, they would have madethemselves an abode that would have shielded them from wet and cold.

  There were four rooms in the temple, two only of which had beencleared. They had often been in the others, but as they had no use forthem, they were left unmolested. The goat and the kid were stablednightly in the hall, but as she had become so tame as to return atnightfall, she was allowed to roam at pleasure through the day.Following her instinct, she sought her food among the crags and defilesof the mountains, thus relieving them from the trouble of providing forher. When the snow first began to cover the ground in early winter, itcaused them much anxiety as to how she was to be provided for untilspring. Her milk was of too much importance to think of killing her, orturning her loose to run wild again, and she was at first tethered soas to prevent her wandering away. This was relinquished after a while,when they saw she returned of her own accord.

  The colt caused them more trouble. Recently captured, they did not dareto turn it loose to seek food as they did the goat; and the only wayleft for them, was to tether it in the thickets of maple andbasswood--the young tender growth of which the wild prairie horses arevery fond of. These thickets were usually studded with a luxuriantundergrowth of small shrubs and evergreens that were very nutritious,and of which the fat condition of the wild horses, buffaloes, deer,antelope, mountain sheep, and goats that feed thereon, is sufficientproof. Often in the winter, plats of grass may be found in patchessheltered from the storms; but the chief dependences for food of themultitudes of cattle that roam through the western wilds, is theluxuriant growth of shrubs that spring up uncropped in the summer, asthe cattle then prefer the tender grass on the prairies.

  Sidney, to his great satisfaction, now began to use his arm without theslightest difficulty, and with his strength his spirits resumed theirwonted healthful vigor, greatly to the relief of the trapper and Jane,who had been under the necessity of keeping a watch over him to preventhis coming to a rupture with the chief. He was now active, and onlylaughed heartily at what had annoyed him before, and tormented Janeunmercifully on the conquest she had made.

  They were all in excellent health, and only waited with impatience forthe winter to break up, so that they could resume their journey insafety in search of home. One thing alone grieved them--the evidentincreasing terror with which Mahnewe, the Indian mother, regarded thechief. In order to free her as much from his presence as possible, Howehad proposed long hunts, by going to the forest at early dawn, and notreturning until evening. They enjoyed the sport, as it not only placedMahnewe at ease, but they gained a perfect knowledge of the surroundingcountry, which was of much importance to them, as well as kept theirlarder supplied with abundance of game.

  They had lost the day and month; and now their only guide was thefluctuations of the weather, of which, fortunately for themselves, theywere good observers, and could calculate within half a mont
h of thetime at any season of the year. About the middle of February, as theycalculated time, Howe and the chief went out one morning for a hunt,and following the valley down a mile or two, crossed the stream, andascending a knoll, stood on its summit, surveying the country aroundthem. The trees being shorn of their foliage, gave them anuninterrupted view of the broad valley, with its barrier of hills, andpeak rising above peak, until they towered up and seemed almost topierce the sky.

  "I do not think it would be safe for us to cross this mountain," saidthe trapper. "Our homes, I do not think, are in that direction. We musthave been deceived in our course."

  "Yonder," said the chief, pointing down the valley, "are the huntinggrounds of the Arapahoes. Far away, over a broad prairie, four days'journey, the warriors of Whirlwind follow another chief to battle, andlisten to him in council, as they were wont to their lost chief, whosedeath song they have sung amidst the wail of the squaws. Yet Whirlwinddoes not grieve. He has found another squaw, fleeter than the antelope,more graceful than the fawn, whose voice is like the singing birds, andface fairer than imagery of the spirit land. Let my brother go to hishome, but Whirlwind's home is where the antelope is, he will live anddie with her."

  "Pshaw! chief. You will be as much the chief of your people when youreturn as ever. Probably they have supposed you dead and electedanother chief; still, according to your customs, if you return, theauthority would be by universal acclamation, given back into yourhands. As for that other little matter, why the child is too young totalk of it. Our first great object is to find our way out of thisscrape, and the rest will then come natural enough."

  "Whirlwind will hunt the deer and beaver here: this is his home; he isnot a child, but a warrior, and can wait for the antelope," said thechief in a tone of decision not to be mistaken.

  "I can tell you, chief," said Howe, "we will find our way out, andbring the whole family here. This place will exactly suit Jane'sfather, and then you know she would be so much more contented if theywere here?" he added.

  The chief regarded the speaker with an inquiring glance for a moment,then said: "Whirlwind is not to be played with. When the antelope saysshe will go with him, he will take her, if she is hemmed in witharrows."

  "Whirlwind, I will be plain with you," said Howe, "for I know you arenoble, generous, and brave. Jane is not my child, and is not mine todispose of; but as she has no other guardian here, I will protect heruntil once more restored to her family. You must wait until then, andif her family consent, and she desires it, I shall make no objections.Perhaps by that time your love fit will be over, and you will not wanther. There is Mahnewe, why don't you make love to her?"

  "The eagle mates not with the owl, nor the Arapahoe with the Snake,"retorted the savage angrily.

  "Oh! well, just as you like; yet I think she is rather pretty. Come,chief, you cannot help but see it, as well as I. Don't you think shewould make a wigwam look comfortable, and more homelike than Jane?"

  "I cannot tell; I never see the stars when the sun shines," returnedthe Indian.

  "It is a pity no one but an old bachelor heard that compliment it issuch a waste," laughed the trapper. "I see you are over ears in love,chief. I know precisely how you feel. I was once in love myself. It didnot last long though, for my flame gave my keepsakes to a good fornothing popinjay from down east; one for a string to bind round abroken knapsack, the other to carry home with him for a show. That wasenough for me. I just told her I was done with her."

  "You in love! that is capital! ha! ha!" rang out a voice behind thespeaker, who, turning round, stood face to face with Edward, who hadtaken it into his head to share in the sport, and, following theirtrack in the snow, had come up with them unperceived.

  "What sent you here? anything the matter at the camp?" they asked in abreath.

  "Nothing at all, that is why I came. I mistrusted you had some funtogether out here, and I came to share it. Come, uncle, give the wholehistory of your love making. The bare idea of your being in love isrich," and the merry boy laughed until the woods rang with the joyouspeals.

  "I shall do no such thing. Do you think because I am old and ugly now,that I have always been so. There has been a day, boy, when----"

  "You were once handsome, uncle, that is a fact, and they do say I lookjust as you used to. Come now, tell us about this affair."

  "Well," said the trapper, mollified by the flattery, "when I was aboutthree-and-twenty, I was just about as green as young, and took it intomy head to get married, having persuaded myself that I was in love, andthat, if I did not, I should not live long. Polly Crane was a nicegirl, she could hoe corn, thresh grain, break fractious colts, or shoota bear, just as well as I could myself. She was just the one for me,and we had got everything all fixed to be married, when a chap cametravelling up there, (making mischief I thought) dressed exactly like aminister, only I knew he was not, he used such profane language. Wellwhat does he do but begin making love to Polly, which made me veryangry."

  "'Never mind, Andy,' said Polly. 'You know I don't care for him oranybody else but you. I am only trying to see how bad he will feel whenwe are married.'

  "'Go ahead then,' I said, 'if that is your game,' and sure enough shedid go ahead, as I soon found out. When I was up round Lake Superior,the winter before, trapping with father, we got one night by mistake,into a grizzly bear's den, intending to spend the night. We soon foundout our mistake, when we saw some cubs, and got ourselves out of thescrape as soon as we got in; but, as the cubs were such pretty things,I thought what a nice keepsake one of them would make Polly. So I hidone under my jacket unbeknown to father, until the old bear camesnarling about us, after we had built a fire and laid down to sleep.'

  "'Wonder what's the matter with the beast,' said father, 'guess she hastracked us from her den.'

  "'Guess she misses her cub,' said I.

  "'By George, Andy, you have got us in a fine scrape. However, my lady,'said the old man to the bear, 'you can't have that cub now: we nevergive up to anybody;' and, with that, he fired a ball between her eyes.But instead of dying, she attacked us, and we had a desperate fight.She got the worst of it though, for we carried off both her skin andcub. You ought to have seen the cub, it was a beauty, and when I gaveit to Polly, she pretended that she thought it the nicest keepsake sheever saw. The other was, the skin of a snake. It was nearly six feetlong, and very wide, spotted all over its back with white, brown, andblack spots, and its sides were striped with brown, so that, when Isplit it open in the middle, it looked like a ribbon. I made it assoft, smooth and pretty as anything you ever saw.

  "I did really think Polly was trying to deceive him, until he was goingaway, when I saw that pretty snake skin tied around his plunder, and asif that was not enough with a string in hand, he was leading away thecub of the grizzly bear that I had brought all the way from Superiorfor her."

  "My brother's squaw's tongue was forked--the antelope's tongue is notforked, she cannot lie," said the chief.

  "Look here, chief; they are all alike. When they say they will haveyou, they mean they will if they don't get out of the notion of it."

  "My brother's heart is dark, and, looking through it, he sees nothingbut gloom, where I see sunshine," returned the chief.

  "That is, I am to understand, you are in love, and uncle thinks it isan exploded fallacy," said Edward, laughing; for, in truth, he was in amerry mood, and his uncle's mishaps did not have a tendency to lessenit in the least.

  "It is nonsense, all nonsense," said the trapper.

  "Hist!" said the chief, laying his finger on his lip, "there is largegame approaching!--there! I hear it again: have your arrows inreadiness," he continued, after a moment's pause.

  "Deer, perhaps," said the trapper, "it comes in leaps; I hear itdistinctly."

  "Yes, deer," said the chief, drawing his bow to his shoulder as a noblebuck bounded in sight, with his tongue protruding from his mouth, andhis eyes had a wild look of agony and terror, such as is only seen at amoment of despair.

&nb
sp; "Chased by a wolf! let the deer pass and shoot the pursuer," said thetrapper; but, scarcely were the words spoken, when a giant form coveredwith hair, but bearing in form a semblance to humanity, came boundingafter, clearing from ten to twelve feet at every bound. On he came,and, at the base of the knoll on which they stood, overtook his prey,and grasping it by the throat, with one hand dealt it a succession offurious blows on the head which knocked it down, when choking it untillife was extinct, he stood upright contemplating his prey.

  They had instinctively dropped their arrows when they saw the pursuer;and Whirlwind motioning the others to keep still, glided on towards thesingular creature, slipping from tree to tree until within a few rodsof him, when, taking from beneath his tunic his lasso, which he alwayscarried with him, he cut a circle with it in the air, then giving it athrow, it quickly descended, girdling the strange being in its fold.With an unearthly yell, he attempted to free himself from its coil.Unfortunately it did not confine either arm, as the chief hoped itwould, and the creature finding it could neither break the stout hidenor gnaw it off, sprang with ferocity at his captor, who had justsucceeded in fastening the other end of the lasso to a tree, and beforehe had time to get out of the way, seized and threw him on the snowwith terrific force.

  Howe saw the chief at the mercy of the monster, and in a moment anarrow winged its flight, burying itself in its shoulder, causing themonster to lose his hold. Another and another were shot in quicksuccession, striking where they would not give a mortal wound, for itlooked so human, the trapper would not kill him if he could save thelife of the chief otherwise. This new attack puzzled the monster for amoment; then seeing Howe and Edward, who had approached within a fewyards of him, he rushed with such force upon them, that they had notime to get out of reach, and they were also caught by him and hurledto the ground, but not before a blow dealt by Edward with a club hadbroken his left arm. At that moment the chief, who had recovered fromthe stunning effect of the fall, rushed upon the monster, and with asingle blow of his tomahawk, felled him to the ground, and before hecould rally, the lasso that was still on him, was tied around his armsand feet to render him powerless. In defiance of the wounds he hadreceived, he was in nowise tamed, but glared on them, howling andgnashing his teeth, while the foam rolled from his mouth, and hewrithed and rolled with rage on the snow a captive. The stout lasso ofhide they had cut in pieces, and so tied his hands and feet that he waspowerless to do them harm.

  They now had a chance to examine the powerful creature at leisure. Hewas entirely naked, with a perfect human form and face, but wasperfectly covered with hair, except the forehead, eyelids, palms of thehands, and soles of the feet. They were surprised to see that the skin,where it was protected from the sun by the hair, was white and fair astheir own. He was powerfully built, full six feet high, and uttered nosound that approached the pronunciation of words; a succession ofsnarls, growls, and yells, were all the sounds he uttered, and theseapproached, when accompanied by his efforts to release himself, theterrific, nearer than anything they had ever heard.

  "Well, uncle, what will you do with him now you have got him?" saidEdward.

  "Kill him," spoke up the chief, indignantly.

  "Take him home and tame him," said the trapper. "He is a human beinglike ourselves; probably has been lost in infancy, and grown up wild,without doubt, never having seen his kind before to-day."

  "He will kill us if you take him home," said the chief; "better shoothim."

  "No, chief, I could not kill him, but will see he does us no harm. Iwill make him as tame as a kitten in a month."

  "How will you get him home, uncle? We can not carry him, and if youuntie his feet he will run away."

  "That is what I was just thinking about. I think one of us had betterreturn for the colt, and make him ride."

  "Very good, if you can get him on and make him stay there," said thechief.

  "Make him go himself: tie him so he cannot run away," suggested Edward.

  "I am not sure but that would be the best plan," said Howe. "I am sorryhe got that blow on his arm; I am sure it pains him; see how heattempts to raise it, and groans at every motion he makes."

  "Do you really think, uncle, he is human? It strikes me he is a monkey,or an orang-outang, rather than human."

  "There is neither monkey nor orang-outang in the North Americanforests. One such snow as now lies on the ground, would kill a myriadof them. I am quite confident of the customer I have to deal with. Heis no more nor less than a wild man, whose long exposure to theelements, and total isolation from every human being, has caused thehair to grow over his body. This also explains why he cannot speak likeus."

  They then endeavored to get him forward, having partly untied his feetso as to allow him to move. The chief, with a stout cord, went forwardand endeavored to urge him on, but the wild man refused to move. Afterexhausting every plan they could devise, they bethought themselves ofcoercion. Howe accordingly raised a club as if he would strike, when,with a wild cry of alarm, he raised his eyes imploringly, at the sametime starting forward, when the chief moving on, gave him to understandhe was to follow.

  On perceiving what was required of him, and finding it was useless toattempt an escape, he made no further opposition to follow, although itwas not safe to be near him as he gnashed with his teeth at every onethat approached him.

  Reaching the temple without further trouble, Edward called theattention of Jane to the new addition to their family, and said withperfect gravity--

  "I really think you have one of the most devoted wooers; see what arare prize he has risked life and limb in securing for you, which hebegs you will have the kindness to accept from him in token of the lovehe bears you."

  "Why, what a monster it is," said Sidney, walking round and round it."It is a comical keepsake to give a girl, I must say. Really, chief,you Indians have curious tastes about such matters."

  "My brother gave his squaw a cub," retorted the chief, angrily, as theyall burst into a laugh at the very idea of the monster being presentedto Jane, who was casting furtive glances from it to the chief, and wasjust beginning to think that she might next be called on to accept awolf or panther, and was casting in her mind the chances she had inescaping such an infliction, when the chief said, as if divining herthoughts.

  "It is not for the antelope. See, Whirlwind kill it," and he raised histomahawk, and would have driven it into the wild man's skull had nothis arm been caught by the trapper.

  "Chief! would you be a murderer?" asked the trapper, sternly. "See himcrouch! he fears you, and depend upon it, if we use our power over himdiscreetly, we shall tame him."

  The chief dropped his arm and doggedly walked away. Jane brought somenuts and placing them where he could reach them, begged her uncle tounbind the cord around his hand so that he could eat them. This he didnot think prudent to do until the broken bone was set, which, after agreat deal of trouble, he succeeded in doing, effectually binding upthe fracture with soft strips of the mountain sheep skin, of which theyhad an abundance in their store room.

  After this was done he was dressed in a tunic and small clothes, thelong hair was cut from his face as well as they could with theirhunting-knives, to which they had given an extra sharpening for theoccasion. Tightening the cord around his feet they unbound the cordthat confined his hands, when he seized the nuts, cracked them with histeeth and devoured them with avidity.

  "Broil him some steaks, Jane," said the trapper, "I think he ishungry."

  "There is a cold haunch of venison in the store room; perhaps he willeat that," said Jane.

  "Of course he will; bring it in." Cutting off some thick slices shelaid them before him; eyeing them intently for a moment as if notknowing what they were, he cautiously turned them over and then turnedhis eye with an inquiring look towards Jane, who smiling, cut offanother slice and commenced eating it. Seeing the action he cautiouslyraised his slice to his lips; but as soon as he had tasted it all doubtseemed to vanish, for the venison disappeared rapidly.
Jane continuedto cut as long as he continued to eat, and when he had done gave him agourd of water to drink.

  "I am afraid we have fed him too highly for his broken arm. There willbe danger of fever," said the trapper. They miscalculated his nature,and supposed causes produced the same effects in a healthful and anenervated constitution. This knowledge gradually dawned on them as dayafter day went by without exhibiting the least derangement in hissystem. From the first, he had been docile and obedient to Jane, andwhen in the most violent paroxysms, if she spoke to him, his angervanished and his countenance assumed a pleasing expression. He had eyesof clear, deep blue, large, quick and varying as the emotion in hisheart. They could see the passion that held sway over him by his eye;for he had not, like his brothers, learned to dissemble and hide theworkings of the soul within. Howe had also become a great favorite withhim; but he feared the chief, always cowering and uttering a shrill cryof fear if he came near him. Edward was also a favorite and spent muchof his time in learning him to pronounce words in which he was quitesuccessful, his powers of imitation seeming to be boundless. After hehad pronounced the first the difficulty seemed to vanish, and he wasnever tired of repeating words after others. The greatest trouble theyexperienced with him was during his fits of passion. Then he wasfurious, tore his fur garments in shreds, and threw down every thing inhis reach. They had not dared to liberate him on account of theseparoxysms of anger, over which he did not seem to have the leastcontrol. He evidently pined to be free again; for if left to himself heuttered a low moan, while tears chased each other down hisweather-beaten cheeks.