American Family Robinson

  Chapter Twentieth.

  The cold increases. The men take large quantities of fur. Abundantsupplies of game. Conversation on various matters. Jones and Cole tellsome of their adventures in the gold regions. A boulder of gold.Shooting it from a precipice. Jones loaded down with riches.Comfortable condition of the children. Howe describes an adventure heexperienced near Lake Superior by falling into an Indian's deer-pit.Whirlwind relates a circumstance that occurred to himself and Shognawin reference to their escape from the Crows. The party's resignation totheir lot.

  As the severity of the winter increased, they took daily huntingexcursions, in order to procure the necessary furs and skins to helpward off the cold, always preserving their game, which was broughthome, dried and smoked by the fire, to preserve it against an hour ofneed. They soon had their hut lined throughout with skins, the edgesjoined with sinews or slender strips of hide, which kept the wind fromfinding its way to them through the openings. They also covered theground with skins, reserving the fur of the foxes and beaver which theysnared, as well as the lighter skins, to make themselves new and warmclothing. Their food was almost entirely animal, as they rarelysucceeded in getting anything of a vegetable character. Theyoccasionally found a "nut-pine" tree, from which they gathered itsfruits, but they disliked the taste of them, and gathered them more forthe light they gave when on fire, than for eating. Though they were notas comfortably housed, or as well provided with the necessaries oflife, as the winter previously; yet they did not suffer so as toendanger health, by either hunger or cold, and their greatestdiscomfort arose from the want of vegetable food and salt. For the lastarticle they had searched in vain, and had come to the conclusion thatthere were no saline beds within many miles of them. Jones and Colenever grew tired of listening to their account of the hidden wealththey had discovered, and they would spend days speculating on the bestplan of opening a communication with the districts containing thegolden prize.

  "I would have kept the urn," said Cole, "if a whole legion of Indianshad been at my back."

  "Perhaps not," said Jones. "I myself have seen the time when gold was aburthen."

  "The time you shot the boulder!" remarked Cole, laughing.

  "Laugh as you will," said Jones; "that was a lucky shot if it was analmost fatal one."

  "What is it?" they all asked, seeing there was more than Jones feltdisposed to tell.

  "Why," said Jones, "when among the gold mines on the other side of themountain we were not satisfied with the flakes of gold in the sand, andsupposed, of course, that there was a solid bed of it somewhere up theriver, from which it was washed down by the constant action of thewaters. As we proceeded along the river the ground became more ruggeduntil it led us into a cluster of hills and precipices jumbled uptogether. Entering a narrow ravine we soon came to a curious lookingplace with smooth sides standing perpendicularly, about twenty feetapart, which was gradually contracted to within two feet, leaving theend narrow and jagged. We soon saw there was ore in it, and onexamining closely we discovered places where large blocks of theprecious metal had been torn from its bed, with the marks of the miningtools still plainly visible. Looking around us we picked up among theloose pieces on the ground some lumps of pure gold, which were amongthe specimens we carried home."

  "Yes, yes; that is all very well, and very true," said Cole, "but it isnot all; tell the rest."

  "They will not believe it if I do. They never did in the States, sowhat is the use of it?" said Jones.

  "We have seen such wonderful things ourselves that we are prepared foranything," said the trapper.

  "He may if he chooses," said Jones, pointing to Cole. "I shall not, itis of no use."

  "The narrow place," said Cole, "where we found the gold was about fiftyfeet high, and nearly half way up to the top we discovered a hugeboulder of pure gold, as large as a bushel basket, hanging by a slimthread of gold no larger than your finger. This thread was fully fourinches long, and seemed to have been cut that way by some one who hadbeen supported while doing so from above, for the boulder was in thatposition that if worked at from below it would crush the artisan in itsfall. We were equally resolved to get hold of this mammoth prize, butthe question how we could get it was not so easily solved, as it restedagainst the opposite side and would evidently turn and fall if thisnarrow thread was broken.

  "'I have it!' said Jones, exulting at the happy thought. 'I'll shoot itoff,' for we both had rifles.

  "'And be crushed with its weight,' said I; but the words had not diedon my lips when the sharp crack of the rifle was heard, and down camethe prize. Both turned to fly from the danger, but Jones's foot caughtin some loose stones and he was prostrated, and the boulder rolling asit fell deposited itself exactly across him. I removed theuncomfortable load as soon as possible, but Jones's stomach has beenout of order ever since, especially when he sees solid bodiesoverhead."

  "What became of the lump of gold?" asked the trapper.

  "We hid it in the earth; but should have been to it again before thistime had we not been overhauled by the Indians."

  "A fortunate escape," said Howe, "equal to one I made many years ago,ere I learned to distrust the ground I walked over before testing itssecurity. Being on one of our trapping expeditions, father and myselffound ourselves on the territory of the St. Croix Indians, who evincedgreat friendship for us, insisting we should take up our abode in theirvillage as long as we thought fit to remain in their territory. We soonbecame domesticated among them, and spent our nights there although ourdays were spent in the most secret recesses of the forest in settingour traps, curing skins, and in observing the habits of the wilddenizens of the forest. One day father and myself separated, he to lookafter our traps set in one direction, I in another; and as I neared theplace of destination, while walking over ground smooth and level as youever saw the ground in the forest, suddenly it gave way, precipitatingme into a hole full ten feet deep with smooth, perpendicular sides thatdefied all attempts to climb them. I had fallen into an Indian's deertrap, dug and covered over so as to deceive them; but which wouldreadily give way precipitating the game into the snare, the escape fromwhich was impossible. I laughed at my stupidity at first, as I knewwithin an hour, father would be along when with his assistance I couldbe easily extricated. I soon had enough to do without laughing, for inhalf an hour after, I heard a step above, but before I had time tospeculate on it, the nose of a half grown cub was thrust over the top,and in the next moment its ugly carcase came tumbling down and fellwith a crash at my feet, uttering a cry of pain as it fell, which wasanswered by a growl from above, and in a minute more its dam stood onthe brink growling fiercely at me, as she saw her cub lay helpless andmoaning on the ground. With a spring she lighted on her feet within sixfeet of where I stood, for I had retreated into the farthest corner,not at all relishing a fight in such close quarters, for the hole wasonly about eight feet square--and not a very agreeable place to becornered in with an enraged bear. Fortunately I had clung to my rifle,in falling, and had also my hunting knife in my belt, so I concluded ifshe was in for a struggle, not to back out of it. I saw at once the cubhad been killed in the fall, for the old bear smelt round and moanedsoftly to it, and then finding it did not stir, turned it over and overwith her paw. Finding it still exhibited no signs of life, she turnedtowards me with gnashing teeth and flashing eyes, and then, I must say,I really felt cornered. You know I told you," he added apologetically,"that I was young then; in fact not more than twenty. Well, the beastraised herself for a spring at me, when I gave her a pair of bullets,that made her howl; but she sprang and grasping me in her huge arms,fastened my arms to my side so that my knife was useless in my belt,and I was making up my mind that all was over with me, when fatherhalloed above, he having been drawn thither, by my calls for help,followed by a leap into the hole, and a half dozen thrusts of his knifeinto the monster's heart, relieved me from the closest embrace I hopeever to encounter."

  "I should suppose you could have seen some signs to indicate the
trap,"said Edward.

  "The Indians take good care that there are none; covering slender polesover with a thick layer of leaves that hides effectually the abyssbeneath."

  "My brother was in danger," said the chief, laughing at his mishaps,"but it was not equal to one of my warriors who, with me, went out onceto recover some horses the thieving Crows had driven away. We found thehorses, and starting for home had proceeded about a mile, when wediscovered a whole army of the Crows start in pursuit. Our only hope ofsafety for ourselves lay in flight, and abandoning our horses for whichwe had risked our lives, we went scouring through the forest at afurious rate. The animals we rode were jaded, and those of our pursuersfresh, and we soon saw they gained upon us, and abandoning our horsesbehind a sharp curve that hid us from sight, we made them gallop away,and then betook ourselves to trees for safety. In ten minutes after theCrows galloped past us, leaving us safely secreted in the friendlybranches in which we had taken shelter. Shognaw had climbed a largebeech tree that stood within a few feet of the one in which I had takenshelter. I once or twice thought I heard a growl like that uttered bycubs, but the excitement I felt for our safety, dispelled it the nextmoment. As soon as we were left alone, and the sounds of the pursuersdied away in the distance, I felt some alarm, for I knew if there werecubs about, the old bear would dislodge us, and, in all probability,our retreat would be discovered by some straggling Crows. At thatmoment, Shognaw, calling my attention in a low tone, said, 'I have gotinto a bear's hole, full of young cubs, what shall I do? for the oldone will not be away long, as she, on finding a commotion raised by theCrows will, for her own safety, take refuge in her den.'

  "'We cannot fight her, that is certain,' said I, 'for we should then bediscovered; but, if we watch our chance, we may get away from thisspot, and find safety in some other, but we must be very cautious thatno Crows are in sight first.'

  "'I think there are none now,' he replied, not at all relishing theidea of trespassing on the domicil of madam Bruin.

  "'Hist! there they are,' said I, as we saw a number of them comeyelling towards us, and on looking again, I discovered them in pursuitof something which, in a few minutes, bounded from a clump of bushesand made for the tree in which Shognaw had hid, and then to our dismay,we saw it was the old bear pursued by the Crows. He too saw her coming,and ascended to the topmost branches high above the hole, and well hedid, for in a moment more, she had crawled in just as the hunters cameto the foot of the tree. They were foiled of their game, and afterconsulting for a moment whether it was best to cut or burn down thetree, they concluded to burn it, as the less laborious way to dislodgethe old bear. Accordingly, they dispersed in search of fire, leavinghalf their number to guard the tree while away. I saw at once that wewere caught in a trap, and that nothing but coolness and strategy couldsave us. The tree in which I was, being a little out from the one theywere watching, favored my escape, which I effected by noiselesslydescending, and edging away by darting from tree to tree, until I hadattained a safe position that overlooked the spot where I fearedShognaw would meet his doom. The fire was soon kindled, and being fedwith dry brush, soon wound and crackled up the trunk, and began toscorch and consume the branches and leaves of the tree. I began tothink I ought to face the whole band single handed, in an attempt torescue the poor fellow, when I saw him swing himself down from limb tolimb, and drop to the ground in the midst of the astonished Crows, andtake to flight. For a moment they were too surprised to comprehend thatit was really a man, and a foe; but they soon recovered from the panic,and sounding their war cry, the whole band gave chase. Shognaw took toa river half a mile distant, and plunging in, rose among some rushesthat skirted the bank, among which he hid himself till dark, when hemade his way in safety home, which he reached before I did, for I waslooking out for him the whole night, and returned when I made up mymind that he had at last fallen into the hands of the Crows."