THE

TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES

OF

MONSIEUR VIOLET

IN

_California, Sonora, and Western Texas_

BY

CAPTAIN MARRYAT

AUTHOR OF "KING'S OWN, " "PACHA OF MANY TALES, " "VALERIE, " "SETTLERSIN CANADA, " "MASTERMAN READY, " "POOR JACK, " ETC. , ETC. 

_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_

GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS

LONDON: BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILLNEW YORK: 9 LAFAYETTE PLACE

[Illustration: "Spying through an opera-glass at the majestic animalswhich he could not approach. "]

TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES

OF

MONSIEUR VIOLET

CHAPTER I. 

The Revolution of 1830, which deprived Charles the Tenth of the throneof France, like all other great and sudden changes, proved the ruin ofmany individuals, more especially of many ancient families who wereattached to the Court, and who would not desert the exiled monarch inhis adversity. Among the few who were permitted to share his fortuneswas my father, a noble gentleman of Burgundy, who at a former period andduring a former exile, had proved his unchangeable faith and attachmentto the legitimate owners of the crown of France. 

The ancient royal residence of Holyrood having been offered, as aretreat, to his unhappy master, my father bade an eternal adieu to hiscountry; and with me, his only son, then but nine years of age, followedin the suite of the monarch, and established himself in Edinburgh. 

Our residence in Scotland was not long. Charles the Tenth decided upontaking up his abode at Prague. My father went before him to make thenecessary arrangements; and as soon as his master was established there, he sought by travel to forget his griefs. Young as I was, I was hiscompanion. Italy, Sicily, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and the Holy Land wereall visited in the course of three years, after which time we returnedto Italy; and being then twelve years old, I was placed for my educationin the Propaganda at Rome. 

For an exile who is ardently attached to his country there is no repose. Forbidden to return to his beloved France, there was no retreat whichcould make my father forget his griefs, and he continued as restless andas unhappy as ever. 

Shortly after that I had been placed in the Propaganda, my father fellin with an old friend, a friend of his youth, whom he had not met withfor years, once as gay and as happy as he had been, now equallysuffering and equally restless. This friend was the Italian PrinceSeravalle, who also had drank deep of the cup of bitterness. In hisyouth, feeling deeply the decadence, both moral and physical, of hiscountry, he had attempted to strike a blow to restore it to its formersplendour; he headed a conspiracy, expended a large portion of hiswealth in pursuit of his object, was betrayed by his associates, and formany years was imprisoned by the authorities in the Castle ofSan Angelo. 

How long his confinement lasted I know not, but it must have been a longwhile, as in after-times, when he would occasionally revert to hisformer life, all incidents he related were for years "when he was in hisdungeon, or in the courtyard prison of the Capitol, " where many of hisancestors had dictated laws to nations. 

At last the Prince was restored to freedom, but captivity had made noalteration in his feelings or sentiments. His love for his country, andhis desire for its regeneration, were as strong as ever, and he verysoon placed himself at the head of the Carbonari, a sect which, yearsafterwards, was rendered illustrious by the constancy and sufferings ofa Maroncelli, a Silvio Pellico, and many others. 

The Prince was again detected and arrested, but he was not thrown intoprison. The government had been much weakened and the well-knownopinions and liberality of the Prince had rendered him so popular withthe Trasteverini, or northern inhabitants of the Tiber, that policyforbade either his captivity or destruction. He was sentenced to bebanished for (I think) ten years. 

During his long banishment, the Prince Seravalle wandered over variousportions of the globe, and at last found himself in Mexico. After aresidence at Vera Cruz, he travelled into the interior, to examine theremains of the ancient cities of the Western World; and impelled by histhirst for knowledge and love of adventure, he at last arrived on thewestern coast of America, and passing through California, fell in withthe Shoshones, or Snake Indians, occupying a large territory extendingfrom the Pacific to nearly the feet of the Rocky Mountains. Pleasedwith the manners and customs and native nobility of this tribe ofIndians, the Prince remained with them for a considerable time, andeventually decided that he would return once more to his country, nowthat his term of banishment had expired; not to resettle in anungrateful land, but to collect his property and return to theShoshones, to employ it for their benefit and advancement. 

There was, perhaps, another feeling, even more powerful, which inducedthe Prince Seravalle to return to the Indians with whom he had lived solong. I refer to the charms and attraction which a wild life offers tothe man of civilization, more particularly when he has discovered howhollow and heartless we become under refinement. 

Not one Indian who has been brought up at school, and among thepleasures and luxuries of a great city, has ever wished to make hisdwelling among the pale faces; while, on the contrary, many thousands ofwhite men, from the highest to the lowest stations in civilization, haveembraced the life of the savage, remaining with and dying among them, although they might have accumulated wealth, and returned to theirown country. 

This appears strange, but it is nevertheless true. Any intelligenttraveller, who has remained a few weeks in the wigwams of well-disposedIndians, will acknowledge that the feeling was strong upon him evenduring so short a residence. What must it then be on those who haveresided with the Indians for years?

It was shortly after the Prince's return to Italy to fulfil hisbenevolent intentions, that my father renewed his old friendship-afriendship of early years, so strong that their adverse politics couldnot weaken it. The Prince was then at Leghorn; he had purchased avessel, loaded it with implements of agriculture and various branches ofthe domestic arts; he had procured some old pieces of artillery, a largequantity of carabines from Liége, gunpowder, &c. ; materials for buildinga good house, and a few articles of ornament and luxury. His largeestates were all sold to meet these extraordinary expenses. He had alsoengaged masons, smiths, and carpenters, and he was to be accompanied bysome of his former tenants, who well understood the cultivation of theolive-tree and vine. 

It was in the autumn of 1833 when he was nearly ready to start, that hefell in with my father, told him his adventures and his future plans, and asked him to accompany him. My father, who was tired and disgustedwith everything, _blasé au fond_, met the Prince more than half-way. 

Our property in France had all been disposed of at a great sacrifice atthe time of the Revolution. All my father possessed was in money andjewels. He resolved to risk all, and to settle with the Prince in thisfar-distant land. Several additions were consequently made to the cargoand to the members composing the expedition. 

Two priests had already engaged to act as missionaries. Anxious for myeducation, my father provided an extensive library, and paid a large sumto the Prior of a Dominican convent to permit the departure with us ofanother worthy man, who was well able to superintend my education. Twoof the three religious men who had thus formed our expedition had beengreat travellers, and had already carried the standard of the cross eastof the Ganges in the Thibetian and Burman empires. 

In order to avoid any difficulties from the government, the PrinceSeravalle had taken the precaution to clear the vessel out forGuatemala, and the people at Leghorn fully believed that such was hisobject. But Guatemala and Acapulco were left a long way south of usbefore we arrived at our destination. 

At last everything was prepared. I was sent for from the Propaganda--thestock of wines, &c. , were the last articles which were shipped, and the_Esmeralda_ started on her tedious; and by no means certain voyage. 

CHAPTER II. 

I was very young then--- not thirteen years old; but if I was young, Ihad travelled much, and had gained that knowledge which is to beobtained by the eye--perhaps the best education we can have in ourearlier years. I shall pass over the monotony of the voyage of eternalsky and water. I have no recollection that we were in any imminentdanger at any time, and the voyage might have been styled aprosperous one. 

After five months we arrived off the coast, and with some difficulty wegained the entrance of a river falling into Trinity Bay, in lat. 41°north and long. 124° 28' west. 

We anchored about four miles above the entrance, which was on the coastabreast of the Shoshones' territory, and resorted to by them on theirannual fishing excursions. In memory of the event, the river was namedby the Indians--"Nu elejé sha wako;" or, the Guide of the Strangers. 

For many weeks it was a strange and busy scene. The Prince Seravallehad, during his former residence with the Shoshones, been admitted intotheir tribe as a warrior and a chief, and now the Indians flocked fromthe interior to welcome their pale-faced chief, who had not forgottenhis red children. They helped our party to unload the vessel, providedus with game of all kinds, and under the directions of the carpenter, they soon built a large warehouse to protect our goods and implementsfrom the effect of the weather. 

As soon as our cargo was housed, the Prince and my father, accompaniedby the chiefs and elders of the tribe, set off on an exploring party, toselect a spot fit for the settlement. During their absence, I wasentrusted to the care of one of the chief's squaws, and had threebeautiful children for my play-mates. In three weeks the party returned;they had selected a spot upon the western banks of the Buona VenturaRiver, at the foot of a high circular mountain, where rocks covered withindurated lava and calcined sulphur, proved the existence of formervolcanic eruptions. The river was lined with lofty timber; immensequarries of limestone were close at hand, and the minor streams gave usclay which produced bricks of an excellent quality. 

The Spaniards had before visited this spot, and had given the mountainthe name of St. Salvador; but our settlement took the Indian appellationof the Prince, which was--"Nanawa ashta jueri ê;" or, the Dwelling ofthe Great Warrior. As the place of our landing was a great resort of theIndians during the fishing season, it was also resolved that a squarefort and store, with a boat-house, should be erected there; and for sixor seven months all was bustle and activity, when an accident occurredwhich threw a damp upon our exertions. 

Although the whole country abounds in cattle, and some other tribes, ofwhich I shall hereafter make mention, do possess them in large herds, the Shoshones did not possess any. Indeed, so abundant was the game inthis extensive territory, that they could well dispense with them; butas the Prince's ambition was to introduce agriculture and more domestichabits among the tribe, he considered it right that they should beintroduced. He therefore despatched the _Esmeralda_ to obtain themeither at Monterey or Santa Barbara. But the vessel was never more heardof; the Mexicans stated that they had perceived the wreck of a vesseloff Cape Mendocino, and it was but natural to suppose that these werethe remains of our unfortunate brig. 

All hands on board perished, and the loss was very heavy to us. The crewconsisted of the captain, his son, and twelve men; and there were alsoon board five of our household, who had been despatched upon variouscommissions, Giuseppe Polidori, the youngest of our missionaries, one ofour gunsmiths, one of our masons, and two Italian farmers. Melancholy aswas this loss, it did not abate the exertions of those who were left. Fields were immediately cleared--gardens prepared; and by degrees thememory of this sad beginning faded away before the prospect of futurehappiness and comfort. 

As soon as we were completely established, my education commenced. Itwas novel, yet still had much affinity to the plan pursued with thestudents of the Military Colleges in France, inasmuch as all myplay-hours were employed in the hardier exercises. To the two excellentmissionaries I owe much, and with them I passed many happy hours. 

We had brought a very extensive and very well selected library with us, and under their care I soon became acquainted with the arts and sciencesof civilization; I studied history generally, and they also taught meLatin and Greek, and I was soon master of many of the modern languages. And as my studies were particularly devoted to the history of theancient people of Asia, to enable me to understand their theories andfollow up their favourite researches upon the origin of the great ruinsin Western and Central America, the slight knowledge which I had gainedat the Propaganda of Arabic and Sanscrit was now daily increased. 

Such were my studies with the good fathers; the other portion of myeducation was wholly Indian. I was put under the charge of a celebratedold warrior of the tribe, and from him I learned the use of the bow, thetomahawk, and the rifle; to throw the lasso, to manage the wildesthorse, to break in the untamed colt; and occasionally I was permittedto accompany them in their hunting and fishing excursions. 

Thus for more than three years did I continue to acquire knowledge ofvarious kinds, while the colony gradually extended its fields, and thereappeared to be every chance of gradually reclaiming the wild Shoshonesto a more civilized state of existence. 

But "l'homme propose et Dieu dispose. " Another heavy blow fell upon thePrince, which eventually proved the ruin of all his hopes. After theloss of the vessel, we had but eight white men in the colony, besidesthe missionaries and ourselves; and the Prince, retaining only myfather's old servant, determined upon sending the remainder to purchasethe cattle which we had been so anxious to obtain. 

They departed on this mission, but never returned. In all probability, they were murdered by the Apaches Indians; although it is not impossiblethat, tired of our simple and monotonous life, they deserted us toestablish themselves in the distant cities of Mexico. 

This second catastrophy weighed heavy upon the mind of the good oldPrince. All his hopes were dashed to the ground--the illusions of thelatter part of his life were destroyed for ever. His proudestexpectations had been to redeem his savage friends from their wild life, and this could only be effected by commerce and agriculture. 

The farms round the settlement had for now nearly four years been tilledby the squaws and young Indians, under the direction of the white men;and although the occupation was by no means congenial to their nature, the Prince had every anticipation that with time and example, theShoshones would perceive the advantages, and be induced to till the landfor themselves. 

Before our arrival, the winter was always a season of great privation tothat portion of the Indians who could not repair to the hunting grounds;while now, Indian corn, potatoes, and other vegetables were in plenty, at least for those who dwelt near to the settlement. But now that we hadlost all our white cultivators and mechanics, we soon found that theIndians avoided the labour. 

All our endeavours proved useless: the advantages had not yet beensufficiently manifest: the transition attempted had been too short; andthe good, although proud and lazy, Shoshones abandoned the tillage, andrelapsed into their former apathy and indifference. 

Mortified at this change, the Prince and my father resolved to make anappeal to the whole nation, and try to convince them how much happierthey would be if they would cultivate the ground for their support. Agreat feast was given, the calumet was smoked; after which the Princerose and addressed them after their own fashion. As I had, a short timeprevious, been admitted as a chief and warrior, I, of course, waspresent at the meeting. The Prince spoke:--

"Do you not want to become the most powerful nation of the West? You do. If then such is the case, you must ask assistance from the earth, whichis your mother. True, you have prairies abounding in game, but thesquaws and the children cannot follow your path when hunting. 

"Are not the Crows, the Bannaxas, the Flat Heads, and the Umbiquas, starving during the winter? They have no buffalo in their land, and butfew deer. What have they to eat? A few lean horses, perchance a bear;and the stinking flesh of the otter or beaver they may entrap duringthe season. 

"Would they not be too happy to exchange their furs against the corn, the tobacco, and good dried fish of the Shoshones? Now they sell theirfurs to the Yankees, but the Yankees bring them no food. The Flat Headstake the fire-water and blankets from the traders, but they do sobecause they cannot get anything else, and their packs of furs wouldspoil if they kept them. 

"Would they not like better to barter them with you, who are so near tothem, for good food to sustain them and their children during thewinter--- to keep alive their squaws and their old men during the longsnow and the dreary moons of darkness and gloom?

"Now if the Shoshones had corn and tobacco to give for furs, they wouldbecome rich. They would have the best saddles from Mexico, and the bestrifles from the Yankees, the best tomahawks and blankets from theCanadians. Who then could resist the Shoshones? When they would gohunting, hundreds of the other natives would clear for them the forestpath, or tear with their hands the grass out of their track in theprairie. I have spoken. "

All the Indians acknowledged that the talk was good and full of wisdom:but they were too proud to work. An old chief answered for thewhole tribe. 

"Nanawa Ashta is a great chief: he is a brave! The Manitou speaks softlyto his ears, and tells him the secret which makes the heart of a warriorbig or small; but Nanawa has a pale face--his blood is a strange blood, although his heart is ever with his red friends. It is only the whiteManitou that speaks to him, and how could the white Manitou know thenature of the Indians? He has not made them; he don't call them to him;he gives them nothing; he leaves them poor and wretched; he keeps allfor the pale faces. 

"It is right he should do so. The panther will not feed the young of thedeer, nor will the hawk sit upon the eggs of the dove. It is life, it isorder, it is nature. Each has his own to provide for and no more. Indiancorn is good; tobacco is good, it gladdens the heart of the old men whenthey are in sorrow; tobacco is the present of chiefs to chiefs. Thecalumet speaks of war and death; it discourses also of peace andfriendship. The Manitou made the tobacco expressly for man--it is good. 

"But corn and tobacco must be taken from the earth; they must be watchedfor many moons, and nursed like children. This is work fit only forsquaws and slaves. The Shoshones are warriors and free; if they were todig in the ground, their sight would become weak, and their enemieswould say they were moles and badgers. 

"Does the just Nanawa wish the Shoshones to be despised by the Crows orthe horsemen of the south? No! he had fought for them before he went tosee if the bones of his fathers were safe; and since his return, has henot given to them rifles and powder, and long nets to catch the salmon, and plenty of iron to render their arrows feared alike by the buffaloesand the Umbiquas?

"Nanawa speaks well, for he loves his children: but the spirit thatwhispers to him is a pale-face spirit, that cannot see under the skin ofa red warrior; it is too tough: nor in his blood; it is too dark. 

"Yet tobacco is good, and corn too. The hunters of the Flat Heads andPierced Noses would come in winter to beg for it; their furs would makewarm the lodges of the Shoshones. And my people would become rich andpowerful; they would be masters of all the country, from the salt watersto the big mountains; the deer would come and lick their hands, and thewild horses would graze around their wigwams. 'Tis so that the palefaces grow rich and strong; they plant corn, tobacco, and sweet melons;they have trees that bear figs and peaches; they feed swine and goats, and tame buffaloes. They are a great people. 

"A red-skin warrior is nothing but a warrior; he is strong, but he ispoor; he is not a wood-chunk, nor a badger, nor a prairie dog; he cannotdig the ground; he is a warrior, and nothing more. I have spoken. "

Of course the tenor of this speech was too much in harmony with Indianideas not to be received with admiration. The old man took his seat, while another rose to speak in his turn. 

"The great chief hath spoken; his hair is white like the down of theswan; his winters have been many; he is wise; why should I speak afterhim, his words were true? The Manitou touched my ears and my eyes whenhe spoke (and he spoke like a warrior); I heard his war-cry, I saw theUmbiquas running in the swamps, and crawling like black snakes under thebushes. I spied thirty scalps on his belt, his leggings and mocassinswere sewn with the hair of the Wallah Wallahs[1]. 

[Footnote 1: Indians living on the Columbian river, two hundred milesabove Fort Vancouver, allied to the Nez Percés, and great supporters ofthe Americans. ]

"I should not speak; I am young yet and have no wisdom; my words arefew, I should not speak. But in my vision I heard a spirit, it came uponthe breeze, it entered within me. 

"Nanawa is my father, the father to all, he loves us, we are hischildren; he has brought with him a great warrior of the pale faces, whowas a mighty chief in his tribe; he has given us a young chief who is agreat hunter; in a few years he will be a great warrior, and lead ouryoung men in the war-path on the plains of the Wachinangoes[2], forOwato Wanisha[3] is a Shoshone, though his skin is paler than theflower of the magnolia. 

[Footnote 2: Name given to the half-breeds by the Spaniards, but byIndians comprehending the whole Mexican race. ]

[Footnote 3: The "spirit of the young beaver;" a name given to me when Iwas made a warrior. ]

"Nanawa has also given to us two Makota Konayas[4], to teach wisdom toour young men; their words are sweet, they speak to the heart; they knoweverything and make men better. Nanawa is a great chief, very wise; whathe says is right, what he wishes must be done, for he is our father, andhe gave us strength to fight our enemies. "

[Footnote 4: Two priests, literally two black gowns. ]

"He is right; the Shoshones must have their lodges full of corn andtobacco. The Shoshones must ever be what they are, what they were, agreat nation. But the chief of many winters hath said it; the hedge-hogsand the foxes may dig the earth, but the eyes of the Shoshones arealways turned towards their enemies in the woods, or the buffaloes inthe plains. "

"Yet the will of Nanawa must be done, but not by a Shoshone. We willgive him plenty of squaws and dogs; we will bring him slaves from theUmbiquas, the Cayuses, and the Wallah Wallahs. They shall grow the cornand the tobacco while we hunt; while we go to fetch more slaves, even inthe big mountains, or among the dogs of the south, the Wachinangoes. Iwill send the vermilion[5] to my young warriors, they will paint theirfaces and follow me on the war-path. I have spoken!"

[Footnote 5: When a chief wishes to go to war, he sends to his warriorssome leaves of tobacco covered with vermilion. It is a sign that theymust soon be prepared. ]

Thus ended the hopes of making agriculturists of the wild people amongwhom we lived; nor did I wonder; such as they were, they felt happy. What could they want besides their neat conical skin lodges, theirdresses, which were good, comfortable, and elegant, and their women, whowere virtuous, faithful, and pretty? Had they not the unlimited range ofthe prairies? were they not lords over millions of elks andbuffaloes?--they wanted nothing, except tobacco. And yet it was a pitywe could not succeed in giving them a taste for civilization. They weregentlemen by nature; as indeed almost all the Indians are, when notgiven to drinking. They are extremely well bred, and stamped with theindubitable seal of nobility on their brow. 

The council was broken up, as both Christianity and his own peculiarsentiments would not permit the Prince Seravalle to entertain thethought of extending slavery. He bowed meekly to the will of Providence, and endeavoured by other means to effect his object of enlightening theminds of this pure and noble, yet savage race of men. 

CHAPTER III. 

This breaking up, for the time, of our agricultural settlement tookplace in the year 1838. Till then, or a few months before, I had passedmy time between my civilized and uncivilized instructors. But althougheducated, I was an Indian, not only in my dress but in my heart. 

I mentioned that in the council called by the Prince I was present, having been admitted as a chief, being then about seventeen years old. My admission was procured in the following manner: when we receivedintelligence of the murder, or disappearance of our seven white men, whom the Prince had sent to Monterey to procure cattle, a party was sentout on their track to ascertain what had really taken place, and at myrequest the command of that party was confided to me. 

We passed the Buona Ventura, and followed the track of our white men forupwards of 200 miles, when we not only could trace it no further, butfound our small party of fifteen surrounded by about eighty of ourimplacable enemies, the Crows. 

By stratagem, we not only broke through them, but succeeded insurprising seven of their party. My companions would have put them todeath, but I would not permit it. We secured them on their own horses, and made all the haste we could, but the Crows had discovered us andgave chase. 

It was fifteen days' travelling to our own country, and we were pursuedby an enemy seven or eight times superior to us In numbers. By variousstratagems, which I shall not dwell upon, aided by the good condition ofour horses, we contrived to escape them, and to bring our prisoners safeinto the settlement. Now, although we had no fighting, yet address isconsidered a great qualification. On my return I was therefore admittedas a chief, with the Indian name Owato Wanisha, or "spirit of thebeaver, " as appropriate to my cunning and address. To obtain the rankof a warrior chief, it was absolutely requisite that I had distinguishedmyself on the field of battle. 

Before I continue my narration, I must say a little more relative to themissionaries, who were my instructors. One of them, the youngest, Polidori, was lost in the Esmeralda, when she sailed for Monterey toprocure cattle. The two others were Padre Marini and Padre Antonio. Theywere both highly accomplished and learned. Their knowledge in Asiaticlore was unbounded, and it was my delight to follow them in theirresearches and various theories concerning the early Indian emigrationacross the waters of the Pacific. 

They were both Italians by birth. They had passed many years of theirlives among the nations west of the Ganges, and in their advanced yearshad returned to sunny Italy, to die near the spot where they had playedas little children. But they had met with Prince Seravalle, and whenthey heard from him of the wild tribes with whom he had dwelt, and whoknew not God, they considered that it was their duty to go andinstruct them. 

Thus did these sincere men, old and broken, with one foot resting ontheir tombs, again encounter difficulties and danger, to propagate amongthe Indians that religion of love and mercy which they were appointed tomake known. 

Their efforts, however, to convert the Shoshones were fruitless. Indiannature would seem to be a nature apart and distinct. The red men, unlessin suffering or oppression, will not listen to what they call "thesmooth honey words of the pale-faced sages;" and even when they do so, they argue upon every dogma and point of faith, and remain unconvinced. The missionaries, therefore, after a time, contented themselves withpractising deeds of charity, with alleviating their sufferings whenable, from their knowledge of medicine and surgery, and by moralprecepts, softening down as much as they could the fierce andoccasionally cruel tempers of this wild untutored race. 

Among other advantages which the Shoshones derived from ourmissionaries, was the introduction of vaccination. At first it wasreceived with great distrust, and indeed violently opposed, but the goodsense of the Indians ultimately prevailed: and I do not believe thatthere is one of the Soshones born since the settlement was formed whohas not been vaccinated: the process was explained by the Padres Mariniand Polidori to the native medical men, and is now invariablypractised by them. 

I may as well here finish the histories of the good missionaries. When Iwas sent upon an expedition to Monterey, which I shall soon have todetail, Padre Marini acccompanied me. Having failed with the Shoshones, he considered that he might prove useful by locating himself in theSpanish settlements of California. We parted soon after we arrived atMonterey, and I have never seen or heard of him since. I shall, however, have to speak of him again during our journey and sojourn at that town. 

The other, Padre Antonio, died at the settlement previous to my journeyto Monterey, and the Indians still preserve his robes, missal, andcrucifix, as the relics of a good man. Poor Padre Antonio! I would havewished to have known the history of his former life. A deep melancholywas stamped upon his features, from some cause of heart-breaking grief, which even religion could but occasionally assuage, but not remove. 

After his death, I looked at his missal. The blank pages at thebeginning and the end were filled up with pious reflections, besidessome few words, which spoke volumes as to one period of his existence. The first words inscribed were; "Julia, obiit A. D. 1799. Virgopurissima, Maris Stella. Ora pro me. " On the following leaf was written:"Antonio de Campestrina, Convient. Dominicum. In Româ, A. D. 1800. "

Then he had embraced a monastic life upon the death of one dear tohim--perhaps his first and only love. Poor man! many a time have I seenthe big burning tears rolling fast down his withered cheeks. But he isgone, and his sorrows are at rest On the last page of the missal werealso two lines, written in a tremulous hand, probably a short timeprevious to his death: "I, nunc anima anceps; sitque tibi Deusmisericors. "

The Prince Seravalle did not, however, abandon his plans; having failedin persuading the Shoshones, at the suggestion of my father, it wasresolved that an attempt should be made to procure a few Mexicans andCanadians to carry on the agricultural labours; for I may here as wellobserve, that both the Prince and my father had long made up their mindsto live and die among the Indians. 

This expedition was to be undertaken by me. My trip was to be a longone. In case I should not succeed in Monterey in enlisting the partiesrequired, I was to proceed on to Santa Fé, either with a party ofApaches Indians, who were always at peace with the Shoshones, or elsewith one of the Mexican caravans. 

In Santa Fé there were always a great number of French and Canadians, who came every year from St. Louis, hired by the Fur Companies; so thatwe had some chance of procuring them. If, however, my endeavours shouldprove fruitless, as I should already have proceeded too far to returnalone, I was to continue on from Santa Fé with the fur traders, returning to St. Louis, on the Mississippi, where I was to dispose ofsome valuable jewels, hire men to form a strong caravan, and return tothe settlement by the Astoria trail. 

As my adventures may be said but to commence at my departure upon thiscommission, I will, before I enter upon my narrative, give the readersome insight into the history and records of the Shoshones, or SnakeIndians, with whom I was domiciled, and over whom, although so young, Iheld authority and command. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Shoshones, or Snake Indians, are a brave and numerous people, occupying a large and beautiful tract of country, 540 miles from east towest, and nearly 300 miles from north to south. It lies betwixt 38° and43° north latitude, and from longitude 116° west of Greenwich to theshores of the Pacific Ocean, which there extend themselves to nearly theparallel of 125° west longitude. The land is rich and fertile, especially by the sides of numerous streams, where the soil is sometimesof a deep red colour, and at others entirely black. The aspect of thisregion is well diversified, and though the greatest part of it must beclassified under the denomination of rolling prairies, yet woods arevery abundant, principally near the rivers and in the low flat bottoms:while the general landscape is agreeably relieved from the monotony oftoo great uniformity by numerous mountains of fantastical shapes andappearance, entirely unconnected with each other, and all varying in theprimitive matter of their conformation. 

Masses of native copper are found at almost every step, and betwixt twomountains which spread from east to west in the parallel of the riversBuona Ventura and Calumet, there are rich beds of galena, even at two orthree feet under ground; sulphur and magnesia appear plentiful in thenorthern districts; while in the sand, of the creeks to the south golddust is occasionally collected by the Indians. The land is admirablywatered by three noble streams--the Buona Ventura, the Calumet, and theNú elejé sha wako, or River of the Strangers, while twenty rivers ofinferior size rush with noise and impetuosity from the mountains, untilthey enter the prairies, where they glide smoothly in long serpentinecourses between banks covered with flowers and shaded by the thickfoliage of the western magnolia. The plains, as I have said, are gentlyundulating, and are covered with excellent natural pastures ofmoskito-grass, blue grass, and clover, in which innumerable herds ofbuffaloes, and mustangs, or wild horses, graze, except during thehunting season, in undisturbed security. 

The Shoshones[6] are indubitably a very ancient people. It would beimpossible to say how long they may have been settled on this portion ofthe continent. Their cast of features proves them to be of Asiaticorigin, and their phraseology, elegant and full of metaphors, assumesall the graceful variety of the brightest pages of Saadi. 

[Footnote 6: The American travellers (even Mr. Catlin, who is generallycorrect) have entirely mistaken the country inhabited by the Shoshones. One of them represents this tribe as "the Indians who inhabit that partof the Rocky Mountains which lies on the Grand and Green River branchesof the Colorado of the West, the valley of Great Bear River, and thehospitable shores of the Great Salt Lakes. " It is a great error. Thatthe Shoshones may have been seen in the above-mentioned places is likelyenough, as they are a great nation, and often send expeditions very farfrom their homes; but their own country lies, as I have said, betwixtthe Pacific Ocean and the 116th degree of west longitude. As to the"hospitable" shores of the Great Salt Lake. I don't know what it means, unless it be a modern Yankee expression for a tract of horrid swampswith deadly effluvia, tenanted by millions of snakes and other "suchhospitable reptiles. " The lake is situated on the western country of theCrows, and I doubt if it has ever been visited by any Shoshone. ]

A proof of their antiquity and foreign extraction is, that but few oftheir records and traditions are local; they refer to countries on theother side of the sea, countries where the summer is perpetual, thepopulation numberless, and the cities composed of great palaces, likethe Hindoo traditions, "built by the good genii, long before thecreation of man. "

There is no doubt, indeed it is admitted by the other tribes that theShoshone is the parent tribe of the Comanches, Arrapahoes, andApaches--the Bedouins of the Mexican deserts. They all speak the samebeautiful and harmonious language, have the same traditions; and indeedso recent have been their subdivisions, that they point out the exactperiods by connecting them with the various events of Spanish inlandconquest in the northern portion of Sonora. 

It is not my intention to dwell long upon speculative theory, but I mustobserve, that if any tradition is to be received with confidence it mustproceed from nations, or tribes, who have long been stationary. That thenorthern continent of America was first peopled from Asia, there can belittle doubt, and if so, it is but natural to suppose that those whofirst came over would settle upon the nearest and most suitableterritory. The emigrants who, upon their landing, found themselves insuch a climate and such a country as California, were not very likely toquit it in search of a better. 

That such was the case with the Shoshones, and that they are descendantsfrom the earliest emigrants, and that they have never quitted thesettlement made by their ancestors, I have no doubt, for all theirtraditions confirm it. 

We must be cautious how we put faith in the remarks of missionaries andtravellers upon a race of people little known. They seldom come intocontact with the better and higher classes, who have all the informationand knowledge; and it is only by becoming one of them, not one of theirtribes, but one of their chiefs, and received into their aristocracy, that any correct intelligence can be gained. 

Allow that a stranger was to arrive at Wapping, or elsewhere, in GreatBritain, and question those he met in such a locality as to thereligion, laws, and history of the English, how unsatisfactory would betheir implies; yet missionaries and travellers among these nationsseldom obtain farther access. It is therefore among the better classesof the Indians that we must search for records, traditions, and laws. Asfor their religion, no stranger will ever obtain possession of itstenets, unless he is cast among them in early life and becomes oneof them. 

Let missionaries say what they please in their reports to theirsocieties, they make no converts to their faith, except the pretendedones of vagrant and vagabond drunkards, who are outcasts fromtheir tribes. 

The traditions of the Shoshones fully bear out my opinion that they wereamong the earliest of the Asiatic emigrants; they contain histories ofsubsequent emigrations, in which they had to fight hard to retain theirlands; of the dispersion of the new emigrants to the north and south; ofthe increase of numbers, and breaking up of portions of the tribes, whotravelled away to seek subsistence in the East. 

We find, as might be expected, that the traditions of the Easterntribes, collected as they have occasionally been previous to theirextinction, are trifling and absurd; and why so? because, driven away tothe east, and finding other tribes of Indians, who had been driven therebefore them, already settled there, they have immediately commenced alife of continual hostility and change of domicile. When people havethus been occupied for generations in continual warfare and change, itis but natural to suppose that in such a life of constant action theyhave had no time to transmit then traditions, and that ultimately theyhave been lost to the tribe. 

We must then look for records in those quarters where the population hasremained stationary for ages. It must be in the south-west of Oregon, and in the northern parts of Upper California and Sonora, that thephilosopher must obtain the eventful history of vast warlike nations, oftheir rise and of their fall. The western Apaches or the Shoshones, withtheir antiquities and ruins of departed glory, will unfold to thestudent's mind long pages of a thrilling interest, while in theirmetaphors and rich phraseology, the linguist, learned in Asiatic lore, will easily detect their ancient origin. 

It is remarkable to observe, how generally traditions and records willspread and be transmitted among nations destitute of the benefits of theart of printing. In Europe, the mass were certainly better acquaintedwith their ancient history before this great discovery that they are inour days, as traditions were then handed down from family to family--itwas a duty, a sacred one, for a father to transmit them to his son, unadulterated, such, in fact, as he had received them from hisancestors. It is the same case with the Indians, who have remainedstationary for a long period. It is in the long evenings of February, during the hunting seasons that the elders of the tribe will reveal tothe young warriors all the records of their history; and were a learnedEuropean to assist at one of these "lectures upon antiquity, " he wouldadmit that, in harmony, eloquence, strength of argument, and deduction, the red-coloured orator could not easily be surpassed. 

The Shoshones have a clear and lucid recollection of the far countrieswhence they have emigrated. They do not allude to any particular period, but they must have been among the first comers, for they relate withgreat topographical accuracy all the bloody struggles they had tosustain against newer emigrants. Often beaten, they were neverconquered, and have always occupied the ground which they had selectedfrom the beginning. 

Unlike the great families of the Dahcotahs and Algonquins, who yetretain the predominant characteristics of the wandering nations ofSouth-west Asia, the Shoshones seem to have been in all ages a nationwarlike, though stationary. It is evident that they never were a wealthypeople, nor possessed any great knowledge of the arts and sciences. Their records of a former country speak of rich mountainous districts, with balmy breezes, and trees covered with sweet and beautiful fruits;but when they mention large cities, palaces, temples, and gardens, it isalways in reference to other nations, with whom they were constantly atwar; and these traditions would induce us to believe that they aredescendants of the Mancheoux Tartars. 

They have in their territory on both sides of the Buona Ventura rivermany magnificent remains of devastated cities; but although connectedwith a former period of their history, they were not erected by theShoshones. 

The fountains, aqueducts, the heavy domes, and the long gracefulobelisks, rising at the feet of massive pyramids, show indubitably thelong presence of a highly civilized people; and the Shoshones' accountsof these mysterious relics may serve to philosophers as a key to theremarkable facts of thousands of similar ruins found everywhere upon thecontinent of America. The following is a description of events at a veryremote period, which was related by an old Shoshone sage, in theirevening encampment in the prairies, during the hunting season:--

"It is a long, long while! when the wild horses were unknown in thecountry[7], and when the buffalo alone ranged the vast prairies thenhuge and horrid monsters existed. The approaches of the mountains andforests were guarded by the evil spirits[8], while the seashore, tenanted by immense lizards, [9] was often the scene of awful conflictsbetween man, the eldest son of light, and the mighty children of gloomand darkness. Then, too, the land we now live in had another form;brilliant stones were found in the streams; the mountains had not yetvomited their burning bowels, and the great Master of Life was not angrywith his red children. 

[Footnote 7: Horses were unknown until the arrival of the Spaniards. ]

[Footnote 8: Skeletons of the mammoth are often found whole at the footof the Grand Serpent, a long rugged mountain which runs for 360 milesunder the parallel of 40 degrees north latitude. It extends from thecentre of the Shoshone territory to the very country of the Crows, thatis to say, from the 119th to the 113th degree west longitude. It ispossible that this race may not have been yet quite extinct in themiddle of the 17th century; for, indeed, in their family records, agedwarriors will often speak of awful encounters, in which theirgreat-great-grandfathers had fought against the monster. Some of themhave still in their possession, among other trophies of days gone by, teeth and bones highly polished, which belong indubitably to thisanimal, of which so little is known. Mr. Ross Cox, in the relation ofhis travels across the Rocky Mountains, says, "that the Upper Crees, atribe who inhabit the country in the vicinity of the Athabasca river, have a curious tradition with respect to these animals They allege 'thatthese animals were of frightful magnitude, that they formerly lived inthe plains, a great distance in the south, where they had destroyed allthe game, after which they retired to the mountains. They killedeverything, and if their agility had been equal to their size andferocity, they would have destroyed all the Indians. One man assertedthat his great-grandfather told him he saw one of those animals in amountain pass, where he was hunting, and that on hearing its roar, whichhe compared to loud thunder, the sight almost left his eyes, and hisheart became as small as that of a child's. '"]

[Footnote 9: A few miles from the Pacific Ocean, and at the foot of amountain called by the Shoshones the Dwelling of the Monster, were foundthe remains of an immense lizard belonging to an extinct family of thesaurian species. Within a few inches of the surface, and buried in a bedof shells and petrified fish, our old missionary, Padre Antonio, diggedup fifty-one vertebræ quite whole and well preserved. They were mostlyfrom twelve to eighteen inches in length and from eight to fourteeninches in diameter, measuring in all more than fifteen feet in length. Of the tail and neck but few vertebræ were found, but there were manyfragments of the ribs and of the leg-bones. All the vertebræ werediscovered in a continuous line, nearly joined together. The head, tocorrespond with other parts of the animal, must have been twelve orfourteen feet long, which would have given to the monster the almostincredible length of eighty feet. 

The Prince Seravalle, while digging, in the fall of the year 1834, foran ammunition store on the western banks of the Buona Ventura, picked upa beautiful curved ivory tusk, three feet long, which, had it not beenfor its jet black colour, would have been amazingly alike to that of alarge elephant. 

Some pieces of it (for unhappily it was sawn into several parts) are nowin the possession of the governor of Monterey and Mr. Lagrange, aCanadian trader, who visited the territory in 1840. ]

"One summer, and it was a dreadful one, the moon (_i. E. _ the sun)remained stationary for a long time; it was of a red blood colour, andgave neither night nor days. Takwantona, the spirit of evil, hadconquered Nature, and the sages of the Shoshones foresaw many direcalamities. The great _Medecines_ declared that the country would soonbe drowned in the blood of their nation. They prayed in vain, andoffered, without any success, two hundred of their fairest virgins insacrifice on the altars of Takwantona. The evil spirit laughed, andanswered to them with his destructive thunders. The earth was shaken andrent asunder; the waters ceased to flow in the rivers, and large streamsof fire and burning sulphur rolled down from the mountains, bringingwith them terror and death. How long it lasted none is living to say;and who could? There stood the bleeding moon; 'twas neither light norobscurity; how could man divide the time and the seasons? It may havebeen only the life of a worm; it may have been the long age of a snake. 

"The struggle was fearful, but at last the good Master of Life broke hisbonds. The sun shone again. It was too late! the Shoshones had beencrushed and their heart had become small; they were poor and had nodwellings; they were like the deer of the prairies, hunted by thehungry panther. 

"And a strange and numerous people landed on the shores of the sea: theywere rich and strong; they made the Shoshones their slaves, and builtlarge cities, where they passed all their time. Ages passed: theShoshones were squaws; they hunted for the mighty strangers; they werebeasts, for they dragged wood and water to their great wigwams; theyfished for them, and they themselves starved in the midst of plenty. Ages again passed: the Shoshones could bear no more; they ran away tothe woods, to the mountains, and to the borders of the sea; and, lo! thegreat Father of Life smiled again upon them; the evil genii were alldestroyed, and the monsters buried in the sands. 

"They soon became strong, and great warriors; they attacked thestrangers, destroyed their cities, and drove them like buffaloes, far inthe south, where the sun is always burning, and from whence they didnever return. 

"Since that time, the Shoshones have been a great people. Many, manytimes strangers arrived again; but being poor and few, they were easilycompelled to go to the east and to the north, in the countries of theCrows, Flat-heads, Wallah Wallahs, and Jal Alla Pujees (theCalapooses). "

I have selected this tradition out of many, as, allowing for metaphor, it appears to be a very correct epitome of the history of the Shoshonesin former times. The very circumstance of their acknowledging that theywere, for a certain period, slaves to that race of people who built thecities, the ruins of which still attest their magnificence, is a strongproof of the outline being correct. To the modern Shoshones, and theirmanners and customs, I shall refer in a future portion of my narrative. 

CHAPTER V. 

Every point having been arranged, I received my final instructions, andletters for the Governor of Monterey, to which was added a heavy bag ofdoubloons for my expenses. I bade farewell to the Prince and my father, and with six well-armed Indians and the Padre Marini, I embarked in along canoe on the Buona Ventura river, and carried away by the current, soon lost sight of our lonesome settlement. 

We were to follow the stream to the southern lakes of the Buona Ventura, where we were to leave our Indians, and join some half-bredWachinangoes, returning to Monterey, with the mustangs, or wild horses, which they had captured in the prairies. 

It was a beautiful trip, just at the commencement of the spring; bothshores of the river were lined with evergreens; the grass was luxuriantand immense herds of buffaloes and wild horses were to be seen grazingin every direction. Sometimes a noble stallion, his long sweeping maneand tail waving to the wind, would gallop down to the water's edge, andwatch us as if he would know our intentions. When satisfied, he wouldwalk slowly back, ever and anon turning round to look at us again, asif not quite so convinced of our peaceful intentions. 

On the third night we encamped at the foot of an obelisk, in the centreof some noble ruins. It was a sacred spot with the Shoshones. Theirtraditions told them of another race, who had formerly lived there, andwhich had been driven by them to the south. It must have been ages back, for the hand of time, so lenient in this climate, and the hand of man, so little given to spoil, had severely visited this fated city. 

We remained there the following day, as Padre Marini was anxious todiscover any carvings or hieroglyphics from which he might draw someconclusions; but our endeavours were not successful, and we could nottarry longer, as we were afraid that the horse-hunters would break uptheir encampments before we arrived. We, therefore, resumed our journey, and many were the disquisitions and conjectures which passed between meand the holy father, as to the high degree of civilization which musthave existed among the lost race who had been the architects of suchgraceful buildings. 

Four days more brought us to the southern shore of the St. Jago lake. Wearrived in good time, dismissed our Indians, and having purchased twoexcellent mules, we proceeded on our journey, in company with thehorse-hunters, surrounded by hundreds of their captives, who were loudlylamenting their destiny, and showed their sense of the injustice of thewhole proceeding by kicking and striking with their fore-feet atwhatever might come within the reach of their hoofs. Notwithstanding thevery unruly conduct of the prisoners, we arrived at Monterey on thesixth evening. 

The reader will discover, as he proceeds, that my adventures are aboutto commence from this journey to Monterey; I therefore wish to remindhim that I was at this time not eighteen years old. I had a remembranceof civilization previous to my arrival among the Indians, and as weenjoyed every comfort and some luxuries at the settlement, I still had aremembrance, although vague, of what had passed in Italy and elsewhere. But I had become an Indian, and until I heard that I was to under-takethis journey, I had recollected the former scenes of my youth only todespise them. 

That this feeling had been much fostered by the idea that I should neveragain rejoin them, is more than probable; for from the moment that Iheard that I was to proceed to Monterey, my heart beat tumultuously andmy pulse was doubled in its circulation. I hardly know what it was thatI anticipated, but certainly I had formed the idea of aterrestrial paradise. 

If not exactly a paradise, Monterey is certainly a sweet place; 'tiseven now a fairy spot in my recollection, although sobered down, and, Itrust, a little wiser than I was at that time. There certainly is an airof happiness spread over this small town. Every one is at their ease, everybody sings and smiles, and every hour is dedicated to amusementor repose. 

None of your dirty streets and sharp pavements; no manufactories withtheir eternal smoke; no policemen looking like so many knaves of clubs;no cabs or omnibuses splashing the mud to the right and to the left;and, above all, none of your punctual men of business hurrying to theirappointments, blowing like steam-engines, elbowing everybody, andcapsizing the apple-stalls. No; there is none of these at Monterey. 

There is a bay, blue and bottomless, with shores studded with tallbeautiful timber. There is a prairie lawn, spread like a carpet inpatterns composed of pretty wild flowers. Upon it stand hundreds ofcottage-built tenements, covered with the creeping vine. In the centre, the presidio, or government-house; on one side the graceful spire of achurch, on the other the massive walls of a convent. Above all, is a skyof the deepest cobalt blue, richly contrasting with the dark green ofthe tall pines, and the uncertain and indescribable tints on the horizonof these western prairies. 

Even the dogs are polite at Monterey, and the horses which are alwaysgrazing about, run up to you and appear as if they would welcome you onyour arrival; but the fact is that every traveller carries a bag of saltat his saddle-bow, and by their rubbing their noses against it, it isclear that they come to beg a little salt, of which they are very fond. Everybody and every animal is familiar with you, and, strange to say, the English who reside there are contented, and still more strange, theAmericans are almost honest. What a beautiful climate it must beat Monterey!

Their hospitality is unbounded. "The holy Virgin bless thee, " said anold man who watched our coming; "tarry here and honour my roof. " Anothercame up, shook us by the hand, his eye sparkling with kind feelings. Athird took our mules by the bridles and led us to his own door, whenhalf-a-dozen pretty girls, with flashing dark eyes and long taperfingers, insisted on undoing our leggings and taking off our spurs. 

Queen city of California! to me there is poetry in thy very name, and sowould it be to all who delight in honesty, bonhommie, simplicity and thedolce far niente. 

Notwithstanding the many solicitations we received, Padre Marini went tothe convent, and I took up my quarters with the old governor. 

All was new to me, and pleasant too, for I was not eighteen; and at sucha time one has strange dreams and fancies of small waists, and prettyfaces, smiling cunningly. My mind had sometimes reverted to formerscenes, when I had a mother and a sister. I had sighed for a partner todance or waltz with on the green, while our old servant was playing onhis violin some antiquated en avant deux. 

Now I had found all that, and a merry time I had of it. True, the sackof doubloons helped me wonderfully. Within a week after my arrival, Ihad a magnificent saddle embossed with silver, velvet breeches insteadof cloth leggings, a hat and feathers, glossy pumps, red sash, velvetround-about, and the large cape or cloak, the eternal, and sometimes theonly garment of a western Mexican grandee, in winter or in summer, bynight or by day. I say it was a merry time, and it agreed well with me. 

Dance I did! and sing and court too. My old travelling companion, themissionary, remonstrated a little, but the girls laughed at him, and Iclearly pointed out to him that he was wrong. If my English readers onlyknew what a sweet, pretty little thing is a Monterey girl, they wouldall pack up their wardrobes to go there and get married. It would be agreat pity, for with your mistaken ideas of comforts, with your love ofcoal-fire and raw beef-steak, together with your severe notions of whatis proper or improper, you would soon spoil the place, and render it asstiff and gloomy as any sectarian village of the United States, with itsnine banks, eighteen chapels, its one "a-b-c" school, and its immensestone jail, very considerately made large enough to contain its wholepopulation. 

The governor was General Morreno, an old soldier, of the genuineCastilian stock; proud of his blood, proud of his daughters, of himself, of his dignitaries, proud of everything--but withal, he was benevolenceand hospitality personified. His house was open to all (that is to say, all who could boast of having white blood), and the time passed there incontinual fiestas, in which pleasure succeeded to pleasure, music todancing; courting with the eyes to courting with the lips, just aslemonade succeeded to wine, and creams to grapes and peaches. Butunhappily, nature made a mistake in our conformation, and, alas! manmust repose from pleasure as he does from labour. It is a great pity, for life is short, and repose is so much time lost; at least so thoughtI at eighteen. 

Monterey is a very ancient city; it was founded in the seventeenthcentury by some Portuguese Jesuits, who established a mission there. Tothe Jesuits succeeded the Franciscans, who were a good, lenient, lazy, and kind-hearted set of fellows, funny, yet moral, thundering againstvice and love, and yet giving light penances and entire absolution. These Franciscans were shown out of doors by the government of Mexico, who wished to possess their wealth. It was unfortunate, as for the kind, hospitable, and generous monks, the government substituted agents andofficers from the interior, who, not possessing any ties at Monterey, cared little for the happiness of the inhabitants. The consequence is, that the Californians are heartily tired of these agents of extortion;they have a natural antipathy against custom-house officers; and, aboveall, they do not like the idea of giving their dollars to carry on theexpenses of the Mexican wars, in which they feel no interest. Somemorning (and they have already very nearly succeeded in so doing) theywill haul down the Mexican flag from the presidio, drive away thecommissaries and custom-house receivers, declare their independence ofMexico, and open their ports to all nations. 

Monterey contains about three thousand souls, including the half-breedsand Indians acting as servants in the different dwellings. Thepopulation is wealthy, and not having any opportunity to throw awaytheir money, as in the eastern cities (for all their pleasures andenjoyments are at no expense), they are fond of ornamenting theirpersons, and their horses and saddles, with as much wealth as they canafford. A saddle of 100_l_. In value is a common thing among the richeryoung men, who put all their pride in their steeds and accoutrements. 

The women dress richly and with an admirable taste; the unmarried girlsin white satin, with their long black hair falling upon theirshoulders; their brows ornamented with rich jewels when at home, andwhen out, their faces covered with a long white veil, through whichtheir dark eyes will shine like diamonds. 

The married women prefer gaudy colours, and keep their hair confinedclose to their head, by a large comb. They have also another delightfulcharacteristic, which indeed the men share with them; I mean a beautifulvoice, soft and tremulous among the women, rich, sonorous, and majesticamong their lords. An American traveller has said: "a commonbullock-driver on horseback, delivering a message, seemed to speak likean ambassador to an audience. In fact, the Californians appear to be apeople on whom a curse had fallen, and stripped them of everything buttheir pride, their manners and their voices. "

There is always much amusement in Monterey; and what betwixtcockfighting, racing, fandangoing, hunting, fishing, sailing, and soforth, time passes quickly away. Its salubrity is remarkable; there hasnever been any disease--indeed sickness of any kind is unknown. Notoothache nor other malady, and no spleen; people die by accident orfrom old age; indeed the Montereyans have an old proverb, "El que quieremorir que se vaya del pueblo"--that is to say, "He who wishes to diemust leave the city. "

While remaining there I had rather a perilous adventure. I had gone withsome of my friends to a great fishing party at the entrance of the bay, which, by-the-bye, is one of the finest in the world, being twenty-fourmiles in length and eighteen in breadth. The missionary, Padre Marini, not being very well, had an idea that the sea-air would do him good, andjoined our company. We had many boats; the one in which the Padre and Iembarked was a well-shaped little thing, which had belonged to someAmerican vessel. It was pulled with two oars, and had a small mastand sail. 

Our fishing being successful, we were all in high glee, and we went onshore to fry some of our victims for our afternoon's meal. During theconversation, somebody spoke of some ancient ruins, fifteen miles north, at the entrance of a small creek. The missionary was anxious to seethem, and we agreed that our companions should return to Monterey whilehe and I would pass the night where we were, and proceed the nextmorning on an exploring expedition to the ruins. We obtained fromanother boat a large stone jug of water, two blankets, and adouble-barrelled gun. As soon as our companions quitted us, we pulledthe boat round to the northern point of the bay, and having selectedproper quarters for the night, we made a kind of shelter on the beachwith the oars, mast and sail, and lighted a fire to make ourselves morecomfortable. It was one of those beautiful mild evenings which can befound only in the Bay of Monterey; the gentle and perfumed breeze softlyagitated the foliage around and above us, and as night came on, with itsmyriads of stars and its silvery moon, the missionary having, for sometime, raised his eyes above in silent contemplation, reverted to scenesof the past, and of other climes. 

He spoke of Hurdwar, a far distant mission in the north of India, closeto the Himalayas. The Hindoos call It the "City of a Thousand Palaces;"they say it was built by the genii on the very spot where Vishnu hadreposed himself for a few weeks, after one of his mystic transmutations, in which he had conquered Siva, or Sahavedra, the spirit of evil. Thoughnot so well known, Hurdwar is a place still more sacred than Benares;people assemble there once a year from all parts, and consecrate severaldays to their ablutions in the purifying waters of the Ganges. In thisnoble city is also held one of the greatest fairs of India, indeed ofall the world; and as its time is fixed upon the same month as that inwhich the Hindoo devotees arrive at the city, numerous caravans fromPersia, Arabia, Cashmere, and Lahore, repair to the spot, and erecttheir bazaars along the banks of the river, forming a street of manymiles. The concourse collected at these times has been ascertained tonumber more than one million of souls. 

There the Padre Marini had remained as a missionary for some years, allalone. His flock of converts was but a small one; he had little to do, and yet his mind could not be arrested by the study of all the wondersaround him; his heart was sad; for years he had had a sorrow whichweighed heavily upon him, and he was wretched. Before he had embracedthe solitude of a monastic life, he had with him a younger brother, ofwhom he was very fond. The young man was a student in medicine, withfair capacity and an energy which promised to advance him in hisprofession. When Marini entered the convent, his brother went to Turkey, where men of his profession were always certain of a good reception, and for a long time was never heard of. At last, when the missionary wasready to start for a distant mission, he learned that which proved sodestructive to his peace of mind. From Constantinople, his brother hadgone to Persia, where he was residing in easy circumstances; but, ambitious of advancement, he had abjured the faith of his fathers andbecome a follower of Mahommed. 

It was a melancholy intelligence, and many were the tears of the goodmonk. The first year of his arrival at Hurdwar, he met with a Jewishmerchant who had accompanied a Persian caravan. That man knew hisbrother, the renegade, and informed the Padre that his brother hadfallen into disgrace, and as a punishment of his apostacy, was nowleading a life of privation and misery. 

Deep and fervent were now the monk's prayers to heaven; he imploredforgiveness for his brother, and offered penance for him. Poor man! hethought if he could but see him and talk to him, he would redeem himfrom his apostacy; but, alas! his duty was in Hurdwar, he was boundthere and could not move. One day (it was during the fair) he hadwandered at a distance from the river, that he might not witness thedelusions of paganism, and his mind was intensely absorbed in prayer. Anon, unusual sounds broke on his ears; sounds well known, soundsreminding him of his country, of his beautiful Italy. They came from alittle bower ten steps before him; and as past scenes rushed to hismemory, his heart beat tremulously in his bosom; the monk recognized abarcarole which he had often sung in his younger days: but although theair was lively, the voice which sung it was mournful and sad. Steppingnoiselessly, he stood at the entrance of the bower. The stranger startedand arose! Their separation had been a long one, but neither thefurrowed cheeks and sallow complexion of the one, nor the turbaned headof the other, could deceive them; and the two brothers fell in eachothers arms. 

On its return, the Persian caravan had one driver the less, for theapostate was on his death-bed in the humble dwelling of his brother. Once more a Christian, again reconciled to his God, he calmly awaitedhis summons to a better world. For two weeks he lingered on, repentinghis error and praying for mercy. He died, and in the little jessaminebower where he had met with the Mussulman, the monk buried theChristian; he placed a cross upon his grave and mourned him long; but aheavy load had been removed from his breast, and since that time he hadfelt happy, having no weight on his mind to disturb him in the executionof his sacred ministry. 

Having narrated this passage in his history, the Padre Marini bid megood night, and we prepared to sleep. I went to the boat, where, stretching myself at the bottom, with my face turned towards theglittering canopy above, I remained pensive and reflecting upon thenarrative of the monk, until at last I slept. 

CHAPTER VI. 

I felt chilly, and I awoke. It was daylight. I stood on my feet andlooked around me. I found myself floating on the deep sea, far from theshore, the outline of which was tinged with the golden hues of morn. Therope and stick to which the boat had been made fast towed through thewater, as the land-breeze, driving me gently, increased my distance fromthe land. For some moments I was rather scared; the oars were left onshore, and I had no means of propelling my little skiff. 

In vain did I paddle with my hands and the stick which I had taken onboard. I turned and turned again round to all the points of the compass, but to no purpose. At last I began to reflect. The sea was smooth andquiet; so I was in no immediate danger. The Padre, when he awoke in themorning, would discover my accident, and perhaps see the boat; he wouldhasten to town, but he would not arrive till the evening; for he was anold man, and had to walk twenty-five miles. Boats would be despatchedafter me; even the Mexican schooner which lay in the bay. The nextmorning I was certain to be rescued, and the utmost of my misfortunewould amount to a day of fast and solitude. It was no great matter; so Isubmitted to my fate, and made a virtue of necessity. 

Happily for me, the boat belonged to an American exceedingly fond offishing; and consequently it contained many necessaries which I hadbefore overlooked. Between the foremost thwart and the bow there washalf a barrel filled with ashes, some pieces of charcoal, and somedried wood; under the stern-sheets was a small locker, in which Idiscovered a frying-pan, a box with salt in it, a tin cup, some herbsused instead of tea by the Californians, a pot of honey, and anotherfull of bear's grease. Fortunately, the jar of water was also on boardas well as my lines, with baits of red flannel and white cotton. I threwthem into the water, and prepared to smoke my cigarito. In thesecountries no one is without his flint, steel, tinder, and tobacco. 

Hours passed so. My fishing being successful, I lighted a fire, and soonfried a few fine mackerel; but by-and-bye the sun reached its highestposition, and the scorching became so intolerable that I was obliged tostrip and spread my clothes, and even my shirt, upon the benches, toobtain a shelter. By that time I had lost sight of land, and could onlyperceive now and then some small black points, which were the summits ofthe tall pines. 

As soon as my meal was finished, I don't know why, but instead ofsleeping a decent siesta of two hours, the Spanish tonic to digest adinner, I never awoke before sunset; and only then because I began tofeel a motion which was far from being pleasant. In fact, the waves werebeginning to rise in sharp ridges, covered with foam; the mildland-breeze had changed into a cool sharp westerly wind. 

A fair wind, however, was a comfort, and as I put on my clothes, I beganto think that by making a proper use of the helm and standing upright inthe boat, my body would serve as a small sail, when "He, he, hoe!"shouted twenty voices, on the larboard side of me. I started withastonishment, as may be imagined, and turning round, perceived, fiftyyards from me, a large boat driving before the waves, impelled on by tenoars. It was filled with men, casks, and kegs, and one at the helm wasmaking signals, apparently inviting me to stop. A few minutes after, wewere close to each other; and I daresay our astonishment wasmutual, --theirs to see me alone and without oars; mine, to behold such awretched spectacle. They were evidently the crew of a wrecked vessel, and must have undergone frightful privations and fatigues, so emaciatedwas their appearance. 

No time, however, was to be lost. All of them asked for water, andpointed to the horizon, to know in which direction they should go. Mystone jug was full; I handed it to the man at the helm, who seemed to bethe captain; but the honest and kind-hearted fellow, pouring out a smallquantity in the cup, gave some to all his companions before he wouldtaste any himself. The jug was a large one, containing two gallons ormore, but of course was soon emptied. 

I gave them a fried mackerel, which I had kept for my supper; theypassed it to the captain, and, in spite of his generous denial, theyinsisted upon his eating it immediately. Seeing which, I showed themnine or ten other raw fishes, two or three of which were heavy, andproposed to cook them. They sang and laughed: cook the fish! No; littlecooking is wanted when men are starving. They divided them brotherly;and this supply, added to the honey for the captain and the bear'sgrease for the sailors, seemed to have endowed them with new life. 

The captain and four of the men, with oars, stepped into my skiff. Atthat moment the stars were beginning to appear; and pointing out to himone in the east as a guide, we ploughed our way towards the shore, greatly favoured both by the wind and the waves. In a singular mixtureof English, French, Italian, and Latin, the captain made me comprehendthat his vessel had been a Russian brig, bound from Asitka, in RussianAmerica, to Acapulco, in Mexico, for a supply of grain, tallow, andspirits; that it had been destroyed by fire during the night, scarcelyallowing time for the men to launch the long-boat. No provisions couldbe procured; the boxes and kegs that had been taken in the hurry were ofno use; that they had been rowing forty-eight hours without food orwater, and were ignorant of their distance from the shore; and, finally, that they had perceived my skiff a good half-hour before I awoke;thought it at first empty, but saw me rising, and called to me, in thehope that I would guide them to a landing-place. In return I explainedto him my adventure as well as I could, and made him promises of plentyfor the next day; but I might have talked for ever to no purpose; thepoor fellow, overpowered with fatigue, and now feeling secure, had sunkinto a deep sleep. 

At the break of day we made the land, at the entrance of a small riverand close to some find old ruins. It was the very spot where I hadintended to go with the Padre. There were a few wild horses rambling inthe neighbourhood; I cleaned my gun, loaded it again, and killed one;but not before the tired and hungry crew, stretched on the strand, proved by their nasal concerts that for the present their greatestnecessity was repose after their fatigues. There were twenty of them, including the captain. 

I had led too much of an Indian life, not to know how to bear fatigue, and to be rapid in execution. The sun was not more than three hourshigh, when I had already cooked the best part of the horse. All theunfortunates were still asleep, and I found it was no easy matter toawake them. At last, I hit upon an expedient which did not fail; I stuckthe ramrod of my gun into a smoking piece of meat, and held it so thatthe fumes should rise under their very noses. No fairy wand was evermore effective; in less than two minutes they were all chewing andswallowing their breakfast, with an energy that had anything but sleepin it. It is no easy matter to satisfy twenty hungry Russians; but stillthere is an end to everything. One of them knelt before me and kissed myfeet. Poor fellow! he thought that I had done a great deal for him andhis companions, forgetting that perhaps I owed my own life to them. 

The men were tired: but when they heard that they could reach a city inthe afternoon, they made preparation for departure with great alacrity. We pulled slowly along the coast, for the heat was intense, and therowers fast losing their strength. At one o'clock I landed at my formerencampment. The padre had, of course, left the oars, sail, and blankets. My skiff was rigged in a moment; and out of the blankets, those in thelong-boat managed to make a sail, an oar and a long pole tied togetheranswering for a mast. In doubling the northern point of the bay, Iperceived the Mexican schooner and many boats, pretty far at sea. Nodoubt they were searching for me. 

At six o'clock in the evening we landed at Monterey, amidst theacclamations of a wondering crowd. 

I was a general favourite, and my loss had occasioned much alarm; sothat when I landed I was assailed with questions from every quarter. Thewomen petted me, some kissed me (by-the-bye, those were d'un certainâge), and all agreed that I should burn half a dozen of candles on thealtar of the Virgin Mary. There was one, however, who had wept for me;it was Isabella, a lovely girl of fifteen, and daughter to the oldGovernor. The General, too, was glad to see me; he liked me very much, because we played chess while smoking our cigars, and because I allowedhim to beat me, though I could have given him the queen and the move. Iwill confess, sotto voce, that this piece of policy had been hinted tome by his daughters, who wished me to find favour in his sight. 

"Dios te ayuda niño, " said the Governor to me; I feared we should neverplay chess any more. "Que tonteria, andar a dormir in una barca, quandose lo podia sobre tierra firma!" (What folly to go sleep in a boat, whenit can be done upon solid ground!)

I told him the story of the poor Russians, and in spite of his pride, the tears started in his eye, for he was kind-hearted. He took thecaptain into his own house, and gave orders concerning the accommodationof the crew; but the universal hospitality had not waited for commandsto show itself, and the poor fellows, loaded with attention andcomforts, soon forgot the dangers which they had escaped. Fifteen daysafter they were sent on board the Mexican schooner, to the bay of St. Francisco, where a Russian brig of war, bound to Asitka, had justarrived. However, they did not part from us with empty hands. TheMontereyans having discovered their passionate love for tallow andwhiskey, had given them enough of these genteel rafraîchissements, todrown care and sorrow for a long while. As to the captain, he receivedthe attention which his gallant conduct entitled him to, and on the eveof his departure he was presented with a trunk, of tolerable dimensions, well filled with linen and clothes. 

A merry night was passed to celebrate my escape. Guns had been fired, flags hoisted to recall the boats, and at ten o'clock in the night, thewhole population was gamboling on the lawn, singing, dancing, andfeasting, as if it was to have been our last day of pleasureduring life. 

Thus passed away four weeks, and I must admit to my shame, I hadwillingly missed two chances of going to Santa Fé. One morning, however, all my dreams of further pleasure were dispelled. I was just meditatingupon my first declaration of love, when our old servant arrived withfour Indian guides. He had left the settlement seven days, and had comealmost all the way by water. He had been despatched by my father tobring me home, if I had not yet left Monterey. His intelligence wasdisastrous; the Prince had been murdered by the Crows; the Shoshones hadgone on a war expedition to revenge the death of the Prince; and myfather himself, who had been daily declining, expected in a short timeto rejoin his friend in a better world. Poor Isabella! I would haveadded, poor me! but the fatal news brought had so excited me, that I hadbut few thoughts to give to pleasure and to love. My immediate returnwas a sacred duty, and, besides, the Shoshones expected me to join withthem on my first war-path. The old Governor judged it advisable that Ishould return home by sea, as the Arrapahoes Indians were at that momentenemies of the Shoshones, and would endeavour to cut me off if I were toascend the Buona Ventura. Before my departure I received a visit from anIrishman, a wild young fellow of the name of Roche, a native of Cork, and full of fun and activity. He had deserted on the coast from one ofthe American vessels, and in spite of the promised reward of fortydollars, he was never discovered, and his vessel sailed without him. 

General Morreno was at first angry, and would have sent the poor devilto jail, but Roche was so odd and made so many artful representations ofthe evils he had suffered on board on account of his being a Catholic, that the clergy, and, in fact, all Monterey, interfered. Roche soonbecame a valuable acquisition to the community; he was an indefatigabledancer, and a good fiddler. Besides, he had already accustomed himselfto the Mexican manners and language, and in a horse or buffalo hunt nonewere more successful. He would tell long stories to the old women aboutthe wonders of Erin, the miracles of St. Patrick, and about the stone atBlarney. In fact, he was a favourite with every one, and would havebecome rich and happy, could he have settled. Unfortunately for him, hiswild spirit of adventure did not allow him to enjoy the quiet of aMontereyan life, and hearing that there was a perspective of getting hishead broken in the "Settlement of the Grandees, " he asked permission tojoin my party. 

I consented that Roche should accompany me: with my servant and theIndians, we embarked on board of the schooner. Many were the presents Ireceived from the good people; what with pistols, powder, horses, fusils, knives, and swords, I could have armed a whole legion. TheGovernor, his daughters, and all those that could get room in the boats, accompanied me as far as the northern part of the bay, and it was with aswelling heart that I bade my farewell to them all. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Nothing could have been more fortunate than our proceeding by sea. Onthe fourth day we were lying to, at a quarter of a mile from the shore, exactly under the parallel of 39° north latitude, and at the southernpoint of a mountain called the Crooked Back-bone. The Indians firstlanded in a small canoe we had provided ourselves with, to see if thecoast was clear; and in the evening the schooner was far on her wayback, while we were digging a cachette to conceal the baggage, which wecould not carry. Even my saddle was wrapped up in a piece of canvas, anddeposited in a deep bed of shale. Among other things presented to me inMonterey, were two large boxes covered with tin, and containing Englishfire-works, which, in the course of events, performed prodigies, andsaved many scalps when all hope of succour had been entirely given up. The Montereyans are amazingly fond of these fire-works, and every vesselemployed in the California trade for hides has always a large supplyof them. 

When all our effects were concealed, we proceeded first in an easterly, and next in a north-westerly direction, in the hope of coming acrosssome of the horses belonging to the tribe. We had reckoned right. At thebreak of day we entered a natural pasture of clover, in which hundredsof them were sleeping and grazing; but as we had walked more than thirtymiles, we determined to take repose before we should renew our journey. 

I had scarcely slept an hour when I was roused by a touch on myshoulder. At first, I fancied it was a dream, but as I opened my eyes, Isaw one of my Indians with his fingers upon his lips to enjoin me tosilence, while his eyes were turned towards the open prairie. Iimmediately looked in that direction, and there was a sight that actedas a prompt anti-soporific. About half a mile from us stood a band oftwenty Indians, with their war-paint and accoutrements, silently andquietly occupied in tying the horses. Of course they were not of ourtribe, but belonged to the Umbiquas, a nation of thieves on our northernboundary, much given to horse-stealing, especially when it was notaccompanied by any danger. In the present instance they thoughtthemselves safe, as the Shoshones had gone out against the Crows, andthey were selecting at their leisure our best animals. Happily for us, we had encamped amidst thick bushes, upon a spot broken and difficult ofaccess to quadrupeds, otherwise we should have been discovered, andthere would have been an end to my adventures. 

We awoke our companions, losing no time in forming a council of war. Fight them we could not; let them depart with the horses was out of thequestion. The only thing to be done was to follow them, and wait anopportunity to strike a decisive blow. At mid-day, the thieves havingsecured as many of the animals as they could well manage, turned theirbacks to us, and went on westward, in the direction of the fishingstation where we had erected our boat-house; the place where we hadfirst landed on coming from Europe. 

We followed them the whole day, eating nothing but the wild plums of theprairies. At evening, one of my Indians, an experienced warrior, startedalone to spy into their camp, which he was successful enough topenetrate, and learn the plan of their expedition, by certain tokenswhich could not deceive his cunning and penetration. The boat-housecontained a large sailing-boat, besides seven or eight skiffs. Therealso we had in store our stock of dried fish and fishing apparatus, suchas nets, &c. As we had been at peace for several years, the house orpost, had no garrison, except that ten or twelve families of Indianswere settled around it. 

Now, the original intention of the Umbiquas had been only to stealhorses; but having discovered that the half a dozen warriors, belongingto these families, had gone to the settlement for firearms andammunition, they had arranged to make an attack upon the post, and takea few scalps before returning home by sea and by land, with our nets, boats, fish, &c. This was a serious affair. Our carpenter and smith haddisappeared, as I have said before; and as our little fleet had inconsequence become more precious, we determined to preserve it at anysacrifice. To send an Indian to the settlement would have been useless, inasmuch as it would have materially weakened our little force, and, besides, help could not arrive in time. It was better to try and reachthe post before the Umbiquas; where, under the shelter of thick logs, and with the advantage of our rifles, we should be an equal match forour enemies, who had but two fusils among their party, the remainderbeing armed with lances, and bows and arrows. Our scout had alsogathered, by overhearing their conversation, that they had come by sea, and that their canoes were hid somewhere on the coast, in theneighbourhood of the post. 

By looking over the map, the reader will perceive the topography of thecountry. Fifty miles north from us were the forks of theNu-eleje-sha-wako river, towards which the Umbiquas were going, to benear to water, and also to fall upon the path from the settlement to thepost. Thus they would intercept any messenger, in case their expeditionshould have been already discovered. Their direct road to the post wasconsiderably shorter, but after the first day's journey, no sweet grassnor water was to be found. The ground was broken and covered with thickbushes, which would not allow them to pass with the horses. Besides thisreason, an Indian always selects his road where he thinks he has nothingto fear. We determined to take the direct road to the post, and chanceassisted us in a singular manner. The Indians and my old servant wereasleep, while I was watching with the Irishman Roche, I soon becameaware that something was moving in the prairie behind us, but what, Icould not make out. The buffaloes never came so far west, and it was notthe season for the wolves. I crawled out of our bush, and after a fewminutes found myself in the middle of a band of horses who had notallowed themselves to be taken, but had followed the tracks of theircompanions, to know what had become of them. I returned, awoke theIndians, and told them; they started with their lassoes, while I andRoche remained to sleep. 

Long before morn the Indian scout guided us to three miles westward, behind a swell of the prairie. It was an excellent precaution, whichprevented any Umbiqua straggler from perceiving us, a ratherdisagreeable event, which would have undoubtedly happened, as we werecamped only two miles from them, and the prairie was flat until you cameto the swell just mentioned. There we beheld seven strong horses, bridled with our lassoes. We had no saddles; but necessity rides withoutone. The Indians had also killed a one-year-old colt, and taken enoughof the meat to last us two days; so that when we started (and we did solong before the Umbiquas began to stir) we had the prospect ofreaching the fishing-post thirty hours before them. 

[Illustration: "We halted on the bank of a small river. "]

We knew that they would rest two hours in the day, as they werenaturally anxious to keep their stolen horses in good condition, havinga long journey before them ere they would enter into their ownterritory. With us, the case was different, there were but forty miles, which we could travel on horseback, and we did not care what became ofthe animals afterwards. Consequently, we did not spare their legs; thespirited things, plump as they were, having grazed two months withoutany labour, carried us fast enough. When we halted on the bank of asmall river, to water them and let them breathe, they did not appearmuch tired, although we had had a run of twenty-eight miles. 

At about eleven o'clock we reached the confines of the rocky ground;here we rested for three hours, and took a meal, of which we were verymuch in want, having tasted nothing but berries and plums since ourdeparture from the schooner, for we had been so much engrossed by thedigging of the cachette that we had forgotten to take with us any kindof provision. 

Our flight, or, to say better, our journey, passed without anythingremarkable. We arrived, as we had expected, a day and a half before theUmbiquas: and, of course, were prepared for them. The squaws, children, and valuables were already in the boat-house with plenty of water, incase the enemy should attempt to fire it. The presence of a hostilewar-party had been singularly discovered two days before; three childrenhaving gone to a little bay at a short distance from the post, to catchsome young seals, discovered four canoes secured at the foot of a rock, while, a little farther, two young men were seated near a fire cookingcomfortably one of the seals they had taken. Of course the childrenreturned home, and the only three men who had been left at the post(three old men) went after their scalps. They had not returned when wearrived; but in the evening they entered the river with the scalps ofthe two Umbiquas, whom they had surprised, and the canoes, which weresafely deposited in the store. 

Our position was indeed a strong one. Fronting us to the north we had alarge and rapid river; on the south we were Banked by a ditch forty feetbroad and ten feet deep, which isolated the building from a fine openground, without my bush, tree, or cover; the two wings were formed bysmall brick towers twenty feet high, with loop-holes, and a door tenfeet from the ground; the ladder to which, of course, we took inside. The only other entrance, the main one, in fact, was by water: but itcould be approached only by swimming. The fort was built of stone andbrick, while the door, made of thick posts, and lined with sheets ofcopper, would have defied, for a long time, the power of their axes orfire. Our only anxiety was about the inflammable quality of the roof, which was covered with pine shingles. Against such an accident, however, we prepared ourselves by carrying water to the upper rooms, and we couldat any time, if it became necessary, open holes in the roof, for wegreater facility of extinguishing the fire. In the meantime we coveredit with a coat of clay in the parts which were most exposed. 

We were now ten men, seven of us armed with firearms and pretty certainof our aim: we had also sixteen women and nine children, boys and girls, to whom various posts were assigned, in case of a night attack. The sixwarriors who had gone to the settlement for firearms would return in ashort time, and till then we had nothing to do but to be cautious, towait for the enemy, and even bear their first attack without using ourfirearms, that they might not suspect our strength inside. One of theold men, a cunning fellow, who had served his time as a. Brave warrior, hit upon a plan which we followed. He proposed that another man shouldaccompany him to the neighbourhood of the place where the canoes hadbeen concealed, and keep up the fires, so that the smoke should lull allsuspicion. The Umbiquas, on their arrival before the post, wouldindubitably send one of their men to call the canoe-keepers; this onethey would endeavour to take alive, and bring him to the post. One ofthe canoes was consequently launched in the river, and late in theevening the two Indians, well armed with fusils, started on thisexpedition. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Umbiquas came at last; their want of precaution showed theircertainty of success. At all events, they did not suspect there were anyfirearms in the block-house, for they halted within fifty yards fromthe eastern tower, and it required more than persuasion to prevent Rochefrom firing. The horses were not with them, but before long we saw theanimals on the other side of the river, in a little open prairie, underthe care of two of their party, who had swam them over, two or threemiles above, for the double purpose of having them at hand in case ofemergency, and of giving them the advantage of better grazing than theycould possibly find on our side. This was an event which we had notreckoned upon, yet, after all, it proved to be a great advantage to us. 

The savages, making a very close inspection of the outer buildings, soonbecame convinced of the utter impossibility of attacking the place byany ordinary means. They shot some arrows, and once fired with a fusilat the loop-holes, to ascertain if there were any men within capable offighting; but as we kept perfectly quiet, their confidence augmented;and some followed the banks of the river, to see what could be effectedat the principal entrance. Having ascertained the nature of itsmaterial, they seemed rather disappointed, and retired to about onehundred yards to concert their plans. 

It was clear that some of them were for firing the building; but, as wecould distinguish by their gestures, these were comparatively few. Others seemed to represent that, by doing so, they would indubitablyconsume the property inside, which they were not willing to destroy, especially as there was so little danger to be feared from within. Atlast one who seemed to be a chief pointed first with his fingers in thedirection where the canoes had been left; he pointed also to the river, and then behind him to the point of the horizon where the sun rises. After he had ceased talking, two of his men rose, and went away to thesouth-west. Their plan was very evident. These two men, joined with thetwo others that had been left in charge, were to bring the canoes roundthe point and enter the river. It would take them the whole night toeffect this, and at sunrise they would attack and destroy the front doorwith their tomahawks. 

With the darkness of night a certain degree of anxiety came over us, forwe knew not what devilish plan the Indians might hit upon; I placedsentries in every corner of the block-house, and we waited in silence;while our enemies, having lighted a large fire, cooked their victuals, and though we could not hear the import of their words, it was evidentthat they considered the post as in their power. Half of them, however, laid down to sleep, and towards midnight the stillness was uninterruptedby any sound, whilst their half-burnt logs ceased to throw up theirbright flames. Knowing how busy we should be in the morning, I thoughtthat till then I could not do better than refresh myself by a few hours'repose. I was mistaken. 

I had scarcely closed my eyes when I heard the dull regular noise of theaxe upon trees. I looked cautiously; the sounds proceeded from thedistance, and upon the shores of the river, and behind the camp of thesavages, dark forms were moving in every direction, and we at lastdiscovered that the Umbiquas were making ladders to scale the upperdoors of our little towers. 

This, of course, was to us a matter of little or no consideration, as wewere well prepared to receive them: yet we determined not to let themknow our strength within until the last moment, when we should becertain with our firearms to bring down five of them at the firstdischarge. Our Indians took their bows and selected only such arrows aswere used by their children when fishing, so that the hostile partymight attribute their wounds and the defence of their buildings to a fewbold and resolute boys. 

At morn, the Umbiquas made their appearance with two ladders, eachcarried by three men, while others were lingering about and givingdirections, more by sign than word. They often looked towards theloop-holes, but the light of day was yet too faint for their glances todetect us; and besides, they were lulled into perfect security by thedead silence we had kept during the whole night. Indeed, they thoughtthe boat-house had been deserted, and the certain degree of caution withwhich they proceeded was more the effect of savage cunning and naturethan the fear of being seen or of meeting with any kind of resistance. 

The two ladders were fixed against one of the towers, and an Indianascended upon each; at first they cast an inquisitive glance through theholes upon both sides of the door, but we concealed ourselves. Then allthe Umbiquas formed in a circle round the ladders, with their bows andspears, watching the loop-holes. At the chiefs command, the first blowswere struck, and the Indians on the ladders began to batter both doorswith their tomahawks. While in the act of striking for the third time, the Umbiqua on the eastern door staggered and fell down the ladder; hisbreast had been pierced by an arrow. At the same moment, a loud screamfrom the other tower showed that there also we had had the same success. 

The Umbiquas retired precipitately with their dead, uttering a yell ofdisappointment and rage, to which three of our boys, being ordered so todo, responded with a shrill war-whoop of defiance. This made theUmbiquas quite frantic, but they were now more prudent. The arrows thathad killed their comrades were children-arrows; still there could be nodoubt but that they had been shot by warriors. They retired behind aprojecting rock on the bank of the river, only thirty yards in ourfront, but quite protected from our missiles. There they formed acouncil of war, and waited for their men and canoes, which they expectedto have arrived long before. At that moment, the light fog which hadbeen hovering over the river was dispersed, and the other shore becamevisible, and showed us a sight which arrested our attention. There, too, the drama of destruction was acting, though on a smaller scale. 

Just opposite to us was a canoe, the same in which our two Indians hadgone upon their expedition the day before. The two Umbiquas keeping thestolen horses were a few yards from it; they had apparently discoveredit a few minutes before, and were uncertain what course to pursue; theyheard both the war-whoop and the yell of their own people, and were nota little puzzled; but as soon as the fog was entirely gone theyperceived their party, where they had sheltered themselves, and probablyin obedience to some signals from it, they prepared to cross the river. At the very moment they were untying the canoe, there was a flash andtwo sharp reports; the Indians fell down--they were dead. Our twoscouts, who were concealed behind some bushes, then appeared, and begancoolly to take the scalps, regardless of a shower of arrows from theyelling and disappointed Umbiquas. Nor was this all: in their rage andanxiety, our enemies had exposed themselves beyond the protection of therock; they presented a fair mark, and just as the chief was lookingbehind him to see if there was any movement to fear from theboat-house, four more of his men fell under our fire. 

The horrible yells which followed, I can never describe, although theevents of this my first fight are yet fresh in my mind. The Umbiquastook their dead and turned to the east, in the direction of themountains, which they believed would be their only means of escapingdestruction. They were now reduced to only ten men, and their appearancewas melancholy and dejected. They felt that they were doomed never moreto return to their own home. 

We gathered from our scouts opposite that the six warriors of the posthad returned from the settlement, and lay somewhere in ambush; thisdecided us. Descending by the ladders which the Indians had left behindthem, we entered the prairie path, so as to bar their retreat in everydirection. 

Let me wind up this tale of slaughter. The Umbiquas fell headlong on theambush, by which four more of them were killed; the remainder dispersedin the prairie, where they tried in vain to obtain a momentary refuge inthe chasms. Before mid-day they were all destroyed, except one, whoescaped by crossing the river. However, he never saw his home again;for, a long time afterwards, the Umbiquas declared that not one everreturned from that fatal horse-stealing expedition. 

Thus ended my first fight; and yet I had not myself drawn a singletrigger. Many a time I took a certain aim; but my heart beat quick, andI felt queer at the idea of taking the life of a man. This did notprevent me from being highly complimented; henceforward Owato Wanishawas a warrior. 

The next day I left the boat-house with my own party, I mean the sevenof us who had come from Monterey. Being all well mounted, we shortlyreached the settlement, from which I had been absent more thanthree months. 

Events had turned out better than I had anticipated. My father seemed torecover rapidly from the shock he had received. Our tribe, in a fierceinroad upon the southern country of the Crows, had inflicted upon them asevere punishment Our men returned with a hundred and fifty scalps, fourhundred horses, and all the stock of blankets and tobacco which theCrows had a short time before obtained from the Yankees in exchange fortheir furs. For a long time, the Crows were dispirited and nearly brokendown, and this year they scarcely dared to resort to their ownhunting-grounds. The following is a narrative of the death of the PrinceSeravalle, as I heard it from individuals who were present. 

The year after we had arrived from Europe, the Prince had an opportunityof sending letters to St. Louis, Missouri, by a company of tradershomeward bound. More than three years had elapsed without any answer;but a few days after my departure for Monterey, the Prince having heardfrom a party of Shoshones, on their return from Fort Hall, that a largecaravan was expected there, he resolved to proceed to the fort himself, for the double purpose of purchasing several articles of hardware, whichwe were in need of, and also of forwarding other instructions toSt. Louis. 

Upon his arrival at the fort, he was agreeably surprised at finding, notonly letters for him, together with various bales of goods, but also aFrench savant, bound to California, whither he had been sent by somescientific society. He was recommended to us by the Bishop and thePresident of the college at St. Louis, and had brought with him asguides five French trappers, who had passed many years of their livesrambling from the Rocky Mountains to the southern shores of LowerCalifornia. 

The Prince left his Shoshones at the fort, to bring on the goods at afitting occasion, and, in company with his new guests, retraced hissteps towards our settlement. On the second day of their journey theymet with a strong war-party of the Crows, but as the Shoshones were thenat peace with all their neighbours, no fear had been entertained. Thefaithless Crows, however, unaware, as well as the Prince, of the closevicinity of a Shoshone hunting-party, resolved not to let escape anopportunity of obtaining a rich booty without much danger. They allowedthe white men to pursue their way, but followed them at a distance, andin the evening surprised them in their encampment so suddenly that theyhad not even time to seize their arms. 

The prisoners, with their horses and luggage, were conducted to the spotwhere their captors had halted, and a council was formed immediately. The Prince, addressing the chief, reproached him bitterly with histreachery; little did he know of the Crows, who are certainly thegreatest rascals among the mountains. The traders and all the Indiantribes represent them as "thieves never known to keep a promise or todo an honourable act. "

None but a stranger will ever trust them. They are as cowardly as cruel. Murder and robbery are the whole occupation of their existence, and woeto the traders or trappers whom they may meet with during theirexcursions, if they are not at least one-tenth of their own number. Aproof of their cowardice is that once Roche, myself, and a youngParisian named Gabriel, having by chance fallen upon a camp of thirteenCrows and three Arrapahoes, they left us their tents, furs, and driedmeats; the Arrapahoes alone showing some fight, in which one of them waskilled; but to return to our subject. The chief heard the PrinceSeravalle with a contemptuous air, clearly showing that he knew who thePrince was, and that he entertained no good-will towards him. Hisduplicity, however, and greediness, getting the better of his hatred, heasked the prisoners what they would give to obtain their freedom. Upontheir answer that they would give two rifles, two horses, with onehundred dollars, he said that all which the prisoners possessed whentaken, being already his own, he expected much more than that. Hedemanded that one of the Canadians should go to Fort Hall, with fiveCrows, with an order from the Prince to the amount of sixty blankets, twenty rifles, and ten kegs of powder. In the meantime the prisonerswere to be carried into the country of the Crows, where the goods wereto follow them as soon as obtained; upon the reception of which, thewhite men should be set at liberty. Understanding now the intention oftheir enemies, and being certain that, once in the strongholds of theCrows, they would never be allowed to return, the Prince rejected theoffer; wishing, however, to gain time, he made several others, which, ofcourse, were not agreed upon. When the chief saw that he was not likelyto obtain anything more than that which he had already become master of, he threw away his mask of hypocrisy, and resuming at once his realcharacter, began to abuse his victims. 

"The Pale-faces, " he said, "were base dogs, and too great cowards tofight against the Crows. They were less than women, concealingthemselves in the lodges of the Shoshones, and lending them theirrifles, so that having now plenty of arms and ammunition, that tribe hadbecome strong, and feared by all. But now they would kill thePale-faces, and they would see what colour was the blood of cowards. When dead, they could not give any more rifles, or powder, to theShoshones, who would then bury themselves like prairie dogs in theirburrows, and never again dare to cross the path of a Crow. "

The Prince replied to the chief with scorn. "The Crows, " he said, "oughtnot to speak so loud, lest they should be heard by the Shoshone braves, and lies should never be uttered in open air. What were the Crows beforethe coming of the white men, on the shores of the Buona Ventura? Theyhad no country of their own, for one part of it had been taken by theBlack-feet, and the other by the Arrapahoes and the Shoshones. Then theCrows were like doves hunted by the hawks of the mountains. They wouldlie concealed in deep fissures of the earth, and never stir but duringnight, so afraid were they of encountering a Shoshone. But the white menassembled the Shoshones around their settlements, and taught them toremain at peace with their neighbours. They had been so for four years;the Crows had had time to build other wigwams. Why did they act likewolves, biting their benefactors, instead of showing to them theirgratitude?"

The Prince, though an old man, had much mettle in him, especially whenhis blood was up. He had become a Shoshone in all except ferocity; heheartily despised the rascally Crows. As to the chief, he firmly graspedthe handle of his tomahawk, so much did he feel the bitter taunts of hiscaptive. Suddenly, a rustling was heard, then the sharp report of arifle, and one of the Crows, leaping high in the air, fell downa corpse. 

"The chief hath spoken too loud, " said the Prince; "I hear the step of aShoshone; the Crows had better run away to the mountains, or their fleshwill fatten the dogs of our village. "

An expression of rage and deep hatred shot across the features of thechief, but he stood motionless, as did all his men, trying to catch thesounds, to ascertain in which direction they should fly from the danger. 

"Fear has turned the Crows into stones, " resumed the Prince, "what hasbecome of their light feet? I see the Shoshones. "

"The dog of a Pale-face will see them no more, " replied the savage, ashe buried his tomahawk in the skull of the unfortunate nobleman, whowas thus doomed to meet with an inglorious death in a distant land. 

The other prisoners, who were bound, could of course offer noresistance. The French savant and two of his guides were butchered in aninstant, but before the remainder of the party could be sacrificed, awell-directed volley was poured upon the compact body of the Crows, whorushed immediately to the woods for cover, leaving behind them twentydead and wounded besides their cruel chief. Then from the thicketsbehind appeared thirty Shoshones, who immediately gave chase, leavingonly one of their men to free the three remaining trappers, and watchover the body of their murdered friend and legislator. 

A sharp tiralleur fire from their respective covers was carried onbetween the Shoshones and Crows for half an hour, in which the Crowslost ten more scalps, and having at length reached a rugged hill full ofbriars and bushes, they took fairly to their heels, without evenattempting to answer the volleys poured after them. The victims werecarried to the settlement, and the very day they were consigned to theirgrave, the Shoshones started for the land of the Crows. The results ofthe expedition I have mentioned already. 

With my father I found the three trappers; two of whom were preparing tostart for California, but the third, a young Parisian, who went by thename of Gabriel, preferred remaining with us, and never left me until along time afterwards, when we parted upon the borders of theMississippi, when I was forcing my way towards the Atlantic Ocean. Heand Roche, when I parted with them, had directed their steps back to theShoshones; they delighted too much in a life of wild and perilousadventure to leave it so soon, and the Irishman vowed that if he everreturned within the pale of civilization, it would be to Monterey, theonly place where, in his long wanderings, he had found a peoplecongenial to his own ideas. 

When, in the meeting of a great council, I apprised the tribe of theattack made upon the boat-house by the Umbiquas, and of its results, there was a loud burst of satisfaction. I was made a War-Chief on thespot; and it was determined that a party should immediately proceed tochastise the Umbiquas. My father did not allow me to join it, as therewas much to be done in settling the affairs of the Prince, and payingthe debts he had contracted at Fort Hall; consequently, I led a clerk'slife for two months, writing accounts, &c. --rather a dull occupation, for which I had not the smallest relish. During this time, theexpedition against the Umbiquas had been still more successful than thatagainst the Crows, and, in fact, that year was a glorious one for theShoshones, who will remember it a long while, as a period in whichleggings and moccasins were literally sewn with human hair, and in whichthe blanched and unburied bones of their enemies, scattered on theprairie, scared even the wolves from crossing the Buena Ventura. Indeed, that year was so full of events, that my narration would be too muchswelled if I were to enumerate them all. 

I had not forgotten the cachette at our landing-place. Every thing wastransferred to the boat-house, and the hot days of summer having alreadybegun to render the settlement unpleasant, we removed to the sea-shore, while the major part of the tribe went to hunt in the rolling prairiesof the south. 

The presents of the good people of Monterey proved to be a greatacquisition to my father. There were many books, which he appropriatedto himself; being now too aged and infirm to bear the fatigues of Indianlife, he had become fond of retirement and reading. As to Gabriel andRoche, we became inseparable, and though in some points we were not onan equality, yet the habit of being constantly together and sharing thesame tent united us like brothers. 

As my readers will eventually discover, many daring deeds did we performtogether, and many pleasant days did we pass, both in the northerncities of Mexico and western prairies of Texas, hunting with theComanches, and occasionally unmasking some rascally Texans, who, underthe paint of an Indian, would commit their murders and depredations uponthe remote settlements of their own countrymen. 

CHAPTER IX. 

In the remarks which I am about to make relative to the Shoshones, I mayas well observe that the same observations will equally apply to theComanches, Apaches, and Arrapahoes, as they are but subdivisions andoffsets from the original stock--the Shoshones. The Wakoes, who have notyet been mentioned, or even seen, by any other travellers, I shallhereafter describe. 

I may as well here observe, that although the Shoshones are always atpeace with the Comanches and Apaches, they had for a long while been atwar with their descendants, the Arrapahoes, as well as the whole of theDacotah and Algonquin tribes, as the Crows and Rickarees, Black-feet, Nez-percés, and others. 

First, as to their religion--a question highly interesting, and perhapsthrowing more light upon their origin than can be collected fromtradition, manners, and customs. From my knowledge of the Indians, Ibelieve them, if not more religious, most certainly to be moreconscientious, than most Christians. They all believe in oneGod--Manitou, the author of good, and worship him as such; but believingthat human nature is too gross to communicate with the Arbitrator of allthings, they pray generally through the intervention of the elements oreven of certain animals, in the same manner that the Catholics addressthemselves to their saints. 

The great Manitou is universal among this family, and indeed among allthe savage tribes of North America. The interceding spirit alone varies, not with the tribe and nation, but according to individual selection. Children are taught to know "Kishe Manito" (the Almighty), but no more. When the boy is verging upon manhood, he selects his own personal deity, or household god, which is made known to him in his dreams. When hestates his intention of seeking the spirit, the parents of the young manorder him to fast for three days; then they take away his bow andarrows, and send him far into the woods, the mountains, or the prairies, to wait for the visitation. 

An empty stomach and inaction in the lone wilderness are certain toproduce reveries and waking dreams. If the young man is thirsty, hethinks of water; of fire or sunshine, if he feels cold; of buffalo orfish, if he is hungry. Sometimes he meets with some reptile, and uponany one of these or other natural causes or productions, his imaginationwill work, until it becomes wholly engrossed by it. 

Thus fire and water, the sun or the moon, a star, a buffalo, or asnake--any one of them, will become the subject of his thoughts, andwhen he sleeps, he naturally dreams of that object which he has beenbrooding over. 

He then returns home, engraves upon a stone, a piece of wood, or a skin, the form of this "spirit" which his dream has selected for him, wears itconstantly on his person, and addresses it, not as a god, but as anintercessor, through which his vows must pass before they can reach thefearful Lord of all things. 

Some men among the Indians acquire, by their virtues and the regularityof their lives, the privilege of addressing the Creator without anyintervention, and are admitted into the band, headed by the masters ofceremonies and the presidents of the sacred lodges, who receiveneophytes and confer dignities. Their rites are secret; none but amember can be admitted. These divines, as of old the priest of Isis andOsiris, are deeply learned; and truly their knowledge of natural historyis astonishing. They are well acquainted with astronomy and botany, andkeep the records and great transactions of the tribes, employing certainhieroglyphics, which they paint in the sacred lodges, and which none buttheir caste or order can decipher. 

Those few who, in their journey in the wilderness, have "dreamt" of asnake and made it their "spirit, " become invariably "Medecines. " Thisreptile, though always harmless in the western countries (except in someparts of the mountains on the Columbia, where the rattlesnake abounds), has ever been looked upon with dread by the Indians, who associate itwith the evil spirit. When "Kishe Manito" (the good God) came uponearth, under the form of a buffalo, to alleviate the sufferings of thered man, "kinebec" (the serpent), the spirit of evil gave him battle. This part of their creed alone would almost establish theirBrahminic origin. 

The "Medecine" inspires the Indian with awe and dread; he is respected, but he has no friends, no squaws, no children. He is the man of darkdeeds, he that communes with the spirit of evil; he takes his knowledgefrom the earth, from the fissures of the rocks, and knows how to combinepoisons; he alone fears not "Anim Teki" (thunder). He can cure diseasewith his spells, and with them he can kill also; his glance is that ofthe snake, it withers the grass, fascinates birds and beasts, troublesthe brain of man, and throws in his heart fear and darkness. 

The Shoshone women, as well as the Apache and Arrapahoe, all of whom areof the Shoshone race, are very superior to the squaws of the EasternIndians. They are more graceful in their forms, and have more personalbeauty, I cannot better describe them than by saying that they have moresimilitude to the Arabian women than any other race. They are very cleanin their persons and in their lodges; and all their tribes having bothmale and female slaves, the Shoshone wife is not broken down by hardlabour, as are the squaws of the eastern tribes; to their husbands theyare most faithful, and I really believe that any attempt upon theirchastity would prove unavailing. They ride as bravely as the men, andare very expert with the bow and arrow, I once saw a very beautifullittle Shoshone girl, about ten years old, the daughter of a chief, whenher horse was at full speed, kill, with her bow and arrow, in the courseof a minute or two, nine out of a flock of wild turkeys which she wasin chase of. 

Their dress is both tasteful and chaste. It is composed of a looseshirt, with tight sleeves, made of soft and well-prepared doe-skin, almost always dyed blue or red; this shirt is covered from the waist bythe toga, which falls four or six inches below the knee, and is madeeither of swan-down, silk, or woollen stuff; they wear leggings of thesame material as the shirt, and cover their pretty little feet withbeautifully-worked moccasins; they have also a scarf, of a fine richtexture, and allow their soft and long raven hair to fall luxuriantlyover their shoulder, usually ornamented with flowers, but sometimes withjewels of great value; their ankles and wrists are also encircled bybracelets; and indeed to see one of these young and graceful creatures, with her eyes sparkling and her face animated with the exercise of thechase, often recalled to the mind a nymph of Diana, as describedby Ovid[10]. 

[Footnote 10: The Comanches women very much resemble the common squaws, being short and broad in figure. This arises from the Comanchessecluding the women and not permitting them air and exercise. ]

Though women participate not in the deeper mysteries of religion, someof them are permitted to consecrate themselves to the divinity, and tomake vows of chastity, as the vestals of Paganism or the nuns of theCatholic convents. But there is no seclusion. They dress as men, coveredwith leather from head to foot, a painting of the sun on their breasts. These women are warriors, but never go out with the parties, remainingalways behind to protect the villages. They also live alone, aredreaded, but not loved. The Indian hates anything or any body thatusurps power, or oversteps those bounds which appear to him as naturaland proper, or who does not fulfil what he considers as theirintended destiny. 

The fine evenings of summer are devoted, by the young Indian, tocourtship. When he has made his choice, he communicates it to hisparents, who take the business into their hands. Presents are carried tothe door of the fair one's lodge; if they are not accepted, there is anend to the matter, and the swain must look somewhere else; if they aretaken in, other presents are returned, as a token of agreement. Thesegenerally consist of objects of women's workmanship, such as garters, belts, moccasins, &c. ; then follows a meeting of the parents, whichterminates by a speech from the girl's father, who mentions his daughteras the "dove, " or "lily, " or "whisper of the breeze, " or any otherpretty Indian name which may appertain to her. She has been a gooddaughter, she will be a dutiful wife, her blood is that of a warrior's;she will bear noble children to her husband, and sing to them his greatdeeds, &c. The marriage day arrives at last; a meal of roots and fruitsis prepared; all are present except the bridegroom, whose arms, saddles, and property are placed behind the fair one. The door of the lodge isopen, its threshold lined with flowers; at sunset the young man presentshimself, with great gravity of deportment. As soon as he has taken aseat near the girl, the guests begin eating, but in silence; but soon asignal is given by the mothers, each guest rises, preparatory toretiring. At that moment, the two lovers cross their hands, and thehusband speaks for the first time, interrogatively:--"Faithful to thelodge, faithful to the father, faithful to his children?" She answerssoftly: "Faithful, ever faithful, in joy and in sorrow, in life and indeath"--"Penir, penir-asha, sartir nú cohta, lebeck nú tanim. " It is thelast formula, --the ceremony is accomplished. This may seem very simpleand ridiculous; to me it appeared almost sublime. Opinions depend uponhabits and education. 

The husband remains a whole year with his father-in-law, to whom belongsby right the produce of his hunting, both skins and flesh. The yearexpired, his bondage Is over, and he may if he wishes it, retire withhis wife to his own father's, or construct a lodge for his own use. Thehunter brings his game to his door, except when a heavy animal; thereends his task; the wife skins and cuts it; she dries the skin and curesthe meat. Yet if the husband is a prime hunter, whose time is precious, the woman herself, or her female relations, go out and seek the gamewhere It has been killed. When a man dies, his widow wears mourningduring two or four years; the same case happens with the widower, onlyhis duties are not so strict as that of a woman; and it often happensthat, after two years, he marries his sister-in-law, if there is any. The Indians think it a natural thing; they say that a woman will havemore care of her sister's children than of those of a stranger. Amongthe better classes of Indians, children are often affianced to eachother, even at the age of a few months. These engagements are sacred, and never broken. 

The Indians in general have very severe laws against murder, and theyare pretty much alike among the tribes; they are divided into twodistinct sections--murder committed in the nation and out of the nation. 

When a man commits a murder upon his own people, he runs away from histribe, or delivers himself to justice. In this latter case, the nearestrelation of the victim kills him openly, in presence of all thewarriors. In the first case, he is not pursued, but his nearest relationis answerable for the deed, and suffers the penalty, if by a given timehe has not produced the assassin. The death Is instantaneous, from theblow of a tomahawk. Often the chief will endeavour to make the partiessmoke the pipe of peace; if he succeeds, all ends here; If not, a victimmust be sacrificed. It is a stern law, which sometimes brings with itsexecution many great calamities. Vengeance has often become hereditary, from generation to generation; murders have succeeded murders, till oneof the two families has deserted the tribe. 

It is, no doubt, owing to such circumstances that great families, orcommunities of savages bearing the same type and speaking the sametongue, have been subdivided into so many distinct tribes. Thus it hasbeen with the Shoshones, whose emigrant families have formed theComanches, the Apaches, and the Arrapahoes. The Tonquewas have sincesprung from the Comanches, the Lepans and the Texas[11] (now extinct)from the Apaches, and the Navahoes from the Arrapahoes. Among theNadowessies or Dacotahs, the subdivision has been still greater, thesame original tribe having given birth to the Konsas, the Mandans, theTetons, the Yangtongs, Sassitongs, Ollah-Gallahs, the Siones, the WallahWallahs, the Cayuses, the Black-feet, and lastly the Winnebagoes. 

[Footnote 11: Formerly there was a considerable tribe of Indians, by thename of Texas, who have all disappeared, from continual warfare. ]

The Algonquin species, or family, produced twenty-one different tribes:the Micmacs, Etchemins, Abenakis, Sokokis, Pawtuckets, Pokanokets, Narragansets, Pequods, Mohegans, Lenilenapes, Nanticokes, Powatans, Shawnees, Miamis, Illinois, Chippewas, Ottawas, Menomonies, Sacs, Foxes, and the Kickapoos, which afterwards subdivided again into more than ahundred nations. 

But, to return to the laws of murder:--It often happens that the nephew, or brother of the murderer, will offer his life in expiation. Very oftenthese self-sacrifices are accepted, principally among the poorerfamilies, but the devoted is not put to death; he only loses hisrelationship and connection with his former family; he becomes a kind ofslave or bondsman for life in the lodges of the relations ofthe murdered. 

Sometimes, too, the guilty man's life is saved by a singular and veryancient law; it, however, happens but rarely. If the murdered leaves awidow with children, this widow may claim the criminal as her own, andhe becomes her husband nominally, that is to say, he must hunt andprovide for the subsistence of the family. 

When the murderer belongs to a hostile tribe, war is immediatelydeclared; if, on the contrary, he belongs to a friendly nation, thetribe will wait three or four months till the chiefs of that nation cometo offer excuses and compensation. When they do this, they bringpresents, which they leave at the door of the council lodge, one side ofwhich is occupied by the relations of the victims, the other by thechiefs and warriors of the tribe, and the centre by the ambassadors. Oneof these opens the ceremony by pronouncing a speech of peace, whileanother offers the pipe to the relations. If they refuse it, and thegreat chief of the tribe entertains a particular regard for the othernation, he rises and offers himself to the relations the calumet ofconciliation. If refused still, all the children and babes of themurdered one's family are called into the lodge, and the pipe passed athird time in that part of the lodge. Then if a child even two or threemonths old touches it, the Indians consider the act as a decision of thegreat Master of Life, the pipe goes round, the presents are carried in, and put at the feet of the plaintiffs. When on the contrary, the calumetpasses untouched, the murderer's life alone can satisfy the tribe. 

When the chiefs of the tribe of the murderer leave their village to comeand offer excuses, they bring with them the claimed victim, who is wellarmed. If he is held in high estimation, and has been a good warrior anda good man, the chiefs of his tribe are accompanied by a great number oftheir own warriors, who paint their faces before entering the councillodge; some in black with green spots, some all green (the pipe of peaceis always painted green). 

The relations of the murdered man stand on one side of the lodge, thewarriors of the other tribe opposite to them. In the centre is thechief, who is attended by the bearer of the pipe of peace on one side ofhim, and the murderer on the other. The chief then makes a speech, andadvances with the pipe-bearer and the murderer towards the relatives ofthe deceased; he entreats them, each man separately, to smoke the pipewhich is offered by the pipe-bearer, and when refused, offered to thenext of the relatives. 

During this time the murderer, who is well armed, stands by the chiefsside, advancing slowly, with his arrow or his carbine pointed, ready tofire at any one of the relations who may attempt to take his life beforethe pipe has been refused by the whole of them. When such is the case, if the chiefs want peace, and do not care much for the murderer, theyallow him to be killed without interference; if, on the contrary, theyvalue him and will not permit his death, they raise the war-whoop, theirwarriors defend the murderer's life, and the war between the two tribesmay be said to have commenced. 

Most usually, however, the pipe of peace is accepted, in preference toproceeding to such extremities. 

I will now mention the arms and accoutrement of the Shoshone warriors, observing, at the same time, that my remarks refer equally to theApaches, the Arrapahoes, and the Comanches, except that the great skillof the Shoshones turns the balance in their favour. A Shoshone is alwayson horseback, firmly sitting upon a small and light saddle of his ownmanufacture, without any stirrups, which indeed they prefer not to have, the only Indians using them being chiefs and celebrated warriors, whohave them as a mark of distinction, the more so that a saddle andstirrups are generally trophies obtained in battle from aconquered enemy. 

They have too good a taste to ornament their horses as the Mexicans, theCrows, or the Eastern Indians do; they think that the natural grace andbeauty of the animal are such that anything gaudy would break itsharmony; the only mark of distinction they put upon their steeds (andthe chiefs only can do so) is a rich feather or two, or three quills ofthe eagle, fixed to the rosette of the bridle, below the left ear; andas a Shoshone treats his horse as a friend, always petting him, cleaninghim, never forcing or abusing him, the animal is always in excellentcondition, and his proud eyes and majestic bearing present to thebeholder the beau ideal of the graceful and the beautiful. The elegantdress and graceful form of the Shoshone cavalier, harmonizes admirablywith the wild and haughty appearance of the animal. 

The Shoshone allows his well-combed locks to undulate with the wind, only pressed to his head by a small metal coronet, to which he fixesfeathers or quills, similar to those put to his horse's rosette. Thiscoronet is made either of gold or silver, and those who cannot afford touse these metals make it with swan-down or deer-skin, well-prepared andelegantly embroidered with porcupine quills; his arms are bare and hiswrists encircled with bracelets of the same material as the coronet; hisbody, from the neck to the waist, is covered with a small, softdeer-skin shirt, fitting him closely without a single wrinkle; from thewaist to the knee he wears a many-folded toga, of black, brown, red, orwhite woollen or silk stuff, which he procures at Monterey or St. Francisco, from the Valparaiso and China traders; his leg from the ankleto the hip is covered by a pair of leggings of deer-skin, dyed red orblack with some vegetable acids, and sewed with human hair, which hangsflowing, or in tresses, on the outward side; these leggings arefastened a little above the foot by other metal bracelets, while thefoot is encased in an elegantly finished mocassin, often edged withsmall beautiful round crimson shells, no bigger than a pea, and foundamong the fossil remains of the country. 

Round his waist, and to sustain the toga, he wears a sash, generallymade by the squaws out of the slender filaments of the silk-tree, aspecies of the cotton-wood, which is always covered with long threads, impalpable, though very strong. These are wove together, and richlydyed. I am sure that in Paris or in London, these scarfs, which are fromtwelve to fifteen feet long, would fetch a large sum among the ladies ofthe haut ton. I have often had one of them shut up in my hand so that itwas scarcely to be perceived that I had anything enclosed in my fist. 

Suspended to this scarf, they have the knife on the left side and thetomahawk on the right. The bow and quiver are suspended across theirshoulders by bands of swan-down three inches broad, while their longlance, richly carved, and with a bright copper or iron point, is carriedhorizontally at the side of the horse. Those who possess a carbine haveit fixed on the left side by a ring and a hook, the butt nearly close tothe sash, and the muzzle protruding a little before the knee. 

The younger warriors, who do not possess the carbine, carry in its steada small bundle of javelins (the jerrid of the Persians), with which theyare very expert, for I have often seen them, at a distance of ten feet, bury one more than two feet deep in the flanks of a buffalo. To completetheir offensive weapons, they have the lasso, a leather rope fifty feetlong, and as thick as a woman's little finger, hanging from the pommelof their saddles; this is a terrible arm, against which there is butlittle possibility of contending, even if the adversary possess a rifle, for the casting of the lasso is done with the rapidity of thought, andan attempt to turn round and fire would indubitably seal his fate: theonly means to escape the fatal noose is to raise the reins of your horseto the top of your head, and hold any thing diagonally from your body, such as the lance, the carbine, or anything except the knife, which youmust hold in your right hand, ready for use. 

The chances then are: if the lasso falls above your head, it must slip, and then it is a lost throw, but if you are quick enough to pass yourknife through the noose, and cut it as it is dragged back, then theadvantage becomes yours, or, at least is equally divided, for then youmay turn upon your enemy, whose bow, lance, and rifle, for the bettermanagement of his lasso, have been left behind, or too firmly tied abouthim to be disengaged and used in so short a time. He can only oppose youwith the knife and tomahawk, and if you choose, you may employ your ownlasso; in that case the position is reversed; still the conquest belongsto the most active of the two. 

It often happens, that after having cut the lasso and turned upon hisfoe, an Indian, without diminishing the speed of his horse, will pick upfrom the ground, where he has dropped it, his rifle or his lance; then, of course, victory is in his hands. I escaped once from being lassoed inthat way. I was pursued by a Crow Indian; his first throw failed, so didhis second and his third; on the fourth I cut the rope, and wheelinground upon him, I gave chase, and shot him through the body with one ofmy pistols. The noose at every cast formed such an exact circle, andfell with such precision, the centre above my head, and thecircumference reaching from the neck to the tail of my horse, that if Ihad not thrown away my rifle, lance, bow, and quiver, I shouldimmediately have been dragged to the ground. All the western Indians andMexicans are admirably expert in handling this deadly weapon. 

Before the arrival of the Prince Seravalle, the Shoshones had bucklers, but they soon cast them aside as an incumbrance: the skill which waswasted upon the proper management of this defensive armour being nowapplied to the improved use of the lance. I doubt much, whether, in thetournaments of the days of chivalry, the gallant knights could show totheir ladye-love greater skill than a Shoshone can exhibit when fightingagainst an Arrapahoe or a Crow[12]. 

[Footnote 12: The Crows, our neighbours, who are of the Dacotah race, are also excellent horsemen, most admirably dressed and fond of show, but they cannot be compared to the Shoshones; they have not the sameskill, and, moreover, they abuse and change their horses so often thatthe poor brutes are never accustomed to their masters. ]

But the most wonderful feat of the Shoshone, and also of the Comancheand Apache, is the facility with which he will hang himself alongsidehis horse in a charge upon an enemy, being perfectly invisible to him, and quite invulnerable, except through the body of his horse. Yet inthat difficult and dangerous position he will use any of his arms withprecision and skill. The way in which they keep their balance is verysimple; they pass their right arm, to the very shoulder, through thefolds of the lasso, which, as I have said, is suspended to the pommel orround the neck of the horse; for their feet they find a support in thenumerous loops of deer-skin hanging from the saddle; and thus suspended, the left arm entirely free to handle the bow, and the right one verynearly so, to draw the arrow, they watch their opportunity, and unlesspreviously wounded, seldom miss their aim. 

I have said that the Shoshones threw away their bucklers at theinstigation of the Prince Seravalle, who also taught them the Europeancavalry tactics. They had sense enough to perceive the advantage theywould gain from them, and they were immediately incorporated, as far aspossible, with their own. 

The Shoshones now charge in squadrons with the lance, form squares, wheel with wonderful precision, and execute many difficult manoeuvres;but as they combine our European tactics with their own Indian mode ofwarfare, one of the most singular sights is to witness the disappearancebehind their horses, after the Indian fashion, of a whole body ofperhaps five hundred horse when in full charge. The effect is moststrange; at one moment, you see the horses mounted by gallant fellows, rushing to the conflict; at a given signal, every man has disappeared, and the horses, in perfect line appear as if charging, without riders, and of their own accord, upon the ranks of the enemy. 

I have dwelt perhaps too long upon the manners and habits of thesepeople; I cannot help, however, giving my readers a proof of theknowledge which the higher classes among them really possess. I havesaid that they are good astronomers, and I may add that their intuitiveknowledge of geometry is remarkable. I once asked a young chief what heconsidered the height of a lofty pine. It was in the afternoon, aboutthree o'clock. He walked to the end of the shadow thrown by thepine-tree, and fixed his arrow in the ground, measured the length of thearrow, and then the length of the shadow thrown by it; then measuringthe shadow of the pine, he deducted from it in the same proportion asthe difference between the length of the arrow, and the length of itsshadow, and gave me the result. He worked the Rule of Three withoutknowing it. 

But the most remarkable instance occurred when we were about to cross awide and rapid river, and required a rope to be thrown across, as a stayto the men and horses. The question was, what was the length of the roperequired; _i. E. _, what was the width of the river? An old chief steppedhis horse forward, to solve the problem, and he did it as follows:--Hewent down to the side of the river, and fixed upon a spot as the centre;then he selected two trees, on the right and left, on the other side, asnear as his eye could measure equidistant from where he stood. Having sodone, he backed his horse from the river, until he came to where his eyetold him that he had obtained the point of an equilateral triangle. Thus, in the diagram he selected the two trees, A and B, walked back toE, and there fixed his lance. He then fell back in the direction E D, until he had, as nearly as he could tell, made the distance from A Eequal to that from E D, and fixed another lance. The same was repeatedto E C, when the last lance was fixed. He then had a parallelogram; andas the distance from F to E was exactly equal to the distance from E toG, he had but to measure the space between the bank of the river and E, and deduct it from E G, and he obtained the width of the river required. 

[Illustration]

I do not think that this calculation, which proved to be perfectlycorrect, occupied the old chief more than three minutes; and it must beremembered that it was done in the face of the enemy. But I resume myown history. 

CHAPTER X. 

In narrating the unhappy death of the Prince, I have stated that theCrows bore no good-will to the white men established among theShoshones. That feeling, however, was not confined to that tribe; it wasshared by all the others within two or three hundred miles from theBuona Ventura river, and it was not surprising! Since our arrival, thetribe had acquired a certain degree of tactics and unity of action whichwas sufficient in itself to bear down all their enemies, independent ofthe immense power they had obtained from their quantity of fire-arms andalmost inexhaustible ammunition. All the other nations were jealous oftheir strength and resources, and this jealousy being now worked up toits climax, they determined to unite and strike a great blow, not onlyto destroy the ascendancy which the Shoshones had attained, but also topossess themselves of the immense wealth which they foolishly supposedthe Europeans had brought with them to the settlement. 

For a long time previous to the Crow and Umbiqua expedition, which Ihave detailed, messengers had been passing between tribe and tribe, and, strange to say, they had buried all their private animosities to form aleague against the common enemy, as were considered the Shoshones. Itwas, no doubt, owing to this arrangement that the Crows and Umbiquasshowed themselves so hardy; but the prompt and successful retaliation ofthe Shoshones cooled a little the war spirit which was fomenting aroundus. However, the Arrapahoes having consented to join the league, theunited confederates at once opened the campaign, and broke upon ourcountry in every direction. 

We were taken by surprise; for the first three weeks they carriedeverything before them, for the majority of our warriors were stillhunting. But having been apprised of the danger, they returned inhaste, and the aspect of affairs soon changed. The lost ground wasregained inch by inch. The Arrapahoes having suffered a great deal, retired from the league, and having now nothing to fear from the south, we turned against our assailants on our northern boundaries. Notwithstanding the desertion of the Arrapahoes, the united tribes werestill three times our number, but they wanted union, and did not act inconcert. They mustered about fifteen thousand warriors, from theUmbiquas, Callapoos, Cayuses, Nez-percés, Bonnaxes, Flat-heads, and someof the Crows, who had not yet gained prudence from their last"brushing. " The superiority of our arms, our tactics, discipline, andart of intrenchment, together with the good service of two clumsy oldSpanish four-pounders, enabled us not only in a short time to destroythe league, but also to crush and annihilate for ever some of ourtreacherous neighbours. As it would be tedious to a stranger to followthe movements of the whole campaign, I will merely mention that part ofit in which I assisted[13]. 

[Footnote 13: The system of prairie warfare is so different from ours, that the campaign I have just related will not be easily understood bythose acquainted only with European military tactics. 

When a European army starts upon an expedition, it is always accompaniedby waggons, carrying stores of provisions and ammunition of all kinds. There is a commissariat appointed for the purpose of feeding the troops. Among the Indians there is no such thing, and except a few pieces ofdried venison, a pound weight of powder, and a corresponding quantity oflead, if he has a rifle, but if not, with his lance, bow, arrows, andtomahawk, the warrior enters the war-path. In the closer country, forwater and fuel, he trusts to the streams and to the trees of the forestsor mountains; when in the prairie, to the mud holes and chasms forwater, and to the buffalo-dung for his fire. His rifle and arrows willalways give him enough of food. 

But these supplies would not, of course, be sufficient for a greatnumber of men; ten thousand for example. A water-hole would be drainedby the first two or three hundred men that might arrive, and theremainder would be obliged to go without any. Then, unless perchancethey should fall upon a large herd of buffaloes, they would never beable to find the means of sustaining life. A buffalo, or three or fourdeer can be killed every day, by hunters out of the tract of anexpedition; this supply would suffice for a small war party, but itwould never do for an army. 

Except in the buffalo ranges, where the Comanches, the Apaches, and theSouthern Shoshones will often go by bands of thousands, the generalityof the Indians enter the path in a kind of _echelonage_; that is to say, supposing the Shoshones to send two thousand men against the Crows, theywould be divided into fifteen or twenty bands, each commanded by aninferior chief. The first party will start for reconnoitering. The nextday the second band, accompanied by the great chiefs, will follow, butin another track; and so on with a third, till three hundred or threehundred and fifty are united together. Then they will begin theiroperations, new parties coming to take the place of those who havesuffered, till they themselves retire to make room for others. Every newcomer brings a supply of provisions, the produce of their chase incoming, so that those who are fighting need be in no fear of wanting thenecessaries of life. By this the reader will see that a band of twothousand warriors, only four or five hundred are effectually fighting, unless the number of warriors agreed upon by the chiefs prove too small, when new reinforcements are sent forward. ] We were divided into fourwar parties: one which acted against the Bonnaxes and the Flat-heads, inthe north-east; the second, against the Cayuses and Nez-percés, at theforks of the Buona Ventura and Calumet rivers; the third remained nearthe settlement, to protect it from surprise; while the fourth, a verysmall one, under my father's command, and to which I was attached, remained in or about the boat-house, at the fishing station. Independentof these four parties, well-armed bands were despatched into the Umbiquacountry both by land and sea. 

In the beginning, our warfare on the shores of the Pacific amountedmerely to skirmishes, but by-and-bye, the Callapoos having joined theUmbiquas with a numerous party, the game assumed more interest. We notonly lost our advantages in the Umbiqua country, but were obliged littleby little to retire to the Post; this, however, proved to be oursalvation. We were but one hundred and six men, whilst our adversariesmustered four hundred and eighty, and yet full one-fifth of their numberwere destroyed in one afternoon, during a desperate attack which theymade upon the Post, which had been put into an admirable stateof defence. 

The roof had been covered with sheets of copper, and holes had beenopened in various parts of the wall for the use of the cannon, of ourpossession of which the enemy was ignorant The first assault wasgallantly conducted, and every one of the loopholes was choked withtheir balls and arrows. On they advanced, in a close and thick body, with ladders and torches, yelling like a million of demons. When at thedistance of sixty yards, we poured upon them the contents of our twoguns; they were heavily loaded with grape-shot, and produced a mostterrible effect. The enemy did not retreat; raising their war-whoop, onthey rushed with a determination truly heroical. 

The guns were again fired, and also the whole of our musketry, afterwhich a party of forty of our men made a sortie. This last charge wassudden and irresistible; the enemy fled in every direction, leavingbehind their dead and wounded. That evening we received a reinforcementof thirty-eight men from the settlement, with a large supply of buffalomeat and twenty fine young fat colts. This was a great comfort to us, as, for several days we had been obliged to live upon our dried fish. 

During seven days we saw nothing of the enemy; but our scouts scoured inevery direction, and our long-boat surprised, in a bay opposite GeorgePoint, thirty-six large boats, in which the Callapoos had come fromtheir territory. The boats were destroyed, and their keepers scalped. Asthe heat was very intense, we resolved not to confine ourselves any morewithin the walls of the Post; we formed a spacious camp, to the east ofthe block-house, with breastworks of uncommon strength. This planprobably saved us from some contagious disease; indeed, the bad smell ofthe dried fish, and the rarefied air in the building, had already begunto affect many of our men, especially the wounded. 

At the end of a week our enemy reappeared, silent and determined. Theyhad returned for revenge or for death; the struggle was to be a fearfulone. They encamped in the little open prairie on the other side of theriver, and mustered about six hundred men. 

The first war-party had overthrown and dispersed the Bonnaxes, as theywere on their way to join the Flat-heads; and the former tribe not beingable to effect the intended junction, threw itself among the Cayuses andNez-percés. These three combined nations, after a desultory warfare, gave way before the second war-party; and the Bonnaxes, being nowrendered desperate by their losses and the certainty that they would beexterminated if the Shoshones should conquer, joined the Callapoos andUmbiquas, to make one more attack upon our little garrison. 

Nothing could have saved us, had the Flat-heads held out any longer; butthe Black-feet, their irreconcilable enemies, seizing the opportunity, had entered their territory. They sued to us for peace, and thendetachments from both war-parties hastened to our help. Of this we wereapprised by our runners; and having previously concerted measures withmy father, I started alone to meet these detachments, in the passes ofthe Mineral Mountains. The returning warriors were seven hundred strong, and had not lost more than thirteen men in their two expeditions; theydivided into three bands, and succeeded, without discovery, insurrounding the prairie in which the enemy were encamped; an Indian wasthen sent to cross the river, a few miles to the east, and carry amessage to my father. 

The moon rose at one in the morning. It was arranged that, two hoursbefore its rising, the garrison of the block-house, which had alreadysuffered a great deal, during four days of a close siege, were to letoff the fireworks that I had received from the Mexicans at Monterey, andto watch well the shore on their side of the river; for we were to fallupon the enemy during their surprise, occasioned by such an unusualdisplay. All happened as was intended. At the first rocket, theBonnaxes, Callapoos, and Umbiquas were on the alert; but astonishmentand admiration very soon succeeded their fear of surprise, which theyknew could not be attempted from their opponents in front. The bombsburst, the wheels threw their large circles of coloured sparks, and thesavages gazed in silent admiration. But their astonishment was followedby fear of supernatural agency; confusion spread among them, and theirsilence was at last broken by hundreds of loud voices! The moment hadnow come; the two Shoshone war-parties rushed upon their terrifiedvictims, and an hour afterwards, when the moon rose and shone above theprairie, its mild beams were cast upon four hundred corpses. The wholeof the Bonnax and Umbiqua party were entirely destroyed. The Callapoossuffered but little, having dispersed, and run towards the sea-shore atthe beginning of the affray. 

Thus ended the great league against the Shoshones, which tradition willspeak of in ages yet to come. But these stirring events were followed bya severe loss to me. My father, aged as he was, had shown a great dealof activity during the last assault, and he had undergone much privationand fatigue: his high spirit sustained him to the very last of thestruggle; but when all was over, and the reports of the rifles nolonger whizzed to his ears, his strength gave way, and, ten days afterthe last conflict, he died of old age, fatigue, and grief. On theborders of the Pacific Ocean, a few miles inland, I have raised hisgrave. The wild flowers that grow upon it are fed by the clear waters ofthe Nú elejé sha wako, and the whole tribe of the Shoshones will longwatch over the tomb of the Pale-face from a distant land, who was oncetheir instructor and their friend. 

As for my two friends, Gabriel and Roche, they had been both seriouslywounded, and it was a long time before they were recovered. 

We passed the remainder of the summer in building castles in the air forthe future, and at last agreed to go to Monterey to pass the winter. Fate, however, ordered otherwise, and a succession of adventures, thecurrent of which I could not oppose, forced me through many wild scenesand countries, which I have yet to describe. 

CHAPTER XI. 

At the beginning of the fall, a few months after my father's death, Iand my two comrades, Gabriel and Roche, were hunting in the rollingprairies of the South, on the eastern shores of the Buona Ventura. Oneevening we were in high spirits, having had good sport. My two friendshad entered upon a theme which they could never exhaust, one pleasantlynarrating the wonders and sights of Paris, the other describing with histrue native eloquence the beauties of his country, and repeating the oldlocal Irish legends, which appeared to me quaint and highly poetical. 

Of a sudden we were surrounded by a party of sixty Arrapahoes; ofcourse, resistance or flight was useless. Our captors, however, treatedus with honour, contenting themselves with watching us closely andpreventing our escape. They knew who we were, and though my horse, saddle, and rifle were in themselves a booty for any chief, nothing wastaken on us. I addressed the chief, whom I knew:

"What have I done to the Morning Star of the Arrapahoes, that I shouldbe taken and watched like a sheep of the Watchinangoes?"

The chief smiled and put his hand upon my shoulders. "The Arrapahoes, "said he, "love the young Owato Wanisha and his pale-faced brothers, forthey are great warriors, and can beat their enemies with beautiful bluefires from the heavens. The Arrapahoes know all; they are a wise people. They will take Owato Wanisha to their own tribe that he may show hisskill to them, and make them warriors. He shall be fed with the fattestand sweetest dogs. He will become a great warrior among the Arrapahoes. So wish our prophets. I obey the will of the prophets and ofthe nation. "

"But, " answered I, "my Manitou will not hear me if I am a slave. ThePale-face Manitou has ears only for free warriors. He will not lend mehis fires unless space and time be my own. "

The chief interrupted me:--"Owato Wanisha is not a slave, nor can he beone. He is with his good friends, who will watch over him, light hisfire, spread their finest blankets in his tent, and fill it with thebest game of the prairie. His friends love the young chief, but he mustnot escape from them, else the evil spirit would make the youngArrapahoes drunk as a beastly Crow, and excite them in their folly tokill the Pale-faces. "

As nothing could be attempted for the present, we submitted to our fate, and were conducted by a long and dreary journey to the eastern shores ofthe Rio Colorado of the West, until at last we arrived at one of thenumerous and beautiful villages of the Arrapahoes. There we passed thewinter in a kind of honourable captivity. An attempt to escape wouldhave been the signal of our death, or, at least, of a harsh captivity. We were surrounded by vast sandy deserts, inhabited, by the Clubs(Piuses), a cruel race of people, some of them cannibals. Indeed, I mayas well here observe that most of the tribes inhabiting the Colorado aremen-eaters, even including the Arrapahoes, on certain occasions. Once wefell in with a deserted camp of Clubmen, and there we found the remainsof about twenty bodies, the bones of which had been picked withapparently as much relish as the wings of a pheasant would have been bya European epicure. This winter passed gloomily enough, and no wonder. Except a few beautiful groves, found here and there, like the oases inthe sands of the Sahara, the whole country is horribly broken andbarren. Forty miles above the Gulf of California, the Colorado ceases tobe navigable, and presents from its sources, for seven hundred miles, nothing but an uninterrupted series of noisy and tremendous cataracts, bordered on each side by a chain of perpendicular rocks, five or sixhundred feet high, while the country all around seems to have beenshaken to its very centre by violent volcanic eruptions. 

Winter at length passed away, and with the first weeks of spring wererenovated our hopes of escape. The Arrapahoes, relenting in theirvigilance, went so far as to offer us to accompany them in an expeditioneastward. To this, of course, we agreed, and entered very willingly uponthe beautiful prairies of North Sonora. Fortune favoured us; one day, the Arrapahoes, having followed a trail of Apaches and Mexicans, with anintent to surprise and destroy them, fell themselves into a snare, inwhich they were routed, and many perished. 

We made no scruples of deserting our late masters, and, spurring ourgallant steeds, we soon found that our unconscious liberators were aparty of officers bound from Monterey to Santa Fé, escorted bytwo-and-twenty Apaches and some twelve or fifteen families of Ciboleros. I knew the officers, and was very glad to have intelligence fromCalifornia. Isabella was as bright as ever, but not quite solight-hearted. Padre Marini, the missionary, had embarked for Peru, andthe whole city of Monterey was still laughing, dancing, singing, andlove-making, just as I had left them. 

The officers easily persuaded me to accompany them to Santa Fé, fromwhence I could readily return to Monterey with the next caravan. 

A word concerning the Ciboleros may not be uninteresting. Every year, large parties of Mexicans, some with mules, others with ox-carts, driveout into these prairies to procure for their families a season's supplyof buffalo beef. They hunt chiefly on horseback, with bow and arrow, orlance, and sometimes the fusil, whereby they soon load their carts andmules. They find no difficulty in curing their meat even in midsummer, by slicing it thin, and spreading or suspending it in the sun; or, if inhaste, it is slightly barbecued. During the curing operation, they oftenfollow the Indian practice of beating the slices of meat with theirfeet, which they say contributes to its preservation. 

Here the extraordinary purity of the atmosphere of these regions isremarkably exemplified. A line is stretched from corner to corner alongthe side of the waggon body, and strung with slices of beef, whichremain from day to day till they are sufficiently cured to be packed up. This is done without salt, and yet the meat rarely putrefies. 

The optic deception of the rarefied and transparent atmosphere of theseelevated plains is truly remarkable. One might almost fancy oneselflooking through a spy-glass; for objects often appear at scarceone-fourth of their real distance--frequently much magnified, and moreespecially much elevated. I have often seen flocks of antelopes mistakenfor droves of elks or wild horses, and when at a great distance, evenfor horsemen; whereby frequent alarms are occasioned. A herd ofbuffaloes upon a distant plain often appear so elevated in height, thatthey would be mistaken by the inexperienced for a large grove of trees. 

But the most curious, and at the same time the most tormentingphenomenon occasioned by optical deception, is the "mirage, " or, ascommonly called by the Mexican travellers, "the lying waters. " Even theexperienced prairie hunter is often deceived by these, upon the aridplains, where the pool of water is in such request. The thirstywayfarer, after jogging for hours under a burning sky, at length espiesa pond--yes, it must be water--it looks too natural for him to bemistaken. He quickens his pace, enjoying in anticipation the pleasuresof a refreshing draught; but, as he approaches, it recedes or entirelydisappears; and standing upon its apparent site, he is ready to doubthis own vision, when he finds but a parched sand under his feet. It isnot until he has been thus a dozen times deceived, that he is willing torelinquish the pursuit, and then, perhaps, when he really does see apond, he will pass it unexamined, from fear of another disappointment. 

The philosophy of these false ponds I have never seen satisfactorilyexplained. They have usually been attributed to a refraction, by which asection of the bordering sky is thrown below the horizon; but I amconvinced that they are the effect of reflection. It seems that a gas(emanating probably from the heated earth and its vegetable matter)floats upon the elevated flats, and is of sufficient density, whenviewed obliquely, to reflect the objects beyond it; thus the opposingsky being reflected in the pond of gas, gives the appearance of water. 

As a proof that it is the effect of reflection, I have often observedthe distant knolls and trees which were situated near the horizon beyondthe mirage, distinctly inverted in the "pond. " Now, were the mirage theresult of refraction, these would appear on it erect, only cast belowthe surface. Many are the singular atmospheric phenomena observable uponthe plains, and they would afford a field of interesting researches forthe curious natural philosopher. 

We had a pleasant journey, although sometimes pressed pretty hard byhunger. However, Gabriel, Roche, and I were too happy to complain. Wehad just escaped from a bitter and long slavery, besides which, we wereheartily tired of the lean and tough dogs of the Arrapahoes, which arethe only food of that tribe during the winter. The Apaches, who hadheard of our exploits, showed us great respect; but what still morecaptivated their good graces, was the Irishman's skill in playing thefiddle. It so happened that a Mexican officer having, during the lastfall, been recalled from Monterey to Santa Fé, had left his violin. Itwas a very fine instrument, an old Italian piece of workmanship, andworth, I am convinced, a great deal of money. 

At the request of the owner, one of the present officers had takencharge of the violin and packed it up, together with his trunks, in oneof the Cibolero's waggons. We soon became aware of the circumstance, andwhen we could not get anything to eat, music became our consolation. Tired as we were, we would all of us, "at least the Pale-faces, " dancemerrily for hours together, after we had halted, till poor Roche, exhausted, could no longer move his fingers. 

We were at last relieved of our obligatory fast, and enabled to lookwith contempt upon the humble prickly pears, which for many a long dayhad been our only food. Daily now we came across herds of fat buffaloes, and great was our sport in pursuing the huge lord of the prairies. Oneof them, by-the-bye, gored my horse to death, and would likely have putan end to my adventures, had it not been for the certain aim of Gabriel. I had foolishly substituted my bow and arrows for the rifle, that Imight show my skill to my companions. My vanity cost me dear; for thoughthe bull was a fine one, and had seven arrows driven through his neck, Ilost one of the best horses of the West, and my right leg wasconsiderably hurt. 

Having been informed that there was a large city or commonwealth ofprairie dogs directly in our route, I started on ahead with my twocompanions, to visit these republicans. We had a double object in view:first, a desire to examine one of the republics about which prairietravellers have said so much; and, secondly, to obtain something to eat, as the flesh of these animals was said to be excellent. 

Our road for six or seven miles wound up the sides of a gently ascendingmountain. On arriving at the summit, we found a beautiful table-landspread out, reaching for miles in every direction before us. The soilappeared to be uncommonly rich, and was covered with a luxurious growthof musqueet trees. The grass was of the curly musquito species, thesweetest and most nutritious of all the different kinds of that grass, and the dogs never locate their towns or cities except where it grows inabundance, as it is their only food. 

We had proceeded but a short distance after reaching this beautifulprairie, before we came upon the outskirts of the commonwealth. A fewscattered dogs were seen scampering in, and, by their short and sharpyelps, giving a general alarm to the whole community. 

The first cry of danger from the outskirts was soon taken up in thecentre of the city, and now nothing was to be seen in any direction buta dashing and a scampering of the mercurial and excitable citizens ofthe place, each to his lodge or burrow. Far as the eye could reach wasspread the city, and in every direction the scene was the same. We rodeleisurely along until we had reached the more thickly settled portion ofthe city, when we halted, and after taking the bridles from our horsesto allow them to graze, we prepared for a regular attack upon itsinhabitants. 

The burrows were not more than fifteen yards apart, with well-troddenpaths leading in different directions, and I even thought I coulddiscover something like regularity in the laying out of the streets. Wesat down upon a bank under the shade of a musqueet tree, and leisurelysurveyed the scene before us. Our approach had driven every one in ourimmediate vicinity to his home; but some hundred yards off, the smallmound of earth in front of a burrow was each occupied by a dog sittingstraight up on his hinder legs, and coolly looking about him toascertain the cause of the recent commotion. Every now and then somecitizen, more venturous than his neighbour, would leave his lodge on aflying visit to a companion, apparently to exchange a few words, andthen scamper back as fast as his legs would carry him. 

By-and-bye, as we kept perfectly still, some of our nearer neighbourswere seen cautiously poking their heads from out their holes and lookingcunningly, and at the same time inquisitively, about them. After sometime, a dog would emerge from the entrance of his domicile, squat uponhis looking-out place, shake his head, and commence yelping. 

For three hours we remained watching the movements of these animals, andoccasionally picking one of them off with our rifles. No less than ninewere obtained by the party. One circumstance I will mention as singularin the extreme, and which shows the social relationship which existsamong these animals, as well as the regard they have one for another. 

One of them had perched himself directly upon the pile of earth in frontof his hole, sitting up, and offering a fair mark, while a companion'shead, too timid, perhaps, to expose himself farther, was seen poking outof the entrance. A well-directed shot carried away the entire top of thehead of the first dog, and knocked him some two or three feet from hispost, perfectly dead. While reloading, the other daringly came out, seized his companion by one of his legs, and before we could arrive atthe hole, had drawn him completely out of reach, although we tried totwist him out with a ramrod. 

There was a feeling in this act--a something human, which raised theanimals in my estimation; and never after did I attempt to kill one ofthem, except when driven by extreme hunger. 

The prairie dog is about the size of a rabbit, heavier, perhaps, morecompact, and with much shorter legs. In appearance, it resembles theground hog of the north, although a trifle smaller than that animal. Intheir habits, the prairie dogs are social, never live alone like otheranimals, but are always found in villages or large settlements. They area wild, frolicsome set of fellows when undisturbed, restless, and everon the move. They seem to take especial delight in chattering away thetime, and visiting about, from hole to hole, to gossip and talk over oneanother's affairs; at least, so their actions would indicate. Oldhunters say that when they find a good location for a village, and nowater is handy, they dig a well to supply the wants of the community. 

On several occasions I have crept up close to one of their villages, without being observed, that I might watch their movements. Directly inthe centre of one of them I particularly noticed a very large dog, sitting in front of his door, or entrance to his burrow, and by his ownactions and those of his neighbours, it really looked as though he wasthe president, mayor, or chief; at all events, he was the "big dog" ofthe place. 

For at least an hour I watched the movements of this little community;during that time, the large dog I have mentioned received at least adozen visits from his fellow-dogs, who would stop and chat with him afew moments, and then run off to their domiciles. All this while henever left his post for a single minute, and I thought I could discovera gravity in his deportment not discernible in those by whom he wasaddressed. Far be it from me to say that the visits he received wereupon business, or having anything to do with the local government of thevillage; but it certainly appeared as if such was the case. If anyanimal is endowed with reasoning powers, or has any system of lawsregulating the body politic, it is the prairie dog. 

In different parts of the village the members of it were seengambolling, frisking, and visiting about, occasionally turning heelsover head into their holes, and appearing to have all sorts of fun amongthemselves. Owls of a singular species were also seen among them; theydid not appear to join in their sports in any way, but still seemed tobe on good terms, and as they were constantly entering and coming out ofthe same holes, they might be considered as members of the same family, or, at least, guests. Rattlesnakes, too, dwell among them; but the ideagenerally received among the Mexicans, that they live upon terms ofcompanion ship with the dogs, is quite ridiculous, and without anyfoundation. 

The snakes I look upon as _loafers_, not easily shaken off by theregular inhabitants, and they make use of the dwellings of the dogs asmore comfortable quarters than they could find elsewhere. We killed onea short distance from a burrow, which had made a meal of a little pup;although I do not think they can master full-grown dogs. 

This town, which we visited, was several miles in length, and at least amile in width. Around and in the vicinity were smaller villages, suburbsto the town. We kindled a fire, and cooked three of the animals we hadshot; the meat was exceeding sweet, tender, and juicy, resembling thatof the squirrel, only that there was more fat upon it. 

CHAPTER XII. 

Among these Apaches, our companions, were two Comanches, who, fifteenyears before, had witnessed the death of the celebrated Overton. As thiswretch, for a short time, was employed as an English agent by the FurCompany, his wild and romantic end will probably interest the manyreaders who have known him; at all events, the narrative will serve as aspecimen of the lawless career of many who resort to the westernwilderness. 

Some forty-four years ago, a Spanish trader had settled among a tribe ofthe Tonquewas[14], at the foot of the Green Mountains. He had taken anIndian squaw, and was living there very comfortably, paying no taxes, but occasionally levying some, under the shape of black mail, upon thesettlements of the province of Santa Fé. In one excursion, however, hewas taken and hung, an event soon forgotten both by Spaniards andTonquewas. He had left behind him, besides a child and a squaw, propertyto a respectable amount; the tribe took his wealth for their own use, but cast away the widow and her offspring. She fell by chance into thehands of a jolly, though solitary Canadian trapper, who, not having themeans of selecting his spouse, took the squaw for better and for worse. 

[Footnote 14: The Tonquewas tribe sprang from the Comanches many yearsago. ]

In the meantime the young half-breed grew to manhood, and earlydisplayed a wonderful capacity for languages. The squaw died, and thetrapper, now thinking of the happy days he had passed among thecivilized people of the East, resolved to return thither, and took withhim the young half-breed, to whom by long habit he had become attached. They both came to St. Louis, where the half-breed soon learned enough ofEnglish to make himself understood, and one day, having gone with his"father-in-law" to pay a visit to the Osages, he murdered him on theway, took his horse, fusil, and sundries, and set up for himself. 

For a long time he was unsuspected, and, indeed, if he had been, hecared very little about it. He went from tribe to tribe, living anindolent life, which suited his taste perfectly; and as he was verynecessary to the Indians as an interpreter during their barteringtransactions with the Whites, he was allowed to do just as he pleased. He was, however, fond of shifting from tribe to tribe, and the tradersseeing him now with the Pawnies or the Comanches, now with the Crows orthe Tonquewas, gave him the surname of "Turn-over, " which name, making asomersault, became Over-turn, and, by corruption, Overton. 

By this time everybody had discovered that Overton was a greatscoundrel, but as he was useful, the English company from Canadaemployed him, paying him very high wages. But his employers havingdiscovered that he was almost always tipsy, and not at all backward inappropriating to himself that to which he had no right, dismissed himfrom their service, and Overton returned to his former life. By-and-bye, some Yankees made him proposals, which he accepted; what was the natureof them no one can exactly say, but everybody may well fancy, knowingthat nothing is considered more praiseworthy than cheating the Indiansin their transactions with them, through the agency of some rascallyinterpreter, who, of course, receives his _tantum quantum_ of theprofits of his treachery. For some time the employers and employedagreed amazingly well, and as nothing is cheaper than military titles inthe United States, the half-breed became Colonel Overton, with boots andspurs, a laced coat, and a long sword. Cunning as were the Yankees, Overton was still more so; cheating them as he had cheated the Indians. The holy alliance was broken up; he then retired to the mountains, protected by the Mexican government, and commenced a system of generaldepredation, which for some time proved successful. His most ordinarymethod was to preside over a barter betwixt the savages and the traders. When both parties had agreed, they were of course in good humour, anddrank freely. Now was the time for the Colonel. To the Indians he wouldaffirm that the traders only waited till they were asleep, to butcherthem and take back their goods. The same story was told to the traders, and a fight ensued, the more terrible as the whole party was more orless tipsy. Then, with some rogues in his own employ, the Colonel, underthe pretext of making all safe, would load the mules with the furs andgoods, proceed to Santa Fé, and dispose of his booty for one-third ofits value. None cared how it had been obtained; it was cheap, consequently it was welcome. 

His open robberies and tricks of this description were so numerous thatOverton became the terror of the mountains. The savages swore that theywould scalp him; the Canadians vowed that they would make him dance todeath; the English declared that they would hang him; and the Yankees, they would put him to Indian torture. The Mexicans, not being able anymore to protect their favourite, put a price upon his head. Under thesecircumstances, Overton took an aversion to society, concealed himself, and during two years nothing was heard of him, when, one day, as a partyof Comanches and Tonquewas were returning from some expedition, theyperceived a man on horseback. They knew him to be Overton, and gavechase immediately. 

The chase was a long one. Overton was mounted upon a powerful and noblesteed, but the ground was broken and uneven; he could not get out of thesight of his pursuers. However, he reached a platform covered with finepine trees, and thought himself safe, as on the other side of the woodthere was a long level valley extending for many miles; and there hewould be able to distance his pursuers, and escape. Away he darted likelightning, their horrible yell still ringing in his ears; he spurred hishorse, already covered with foam, entered the plain, and, to his horrorand amazement, found that between him and the valley there was ahorrible chasm, twenty-five feet in breadth and two hundred feet indepth, with acute angles of rocks, as numerous as the thorns upon aprickly pear. What could he do? His tired horse refused to take theleap, and he could plainly hear the voice of the Indians encouragingeach other in the pursuit. 

Along the edge of the precipice there lay a long hollow log, which hadbeen probably dragged there with the intention of making a bridge acrossthe chasm. Overton dismounted, led his horse to the very brink, andpricked him with his knife the noble animal leaped, but his strength wastoo far gone for him to clear it; his breast struck the other edge, andhe fell from crag to crag into the abyss below. This over, the fugitivecrawled to the log, and concealed himself under it, hoping that he wouldyet escape. He was mistaken, for he had been seen; at that moment, thesavages emerged from the wood, and a few minutes more brought themaround the log. Now certain of their prey, they wished to make himsuffer a long moral agony, and they feigned not to know where he was. 

"He has leaped over, " said one; "it was the full jump of a panther. Shall we return, or encamp here?"

The Indians agreed to repose for a short time; and then began aconversation. One protested, if he could ever get Overton, he would makehim eat his own bowels. Another spoke of red-hot irons and of creepingflesh. No torture was left unsaid, and horrible must have been theposition of the wretched Overton. 

"His scalp is worth a hundred dollars, " said one. 

"We will get it some day, " answered another. "But since we are here, wehad better camp and make a fire; there is a log. "

Overton now perceived that he was lost. From under the log he cast aglance around him: there stood the grim warriors, bow in hand, and readyto kill him at his first movement. He understood that the savages hadbeen cruelly playing with him, and enjoying his state of horriblesuspense. Though a scoundrel, Overton was brave, and had too much of thered blood within him not to wish to disappoint his foes--he resolved toallow himself to be burnt, and thus frustrate the anticipated pleasureof his cruel persecutors. To die game to the last is an Indian's glory, and under the most excruciating tortures, few savages will ever give wayto their bodily sufferings. 

Leaves and dried sticks soon surrounded and covered the log--fire wasapplied, and the barbarians watched in silence. But Overton had reckonedtoo much upon his fortitude. His blood, after all, was but half Indian, and when the flames caught his clothes he could bear no more. He burstout from under the fire, and ran twice round within the circle of histormentors. They were still as the grave, not a weapon was aimed at him, when, of a sudden, with all the energy of despair, Overton sprangthrough the circle and took the fearful leap across the chasm. Incredible as it may appear, he cleared it by more than two feet; a cryof admiration burst from the savages; but Overton was exhausted, and hefell slowly backwards. They crouched upon their breasts to lookdown--for the depth was so awful as to giddy the brain--and saw theirvictim, his clothes still in flames, rolling down from rock to rock tillall was darkness. 

Had he kept his footing on the other side of the chasm, he would havebeen safe, for a bold deed always commands admiration from the savage, and at that time they would have scorned to use their arrows. 

Such was the fate of Colonel Overton!

CHAPTER XIII. 

At last we passed the Rio Grande, and a few days more brought us toSanta Fé. Much hath been written about this rich and romantic city, where formerly, if we were to believe travellers, dollars and doubloonswere to be had merely for picking them up; but I suspect the writers hadnever seen the place, for it is a miserable, dirty little hole, containing about three thousand souls, almost all of them half-bred, naked, and starved. Such is Santa Fé. You will there witness spectaclesof wretchedness and vice hardly to be found elsewhere--harsh despotism;immorality carried to its highest degree, with drunkenness and filth. 

The value of the Santa Fé trade has been very much exaggerated. Thistown was formerly the readiest point to which goods could be broughtoverland from the States to Mexico; but since the colonization of Texasit is otherwise. The profits also obtained in this trade are far frombeing what they used to be. The journey from St. Louis (Missouri) isvery tedious, the distance being about twelve hundred miles, nor is thejourney ended when you reach Santa Fé, as they have to continue toChihuahua. Goods come into the country at a slight duty, compared tothat payable on the coast, five hundred dollars only (whatever may bethe contents), being charged upon each waggon; and it is this privilegewhich supports the trade. But the real market commences at Chihuahua;north of which nothing is met with by the traveller, except the mostabject moral and physical misery. 

Of course, our time passed most tediously; the half-breeds were toostupid to converse with, and the Yankee traders constantly tipsy. Had itnot been that Gabriel was well acquainted with the neighbourhood, weshould positively have died of _ennui_. As it was, however, we made someexcursions among the _rancheros_, or cattle-breeders, and visitedseveral Indian tribes, with whom we hunted, waiting impatiently for awestward-bound caravan. 

One day, I had a rather serious adventure. Roche and Gabriel werebear-hunting, while I, feeling tired, had remained in a rancho, where, for a few days, we had had some amusement; in the afternoon, I felt aninclination to eat some fish, and being told that at three or four milesbelow, there was a creek full of fine basses, I went away with my rifle, hooks, and line. I soon found the spot, and was seeking for some birdsor squirrels, whose flesh I could use as bait. As, rifle in hand, Iwalked, watching the branches of the trees along the stream, I feltsomething scratching my leggings and moccasins; I looked down, andperceived a small panther-cub frisking and frolicking around my feet, inviting me to play with it. It was a beautiful little creature, scarcely bigger than a common cat. I sat down, put my rifle across myknees, and for some minutes caressed it, as I would have done anordinary kitten; it became very familiar, and I was just thinking oftaking it with me, when I heard behind me a loud and well-known roar, and, as the little thing left me, over my head bounded a dark heavybody. It was a full-grown panther, the mother of the cub. I had neverthought of her. 

I rose immediately. The beast having missed the leap, had fallen twelvefeet before me. It crouched, sweeping the earth with its long tail, andlooking fiercely at me. Our eyes met; I confess it, my heart was verysmall within me. I had my rifle, to be sure, but the least movement topoise it would have been the signal for a spring from the animal. Atlast, still crouching, it crept back, augmenting the distance to aboutthirty feet. Then it made a circle round me, never for a moment takingits eyes off my face, for the cub was still playing at my feet. I haveno doubt that if the little animal had been betwixt me and the mother, she would have snatched it and run away with it. As it was, I felt very, very queer; take to my heels I could not, and the panther would notleave her cub behind; on the contrary, she continued making a circleround me, I turning with her, and with my rifle pointed towards her. 

As we both turned, with eyes straining at each other, inch by inch Islowly raised my rifle, till the butt reached my shoulder; I caught thesight and held my breath. The cub, in jumping, hurt itself, and mewed;the mother answered by an angry growl, and just as she was about tospring, I fired; she stumbled backwards, and died without a struggle. Myball, having entered under the left eye, had passed through the skull, carrying with it a part of the brain. 

It was a terrific animal; had I missed it, a single blow from her pawwould have crushed me to atoms. Dead as it was, with its claws extended, as if to seize its prey, and its bleeding tongue hanging out, it struckme with awe. I took off the skin, hung it to a tree, and securing thecub, I hastened home, having lost my appetite for fishing or afish-supper for that evening. 

A week after this circumstance, a company of traders arrived from St. Louis. They had been attacked by Indians, and made a doleful appearance. During their trip they had once remained six days without any kind offood, except withered grass. Here it may not be amiss to say a few wordsabout the origin of this inland mercantile expedition, and the dangerswith which the traders are menaced. 

In 1807, Captain Pike, returning from his exploring trip in the interiorof the American continent, made it known to the United States merchantsthat they could establish a very profitable commerce with the centralprovinces of the north of Mexico; and in 1812, a small party ofadventurers. Millar, Knight, Chambers, Beard, and others, their wholenumber not exceeding twelve, forced their way from St. Louis to SantaFé, with a small quantity of goods. 

It has always been the policy of the Spaniards to prevent strangers frompenetrating into the interior of their colonies. At that period, Mexicobeing in revolution, strangers, and particularly Americans, were lookedupon with jealousy and distrust. These merchants were, consequently, seized upon, their goods confiscated, and themselves shut up in theprisons of Chihuahua, where, during several years, they underwent arigorous treatment. 

It was, I believe, in the spring of 1821, that Chambers, with the otherprisoners, returned to the United States, and shortly afterwards atreaty with the States rendered the trade lawful. Their accounts inducedone Captain Glenn, of Cincinnati, to join them in a commercialexpedition, and another caravan, twenty men strong, started again forSanta Fé. They sought a shorter road, to fall in with the Arkansasriver, but their enterprise failed; for, instead of ascending the streamof the Canadian fork, it appears that they only coasted the great riverto its intersection by the Missouri road. 

There is not a drop of water in this horrible region, which extends evento the Cimaron river, and in this desert they had to suffer all thepangs of thirst. They were reduced to the necessity of killing theirdogs and bleeding their mules to moisten their parched lips. None ofthem perished; but, quite dispirited, they changed their direction andturned back to the nearest point of the river Arkansas, where they wereat least certain to find abundance of water. By this time their beastsof burden were so tired and broken down that they had become of no use. They were therefore obliged to conceal their goods, and arrived withoutany more trouble at Santa Fé, when, procuring other mules, they returnedto their cachette. 

Many readers are probably unaware of the process employed by the tradersto conceal their cargo, their arms, and even their provisions. It isnothing more than a large excavation In the earth, in the shape of ajar, in which the objects are stored; the bottom of the cachette havingbeen first covered with wood and canvas, so as to prevent anything beingspoiled by the damp. The important science of cachaye (Canadianexpression) consists in leaving no trace which might betray it to theIndians; to prevent this, the earth taken from the excavation is putinto blankets and carried to a great distance. 

The place generally selected for a cachette is a swell in the prairie, sufficiently elevated to be protected from any kind of inundation, andthe arrangement is so excellent, that it is very seldom that the traderslose anything in their cachette, either by the Indians, the changes ofthe climate, or the natural dampness of the earth. 

In the spring of 1820, a company from Franklin, in the west of Missouri, had already proceeded to Santa Fé, with twelve mules loaded with goods. They crossed prairies where no white man had ever penetrated, having noguides but the stars of Heaven, the morning breeze from the mountains, and perhaps a pocket compass. Daily they had to pass through hostilenations; but spite of many other difficulties, such as ignorance of thepasses and want of water, they arrived at Santa Fé. 

The adventurers returned to Missouri during the fall; their profit hadbeen immense, although the capital they had employed had been verysmall. Their favourable reports produced a deep sensation, and in thespring of the next year, Colonel Cooper and some associates, to thenumber of twenty-two, started with fourteen mules well loaded. This timethe trip was a prompt and a fortunate one; and the merchants of St. Louis getting bolder and bolder, formed, in 1822, a caravan of seventymen, who carried with them goods to the amount of fortythousand dollars. 

Thus began the Santa Fé trade, which assumed a more regular character. Companies started in the spring to return in the fall, with incrediblebenefits, and the trade increasing, the merchants reduced the number oftheir guards, till, eventually, repeated attacks from the savagesobliged them to unite together, in order to travel with safety. 

At first the Indians appeared disposed to let them pass without any kindof interruption; but during the summer of 1826 they began to steal themules and the horses of the travellers; yet they killed nobody till1828. Then a little caravan, returning from Santa Fé, followed thestream of the north fork of the Canadian river. Two of the traders, having preceded the company in search of game, fell asleep on the edgeof a brook. These were espied by a band of Indians, who surprised them, seized their rifles, took their scalps and retired before the caravanhad reached the brook, which had been agreed upon as the place ofrendezvous. When the traders arrived, one of the victims still breathed. They carried him to the Cimaron, where he expired, and was buriedaccording to the prairie fashion. 

Scarcely had the ceremony been terminated, when upon a neighbouring hillappeared four Indians, apparently ignorant of what had happened. Theexasperated merchants invited them into their camp, and murdered allexcept one, who, although wounded, succeeded in making his escape. 

This cruel retaliation brought down heavy punishment. Indeed from thatperiod the Indians vowed an eternal war--a war to the knife, "in theforests and the prairies, in the middle of rivers and lakes, and evenamong the mountains covered with eternal snows. "

Shortly after this event another caravan was fallen in with and attackedby the savages, who carried off with them thirty-five scalps, twohundred and fifty mules, and goods to the amount of thirtythousand dollars. 

These terrible dramas were constantly reacted in these vast westernsolitudes, and the fate of the unfortunate traders would be unknown, until some day, perchance, a living skeleton, a famished being, coveredwith blood, dust, and mire, would arrive at one of the military posts onthe borders, and relate an awful and bloody tragedy, from which he alonehad escaped. 

In 1831, Mr. Sublette and his company crossed the prairies withtwenty-five waggons. He and his company were old pioneers among theRocky Mountains, whom the thirst of gold had transformed into merchants. They went without guides, and no one among them had ever performed thetrip. All that they knew was that they were going from such to such adegree of longitude. They reached the Arkansas river, but from thence tothe Cimaron there is no road, except the numerous paths of thebuffaloes, which, intersecting the prairie, very often deceive thetravellers. 

When the caravan entered this desert the earth was entirely dry, and thepioneers mistaking their road, wandered during several days exposed toall the horrors of a febrile thirst under a burning sun. Often they wereseduced by the deceitful appearance of a buffalo-path, and in thisperilous situation Captain Smith, one of the owners of the caravan, resolved to follow one of these paths, which he considered wouldindubitably lead him to some spring of water or to a marsh. 

He was alone, but he had never known fear. He was the most determinedadventurer who had ever passed the Rocky Mountains, and if but half ofwhat is said of him is true, his dangerous travels and his hairbreadthescapes would fill many volumes more interesting and romantic than thebest pages of the American novelist. Poor man! after having during somany years escaped from the arrows and bullets of the Indians, he wasfated to fall under the tomahawk, and his bones to bleach upon thedesert sands. 

He was about twelve miles from his comrades, when, turning round a smallhill, he perceived the long-sought object of his wishes. A small streamglided smoothly in the middle of the prairie before him. It was theriver Cimaron. He hurried forward to moisten his parched lips, but justas he was stooping over the water he fell, pierced by ten arrows. A bandof Comanches had espied him, and waited there for him. Yet he struggledbravely. The Indians have since acknowledged that, wounded as he was, before dying, Captain Smith had killed three of their people. 

Such was the origin of the Santa Fé trade, and such are the liabilitieswhich are incurred even now, in the great solitudes of the West. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Time passed away till I and my companions were heartily tired of ourinactivity: besides, I was home-sick, and I had left articles of greatvalue at the settlement, about which I was rather fidgety. So one day wedetermined that we would start alone, and return to the settlement by adifferent road. We left Santa Fé and rode towards the north, and it wasnot until we had passed Taos, the last Mexican settlement, that webecame ourselves again and recovered our good spirits. Gabriel knew theroad; our number was too small not to find plenty to eat, and as to thehostile Indians, it was a chance we were willing enough to encounter. Afew days after we had quitted Santa Fé, and when In the neighbourhoodof the Spanish Peaks and about thirty degrees north latitude, we fell inwith a numerous party of the Comanches. 

It was the first time we had seen them in a body, and it was a grandsight. Gallant horsemen they were and well mounted. They were out uponan expedition against the Pawnee[15] Loups, and they behaved to us withthe greatest kindness and hospitality. The chief knew Gabriel, andinvited us to go in company with them to their place of encampment. Thechief was a tall, fine fellow, and with beautiful symmetry of figure. Hespoke Spanish well, and the conversation was carried on in that tongueuntil the evening, when I addressed him in Shoshone, which beautifuldialect is common to the Comanches, Apaches, and Arrapahoes, and relatedto him the circumstances of our captivity on the shores of the Coloradoof the West. As I told my story the chief was mute with astonishment, until at last, throwing aside the usual Indian decorum, he grasped mefirmly by the hand. He knew I was neither a Yankee nor a Mexican, andswore that for my sake every Canadian or Frenchman falling in theirpower should be treated as a friend. After our meal we sat comfortablyround the fires, and listened to several speeches and traditions ofthe warriors. 

[Footnote 15: The word Pawnee signifies "_exiled_;" therefore it doesnot follow that the three tribes bearing the same name belong to thesame nation. 

The Grand Pawnees, the tribe among whom Mr. Murray resided, are ofDahcotah origin, and live along the shores of the river Platte; thePawnee Loups are of the Algonquin race, speaking quite another language, and occupying the country situated between the northern forks of thesame river. Both tribes are known among the trappers to be the "Crows ofthe East;" that is to say, thieves and treacherous. They cut their hairshort except on the scalp, as is usual among the nations which they havesprung from. 

The third tribe of that name is called Pawnee Pict; these are ofComanche origin and Shoshone race, wearing their hair long, and speakingthe same language as all the western great prairie tribes. They liveupon the Red River, which forms the boundary betwixt North Texas and theWestern American boundary, and have been visited by Mr. Catlin, whomentions them in his work. The Picts are constantly at war with the twoother tribes of Pawnees; and though their villages are nearly onethousand miles distant from those of their enemy, their war-partiesare continually scouring the country of the "Exiles of theEast"--"_Pa-wah-nêjs_. "]

One point struck me forcibly during my conversation with that noblewarrior. According to his version, the Comanches were in the beginningvery partial to the Texans, as they were brave, and some of themgenerous. But he said that afterwards, as they increased their numbersand established their power, they became a rascally people, cowards andmurderers. One circumstance above all fire the blood of the Comanches, and since that time it has been and will be with them a war ofextinction against the Texans. 

An old Comanche, with a daughter, had separated himself from theirtribe. He was a chief, but he had been unfortunate, and being sick, heretired to San Antonio to try the skill of the great pale-face médecin. His daughter was a noble and handsome girl of eighteen, and she had notbeen long in the place before she attracted the attention of a certaindoctor, a young man from Kentucky, who had been tried for murder in theStates. He was the greatest scoundrel in the world, but being adesperate character, he was feared, and, of course, courted by hisfellow Texans. 

Perceiving that he could not succeed in his views so long as the girlwas with her father, he contrived to throw the old man into gaol, andinducing her to come to his house to see what could be done to releasehim, he abused her most shamefully, using blows and violence toaccomplish his purpose, to such a degree, that he left her for dead. Towards the evening, she regained some strength, and found a shelter inthe dwelling of some humane Mexican. 

The old Indian was soon liberated: he found his daughter, but it was onher death-bed, and then he learned the circumstances of the shamefultransaction, and deeply vowed revenge. A Mexican gentleman, indignant atsuch a cowardly deed, in the name of outraged nature and humanity, laidthe cause before a jury of Texans. The doctor was acquitted by the Texanjury, upon the ground that the laws were not made for the benefit of theComanches. 

The consequences may be told in a few words. One day Dr. Cobbet wasfound in an adjoining field stabbed to the heart and scalped. The Indianhad run away, and meeting with a party of Comanches, he related hiswrongs and his revenge. They received him again into the tribe, but theinjury was a national one, not sufficiently punished: that weektwenty-three Texans lost their scalps, and fourteen women were carriedinto the wilderness, there to die in captivity. 

The Comanche chief advised us to keep close to the shores of the RioGrande, that we might not meet with the parties of the Pawnee Loups; andso much was he pleased with us, that he resolved to turn out of his wayand accompany us with his men some thirty miles farther, when we shouldbe comparatively out of danger. The next morning we started, the chiefand I riding close together and speaking of the Shoshones. We exchangedour knives as a token of friendship, and when we parted, he assembledall his men and made the following speech:--

"The young chief of the Shoshones Is returning to his brave peopleacross the rugged mountains. Learn his name, so that you may tell yourchildren that they have a friend in Owato Wanisha. He Is neither aShakanath (an Englishman) nor a Kishemoc Comoanak (a long knife, aYankee). He Is a chief among the tribe of our great-grandfathers, he isa chief, though he is very, very young. "

At this moment all the warriors came, one after the other, to shakehands with me, and when this ceremony was terminated, the chief resumedhis discourse. 

"Owato Wanisha, we met as strangers, we part as friends. Tell your youngwarriors you have been among the Comanches, and that we would like toknow them. Tell them to come, a few or many, to our _waikiams_ (lodges);they will find the moshkotaj (buffalo) in plenty. 

"Farewell, young chief, with a pale face and an Indian heart; the earthbe light to thee and thine. May the white Manitou clear for thee themountain path, and may you never fail to remember _Opishka Toaki_ (theWhite Raven), who is thy Comanche friend, and who would fain share withthee his home, his wealth, and his wide prairies. I have said: youngbrother, farewell. "

The tears stood in our eyes as gallantly the band wheeled round. Wewatched them till they had all disappeared in the horizon. And thesenoble fellows were Indians; had they been Texans, they would havemurdered us to obtain our horses and rifles. 

Two days after, we crossed the Rio Grande, and entered the dreary pathof the mountains In the hostile and Inhospitable country of the Navahoesand the Crows[16]. 

[Footnote 16: The Crows are gallant horsemen; but although they haveassumed the manners and customs of the Shoshones, they are of theDahcotah breed. There is a great difference between the Shoshone tribesand the Crows. The latter want that spirit of chivalry so remarkableamong the Comanches, the Arrapahoes, and the Shoshones--that nobility offeeling which scorns to take an enemy at a disadvantage, I should saythat the Shoshone tribes are the lions and the Crows the tigers of thesedeserts. ]

We had been travelling eight days on a most awful stonyroad, when at last we reached the head waters of the Colorado of theWest, but we were very weak, not having touched any food during the lastfive days, except two small rattlesnakes, and a few berries we hadpicked up on the way. On the morning we had chased a large grizzly bear, but to no purpose; our poor horses and ourselves were too exhausted tofollow the animal for any time, and with its disappearance vanished awayall hopes of a dinner. 

It was evening before we reached the river, and, by that time, we wereso much maddened with hunger, that we seriously thought of killing oneof our horses. Luckily, at that instant, we espied smoke rising from acamp of Indians in a small valley. That they were foes we had no doubt;but hunger can make heroes, and we determined to take a meal at theirexpense. The fellows had been lucky, for around their tents they hadhung upon poles large pieces of meat to dry. They had no horses, andonly a few dogs scattered about the camp. We skirted the plain insilence, and at dark we had arrived at three hundred yards from them, concealed by the projecting rocks which formed a kind of belt aroundthe camp. 

Now was our time. Giving the Shoshone war-whoop, and making as muchnoise as we could, we spurred on our horses, and in a few moments eachof us had secured a piece of meat from the poles. The Crows (for thecamp contained fifteen Crows and three Arrapahoes), on hearing thewar-whoop, were so terrified that they had all run away without everlooking behind them; but the Arrapahoes stood their ground, and havingrecovered from their first surprise, they assaulted us bravely withtheir lances and arrows. 

Roche was severely bruised by his horse falling, and my pistol, bydisabling his opponent, who was advancing with his tomahawk, saved hislife. Gabriel had coolly thrown his lasso round his opponent, and hadalready strangled him, while the third had been in the very beginning ofthe attack run over by my horse. Gabriel lighted on the ground, enteredthe lodges, cut the strings of all the bows he could find, and, collecting a few more pieces of the meat, we started at a full gallop, not being inclined to wait till the Crows should have recovered fromtheir panic. Though our horses were very tired, we rode thirteen milesmore that night, and, about ten o'clock, arrived at a beautiful spotwith plenty of fine grass and cool water, upon which both we and ourhorses stretched ourselves most luxuriously even before eating. 

Capital jokes were passed round that night while we were discussing thequalities of the mountain-goat flesh, but yet I felt annoyed at ourfeat; the thing, to be sure, had been gallantly done, still it wasnothing better than highway robbery. Hunger, however, is a goodpalliative for conscience, and, having well rubbed our horses, whoseemed to enjoy their grazing amazingly, we turned to repose, watchingalternately for every three hours. 

The next day at noon we met with unexpected sport and company. As wewere going along, we perceived two men at a distance, sitting closetogether upon the ground, and apparently in a vehement conversation. Asthey were white men, we dismounted and secured our horses, and thencrept silently along until we were near the strangers. They were twovery queer-looking beings; one long and lean, the other short and stout. 

"Bless me, " the fat one said, "bless me, Pat Swiney, but I think theFrenchers will never return, and so we must die here like starved dogs. "

"Och, " answered the thin one, "they have gone to kill game. By St. Patrick, I wish it would come, raw or cooked, for my bowels are twistinglike worms on a hook. "

"Oh, Pat, be a good man; can't you go and pick some berries? my stomachis like an empty bag. "

"Faith, my legs ain't better than yours, " answered the Irishman, pattinghis knee with a kind of angry gesture. And for the first time weperceived that the legs of both of them were shockingly swollen. 

"If we could only meet with the Welsh Indians or a gold mine, " resumedthe short man. 

"Botheration, " exclaimed his irascible companion. "Bother them all--theWelsh Indians and the Welsh English. "

[Illustration: "Faith, my legs ain't better than yours. "]

We saw that hunger had made the poor fellows rather quarrelsome, so wekindly interfered with a tremendous war-whoop. The fat one closed hiseyes, and allowed himself to fall down, while his fellow in misfortunerose up in spite of the state of his legs. 

"Come, " roared he, "come, ye rascally red devils, do your worst withoutmarcy, for I am lame and hungry. "

There was something noble in his words and pathetic in the action. Roche, putting his hand on his shoulder, whispered some Irish words inhis ear, and the poor fellow almost cut a caper. "Faith, " he said, "ifyou are not a Cork boy you are the devil; but devil or no, for the sakeof the old country, give us something to eat--to me and that poor Welshdreamer. I fear your hellish yell has taken the life out of him. "

Such was not the case. At the words "something to eat, " the fellowopened his eyes with a stare, and exclaimed--

"The Welsh Indians, by St. David!"

We answered him with a roar of merriment that rather confused him, andhis companion answered--

"Ay! Welsh Indians or Irish Indians, for what I know. Get up, will ye, ye lump of flesh, and politely tell the gentlemen that we have tastednothing for the last three days. "

Of course, we lost no time in lighting a fire and bringing our horses. The meat was soon cooked, and it was wonderful to see how quickly itdisappeared in the jaws of our two new friends. We had yet about twelvepounds of it, and we were entering a country where game would be founddaily, so we did not repine at their most inordinate appetites, but, onthe contrary, encouraged them to continue. When the first pangs ofhunger were a little soothed, they both looked at us with moist andgrateful eyes. 

"Och, " said the Irishman, "but ye are kind gentlemen, whatever you maybe, to give us so good a meal when, perhaps, you have no more. "

Roche shook him by the hand. "Eat on, fellow, " he said, "eat on, andnever fear. We will afterwards see what can be done for the legs. " As tothe Welshman, he never said a word for a full half-hour. He would look, but could neither speak nor hear, so intensely busy was he with anenormous piece of half-raw flesh, which he was tearing and swallowinglike a hungry wolf. There is, however, an end to everything, and whensatiety had succeeded to want, they related to us the circumstance thathad led them where they were. 

They had come as journeymen with a small caravan going from St. Louis toAstoria. On the Green River they had been attacked by a war-party of theBlack-feet, who had killed all except them, thanks to the Irishman'spresence of mind, who pushed his fat companion into a deep fissure ofthe earth, and jumped after him. Thus they saved their bacon, and hadsoon the consolation of hearing the savages carrying away the goods, leading the mules towards the north. For three days they had wanderedsouth, in the hope of meeting with some trappers, and this very morningthey had fallen in with two French trappers, who told them to remainthere and repose till their return, as they were going after game. 

While they were narrating their history, the two trappers arrived with afat buck. They were old friends, having both of them travelled andhunted with Gabriel. We resolved not to proceed any further that day, and they laughed a great deal when we related to them our prowessagainst the Crows. An application of bruised leaves of the Gibson weedupon the legs of the two sufferers immediately soothed their pain, andthe next morning they were able to use Roche's and Gabriel's horses, andto follow us to Brownhall, an American fur-trading port, which place wereached in two days. 

There we parted from our company, and rapidly continued our marchtowards the settlement. Ten days did we travel thus in the heart of afine country, where game at every moment crossed our path. We arrived inthe deserted country of the Bonnaxes, and were scarcely two days'journey from the Eastern Shoshone boundary, when, as ill-luck would haveit, we met once more with our old enemies the Arrapahoes. This time, however, we were determined not to be put any more on dog's meatallowance, and to fight, if necessary, in defence of our liberty. 

We were surrounded, but not yet taken; and space being ours and ourrifles true, we hoped to escape, not one of our enemies having, as wewell knew, any firearms. They reduced their circle smaller and smaller, till they stood at about a hundred and fifty yards from us; their horsesfat and plump, but of the small wild breed, and incapable of running arace with our tall and beautiful Mexican chargers. At that momentGabriel raised his hand, as if for a signal; we all three darted likelightning through the line of warriors, who were too much taken bysurprise even to use their bows. They soon recovered from theirastonishment, and giving the war-whoop, with many ferocious yells ofdisappointment, dashed after us at their utmost speed. 

Their horses, as I have said, could not run a race with ours, but in along chase their hardy little animals would have had the advantage, especially as our own steeds had already performed so long a journey. During the two first hours we kept them out of sight, but towards dark, as our beasts gave in, we saw their forms in the horizon becoming moreand more distinct, while, to render our escape less probable, we foundourselves opposed in front by a chain of mountains, not high, but verysteep and rugged. 

"On, ahead, we are safe!" cried Gabriel. Of course, there was no timefor explanation, and ten minutes more saw us at the foot of themountain. "Not a word, but do as I do, " again said my companion. Wefollowed his example by unsaddling our animals and taking off thebridles, with which we whipped them. The poor things, though tired, galloped to the south, as if they were aware of the impending danger. 

"I understand, Gabriel, " said I; "the savages cannot see us in theshades of these hills; they will follow our horses by the sounds. "

Gabriel chuckled with delight. "Right, " said he, "right enough, but itis not all. I know of a boat on the other side of the mountain, and theOgden river will carry us not far from the Buona Ventura. "

I started. "A mistake, " I exclaimed, "dear friend, a sad mistake; we aremore than thirty miles from the river. "

"From the main river, yes, " answered he, shaking my hand, "but many anotter have I killed in a pretty lake two miles from here, at thesouthern side of this hill. There I have a boat well concealed, as Ihope; and it is a place where we may defy all the Arrapahoes, and theCrows to back them. From that lake to the river it is but thirty miles'paddling in a smooth canal, made either by nature or by a former raceof men. "

I need not say how cheerfully we walked these two miles, in spite of theweight of our saddles, rifles, and accoutrements. Our ascent was soonover, and striking into a small tortuous deer-path, we perceived belowus the transparent sheet of water, in which a few stars alreadyreflected their pale and tremulous light. When we reached the shore ofthe lake, we found ourselves surrounded by vast and noble ruins, likethose on the Buona Ventura, but certainly much more romantic. Gabrielwelcomed us to his trapping-ground, as a lord in his domain, and soonbrought out a neat little canoe from under a kind of ancient vault. 

"This canoe, " said he, "once belonged to one of the poor fellows thatwas murdered with the Prince Seravalle. We brought it here six years agowith great secrecy; it cost him twenty dollars, a rifle, and sixblankets. Now, in the middle of this lake there is an island, where heand I lived together, and where we can remain for months without anyfear of Indians or starvation. "

We all three entered the canoe, leaving our saddles behind us, torecover them on the following day. One hour's paddling brought us to theisland, and it was truly a magnificent spot. It was covered with ruins;graceful obelisks were shaded by the thick foliage of immense trees, andthe soft light of the moon, beaming on the angles of the ruinedmonuments, gave to the whole scenery the hue of an Italian landscape. 

"Here we are safe, " said Gabriel, "and to-morrow you will discover thatmy old resting-place is not deficient in comfort. "

As we were very tired, we lay down and soon slept, forgetting in thislittle paradise the dangers and the fatigues of the day. Our host'srepose, however, was shorter than mine, for long before morn he had goneto fetch our saddles. Roche and I would probably have slept till hisreturn, had we not been awakened by the report of a rifle, which camedown to us, repeated by a thousand echoes. An hour of intense anxietywas passed, till at last we saw Gabriel paddling towards us. The soundof the rifle had, however, betrayed our place of concealment, and asGabriel neared the island, the shore opposite to us began to swarm withour disappointed enemies, who in all probability had camped in theneighbourhood. As my friend landed, I was beginning to scold him for hisimprudence in using his rifle under our present circumstances, when aglance showed me at once he had met with an adventure similar to minenear Santa Fé. In the canoe lay the skin of a large finely-spottedjaguar, and by it a young cub, playing unconsciously with thescalping-knife, yet reeking in its mother's blood. 

"Could not help it, --self-defence!" exclaimed he, jumping on shore. "Nowthe red devils know where we are, but it is a knowledge that brings themlittle good. The lake is ten fathoms in depth, and they will not swimthree miles under the muzzles of our rifles. When they are tired ofseeing us fishing, and hearing us laughing, they will go away likedisappointed foxes. "

So it proved. That day we took our rifles and went in the canoe towithin eighty yards of the Indians, on the mainland, we fishing fortrouts, and inviting them to share in our sport. They yelled awfully, and abused us not a little, calling us by all the names their rage couldfind: squaws, dogs of Pale-faces, cowards, thieves, &c. At last, however, they retired in the direction of the river, hoping yet to haveus in their power; but so little had we to fear, that we determined topass a few days on the island, that we might repose from our fatigues. 

When we decided upon continuing our route, Gabriel and Roche wereobliged to leave their saddles and bridles behind, as the canoe was toosmall for ourselves and luggage. This was a misfortune which could beeasily repaired at the settlement, and till then, saddles, of course, were useless. We went on merrily from forty-five to fifty miles everyday, on the surface of the most transparent and coolest water in theworld. During the night we would land and sleep on the shore. Game wasvery plentiful, for at almost every minute we would pass a stag or abull drinking; sometimes at only twenty yards, distance. 

During this trip on the Ogden river, we passed four other magnificentlakes, but not one of them bearing any marks of former civilization, ason the shores of the first one which had sheltered us. We left the rivertwo hundred and forty miles from where we had commenced our navigation, and, carrying our canoe over a portage of three miles, we launched itagain upon one of the tributaries of the Buona Ventura, two hundredmiles north-east from the settlement. 

The current was now in our favour, and in four days more we landed amongmy good friends, the Shoshones, who, after our absence of nine months, received us with almost a childish joy. They had given us up for dead, and suspecting the Crows of having had a hand in our disappearance, they had made an invasion into their territory. 

Six days after our arrival our three horses were perceived swimmingacross the river; the faithful animals had also escaped from ourenemies, and found their way back to their masters and theirnative prairies. 

CHAPTER XV. 

During my long absence and captivity among the Arrapahoes, I had oftenreflected upon the great advantages which would accrue if, by anypossibility, the various tribes which were of Shoshone origin could beinduced to unite with them in one confederacy; and the more I reflectedupon the subject, the more resolved I became, that if ever I returned tothe settlement, I would make the proposition to our chiefs in council. 

The numbers composing these tribes were as follows:--The Shoshonesamounting to about 60, 000, independent of the mountain tribes, which wemight compute at 10, 000 more; the Apaches, about 40, 000; the Arrapahoes, about 20, 000; the Comanches and the tribes springing from them, at thelowest computation, amounting to 60, 000 more. Speaking the samelanguage, having the same religious formula, the same manners andcustoms; nothing appeared to me to be more feasible. The Arrapahoes werethe only one tribe which was generally at variance with us, but theywere separated from the Shoshones much later than the other tribes, andwere therefore even more Shoshone than the Apaches and Comanches. 

Shortly after my return, I acted upon my resolution. I summoned all thechiefs of our nation to a great council, and in the month of August, 1839, we were all assembled outside of the walls of the settlement. After the preliminary ceremonies, I addressed them:--

"Shoshones! brave children of the Grand Serpent! my wish is to renderyou happy, rich, and powerful. During the day I think of it; I dream ofit in my sleep. At last, I have had great thoughts--thoughts proceedingfrom the Manitou. Hear now the words of Owato Wanisha; he is young, veryyoung; his skin is that of a Pale-face, but his heart is a Shoshone's. 

"When you refused to till the ground, you did well, for it was not inyour nature--the nature of man cannot be changed like that of a moth. Yet, at that time, you understood well the means which give power to agreat people. Wealth alone can maintain the superiority that bravery hasasserted. Wealth and bravery make strength--strength which nothing canbreak down, except the great Master of Life. 

"The Shoshones knew this a long time ago; they are brave, but they haveno wealth; and if they still keep their superiority, it is because theirenemies are at this time awed by the strength and the cunning of theirwarriors. But the Shoshones, to keep their ground, will some day beobliged to sleep always on their borders, to repel their enemies. Theywill be too busy to fish and to hunt. Their squaws and children willstarve! Even now the evil has begun. What hunting and what fishing haveyou had this last year? None! As soon as the braves had arrived at theirhunting-ground, they were obliged to return back to defend their squawsand to punish their enemies. 

"Now, why should not the Shoshones put themselves at once above thereach of such chances? why should they not get rich? They object toplanting grain and tobacco. They do well, as other people can do thatfor them; but there are many other means of getting strength and wealth. These I will teach to my tribe!

"The Shoshones fight the Crows, because the Crows are thieves; theFlat-heads, because they are greedy of our buffaloes; the Umbiquas, because they steal horses. Were it not for them, the children of theGrand Serpent would never fight; their lodges would fill with wealth, and that wealth would purchase all the good things of the white men fromdistant lands. These white men-come to the Watchinangoes (Mexicans), totake the hides of their oxen, the wool of their sheep. They would cometo us, if we had anything to offer them. Let us then call them, for wehave the hides of thousands of buffaloes; we have the furs of the beaverand the otter; we have plenty of copper in our mountains, and of gold inour streams. 

"Now, hear me. When a Shoshone chief thinks that the Crows will attackhis lodge, he calls his children and his nephews around him. A nationcan do the same. The Shoshones have many brave children in the prairiesof the South; they have many more on the borders of the Yankees. All ofthem think and speak like their ancestors, they are the same people. Now would it not be good and wise to have all these brave grand-childrenand grand-nephews as your neighbours and allies, instead of the Crows, the Cayuses, and the Umbiquas? Yes, it would. Who would dare to comefrom the north across a country inhabited by the warlike Comanches, orfrom the south and the rising sun, through the wigwams of the Apaches?The Shoshones would then have more than 30, 000 warriors; they wouldsweep the country, from the sea to the mountains, from the river of thenorth (Columbia) to the towns of the Watchinangoes. When the white menwould come in their big canoes, as traders and friends, we would receivethem well; if they come as foes, we will laugh at them, and whip themlike dogs. These are the thoughts which I wanted to make known to theShoshones. 

"During my absence, I have seen the Apaches and the Comanches. They areboth great nations. Let us send some wise men to invite them to returnto their fathers; let our chiefs offer them wood, land, and water. Ihave said. "

As long as I spoke, the deepest silence reigned over the whole assembly;but as soon as I sat down, and began smoking, there was a generalmovement, which showed me that I had made an impression. The old greatchief rose, however, and the murmurs were hushed. He spoke:--

"Owato Wanisha has spoken. I have heard. It was a strange vision, abeautiful dream. My heart came young again, my body lighter, and my eyesmore keen. Yet I cannot see the future; I must fast and pray, I must askthe great Master of Life to lend me his wisdom. 

"I know the Comanches, I know the Apaches, and the Arrapahoes. They areour children; I know it. The Comanches have left us a long, long time, but the Apaches and Arrapahoes have not yet forgotten thehunting-grounds where their fathers were born. When I was but a younghunter, they would come every snow to the lodge of our Manitou, to offertheir presents. It was long before any Pale-face had passed themountains. Since that the leaves of the oaks have grown and died eightytimes. It is a long while for a man, but for a nation it is but asyesterday. 

"They are our children, --it would be good to have them with us; theywould share our hunts; we would divide our wealth with them. Then wewould be strong. Owato Wanisha has spoken well; he hath learned manymysteries with the _Macota Conaya_ (black robes, priests); he is wise. Yet, as I have said, the red-skin chiefs must ask wisdom from the GreatMaster. He will let us know what is good and what is bad. At the nextmoon we will return to the council. I have said. "

All the chiefs departed, to prepare for their fasting and ceremonies, while Gabriel, Roche, my old servant, and myself, concerted our measuresso as to insure the success of my enterprise. My servant I despatched toMonterey, Gabriel to the nearest village of the Apaches, and as it wasproper, according to Indian ideas, that I should be out of the wayduring the ceremonies, so as not to influence any chief, I retired withRoche to the boat-house, to pass the time until the new moon. 

Upon the day agreed upon, we were all once more assembled at thecouncil-ground on the shores of the Buona Ventura, The chiefs and eldersof the tribe had assumed a solemn demeanour, and even the men of darkdeeds (the Médecins) and the keepers of the sacred lodges had made theirappearance, in their professional dresses, so as to impress upon thebeholders the importance of the present transaction. One of the sacredlodge first arose, and making a signal with his hand, preparedto speak:--

"Shoshones, " said he, "now has come the time in which out nation musteither rise above all others, as the eagle of the mountains rises abovethe small birds, or sink down and disappear from the surface of theearth. Had we been left such as we were before the Pale-faces crossedthe mountains, we would have needed no other help but a Shoshone heartand our keen arrows to crush our enemies; but the Pale-faces have doublehearts as well as a double tongue; they are friends or enemies as theirthirst for wealth guides them. They trade with the Shoshones, but theyalso trade with the Crows and the Umbiquas. The young chief, OwatoWanisha, hath proposed a new path to our tribe; he is young, but he hasreceived his wisdom from the Black-gowns, who, of all men, are the mostwise. I have heard, as our elders and ancient chiefs have also heard, the means by which he thinks we can succeed: we have fasted, we haveprayed to the Master of Life to show unto us the path which we mustfollow. Shoshones, we live in a strange time! Our great Manitou bids usRed-skins obey the Pale-face, and follow him to conquer or die. I havesaid! The chief of many winters will now address his warriorsand friends!"

A murmur ran through the whole assembly, who seemed evidently much movedby this political speech from one whom they were accustomed to look uponwith dread, as the interpreter of the will of heaven. The old chief, whohad already spoken in the former council, now rose and spoke with atremulous yet distinct voice. 

"I have fasted, I have prayed, I have dreamed. Old men, who have livedalmost all their life, have a keener perception *to read the wishes ofthe Master of Life concerning the future. I am a chief, and have been achief during sixty changes of the season. I am proud of my station, andas I have struck deepest in the heart of our enemies, I am jealous ofthat power which is mine, and would yield it to no one, if the greatManitou did not order it. When this sun will have disappeared behind thesalt-water, I shall no longer be a chief! Owato Wanisha will guide ourwarriors, he will preside in council, for two gods are with him--theManitou of the Pale-faces and the Manitou of the Red-skins. 

"Hear my words, Shoshones! I shall soon join my father and grandfatherin the happy lands, for I am old! Yet, before my bones are buried at thefoot of the hills, it would brighten my heart to see the glory of theShoshones, which I know must be in a short time. Hear my words! Longages ago some of our children, not finding our hunting-grounds wideenough for the range-of their arrows, left us. They first wandered inthe south, and in the beautiful prairies of the east, under a climateblessed by the good spirits. They grew and grew in number till theirfamilies were as numerous as ours, and as they were warriors and theirhearts big, they spread themselves, and, soon crossing the bigmountains, their eagle glance saw on each side of their territory thesalt-water of the sunrise and the salt-water of the sunset. These arethe Comanches, a powerful nation. The Comanches even now have a Shoshoneheart, a Shoshone tongue. Owato Wanisha has been with them; he says theyare friends, and have not forgotten that they are the children of theGreat Serpent. 

"Long, long while afterwards, yet not long enough that I should escapethe memory and the records of our holy men, some other of our children, hearing of the power of the Comanches of their wealth, of theirbeautiful country, determined also to leave us and spread to the south. These are the Apaches From the top of the big mountains, always coveredwith snow they look towards the bed of the sun. They see the green grassof the prairie below them, and afar the blue salt-water Their houses areas numerous as the stars in heaven, their warriors as thick as theshells in the bottom of our lakes. They are brave; they are feared bythe Pale-faces--by all; and they too, know that we are their fathers;their tongue is our tongue their Manitou our Manitou; their heart aportion of our heart and never has the knife of a Shoshone drunk theblood of a Apache, nor the belt of an Apache suspended the scalpof Shoshone. 

"And afterwards, again, more of our children left us. By that time theyleft us because we were angry. They were few families of chiefs who hadgrown strong and proud. They wished to lord over our wigwams, and wedrove them away, as the panther drives away her cubs, when their clawsand teeth have been once turned against her. These are the ArrapahoesThey are strong and our enemies, yet they are a noble nation. I have inmy lodge twenty of their scalps; they have many ours. They fight by thebroad light of the day, with the lane bow, and arrows; they scorntreachery. Are they not although rebels and unnatural children, stillthe children, of the Shoshones? Who ever heard of the Arrapahoesentering the war-path in night? No one! They are no Crows, no Umbiquas, no Flat-heads! They can give death; they know how to receiveit, --straight and upright, knee to knee, breast to breast, and their eyedrinking the glance of their foe. 

"Well, these Arrapahoes are our neighbours; often, very often, too muchso (as many of our widows can say), when they unbury their tomahawk andenter the war-path against the Shoshones. Why; can two suns light thesame prairie, or two male eagles cover the same nest? No. Yet numerousstars appear during night, all joined together, and obedient to themoon. Blackbirds and parrots will unite their numerous tribes and takethe same flight to seek altogether a common rest a shelter for a night;it is a law of nature. The Red-skin knows none but the laws of nature. The Shoshone is an eagle on the hills, a bright sun in the prairie, sois an Arrapahoe; they must both struggle and fight till one sun isthrown into darkness, or one eagle, blind and winged, falls down therocks and leaves the whole nest to its conqueror. The Arrapahoes wouldnot fight a cowardly Crow, except for self-defence, for he smells ofcarrion; nor would a Shoshone. 

"Crows, Umbiquas, and Flat-heads, Cayuses, Bonnaxes, and Callapoos canhunt all together and rest together; they are the blackbirds and theparrots; they must do so, else the eagle should destroy them during theday, or the hedgehog during the night. 

"Now, Owato Wanisha, or his Manitou, has offered a bold thing. I havethought of it, I have spoken of it to the spirits of the Red-skin; theysaid it was good; I say it is good! I am a chief of many winters; I knowwhat is good, I know what is bad! Shoshones, hear me! my voice is weak, come nearer; hearken to my words, hist! I hear a whisper under theripples of the water, I hear it in the waving of the grass, I feel it onthe breeze!--hist, it is the whisper of the Master of Life, --hist!"

At this moment the venerable chief appeared abstracted, his faceflushed; then followed a trance, as if he were communing with someinvisible spirit. Intensely and silently did the warriors watch thestruggles of his noble features; the time had come in which the minds ofthe Shoshones were freed of their prejudices, and dared to contemplatethe prospective of a future general domination over the Westerncontinent of America. The old chief raised his hand, and hespoke again:--

"Children, for you are my children! Warriors, for you are all brave!Chiefs, for you are all chiefs! I have seen a vision. It was a cloud, and the Manitou was upon it. The cloud gave way, and behind I saw a vastnation, large cities, rich wigwams, strange boats, and great parties ofwarriors, whose trail was so long that I could not see the beginning northe end. It was in a country which I felt within me was extending fromthe north, where all is ice, down to the south, where all is fire! Thena big voice was heard! It was not a war-whoop, it was not the yell ofthe fiends, it was not the groan of the captive tied to the stake; itwas a voice of glory, that shouted the name of the Shoshones--for allwere Shoshones. There were no Pale-faces among them--none! Owato Wanishawas there, but he had a red skin, and his hair was black; so were histwo fathers, but they were looking young; so was his aged and humblefriend, but his limbs seemed to have recovered all the activity andvigour of youth; so were his two young friends, who have fought sobravely at the Post, when the cowardly Umbiquas entered our grounds. This is all what I have heard, all what I have seen; and the whispersaid to me, as the vision faded away, 'Lose no time, old chief, the dayhas come! Say to thy warriors, Listen to the young Pale-face. The GreatSpirit of the Red-skin will pass into his breast, and lend him somewords that the Shoshone will understand. '

"I am old and feeble; I am tired; arise, my grandson Owato Wanisha;speak to my warriors; tell them the wishes of the Great Spirit. Ihave spoken. "

Thus called upon, I advanced to the place which the chief had leftvacant, and spoke in my turn:--

"Shoshones, fathers, brothers, warriors, --I am a Pale-face, but you knowall my heart is a Shoshone's. I am young, but no more a child. It is buta short time since that I was a hunter; since that time the Manitou hasmade me a warrior, and led me among strange and distant tribes, where hetaught me what I should do to render the Shoshones a great people. Hearmy words, for I have but one tongue; it is the tongue of my heart, andin my heart now dwells the Good Spirit. Wonder not, if I assume the toneof command to give orders; the orders I will give are the Manitou's. 

"The twelve wisest heads of the Shoshones will go to the Arrapahoes. With them they will take presents; they will take ten sons of chiefs, who have themselves led men on the war-path; they will take ten younggirls, fair to look at, daughters of chiefs, whose voices are soft asthe warbling of the birds in the fall. At the great council of theArrapahoes, the ten girls will be offered to ten great chiefs, and tengreat chiefs will offer their own daughters to our ten young warriors;they will offer peace for ever; they will exchange all the scalps, andthey will say that their fathers, the Shoshones, will once more opentheir arms to their brave children. Our best hunting-ground shall betheirs; they will fish the salmon of our rivers; they will be ArrapahoesShoshones; we will become Shoshones Arrapahoes. I have already sent tothe settlement of the Watchinangoes my ancient Pale-face friend of thestout heart and keen eye; shortly we will see at the Post a vessel witharms, ammunition, and presents for the nation. I will go myself with aparty of warriors to the prairies of the Apaches, and among theComanches. 

"Yet I hear within me a stout voice, which I must obey. My grandfather, the old chief, has said he should be no more a chief. It was wrong, verywrong; the Manitou is angry. Is the buffalo less a buffalo when he growsold, or the eagle less an eagle when a hundred winters have whitened hiswings? No! their nature cannot change, not more than that of a chief andthat chief, a chief of the Shoshones!

"Owato Wanisha will remain what he is; he is too young to be the greatchief of the whole of a great nation. His wish is good, but his wisdomis of yesterday; he cannot rule. To rule belongs to those who havedeserved doing so, by long experience. No! Owato Wanisha will lead hiswarriors to the war-path, or upon the trail of the buffalo; he will goand talk to the grandchildren of the Shoshones; more he cannot do!

"Let now the squaws prepare the farewell meal, and make ready the greenpaint; to-morrow I shall depart, with fifty of my young men. Ihave spoken. "

The council being broken up, I had to pass through the ceremony ofsmoking the pipe and shaking hands with those who could call themselveswarriors. On the following morning, fifty magnificent horses, richlycaparisoned, were led to the lawn before the council lodge. Fiftywarriors soon appeared, in their gaudiest dresses, all armed with thelance, bow, and lasso, and rifle suspended across the shoulder. Thenthere was a procession of all the tribe, divided into two bands, thefirst headed by the chiefs and holy men; the other, by the youngvirgins. Then the dances commenced; the elders sang their exploits offormer days, as an example to their children; the voting men exercisedthemselves at the war-post; and the matrons, wives, mothers, or sistersof the travellers painted their faces with green and red, as a token ofthe nature of their mission. When this task was performed, the whole ofthe procession again formed their ranks, and joined in a chorus, askingthe Manitou for success, and bidding us farewell. I gave the signal; allmy men sprang up in their saddles, and the gallant little band, afterhaving rode twice round the council lodge, galloped away intothe prairie. 

Two days after us, another party was to start for the country of theArrapahoes, with the view of effecting a reconciliation between ourtwo tribes. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

At this time, the generally bright prospects of California were cloudingover. Great changes had taken place in the Mexican government, newindividuals had sprung into power, and their followers were recompensedwith dignities and offices. But, as these offices had been alreadyfilled by others, it was necessary to remove the latter, and, consequently, the government had made itself more enemies. 

Such was the case in California; but that the reader may understand theevents which are to follow, it is necessary to draw a brief sketch ofthe country. I have already said that California embraces four hundredmiles of sea-coast upon the Pacific Ocean. On the east, it is bounded bythe Californian gulf, forming, in fact, a long peninsula. The only wayof arriving at it by land, from the interior of Mexico, is to travelmany hundred miles north, across the wild deserts of Sonora, and throughtribes of Indians which, from the earliest records down to our days, have always been hostile to the Spaniards, and, of course, to theMexicans. Yet far as California is--too far indeed for the government ofMexico to sufficiently protect it, either from Indian inroads or fromthe depredations of pirates, by which, indeed, the coast has muchsuffered--it does not prevent the Mexican government from exacting taxesfrom the various settlements--taxes enormous in themselves, and soonerous, that they will ever prevent these countries from becoming whatthey ought to be, under a better government. 

The most northerly establishment of Mexico on the Pacific Ocean is SanFrancisco; the next, Monterey; then comes San Barbara, St. Luis Obispo, Buona Ventura, and, finally, St. Diego; besides these seaports, are manycities in the interior, such as St. Juan Campestrano, Los Angelos, thelargest town in California, and San Gabriel. Disturbances, arising fromthe ignorance and venality of the Mexican dominion, very often happenin these regions; new individuals are continually appointed to rulethem; and these individuals are generally men of broken fortunes anddesperate characters, whose extortions become so intolerable that, atlast, the Californians, in spite of their lazy dispositions, rise upontheir petty tyrants. Such was now the case at Monterey. A new governorhad arrived; the old General Morreno had, under false pre-texts, beendismissed, and recalled to the central department, to answer to manycharges preferred against him. 

The new governor, a libertine of the lowest class of the people, halfmonk and half soldier, who had carved his way through the world bymurder, rapine, and abject submission to his superiors, soon began tostretch an iron hand over the townspeople. The Montereyans will bearmuch, yet under their apparent docility and moral apathy there lurks afire which, once excited, pours forth flames of destruction. Moreover, the foreigners established in Monterey had, for a long time, enjoyedprivileges which they were not willing to relinquish; and as they were, generally speaking, wealthy, they enjoyed a certain degree of influenceover the lower classes of the Mexicans. 

Immediately after the first extortion of the new governor, thepopulation rose _en masse_, and disarmed the garrison. The presidio wasoccupied by the insurgents, and the tyrant was happy to escape on boardan English vessel, bound to Acapulco. 

However, on this occasion the Montereyans did not break their fealty tothe Mexican government; they wanted justice, and they took it into theirown hands. One of the most affluent citizens was unanimously selectedgovernor _pro tempore, _ till another should arrive, and they returned totheir usual pleasures and apathy, just as if nothing extraordinary hadhappened. The name of the governor thus driven away was Fonseca. Knowingwell that success alone could have justified his conduct, he did notattempt to return to Mexico, but meeting with some pirates, at that timeravaging the coasts in the neighbourhood of Guatimala, he joined them, and, excited by revenge and cupidity, he conceived the idea ofconquering California for himself. He succeeded in enlisting into hisservice some 150 vagabonds from all parts of the earth--runaway sailors, escaped criminals, and, among the number, some forty SandwichIslanders, brave and desperate fellows, who were allured with the hopesof plunder. 

I may as well here mention, that there is a great number of theseSandwich Islanders swarming all along the coast of California, betweenwhich and the Sandwich Islands a very smart trade is carried on by thenatives and the Americans. The vessels employed to perform the voyageare always double manned, and once on the shores of California, usuallyhalf of the crew deserts. Accustomed to a warm climate and to a life ofindolence, they find themselves perfectly comfortable and happy in thenew country. They engage themselves now and then as journeymen, to foldthe hides, and, with their earnings, they pass a life of inebrietysingularly contrasting with the well-known abstemiousness of theSpaniards. Such men had Fonseca taken into his service, and havingseized upon a small store of arms and ammunition, he prepared for hisexpedition. 

In the meanwhile, the governor of Sonora having been apprized of themovements at Monterey, took upon himself to punish the outbreak, imagining that his zeal would be highly applauded by the Mexicangovernment. Just at this period, troops having come from Chihuahua, toquell an insurrection of the conquered Indians, he took the field inperson, and advanced towards California. Leaving the ex-governor Fonsecaand the governor of Sonora for awhile, I shall return to my operationsamong the Indians. 

I have stated that upon the resolution of the Shoshones to unite thetribes, I had despatched my old servant to Monterey, and Gabriel to thenearest Apache village. This last had found a numerous party of thattribe on the waters of the Colorado of the West, and was coming in thedirection which I had myself taken, accompanied by the whole party. Wesoon met; the Apaches heard with undeniable pleasure the propositions Imade unto them, and they determined that one hundred of their chiefs andwarriors should accompany me on my return to the Shoshones, in order toarrange with the elders of the tribe the compact of the treaty. 

On our return we passed through the Arrapahoes, who had already receivedmy messengers, and had accepted as well as given the "brides, " whichwere to consolidate an indissoluble union. As to the Comanches, seeingthe distance, and the time which must necessarily be lost in going andreturning, I postponed* my embassy to them, until the bonds of unionbetween the three nations, Shoshones, Apaches, and Arrapahoes, should beso firmly cemented as not to be broken. The Arrapahoes followed theexample of the Apaches; and a hundred warriors well mounted andequipped, joined us to go and see the fathers, the Shoshones, and, smokewith them the calumet of* eternal peace. 

We were now a gallant band, two hundred and fifty strong and in order tofind game sufficient for the subsistence of many individuals, we wereobliged to take a long range to the south, so as to fall upon theprairies bordering the Buona Ventura. * Chance, however, led us into astruggle, in which became afterwards deeply involved. Scarcely had wereached the river when we met with a company of fifteen individualscomposed of some of my old Monterey friends. They were on their way tothe settlement, to ask my help against the governor of Sonora; and theIndians being all unanimous in their desire to chastise him, and toacquire the good-will of the wealthy people of Monterey, I yielded tocircumstance and altered our course to the south. My old servant hadcome with the deputation, and from him I learnt the whole of thetransaction. 

It appears that the governor of Sonora declared that he would whip likedogs, and hang the best part of the population of Monterey, principallythe Anglo-Saxon settlers, the property of whom he intended to confiscatefor his own private use If he could but have kept his own counsel, hewould of a certainty have succeeded, but the Montereyans were aware ofhis intentions, even before he had reached the borders of California. 

Deputations were sent to the neighbouring towns, and immediately a smallbody of determined men started to occupy the passes through which thegovernor had to proceed. There they learnt with dismay that the forcethey would have to contend with was at least ten times more numerousthan their own; they were too brave, however, to retire without a blowin defence of their independence, and remembering the intimacycontracted with me, together with the natural antipathy of the Indiansagainst the Watchinangoes, or Mexicans, they determined to ask our help, offering in return a portion of the wealth they could command incattle, arms, ammunition, and other articles of great valueamong savages. 

The governor's army amounted to five hundred men, two hundred of themsoldiers in uniform, and the remainder half*d stragglers, fond ofpillage, but too cowardly to fight for it. It was agreed that I and mymen, being all on horseback, would occupy the prairie, where we wouldconceal ourselves in an ambush. The Montereyans and their friends wereto make way at the approach of the governor, as if afraid of disclosingthe ground; and then, when the whole of the hostile enemy should be infull pursuit, we were to charge them in break and put them to rout. Allhappened as was anticipated; We mustered about three hundred and fifteenmen, acting under one single impulse, and sanguine as to success. Oncame the governor with his heroes. 

A queer sight it was, and a noisy set of fellows they were;nevertheless, we could see that they were rather afraid of meeting withopposition, for they stopped at the foot of the hill, and perceivingsome eight or ten Montereyans at the top of the pass, they despatched awhite flag, to see if it were not possible to make some kind ofcompromise. Our friends pretended to be much terrified, and retreateddown towards the prairie. Seeing this, our opponents became very brave. They marched, galloped, and rushed on without order, till they werefairly in our power; then we gave the war-whoop, which a thousand echoesrendered still more terrible. 

We fired not a bullet, we shot not an arrow, yet we obtained a signalvictory. Soldiers and stragglers threw themselves on the ground toescape from death; while the governor, trusting to his horse's speed, darted away to save himself. Yet his cowardice cost him his life, forhis horse tumbling down, he broke his neck. Thus perished the onlyvictim of this campaign. 

We took the guns and ammunition of our vanquished opponents, leavingthem only one fusil for every ten men, with a number of cartridgessufficient to prevent their starving on their return home. Their leaderwas buried where he had fallen, and thus ended this mock engagement. Yetanother battle was to be fought, which, though successful, did notterminate in quite so ludicrous a manner. 

By this time Fonseca was coasting along the shore, but thesouth-easterly winds preventing him from making Monterey, he enteredthe Bay of St. Francisco. This settlement is very rich, its populationbeing composed of the descendants of English and American merchants, whohad acquired a fortune in the Pacific trade; it is called _Yerba buena_(the good grass), from the beautiful meadows of wild clover which extendaround it for hundreds of miles. 

There Fonseca had landed with about two hundred rascals of his ownstamp; and his first act of aggression had been to plunder and destroythe little city. The inhabitants, of course, fled in every direction;and on meeting us, they promised the Indians half of the articles whichhad been plundered from them if we could overpower the invaders andrecapture them. I determined to surprise the rascals in the midst oftheir revellings. I divided my little army into three bands, giving toGabriel the command of the Apaches, with orders to occupy the shores ofthe bay and destroy the boats, so that the pirates should not escape totheir vessels. The Arrapahoes were left in the prairie around the cityto intercept those who might endeavour to escape by land. The thirdparty I commanded myself. It consisted of fifty well-armed Shoshones andfifty-four Mexicans from the coast, almost all of them sons of Englishor American settlers. 

Early in the morning we entered into what had been, a few days before, apretty little town. It was now nothing but a heap of ruins, among whicha few tents had been spread for night shelter. The sailors and pirateswere all tipsy, scattered here and there on the ground, in profoundsleep. The Sandwichers, collected in a mass, lay near the tents. Nearthem stood a large pile of boxes, kegs, bags, &c. ; it was the plunder. We should have undoubtedly seized upon the brigands without anybloodshed had not the barking of the dogs awakened the Sandwichers, whowere up in a moment. They gave the alarm, seized their arms, and closedfiercely and desperately with my left wing, which was composed of thewhite men. 

These suffered a great deal, and broke their ranks, but I wheeled roundand surrounded the fellows with my Shoshones, who did not even use theirrifles, the lance and tomahawk performing their deadly work in silence, and with such a despatch in ten minutes but few of the miserableislanders lived to complain of their wounds. My Mexicans, havingrallied, seized upon Fonseca, and destroyed many of the pirates in theirbeastly state of intoxication. Only a few attempted to fight, thegreater number staggering towards the beach to seek shelter in theirboats. But the Apaches had already performed their duty; the smallestboats they had dragged on shore, the largest they had scuttled and sunk. Charging upon the miserable fugitives, they transfixed them with theirspears, and our victory was complete. 

The pirates remaining on board the two vessels, perceiving how mattersstood, saluted us with a few discharges of grape and canister, which didno execution; the sailors, being almost all of them runaway Yankees, were in all probability as drunk as their companions on shore. At lastthey succeeded in heaving up their anchors, and, favoured by the landbreeze, they soon cleared the bay. Since that time nothing has beenheard of them. 

Fonseca, now certain of his fate, proved to be as mean and cowardly ashe had been tyrannical before his defeat. He made me many splendidoffers if I would but let him go and try his fortune elsewhere: seeinghow much I despised him, he turned to the Mexicans, and tried them oneand all; till, finally, perceiving that he had no hope of mercy, hebegan to blaspheme so horribly that I was obliged to order him tobe gagged. 

The next morning two companies arrived from Monterey, a council wasconvened, twenty of the citizens forming themselves into a jury. Fonsecawas tried and condemned, both as a traitor and a pirate; and as shootingwould have been too great an honour for such a wretch, he was hanged incompany with the few surviving Sandwichers. 

Our party had suffered a little in the beginning of the action, threeMexicans had been killed and eighteen wounded, as well as two Apaches. Of my Shoshones, not one received the smallest scratch; and theArrapahoes, who had been left to scour the prairie, joined us a shorttime after the battle with a few scalps. 

The people of San Francisco were true to their promise; the rescuedbooty was divided into two equal parts, one of which was offered to theIndians, as had been agreed upon. On the eve of our departure, presentswere made to us as a token of gratitude, and of course the Indians, having at the first moment of their confederation, made such asuccessful and profitable expedition, accepted it as a good presage forthe future. Their services being no longer required, they turned towardsthe north, and started for the settlement under the command of Roche, tofollow up their original intentions of visiting the Shoshones. As forme, I remained behind at San Francisco. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Up to the present portion of my narrative, I have lived and kept companywith Indians and a few white men who had conformed to their manners andcustoms. I had seen nothing of civilized life, except during my shortsojourn at Monterey, one of the last places in the world to give you atrue knowledge of mankind. I was as all Indians are, until they havebeen deceived and outraged, frank, confiding, and honest. I knew that Icould trust my Shoshones, and I thought that I could put confidence inthose who were Christians and more civilized. But the reader mustrecollect that I was but nineteen years of age, and had been brought upas a Shoshone. My youthful ardour had been much inflamed by our latesuccessful conflicts. Had I contented myself with cementing the Indianconfederation, I should have done well, but my ideas now went muchfarther. The circumstances which had just occurred raised in my mind theproject of rendering the whole of California Independent, and it-was myambition to become the liberator of the country. 

Aware of the great resources of the territory, of the impassablebarriers presented to any large body of men who would invade it from thecentral parts of Mexico; the more I reflected, the more I was convincedof the feasibility of the undertaking. 

I represented to the Californians at San Francisco that, under existingcircumstances, they would not be able successfully to oppose any forcewhich the government might send by sea from Acapulco; I pointed out tothem that their rulers, too happy in having a pretext for plunderingthem, would show them no mercy, after what had taken place; and I thenrepresented, that if they were at once to declare their independence, and open their ports to strangers, they would, in a short time, becomesufficiently wealthy and powerful to overthrow any expedition that mightbe fitted out against them. I also proposed, as they had no standingtroops, to help them with a thousand warriors; but if so, I expected tohave a share in the new government that should be established. My SanFrancisco friends heard me with attention, and I could see they approvedthe idea; yet there were only a few from among the many who spoke out, and they would not give any final answer until they had conferred withtheir countrymen at Monterey. They pledged their honour that immediatelyon their arrival in that city, they would canvas the business, dispatchmessengers to the southern settlements, and let me know the result. 

As it was useless for me to return to the settlement before I knew theirdecision, I resolved upon taking up my residence at one of the missionson the bay, under the charge of some jolly Franciscan monks. 

In the convent, or mission, I passed my time pleasantly; the goodfathers were all men of sound education, as indeed they all are inMexico. The holy fathers were more than willing to separate Californiafrom the Mexican government; indeed they had many reasons for theirdisaffection; government had robbed them of their property, and hadlevied nearly two hundred per cent upon all articles of Californianproduce and manufacture. Moreover, when they sold their furs and hidesto the foreign traders, they were bound to give one-half of the receiptsto the government, while the other half was already reduced to aneighth, by the Mexican process of charging 200 per cent duty upon allgoods landed on the shore. They gave me to understand that the missionswould, if necessary for my success, assist me with 15, 20, nay30, 000 dollars. 

I had a pleasant time with these Padres, for they were all _bonvivants_. Their cellars were well filled with Constantia wine, theirgardens highly cultivated, their poultry fat and tender, and their gamealways had a particular flavour. Had I remained there a few months more, I might have taken the vows myself, so well did that lazy, comfortablelife agree with my taste; but the Californians had been as active asthey had promised to be, and their emissaries came to San Francisco tosettle the conditions under which I was to lend my aid. Events werethickening; there was no retreat for me, and I prepared for action. 

After a hasty, though hearty, farewell to my pious and liberalentertainers, I returned to the settlement, to prepare for the openingof the drama, which would lead some of us either to absolute power or tothe scaffold. 

Six weeks after my quitting San Francisco, I was once more in the field, and ready for an encounter against the troops dispatched from St. Miguelof Senora, and other central garrisons. On hearing of the defeat of thetwo governors, about 120 Californians, from Monterey and San Francisco, had joined my forces, either excited by their natural martial spirit, orprobably with views of ambition similar to my own. 

I had with me 1, 200 Indians, well equipped and well mounted; but, onthis occasion, my own Shoshones were in greater numbers than our newallies. They numbered 800, forming two squadrons, and their disciplinewas such as would have been admired at the military parades of Europe. Besides them, I had 300 Arrapahoes and 100 Apaches. 

As the impending contest assumed a character more serious than our twopreceding skirmishes, I made some alteration in the command, takingunder my own immediate orders a body of 250 Shoshones, and the Mexicancompany, who had brought four small field-pieces. The remainder of myIndians were subdivided into squadrons of 100, commanded by their ownrespective chiefs. Gabriel, Roche, and my old servant, with two or threeclever young Californians, I kept about me, as aides-de-camp. Weadvanced to the pass, and found the enemy encamped on the plain below. We made our dispositions; our artillery was well posted behindbreastworks, in almost an impregnable position, a few miles below thepass, where we had already defeated the governor of Senora. We foundourselves in presence of an enemy inferior in number, but welldisciplined, and the owners of four field-pieces heavier than ours. Theyamounted to about 950, 300 of which were cavalry, and the remainderlight infantry, with a small company of artillery. 

Of course, in our hilly position our cavalry could be of no use, and asto attacking them in the plain, it was too dangerous to attempt it, aswe had but 600 rifles to oppose to their superior armament and militarydiscipline. Had it been in a wood, where the Indians could have beenunder cover of trees, we would have given the war-whoop, and destroyedthem without allowing them time to look about them; but as it was, having dismounted the Apaches, and feeling pretty certain of the naturalstrength of our position, we determined to remain quiet till a falsemovement or a hasty attack from the enemy should give us the opportunityof crushing them at a blow. 

I was playing now for high stakes, and the exuberancy of spirit whichhad formerly accompanied my actions had deserted me, and I was left aprey to care, and, I must confess, to suspicion; but it was too late toretrace my steps, and, moreover, I was too proud not to finish what Ihad begun, even if it should be at the expense of my life. Happily, thekindness and friendship of Gabriel and Roche threw a brighter hue uponmy thoughts. In them I knew I possessed two friends who would neverdesert me in misfortune, whatever they might do in prosperity; we had solong lived and hunted together, shared the same pleasures and the sameprivations, that our hearts were linked by the strongest ties. 

The commander who opposed us was an old and experienced officer, andcertainly we should have had no chance with him had he not been one ofthose individuals who, having been appreciated by the former government, was not in great favour with, or even trusted by, the present one. Beingthe only able officer in the far west, he had of a necessity beenintrusted with this expedition, but only _de nomine_; in fact, he hadwith him agents of the government to watch him, and who took a decidedpleasure in counteracting all his views; they were young men, withoutany kind of experience, whose only merit consisted in their being moreor less related to the members of the existing government. Every one ofthem wished to act as a general, looking upon the old commander as amere convenience upon whom they would throw all the responsibility incase of defeat, and from whom they intended to steal the laurels, if anywere to be obtained. 

This commander's name was Martinez; he had fought well and stoutlyagainst the Spaniards during the war of Independence; but that was longago, and his services had been forgotten. As he had acted purely frompatriotism, and was too stern, too proud, and too honest to turncourtier and bow to upstarts in power, he had left the halls ofMontezuma with disgust; consequently he had remained unnoticed, advancing not a step, used now and then in time of danger, but neglectedwhen no longer required. 

I could plainly perceive how little unity there was prevailing among theleaders of our opponents. At some times the position of the army showedsuperior military genius, at others the infantry were exposed, and thecavalry performing useless evolutions. It was evident that two powerswere struggling with each other; one endeavouring to maintain regulardiscipline, the other following only the impulse of an unsteady andoverbearing temper. This discovery, of course, rendered me somewhat moreconfident, and it was with no small pride I reflected that in my army Ialone commanded. 

It was a pretty sight to look at my Shoshones, who already understoodthe strength gained by simultaneous action. The Apaches, too, in theirfrequent encounters with the regular troops, had acquired a certainknowledge of cavalry tactics. All the travellers in Mexico who have metwith these intrepid warriors have wondered at their gallant and uniformbearing. The Californians also, having now so much at stake, had assumeda demeanour quite contrary to their usual indolent natures, and theirconfidence in me was much increased since our success against Fonseca, and the comparison they could now make between the disposition andarrangement of the opposed forces. So elated indeed were they, and sopositive of success, that they frequently urged me to an immediateattack. But I determined upon a line of conduct to which I adhered. 

The Arrapahoes showed themselves a little unruly; brave, and suchexcellent horsemen, as almost to realize the fable of the Centaurs, charging an enemy with the impetuosity of lightning and disappearingwith the quickness of thought, they requested me every moment to engage;but I knew too well the value of regular infantry, and how ineffectualwould be the efforts of light cavalry against their bayonets. I wasobliged to restrain their ardour by every argument I could muster, principally by giving them, to understand that by a hasty attack weshould certainly lose the booty. 

The moment came at last The prudence of the old commander having beenevidently overruled by his ignorant coadjutors, the infantry were put inmotion, flanked on one side by the cavalry and on the other by theartillery. It was indeed a pitiful movement, for which they paid dearly. I despatched the Arrapahoes to out-flank and charge the cavalry of theenemy when a signal should be made; the Apaches slowly descended thehill in face of the infantry, upon which we opened a destructive firewith our four field-pieces. 

The infantry behaved well; they never flinched, but stood their groundas brave soldiers should do. The signal to charge was given to theArrapahoes, and at that moment, the Shoshones, who till then hadremained inactive with me on the hill, started at full galop to theirappointed duty. The charge of the Arrapahoes was rapid and terrific, and, when the smoke and dust had cleared away, I perceived them in theplain a mile off, driving before them the Mexican cavalry, reduced tohalf its number. The Shoshones, by a rapid movement, had broken throughbetween the infantry and artillery, forcing the artillery-men to abandontheir pieces; then, closing their ranks and wheeling, they attackedfiercely the right flank of the infantry. 

When I gave the signal to the Arrapahoes to charge, the Apachesquickened their speed and charged the enemy in front; but they werechecked by the running fire of the well-disciplined troops, and, inspite of their determination and gallantry, they found in the Mexicanbayonets a barrier of steel which their lances could not penetrate. 

The chances, however, were still ours: the Mexican artillery was in ourpower, their cavalry dispersed and almost out of sight, and theinfantry, though admirably disciplined, was very hardly pressed both inflank and in front. At this juncture I sent Gabriel to bring back theArrapahoes to the scene of the conflict, for I knew that the Mexicancavalry would never form again until they had reached the borders ofSenora. Of course, the coadjutors of Martinez had disappeared with thefugitive cavalry, leaving the old general to regain the lost advantageand to bear the consequences of their own cowardice and folly. 

Now left master of his actions, this talented officer did not yetdespair of success. By an admirable manoeuvre he threw his infantry intotwo divisions, so as to check both bodies of cavalry until he could formthem into a solid square, which, charging with impetuosity through theShoshones, regained possession of their pieces of artillery, afterwhich, retreating slowly, they succeeded in reaching, without furtherloss, the ground which they had occupied previous to their advance, which, from its more broken and uneven nature, enabled the infantry toresist a charge of cavalry with considerable advantage. 

This manoeuvre of the old general, which extricated his troops fromtheir dangerous position and recovered his field-pieces, had also theadvantage of rendering our artillery of no further service, as we couldnot move them down the hill. As the battle was still to be fought, Iresolved to attack them before they had time to breathe, and while theywere yet panting and exhausted with their recent exertions. 

Till then the Californians had been merely spectators of the conflict. Inow put myself at their head and charged the Mexicans' square in front, while the Shoshones did the same on the left, and the Apaches onthe right. 

Five or six times were we repulsed, and we repeated the charge, the oldcommander everywhere giving directions and encouraging his men. Rocheand I were both wounded, fifteen of the Californians dead, the ranks ofShoshones much thinned by the unceasing fire of the artillery, and theApaches were giving way in confusion. I was beginning to doubt ofsuccess, when Gabriel, having succeeded in recalling the Arrapahoes fromtheir pursuit of the fugitive cavalry, re-formed them, made a furiouscharge upon the Mexicans on the only side of the square not alreadyassailed, and precisely at the moment when a last desperate effort ofthe Shoshones and my own body of Californians had thrown the ranksopposed to us into confusion. 

The brave old commander, perceiving he could no longer keep his ground, retreated slowly, with the intention of gaining the rugged and brokenground at the base of the mountains behind him, where our cavalry couldno longer assail him. 

Perceiving his intention, and determining, if possible, to prevent hisretreat, the Arrapahoes having now rejoined us, we formed into onecompact body and made a final and decisive charge, which provedirresistible. We broke through their ranks and dispersed them. For atime my command and power ceased; the Indians were following their owncustom of killing without mercy, and scalping the dead. One-half of theenemy were destroyed; but Martinez succeeded the remainder in reachinghis intended position. 

But the Mexican troops considered it useless to contend any more, andshortly afterwards the old general himself rode towards us with a flag, to ascertain the conditions under which we would accept his surrender. Poor man! He was truly an estimable officer. The Indians opened theirranks to let him pass, while all the Californians, who felt for hismortification, uncovered themselves as a mark of respect. The oldgeneral demanded a free passage back to Senora, and the big tears werein his eyes as he made the proposal. Speaking of his younger associates, he never used a word to their disparagement, though the slight curl ofhis lip showed plainly how bitter were his feelings; he knew too thathis fate was sealed, and that he alone would bear the disgrace ofthe defeat. 

So much was he respected by the Californians, that his request wasimmediately granted, upon his assurance that, under no circumstance, hewould return to California as a foe. As Martinez departed, a Shoshonechief, perceiving that his horse was seriously wounded, dismounted fromhis own, and addressed him:--

"Chief of the Watchinangoes (Mexicans) and brother, brave warrior! aShoshone can honour as well as fight an enemy: take this horse; it hasbeen the horse of a Red-skin warrior, it will be faithful to thePale-face. "

The general bowed upon his saddle, and descended, saying, in few words, that he now learned to esteem the Indian warriors who had overpoweredhim on that fated day, both by their gallantry and generosity. When theIndian proceeded to change the saddles, Martinez stopped him:

"Nay, brother, " said he; "keep it with the holsters and their contents, which are more suitable to a conqueror and a young warrior than to avanquished and broken-hearted old man. "

Having said this, he spurred his new horse, and soon rejoined his men. We returned to the encampment, and two hours afterwards we saw theMexicans in full retreat towards the rising sun. 

That night was one of mourning; our success had been complete, butdearly purchased. The Arrapahoes alone had not suffered. The Apaches hadlost thirty men, the Shoshones one hundred and twelve, killed andwounded, and the Montereyans several of their most respected youngcitizens. On the following day we buried our dead, and when our taskwas over, certain that we should remain unmolested for a considerabletime, we returned to St. Francisco--the Indians to receive the promisedbounty, and I to make arrangements for our future movements. 

By the narrative I have given, the reader may have formed an accurateidea of what did take place in California. I subsequently received theMexican newspapers, containing the account of what occurred; and asthese are the organs through which the people of Europe are enlightenedas to the events of these distant regions, I shall quote the pages, toshow how truth may be perverted. 

"_Chihuahua--News of the West--Californian Rebellion_. --This dayarrived in our city a particular courier from the Bishop of Senora, bearer of dispatches rather important for the welfare of our government. The spirit of rebellion is abroad; Texas already has separated from ourdominions; Yucatan is endeavouring to follow the pernicious example, andCalifornia has just now lighted the flambeau of civil war. 

"It appears that, excited by the bad advices of foreigners, theinhabitants of Monterey obliged the gallant governor to leave hisfireside. This warlike officer found the means of forwarding dispatchesto Senora, while he himself, uniting a handful of brave and faithfulcitizens, landed in the bay of St. Francisco, in order to punish therebels. By this time the governor of Senora, with the _élite_ of thecorps of the army under his orders, having advanced to his help, wasdecoyed into the rebels' camp under some peaceful pretext, andshamefully murdered. 

"It is yet a glory to think that even a Mexican rebel could not havebeen guilty of so heinous a crime. The performer of that cowardly deedwas a Frenchman, living among the Indians of the west, who, for the sakeof a paltry sum of gold, came to the aid of the rebels with manythousands of the savages. His next step was to enter St. Francisco, andthere the horrors he committed recall to our mind the bloody deedsperformed in his country during the great revolution. But what could beexpected from a Frenchman? Fonseca was executed as a malefactor, thecity plundered, the booty divided among the red warriors; besides animmense sum of money which was levied upon the other establishments, or, to say better, extorted, upon the same footing as the buccaneersof old. 

"The news having reached the central government of the west, GeneralMartinez assumed upon himself the responsibility of an expedition, which, under the present appearances, showed his want of knowledge, andhis complete ignorance of military tactics. He was met by ten thousandIndians, and a powerful artillery served by the crews of many vesselsupon the coast--vessels bearing rather a doubtful character. Too late heperceived his error, but had not the gallantry of repairing it and dyingas a Mexican should. He fled from the field almost in the beginning ofthe action, and had it not been for the desperate efforts of thecavalry, and truly wonderful military talents displayed by three or fouryoung officers who had accompanied him, the small army would have beencut to pieces. We numbered but five hundred men in all, and had but afew killed and wounded, while the enemy left behind them on the fieldmore than twelve hundred slain. 

"The gallant young officers would have proceeded to St. Francisco, andfollowed up their conquest, had the little army been in possession ofthe necessary provisions and ammunition; but General Martinez, eitherfrom incapacity or treachery, had omitted these two essentialnecessaries for an army. We are proud and happy to say that EmanuelBustamente, the young distinguished officer, of a highly distinguishedfamily, who conducted himself so well in Yucatan during the laststruggle, commanded the cavalry, and it is to his skill that we Mexicansowe the glory of having saved our flag from a deep stain. 

"Postscriptum. --We perceive that the cowardly and mercenary Martinez hasreceived the punishment his treachery so well deserved; during hisflight he was met by some Indians and murdered. May divine Providencethus punish all traitors to the Mexican government!"

I regret to say that the last paragraph was true. The brave Martinez, who had stood to the last, who had faced death in many battles, had beenfoully murdered, but not, as was reported, by an Indian; he had fallenunder the knife of an assassin--- but it was a Mexican who had beenbribed to the base deed. 

Up to the present all had prospered. I was called "The Liberator, theProtector of California. " Splendid offers were made to me, and theindependence of California would have been secured, had I only had twosmall vessels to reduce the southern seaports which had not yet declaredthemselves, either fearing the consequences of a rebellion, ordisliking the idea of owing their liberation to a foreign condottiere, and a large force of savages. 

The Apaches returned homes with eighty mules loaded with their booty; sodid the Arrapahoes with pretty nearly an equal quantity. My Shoshones Isatisfied with promises, and returned with them to the settlement, toprepare myself for forthcoming events. 

A few chapters backwards I mentioned that I had despatched my oldservant to Monterey. He had taken with him a considerable portion of myjewels and gold to make purchases, which were firmly to establish mypower over the Indian confederacy. A small schooner, loaded with thegoods purchased, started from Monterey; but, never being seenafterwards, it is probable that she fell into the hands of the piratevessels which escaped from San Francisco. 

I had relied upon this cargo to satisfy the just demands of my Indiansupon my arrival at the settlement The loss was a sad blow to me. The oldchief had just died, the power had devolved entirely upon me, and it wasnecessary, according to Indian custom, that I should give largess, andshow a great display of liberality on my accession to the command of thetribe; so necessary, indeed, was it, that I determined upon returning toMonterey, _viâ_ San Francisco, to provide what was requisite. This stepwas a fatal one, as will be shown when I narrate the circumstances whichhad occurred during my absence. 

Upon hearing the news of our movements In the west, the Mexicangovernment, for a few days, spoke of nothing but extermination. Thestate of affairs, however, caused them to think differently; they hadalready much work upon their hands, and California was very far off. They hit upon a plan, which, if it showed their weakness, proved theirknowledge of Human nature. While I was building castles in the air, agents from Mexico privately came to Monterey and decided the matter. 

They called together the Americans domiciled at Monterey, who were thewealthiest and the most influential of the inhabitants, and asked themwhat it was that they required from the government? Diminution of taxes, answered they. It was agreed. What next? Reduction of duty on foreigngoods. Agreed again. And next? Some other privileges and dignities. Allthese were granted. 

In return for this liberality, the Mexican agents then demanded that twoor three of the lower Mexicans should be hung up for an example, andthat the Frenchman and his two white companions should be decoyed anddelivered up to the government. 

This was consented to by these honest domiciliated Americans, and thusdid they arrange to sacrifice me who had done so much for them. Just aseverything had been arranged upon between them and the agents, I mostunfortunately made my appearance, with Gabriel and Roche, at the missionat San Francisco. As soon as they heard of our arrival, we wererequested to honour them with our company at a public feast, in honourof our success!! It was the meal of Judas. We were all three seized andhanded over to the Mexican agents. Bound hand and foot, under an escortof thirty men, the next morning we set off to cross the deserts andprairies of Sonora, to gain the Mexican capital, where we well knew thata gibbet was to be our fate. 

Such was the grateful return we received from those who had called us totheir assistance[17]. Such was my first lesson in civilized life!

[Footnote 17: Americans, or Europeans, who wish to reside in Mexico, areobliged to conform to the Catholic religion, or they cannot holdproperty and become resident merchants. These were the apostates forwealth who betrayed me. ]

CHAPTER XVIII. 

As circumstances, which I have yet to relate, have prevented my returnto the Shoshones, and I shall have no more to say of their movements inthese pages, I would fain pay them a just tribute before I continue mynarrative. I wish the reader to perceive how much higher the WesternIndians are in the scale of humanity than the tribes of the East, sowell described be Cooper and other American writers. There is achivalrous spirit in these rangers of the western prairies not to beexceeded in history or modern times. 

The four tribes of Shoshones, Arrapahoes, Comanches, and Apaches neverattempt, like the Dacotah and Algonquin, and other tribes of the East, to surprise an enemy; they take his scalp, it is true, but they take itin the broad day; neither will they ever murder the squaws, children, and old men, who may be left unprotected when the war-parties are out. In fact, they are honourable and noble foes, sincere and trustworthyfriends. In many points they have the uses of ancient chivalry amongthem, so much so as to induce me to surmise that they may have broughtthem over with them when they first took possession of the territory. 

Every warrior has his nephew, who is selected as his page: he performsthe duty of a squire, in ancient knight errantry, takes charge of hishorse, arms, and accoutrements; and he remains in this office until heis old enough to gain his own spurs. Hawking is also a favouriteamusement, and the chiefs ride out with the falcon, or small eagle, ontheir wrist or shoulder. 

Even in their warfare, you often may imagine that you were among theknights of ancient days. An Arrapahoe and a Shoshone warrior armed witha buckler and their long lances, will single out and challenge eachother; they run a tilt, and as each has warded off the blow, and passedunhurt, they will courteously turn back and salute each other, as anacknowledgment of their enemy's bravery and skill. When these challengestake place, or indeed in any single combat without challenge, none ofthese Indians will take advantage of possessing a superior weapon. Ifone has a rifle and knows that his opponent has not, he will throw hisrifle down, and only use the same weapon as his adversary. 

I will now relate some few traits of character, which will prove thenobility of these Indians[18]. 

[Footnote 18: There is every prospect of these north-western tribesremaining in their present primitive state, indeed of their gradualimprovement, for nothing can induce them to touch spirits. They knowthat the eastern Indians have been debased and conquered by the use ofthem, and consider an offer of a dram from an American trader as anindirect attempt upon their life and honour. ]

Every year during the season dedicated to the performing of thereligious ceremonies, premiums are given by the holy men and elders ofthe tribe to those among the young men who have the most distinguishedthemselves. The best warrior receives a feather of the black eagle; themost successful hunter obtains a robe of buffalo-skin, painted inside, and representing some of his most daring exploits; the most virtuous hasfor his share a coronet made either of gold or silver; and thesepremiums are suspended in their wigwams, as marks of honour, and handeddown to their posterity. In fact, they become a kind of _écusson_, whichennobles a family. 

Once during the distribution of these much-coveted prizes, a young manof twenty-two was called by the chiefs to receive the premium of virtue. The Indian advanced towards his chiefs, when an elder of the triberising, addressed the whole audience. He pointed the young man out, asone whose example should be followed, and recorded, among many otherpraiseworthy actions, that three squaws, with many children, having beenreduced to misery by the death of their husbands in the last war againstthe Crows, this young man, although the deceased were the greatest foesof his family, undertook to provide for their widows and children tillthe boys, grown up, would be able to provide for themselves and theirmothers. Since that time, he had given them the produce of his chase, reserving to himself nothing but what was strictly necessary to sustainthe wants of nature. This was a noble and virtuous act, one that pleasedthe Manitou. It was an example which all the Shoshones should follow. 

The young man bowed, and as the venerable chief was stooping to put thecoronet upon his head, he started back and, to the astonishment of all, refused the premium. 

"Chiefs, warriors, elders of the Shoshones, pardon me! You know the goodwhich I have done, but you know not in what I have erred. My firstfeeling was to receive the coronet, and conceal what wrong I had done;but a voice in my heart forbids my taking what others have perchancebetter deserved. 

"Hear me, Shoshones! the truth must be told; hear my shame! One day, Iwas hungry; it was in the great prairies. I had killed no game, and Iwas afraid to return among our young men with empty hands. I remainedfour days hunting, and still I saw neither buffaloes nor bears. At last, I perceived the tent of an Arrapahoe. I went in; there was no one there, and it was full of well-cured meat. I had not eaten for five days; I washungry, and I became a thief, I took away a large piece, and ran awaylike a cowardly wolf. I have said: the prize cannot be mine. "

A murmur ran through the assembly, and the chiefs, holy men, and eldersconsulted together. At last, the ancient chief advanced once moretowards the young man, and took his two hands between his own. "My son, "he said, "good, noble, and brave; thy acknowledgment of thy fault andself-denial in such a moment make thee as pure as a good spirit in theeyes-of the great Manitou. Evil, when confessed and repented of, isforgotten; bend thy head, my son, and let me crown thee. The premium istwice deserved and twice due. "

A Shoshone warrior possessed a beautiful mare; no horse in the prairiecould outspeed her, and in the buffalo or bear hunt she would enjoy thesport as much as her master, and run alongside the huge beast with greatcourage and spirit. Many propositions were made to the warrior to sellor exchange the animal, but he would not hear of it. The dumb brute washis friend, his sole companion; they had both shared the dangers ofbattle and the privations of prairie travelling; why should he part withher? The fame of that mare extended so far, that in a trip he made toSan Francisco, several Mexicans offered him large sums of money;nothing, however, could shake him in his resolution. In those countries, though horses will often be purchased at the low price of one dollar, itoften happens that a steed, well known as a good hunter or a rapidpacer, will bring sums equal to those paid in England for a fineracehorse. 

One of the Mexicans, a wild young man, resolved to obtain the mare, whether or no. One evening, when the Indian was returning from someneighbouring plantation, the Mexican laid down in some bushes at a shortdistance from the road, and moaned as if in the greatest pain. The goodand kind-hearted Indian having reached the spot, heard his cries ofdistress, dismounted from his mare, and offered any assistance: it wasnearly dark, and although he knew the sufferer to be a Pale-face, yet hecould not distinguish his features. The Mexican begged for a drop ofwater, and the Indian dashed into a neighbouring thicket to procure itfor him. As soon as the Indian was sufficiently distant, the Mexicanvaulted upon the mare, and apostrophized the Indian:--

"You fool of a Red-skin, not cunning enough for a Mexican: you refusedmy gold; now I have the mare for nothing, and I will make the trapperslaugh when I tell them how easily I have outwitted a Shoshone. "

The Indian looked at the Mexican for a few moments in silence, for hisheart was big, and the shameful treachery wounded him to the very core. At last, he spoke:--

"Pale-face, " said he, "for the sake of others, I may not kill thee. Keepthe mare, since thou art dishonest enough to steal the only property ofa poor man; keep her, but never say a work how thou earnest by her, lesthereafter a Shoshone, having learned distrust, should not hearken to thevoice of grief and woe. Away, away with her! let me never see her again, or in an evil hour the desire of vengeance may make a bad man of me. "

The Mexican was wild, inconsiderate, and not over-scrupulous, but notwithout feeling: he dismounted from the horse, and putting the bridle inthe hand of the Shoshone, "Brother, " said he, "I have done wrong, pardonme! from an Indian I learn virtue, and for the future, when I wouldcommit any deed of injustice, I will think of thee. "

Two Apaches loved the same girl; one was a great chief, the other ayoung warrior, who had entered the war-path but a short time. Of course, the parents of the young girl rejected the warriors suit, as soon as thechief proposed himself. Time passed, and the young man, broken-hearted, left all the martial exercises, in which he had excelled. He soughtsolitude, starting early in the morning from the wigwam, and returningbut late in the night, when the fires were out. The very day on which hewas to lead the young girl to his lodge, the chief went bear-huntingamong the hills of the neighbourhood. Meeting with a grizzly bear, hefired at him: but at the moment he pulled the trigger his foot slipped, and he fell down, only wounding the fierce animal, which now, smartingand infuriated with pain, rushed upon him. 

The chief had been hurt in his fall, he was incapable of defence, andknew that he was lost. He shut his eyes, and waited for his death-blow, when the report of a rifle and the springing of the bear in the agoniesof death made him once more open his eyes; he started upon his feet, there lay the huge monster, and near him stood the young warrior whotimely rescued him. 

The chief recognized his rival, and his gratitude overpowering all otherfeelings, he took the warrior by the hand, and grasped it firmly. 

"Brother, " he said, "thou hast saved my life at a time when It wassweet, more so than usual. Let us be brothers. "

The young man's breast heaved with contending passions; but he, too, wasa noble fellow. 

"Chief, " answered he, "when I saw the bear rushing upon thee, I thoughtIt was the Manitou who had taken compassion on my sufferings, my heartfor an instant felt light and happy; but as death was near thee, verynear, the Good Spirit whispered his wishes, and I have saved thee forhappiness. It is I who must die! I am nothing, have no friends, no oneto care for me, to love me, to make pleasant in the lodge the dull hoursof night. Chief, farewell!"

He was going, but the chief grasped him firmly by the arm, --

"Where dost thou wish to go? Dost thou know the love of a brother? Didstthou ever dream of one? I have said we must be brothers to each other. Come to the wigwam. "

They returned to the village in silence, and when they arrived beforethe door of the council lodge, the chief summoned everybody to hear whathe had to communicate, and ordered the parents to bring the young girl. 

"Flower of the magnolia, " said he, taking her by the hand, "wilt thoulove me less as a brother than as a husband? Speak! Whisper thy thoughtto me! Didst thou ever dream of another voice than mine, a younger one, breathing of love and despair?"

Then leading the girl to where the young warrior stood, --

"Brother, " said he, "take thy wife and my sister. "

Turning towards the elders, the chief extended his right arm, so as toinvite general attention. 

"I have called you, " said he, "that an act of justice may be performed. Hear my words:--

"A young antelope loved a lily, standing under the shade of a sycamore, by the side of a cool stream. Dally he came to watch it as it grewwhiter and more beautiful. He loved it very much, till one day a largebull came and picked up the lily. Was it good? No! The poor antelopefled towards the mountains, never wishing to return any more under thecool shade of the sycamore. One day he met the bull down, and about tobe killed by a big bear. He saved him. He heard only the whisper of hisheart. He saved the bull, although the bull had taken away the prettylily from where it stood, by the cool stream. It was good, it was well!The bull said to the antelope, 'We shall be brothers, in joy and insorrow!' and the antelope said there could be no joy for him since thelily was gone. The bull considered. He thought that a brother ought tomake great sacrifices for a brother, and he said to the antelope, 'Behold, there is the lily, take it before it droops away. Wear it inthy bosom and be happy. ' Chiefs, sages, and warriors, I am the bull:behold my brother the antelope. I have given unto him the flower of themagnolia. She is the lily that grew by the side of the stream, and underthe sycamore. I have done well, I have done much, yet not enough for agreat chief, not enough for a brother, not enough for justice! Sages, warriors, hear me all. The Flower of the Magnolia can lie but upon thebosom of a chief. My brother must become a chief. He is a chief, for Idivide with him the power I possess: my wealth, my lodge, are his own;my horses, my mules, my furs, and all! A chief has but one life, and itis a great gift that cannot be paid too highly. You have heard my words. I have said!"

This sounds very much like a romance, but it is an Apache story, relatedof one of their great chiefs, during one of their evening encampments. An Apache having, in a moment of passion, accidentally killed one of thetribe, hastened to the chiefs to deliver himself up to justice. On hisway he was met by the brother of his victim, upon whom, according toIndian laws, fell the duty of revenge and retaliation. They werefriends, and shook hands together. 

"Yet I must kill thee, friend, " said the brother. 

"Thou wilt!" answered the murderer, "it is thy duty; but wilt thou notremember the dangers we have passed together, and provide and consolethose I leave behind in my lodge?"

"I will, " answered the brother. "Thy wife shall be my sister during herwidowhood; thy children will never want game, until they can themselvesstrike the bounding deer. "

The two Indians continued their way in silence, till at once the brotherof the murdered one stopped. 

"We shall soon reach the chiefs, " said he; "I to revenge a brother'sdeath, thou to quit for ever thy tribe and thy children, Hast thou awish? Think, whisper!"

The murderer stood irresolute; his glance furtively took the directionof his lodge. The brother continued, --

"Go to thy lodge. I shall wait for thee till the setting of the sun, before the council door. Go! thy tongue is silent, but I know the wishof thy heart. Go!"

Such traits are common in Indian life. Distrust exists not among thechildren of the wilderness, until generated by the conduct of white men. These stories, and thousand others, all exemplifying the triumph ofvirtue and honour over baseness and vice, are every day narrated by theelders, in presence of the young men and children. The eveningencampment is a great school of morals, where the red-skin philosopherembodies in his tales the sacred precepts of virtue. A traveller, couldhe understand what was said, as he viewed the scene, might fancy some ofthe sages of ancient Greece inculcating to their disciples thoseprecepts of wisdom which have transmitted their name down to us brightand glorious, through more than twenty centuries. 

I have stated that the holy men among the Indians, that is to say, thekeepers of the sacred lodges, keep the records of the great deedsperformed in the tribe; but a tribe will generally boast more of thegreat virtues of one of its men than of the daring of its bravestwarriors. "A virtuous man, " they say, "has the ear of the Manitou, hecan tell him the sufferings of Indian nature, and ask him tosoothe them. "

Even the Mexicans, who, of all men, have had most to suffer, and sufferdaily from the Apaches[19], cannot but do them the justice they so welldeserve. The road betwixt Chihuahua and Santa Fé is almost entirelydeserted, so much are the Apaches dreaded; yet they are not hated by theMexicans half as much as the Texans or the Americans. The Apaches areconstantly at war with the Mexicans, it is true; but never have theycommitted any of those cowardly atrocities which have disgraced everypage of Texan history. With the Apaches there are no murders in coldblood, no abuse of the prisoners. A captive knows that he will eithersuffer death or be adopted in the tribe; but he has never to fear theslow fire and the excruciating torture so generally employed by theIndians in the United States territories. 

[Footnote 19: What I here say of the Apaches applies to the wholeShoshone race. ]

Their generosity is unbounded; and by the treatment I received at theirhands the reader may form an idea of that brave people. They will neverhurt a stranger coming to them. A green bough in his hand is a token ofpeace. For him they will spread the best blankets the wigwam can afford;they will studiously attend to his wants, smoke with him the calumet ofpeace, and when he goes away, whatever he may desire from among thedisposable wealth of the tribe, if he asks for it, it is given. 

Gabriel was once attacked near Santa Fé, and robbed of his baggage, bysome honest Yankee traders. He fell in with a party of Apaches, to whomhe related the circumstance. They gave him some blankets, and left himwith their young men at the hunting-lodges they had erected. The nextday they returned with several Yankee captives, all well tied, toprevent any possibility of escape. These were the thieves; and what theyhad taken of Gabriel was, of course, restored to him, one of the Indianssaying, that the Yankees, having blackened and soiled the country bytheft, should receive the punishment of dogs, and as it was beneath anApache to strike them, cords were given to them, with orders that theyshould chastise each other for their rascality. The blackguards wereobliged to submit, and the dread of being scalped was too strong uponthem to allow them to refuse. At first they did not seem to hurt eachother much; but one or two of them, smarting under the lash, returnedthe blows in good earnest, and then they all got angry, and beat eachother so unmercifully that, in a few minutes, they were scarcely able tomove. Nothing could exceed the ludicrous picture which Gabriel woulddraw out of this little event. 

There is one circumstance which will form a particular datum in thehistory of the Western wild tribes, --I mean the terrible visitation ofthe small-pox. The Apaches, Comanches, the Shoshones, and Arrapahoes areso clean and so very nice in the arrangement of their domestic comforts, that they suffered very little, or not at all; at least, I do notremember a single case which brought death in these tribes; indeed, as Ihave before mentioned, the Shoshones vaccinate. 

But such was not the case with the Club Indians of the Colorado of theWest, with the Crows, the Flat-heads, the Umbiquas, and the Black-feet. These last suffered a great deal more than any people in the world eversuffered from any plague or pestilence. To be sure, the Mandans had beenentirely swept from the surface of the earth; but they were few, whilethe Black-feet were undoubtedly the most numerous and powerful tribe inthe neighbourhood of the mountains. Their war-parties ranged the countryfrom the northern English posts on the Slave Lake down south to the veryborders of the Shoshones, and many among them had taken scalps of theOsages, near the Mississippi, and even of the great Pawnees. Between theRed River and the Platte they had once one hundred villages, thousandsand thousands of horses. They numbered more than six thousand warriors. Their name had become a by-word of terror on the northern continent, from shore to shore, and little children in the eastern states, who knewnot the name of the tribes two miles from their dwellings, had learnedto dread even the name of a Black-foot. Now the tribe has been reducedto comparative insignificancy by this dreadful scourge. They died bythousands; whole towns and villages were destroyed; and even now, thetrapper, coming from the mountains, will often come across numberlesslodges in ruins, and the blanched skeletons of uncounted and unburiedIndians. They lost ten thousand individuals in less than three weeks. 

Many tribes but little known suffered pretty much in the same ratio. TheClub Indians I have mentioned, numbering four thousand before thepestilence, are now reduced to thirty or forty Individuals; and someApaches related to me that happening at that time to along the shores ofthe Colorado, they met the poor fellows dying by hundreds on the veryedge of the water, where they had dragged themselves to quench theirburning thirst, there not being among them one healthy or strong enoughto help and succour the others. The Navahoes, living in theneighbourhood of the Club Indians, have entirely disappeared; and, though late travellers have mentioned them in their works, there is notone of them living now. 

Mr. Farnham mentions them In his "Tour on the Mountains"; but he musthave been mistaken, confounding one tribe with another, or perhapsdeceived by the ignorance of the trappers; for that tribe occupied arange of country entirely out of his track, and never travelled byAmerican traders or trappers. Mr. Farnham could not have been in theirneighbourhood by at least six hundred miles. 

The villages formerly occupied by the Navahoes are deserted, though manyof their lodges still stand; but they serve only to shelter numeroustribes of dogs, which, having increased wonderfully since there has beenno one to kill and eat them, have become the lords of vast districts, where they hunt in packs. So numerous and so fierce have they grown, that the neighbouring tribes feel great unwillingness to extend theirrange to where they may fall in with these canine hunters. 

This disease, which has spread north as far as the Ohakallagans, on theborders of the Pacific Ocean, north of Fort Vancouver, has also extendedits ravages to the western declivity of the Arrahuac, down to 30° northlat. , where fifty nations that had a name are now forgotten, thetraveller, perchance, only reminded that they existed when he falls inwith heaps of unburied bones. 

How the Black-feet caught the infection it is difficult to say, as theirimmediate neighbours in the east escaped; but the sites of theirvillages were well calculated to render the disease more general andterrible; their settlements being generally built in some recess, deepin the heart of the mountains, or in valleys surrounded by lofty hills, which prevent all circulation of the air; and it is easy to understandthat the atmosphere, once becoming impregnated with the effluvia, andhaving no issue, must have been deadly. 

On the contrary, the Shoshones, the Apaches, and the Arrapahoes, havethe generality of their villages built along the shores of deep andbroad rivers. Inhabiting a warm clime, cleanness, first a necessity, hasbecome a second nature. The hides and skins are never dried in theimmediate vicinity of their lodges, but at a great distance, where theeffluvia can hurt no one. The interior of their lodges is dry, andalways covered with a coat of hard white clay, a good precaution againstinsects and reptiles, the contrast of colour immediately betraying theirpresence. Besides which, having always a plentiful supply of food, theyare temperate in their habits, and are never guilty of excess; while theCrows, Black-feet, and Clubs, having often to suffer hunger for days, nay, weeks together, will, when they have an opportunity, eat torepletion, and their stomachs being always in a disordered state (theprincipal and physical cause of their fierceness and ferocity), it isno wonder that they fell victims, with such predispositions to disease. 

It will require many generations to recover the number of Indians whichperished in that year; and, as I have said, as long as they live, itwill form an epoch or era to which they will for centuries refer. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

In the last chapter but one I stated that I and my companions, Gabrieland Roche, had been delivered up to the Mexican agents, and werejourneying, under an escort of thirty men, to the Mexican capital, to behanged as an example to all liberators. This escort was commanded by twomost atrocious villains, Joachem Texada and Louis Ortiz. They evidentlyanticipated that they would become great men in the republic, upon thesafe delivery of our persons to the Mexican Government, and every daytook good care to remind us that the gibbet was to be our fate onour arrival. 

Our route lay across the central deserts of Sonora, until we arrived onthe banks of the Rio Grande, and so afraid were they of falling in witha hostile party of Apaches, that they took long turns out of the generaltrack, and through mountainous passes, by which we not only sufferedgreatly from fatigue, but were very often threatened with starvation. 

It was sixty-three days before we crossed the Rio Grande at Christobal, and we had still a long journey before us. This delay, occasioned by thetimidity of our guards, proved our salvation. We had been but one day onour march in the swamp after leaving Christobal, when the war-whooppierced our ears, and a moment afterwards our party was surrounded bysome hundred Apaches, who saluted us with a shower of arrows. 

Our Mexican guards threw themselves down on the ground, and cried formercy, offering ransom. I answered the war-whoop of the Apaches, representing my companions and myself as their friends, and requestingtheir help and protection, which were immediately given. We were oncemore unbound and free. 

I hardly need say that this was a most agreeable change in the state ofaffairs; for I have no doubt that had we arrived at our destination, weshould either have been gibbeted or died (somehow or other) in prison. But if the change was satisfactory to us, it was not so to JoachemTexada and Louis Ortiz, who changed their notes with their change ofcondition. 

The scoundrels; who had amused themselves with reminding us that all wehad to expect was an ignominious death, were now our devoted humbleservants, cleaning and brushing their own mules for our use, holding thestirrup, and begging for our interference in their behalf with theApaches. Such wretches did not deserve our good offices; we thereforesaid nothing for or against them, leaving the Apaches to act as theypleased. About a week after our liberation the Apaches halted, as theywere about to divide their force into two bands, one of which was toreturn home with the booty they had captured, while the other proceededto the borders of Texas. 

I have stated that the Shoshones, the Arrapahoes, and Apaches hadentered into the confederation, but the Comanches were too far distantfor us to have had an opportunity of making the proposal to them. Asthis union was always uppermost in my mind, I resolved that I would nowvisit the Comanches, with a view to the furtherance of my object. 

The country on the east side of the Rio Grande is one dreary desert, inwhich no water is to be procured. I believe no Indian has ever done morethan skirt its border; indeed, as they assert that it is inhabited byspirits and demons, it is clear that they cannot have visited it. 

To proceed to the Comanches country it was therefore necessary that weshould follow the Rio Grande till we came to the Presidio of Rio Grande, belonging to the Mexicans, and from there cross over and take the roadto San Antonio de Bejar, the last western city of Texas, and proceedthrough the Texan country to where the Comanches were located. Itherefore decided that we would join the band of Apaches who wereproceeding towards Texas. 

During this excursion, the Apaches had captured many horses and armsfrom a trading party which they had surprised near Chihuahua, and, withtheir accustomed liberality, they furnished us with steeds, saddles, arms, blankets, and clothes; indeed, they were so generous that we couldeasily pass ourselves off as merchants returning from a tradingexpedition in case we were to fall in with any Mexicans, and have toundergo an examination. 

We took our leave of the generous Apache chiefs, who were returninghomewards. Joachem Texada and Louis Ortiz were, with the rest of theescort, led away as captives, and what became of them I cannot say. Wetravelled with the other band of Indians, until we had passed thePresidio del Rio Grande, a strong Mexican fort, and the day afterwardstook our farewell of them, having joined a band of smugglers who were ontheir way to Texas. Ten days afterwards, we entered San Antonio deBejar, and had nothing more to fear, as we were now clear of the Mexicanterritory. 

San Antonio de Bejar is by far the most agreeable residence in Texas. When in the possession of the Mexicans, it must have been acharming place. 

The river San Antonio, which rises at a short distance above the city, glides gracefully through the suburbs; and its clear waters, by numerouswinding canals, are brought up to every house. The temperature of thewater is the same throughout the year, neither too warm nor too cold forbathing; and not a single day passes without the inhabitants indulgingin the favourite and healthy exercise of swimming, which is practised byeverybody, from morning till evening; and the traveller along the shoresof this beautiful river will constantly see hundreds of children, of allages and colour, swimming and diving like so many ducks. 

The climate is pure, dry, and healthy. During summer the breeze is freshand perfumed; and as it never rains, the neighbouring plantations arewatered by canals, which receive and carry in every direction the watersof the San Antonio. Formerly the city contained fifteen thousandinhabitants, but the frequent revolutions and the bloody battles whichhave been fought within its walls have most materially contributed todiminish its number; so much indeed, that, in point of population, thecity of San Antonio de Bejar, with its bishopric and wealthy missions, has fallen to the rank of a small English village. It still carries on aconsiderable trade, but its appearance of prosperity is deceptive; andI would caution emigrants not to be deceived by the Texan accounts ofthe place. Immense profits have been made, to be sure; but now even theMexican smugglers and banditti are beginning to be disgusted with theuniversal want of faith and probity. 

The Mexicans were very fond of gardens and of surrounding their houseswith beautiful trees, under the shade of which they would pass most ofthe time which could be spared from bathing. This gives a fresh andlively appearance to the city, and you are reminded of Calabrianscenery, the lightness and simplicity of the dwellings contrasting withthe grandeur and majesty of the monastic buildings in the distance. Texas had no convents, but the Spanish missions were numerous, and theirnoble structures remain as monuments of former Spanish greatness. Beforedescribing these immense establishments, it is necessary to state thatsoon after the conquest of Mexico, one of the chief objects of Spanishpolicy was the extension of the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. The conversion of the Indians and the promulgation of Christianity weresteadily interwoven with the desire of wealth; and at the time that theytook away the Indian's gold, they gave him Christianity. At first, forcewas required to obtain proselytes, but cunning was found to succeedbetter; and, by allowing the superstitions of the Indians to be mixed upwith the rites of the Church, a sort of half-breed religion becamegeneral, upon the principle, I presume, that half a loaf is better thanno bread. The anomalous consequences of this policy are to be seen inthe Indian ceremonies even to this day. 

To afford adequate protection to the Roman Catholic missionaries, settlements were established, which still bear the name of missions. They are very numerous throughout California, and there are several inTexas. The Alamo, at San Antonio, was one of great importance; therewere others of less consideration in the neighbourhood; as the missionsof Conception, of San Juan, San Jose, and La Espada. All these edificesare most substantially built; the walls are of great thickness, and fromtheir form and arrangement they could be converted into frontierfortresses. They had generally, though not always, a church at the sideof the square, formed by the high walls, through which there was but oneentrance. In the interior they had a large granary, and the outsidewall formed the back to a range of buildings, in which the missionariesand their converts resided. A portion of the surrounding district wasappropriated to agriculture, the land being, as I before observed, irrigated by small canals, which conducted the water from the river. 

The Alamo is now in ruins, only two or three of the houses of the innersquare being inhabited. The gateway of the church was highly ornamented, and still remains, although the figures which once occupied the nicheshave disappeared. But there is still sufficient in the ruins to interestthe inquirer into its former history, even if he could for a momentforget the scenes which have rendered it celebrated in the history ofTexan independence. 

About two miles lower down the San Antonio river is the mission ofConception. It is a very large stone building, with a fine cupola, andthough a plain building, is magnificent in its proportions and thedurability of its construction. It was here that Bowie fought one of thefirst battles with the Mexican forces, and it has not since beeninhabited. Though not so well known to fame as other conflicts, thisbattle was that which really committed the Texans, and compelled thosewho thought of terms and the maintenance of a Mexican connection toperceive that the time for both had passed. 

The mission of San Jose is about a mile and a half further down theriver. It consists, like the others, of a large square, and numerousMexican families still reside there. To the left of the gateway is thegranary. The church stands apart from the building; it is within thesquare, but unconnected. The west door is decorated with the mostelaborated carvings of flowers, images of angels, and figures of theapostles; the interior is plain. To the right is a handsome tower andbelfry, and above the altar a large stone cupola. Behind the church is along range of rooms for the missionaries, with a corridor of nine archesin front. The Texan troops were long quartered here, and, althoughalways intoxicated, strange to say, the stone carvings have not beeninjured. The church has since been repaired, and divine service isperformed in it. 

About half a mile further down is the mission of San Juan. The churchforms part of the sides of the square, and on the north-west corner ofthe square are the remains of a small stone tower. This mission, aswell as that of La Espada, is inhabited. The church of La Espada, however, is in ruins, and but two sides of the square, consisting ofmere walls, remain entire; the others have been wantonly destroyed. 

The church at San Antonio de Bejar was built in the year 1717; andalthough it has suffered much from the many sieges which the city hasundergone, it is still used as a place of public worship. At the timethat San Antonio was attacked and taken by Colonel Cooke, in 1835, several cannon-shots struck the dome, and a great deal of damage wasdone; in fact, all the houses in the principal square of the town aremarked more or less by shot. One among them has suffered very much; itis the "Government-house, " celebrated for one of the most cowardlymassacres ever committed by a nation of barbarians, and which I shallhere relate. 

After some skirmishes betwixt the Comanches and the Texans, in which theformer had always had the advantage, the latter thought it advisable topropose a treaty of alliance. Messengers, with flags of truce, weredespatched among the Indians, inviting all their chiefs to a council atSan Antonio, where the representatives of Texas would meet them and maketheir proposals for an eternal peace. Incapable of treachery themselves, the brave Comanches never suspected it in others; at the time agreedupon, forty of their principal chiefs arrived in the town, and, leavingtheir horses in the square, proceeded to the "Government-house. " Theywere all unarmed, their long flowing hair covered with a profusion ofgold and silver ornaments; their dresses very rich and their blankets ofthat fine Mexican texture which commands in the market from fifty to onehundred and fifty dollars a-piece. Their horses were noble animals, andof great value, their saddles richly embossed with gold and silver. Thedisplay of so much wealth excited all the worst propensities of theTexan populace, who resolved at any price to obtain possession of sosplendid a booty. While the chiefs were making their speeches of peaceand amity, a few hundred Texan blackguards rushed into the room withtheir pistols and knives, and began their work of murder. All theIndians fell, except one, who succeeded in making his escape; but thoughthe Comanches were quite unarmed, they sold their lives dearly, foreighteen Texans were found among the slain. 

I will close this chapter with a few remarks upon the now acknowledgedrepublic of Texas. 

The dismemberment of Texas from Mexico was effected by the reports ofextensive gold-mines, diamonds, &c. , which were to be found there, andwhich raised the cupidity of the eastern speculators and land-jobbers ofthe United States. But in all probability this appropriation would neverhave taken place if it had not been that the southern states of Americahad, with very different views, given every encouragement tothe attempt. 

The people of Louisiana and the southern states knew the exact value ofthe country, and laughed at the idea of its immense treasures. Theyacted from a deep, although it eventually has turned out to have been afalse, policy. They considered that Texas, once wrested from Mexico, would be admitted into the Union, subdivided into two or three states, every one of which would, of course, be slave-holding states, and sendtheir members to Congress. This would have given the slave-holdingstates the preponderance in the Union. 

Events have turned out differently, and the planters of the south nowdeplore their untoward policy and want of foresight, as they haveassisted in raising up a formidable rival in the production of theirstaple commodity, injurious to them even in time of peace, and in caseof a war with England, still more inimical to their interests. 

It is much to be lamented that Texas had not been populated by a moredeserving class of individuals; it might have been, even by this time, acountry of importance and wealth; but it has from the commencement beenthe resort of every vagabond and scoundrel who could not venture toremain in the United States; and, unfortunately, the Texan character wasfixed and established, as a community wholly destitute of principle orprobity, before the emigration of more respectable settlers hadcommenced. The consequences have been most disastrous, and it is to bequestioned whether some of them will ever be removed. 

At the period of its independence, the population of Texas was estimatedat about forty thousand. Now, if you are to credit the Texan Government, it has increased to about seventy-five thousand. Such, however, is notthe fact, although it, of course, suits the members of the republic tomake the assertion. Instead of the increase stated by them, thepopulation of Texas has decreased considerably, and is not now equal towhat it was at the Independence. 

This may appear strange, after so many thousands from the United States, England, and Germany have been induced to emigrate there; but the factis, that, after having arrived in the country, and having discoveredthat they were at the mercy of bands of miscreants, who are capable ofany dark deed, they have quitted the country to save the remainder oftheir substance, and have passed over into Mexico, the Southern UnitedStates, or anywhere else where they had some chance of security for lifeand property. 

Among the population of Texas were counted many thousand Mexicans, whoremained in the country, trusting that order and law would soon beestablished: but, disappointed in their expectations, they haveemigrated to Mexico. Eight thousand have quitted San Antonio de Bejar, and the void has been filled up by six or seven hundred drunkards, thieves, and murderers. The same desertion has taken place in Goliad, Velasco, Nacogdoches, and other towns, which were formerly occupied byMexican families. 

It may give the reader some idea of the insecurity of life and propertyin Texas, when I state, that there are numerous bands of robberscontinually on the look-out, to rifle and murder the travellers, andthat it is of frequent occurrence for a house to be attacked andplundered, the women violated, and every individual afterwards murderedby these miscreants, who, to escape detection, dress and paintthemselves as Indians. Of course, what I have now stated, although wellknown to be a fact, is not likely to be mentioned in the Texannewspapers. 

Another serious evil arising from this lawless state of the country is, that the Indians, who were well inclined towards the Texans, as being, with them, mutual enemies of the Mexicans, are now hostile, toextermination. I have mentioned the murder of the Comanche chiefs, inthe government-house of San Antonio, which, in itself, was sufficient. But such has been the disgraceful conduct of the Texans towards theIndians, that the white man is now considered by them as a term ofreproach; they are spoken of by the Indians as "dogs, " and are generallyhung or shot whenever they are fallen in with. Centuries cannot repairthis serious evil, and the Texans have made bitter and implacable foesof those who would have been their friends. No distinction is madebetween an American and a Texan, and the Texans have raised up a foe tothe United States, which may hereafter prove not a little troublesome. 

In another point, Texas has been seriously injured by this total want ofprobity and principle. Had Western Texas been settled by people ofcommon honesty, it would, from its topographical situation, have soonbecome a very important country, as all the mercantile transactions withthe north central provinces of Mexico would have been secured to it. 

From the Presidio del Rio Grande there is an excellent road to SanAntonio de Bejar; to the south of San Antonio lies Chihuahua; so thatthe nearest and most accessible route overland, from the United Statesto the centre of Mexico, is through San Antonio. And this overland routecan be shortened by discharging vessels at Linville, or La Bacca, andfrom thence taking the goods to San Antonio, a distance of about onehundred and forty miles. The western boundary line of Texas, at the timeof the declaration of its independence, was understood to be the riverNueces; and if so, nothing could have prevented San Antonio frombecoming an inland depot of much commercial importance. 

Numerous parties of Mexican traders have long been accustomed to come toSan Antonio from the Rio Grande. They were generally very honest intheir payments, and showed a very friendly spirit. Had this trade beenprotected, as it should have been, by putting down the bands of robbers, who rendered the roads unsafe by their depredations and atrocities, itwould have become of more value than any trade to Santa Fé. Recognizedor unrecognized, Texas could have carried on the trade; merchants wouldhave settled in the West, to participate in it; emigrants would havecollected in the district, where the soil is rich and the climatehealthy. It is true, the trade would have been illicit; but such is everthe inevitable consequence of a high and ill-regulated tariff. It would, nevertheless, have been very profitable, and would have conciliated thepopulation of Rio Grande towards the Texans, and in all probability haveforced upon the Mexican government the establishment of friendlyrelations between the two countries. 

But this trade has been totally destroyed; the Indians now seize andplunder every caravan, either to or from San Antonio; the Texan robberslie in wait for them, if they escape the Indians; and should the Mexicantrader escape with his goods from both, he has still to undergo thechance of being swindled by the _soi-disant_ Texan merchant. 

If ever there was a proof, from the results of pursuing an oppositecourse, that honesty is the best policy, it is to be found in thepresent state of Texas. 

CHAPTER XX. 

Happily for me and my two companions, there still remained two or threegentlemen in San Antonio. These were Colonel Seguin and Messrs. Novarro, senior and junior, Mexican gentlemen, who, liberal in their ideas andfrank in their natures, had been induced by the false representations ofthe Texans not to quit the country after its independence of Mexico;and, as they were men of high rank, by so doing they not only forfeitedtheir rights as citizens of Mexico, but also incurred the hatred andanimosity of that government. 

Now that they had discovered their error, it was too late to repair it;moreover, pride and, perhaps, a mistaken sense of honour, would notpermit them to remove to Mexico, although severed from all those tieswhich render life sweet and agreeable. Their own sorrows did not, however, interfere with their unbounded hospitality: in their house wefound a home. We formed no intimacy with the Texans; indeed, we had nocontact whatever with them, except that one day Roche thrashed two ofthem with his shillalah for ill-treating an old Indian. 

Inquiries were made by Colonel Seguin as to where the Comanches might befound, and we soon ascertained that they were in their great village, atthe foot of the Green Mountain, upon the southern fork of thehead-waters of the Rio Roxo. 

We made immediate preparations for departure, and as we proposed to passthrough Austin, the capital of Texas, our kind entertainers pressed fivehundred dollars upon us, under the plea that no Texan would ever give usa tumbler of water except it was paid for, and that, moreover, it waspossible that after passing a few days among the gallant members ofCongress, we might miss our holsters or stirrups, our blankets, or evenone of our horses. 

We found their prediction, in the first instance, but too true. Sixmiles from Austin we stopped at the farm of the Honourable Judge Webb, and asked leave to water our horses, as they had travelled forty milesunder a hot sun without drawing bit. The honourable judge flatlyrefused, although he had a good well, besides a pond, under fence, covering several acres; his wife, however, reflecting, perhaps, that herstores were rather short of coffee or salt, entered into a rapiddiscussion with her worse half, and by-and-bye that respectable coupleof honourables agreed to sell water to us at twenty-five cents a bucket. 

When we dismounted to take the bridles off our horses, the daughtersarrived, and perceiving we had new silk sashes and neckerchiefs and somefine jewels, they devoured us with their eyes, and one of them, speakingto her papa, that most hospitable gentleman invited us to enter hishouse. By that time we were once more upon our saddles and ready tostart. Roche felt indignant at the meanness of the fellow who hadreceived our severity-five cents for the water before he invited us intothe house. We refused, and Roche told him that he was an old scoundrelto sell for money that which even a savage will never refuse to his mostbitter enemy. 

The rage of the honourable cannot be depicted: "My rifle!" hevociferated, "my rifle! for God's sake, Betsey--Juliet, run formy rifle!"

The judge then went into the house; but, as three pistols were drawnfrom our holsters, neither he nor his rifle made their appearance, so weturned our horses' heads and rode on leisurely to Austin. 

In Austin we had a grand opportunity of seeing the Texans under theirtrue colours. There were three hotels in the town, and every evening, after five o'clock, almost all of them, not excluding the president ofthe republic, the secretaries, judges, ministers, and members ofCongress, were more or less tipsy, and in the quarrels which ensuedhardly a night passed without four or five men being stabbed or shot, and the riot was continued during the major portion of the night, sothat at nine o'clock in the morning everybody was still in bed. Soburied in silence was the town, that one morning at eight o'clock, Ikilled a fine buck grazing quietly before the door of the Capitol. It isstrange that this capital of Texas should have been erected upon thevery northern boundary of the state. Indians have often entered it andtaken scalps not ten steps from the Capitol. 

While we were in Austin we made the acquaintance of old Castro, thechief of the Lepan Indians, an offset of the Comanche tribe. He is oneof the best-bred gentlemen in the world, having received a liberal andmilitary education, first in Mexico, and subsequently in Spain. He hastravelled in France, Germany, England, and, in fact, all over Europe. Hespeaks and writes five or six languages, and so conscious is he of hissuperiority over the Texans, that he never addresses them but withcontempt. He once said to them in the legislature-room of Matagorda--

"Never deceive yourselves, Texans. I fight with you against theMexicans, because betwixt them and me there is an irreconcilable hatred. Do not then flatter yourselves that it is through friendship towardsyou. I can give my friendship only to those who are honourable both inpeace and in war; you are all of you liars, and many of you thieves, scoundrels, and base murderers. Yes, dogs, I say true; yelp not, barknot, for you know you dare not bite, now that my two hundred warriorsare surrounding this building: be silent, I say. "

Castro was going in the same direction as ourselves to join his band, which was at that moment buffalo-hunting, a few journeys northward. Hehad promised his company and protection to two foreign gentlemen, whowere desirous of beholding the huge tenant of the prairies. We allstarted together, and we enjoyed very much this addition to our company. 

The first day we travelled over an old Spanish military road, crossingrich rolling prairies, here and there watered by clear streams, thebanks of which are sheltered by magnificent oaks. Fifteen miles fromAustin there is a remarkable spot, upon which a visionary speculator hada short time before attempted to found a city. He purchased an immensetract of ground, had beautiful plans drawn and painted, and very soonthere appeared, upon paper, one of the largest and handsomest cities inthe world. There were colleges and public squares, penitentiaries, banks, taverns, whisky-shops, and fine walks. I hardly need say, thatthis town-manufacturer was a Yankee, who intended to realize a millionby selling town-lots. The city (in prospective) was called Athens, andthe silly fellow had so much confidence in his own speculation, that heactually built upon the ground a very large and expensive house. Oneday, as he, with three or four negroes, were occupied in digging a well, he was attacked by a party of Yankee thieves, who thought he had a greatdeal of money. The poor devil ran away from his beloved city andreturned no more. The house stands as it was left. I even saw near thewell the spades and pickaxes with which they had been working at thetime of the attack. Thus modern Athens was cut off in the bud, which wasa great pity, as a few Athenian sages and legislators are sadlywanted in Texas. 

Early one morning we were awakened by loud roars in the prairie. Castrostarted on his feet, and soon gave the welcome news, "The Buffaloes. " Onthe plain were hundreds of dark moving spots, which increased in size aswe came nearer; and before long we could clearly see the shaggy brutesgalloping across the prairie, and extending their dark, compactphalanxes even to the line of the horizon. Then followed a scene ofexcitement The buffaloes, scared by the continual reports of our rifles, broke their ranks and scattered themselves in every direction. 

The two foreigners were both British, the youngest being a youngIrishman of a good family, and of the name of Fitzgerald. We had beenquite captivated by his constant good humour and vivacity of spirits; hewas the life of our little evening encampments, and, as he had travelledon the other side of the Pacific, we would remain till late at nightlistening to his interesting and beautiful narratives of his adventuresin Asiatic countries. 

He had at first joined the English legion in Spain, in which he hadadvanced to the rank of captain; he soon got tired of that service andwent to Persia, where he entered into the Shah's employ as an officer ofartillery. This after some time not suiting his fancy, he returned toEngland, and decided upon visiting Texas, and establishing himself as amerchant at San Antonio. But his taste for a wandering life would notallow him to remain quiet for any length of time, and having one dayfallen in with an English naturalist, who had come out on purpose tovisit the north-west prairies of Texas, he resolved to accompany him. 

Always ready for any adventure, Fitz. Rushed madly among the buffaloes. He was mounted upon a wild horse of the small breed, loaded withsaddlebags, water calabashes, tin and coffee-cups, blankets, &c. ; butthese encumbrances did not stop him in the least. With his bridlefastened to the pommel of his saddle and a pistol in each hand, he shotto the right and left, stopping now and then to reload and then startinganew. During the hunt he lost his hat, his saddlebags, with linen andmoney, and his blankets: as he never took the trouble to pick them up, they are probably yet in the prairie where they were dropped. 

The other stranger was an English savant, one of the queerest fellows inthe world. He wished also to take his share in the buffalo-hunt, but hissteed was a lazy and peaceable animal, a true nag for a fat abbot, having a horror of anything like trotting or galloping; and as he wasnot to be persuaded out of his slow walk, he and his master remained ata respectable distance from the scene of action. What an excellentcaricature might have been made of that good-humoured savant, as he saton his Rosinante, armed with an enormous doubled-barrelled gun, loadedbut not primed, some time, to no purpose, spurring the self-willedanimal, and then spying through an opera-glass at the majestic animalswhich he could not approach. 

We killed nine bulls and seven fat calves, and in the evening weencamped near a little river, where we made an exquisite supper ofmarrow and tongue, two good things, which can only be enjoyed in thewild prairies. The next day, at sunset, we received a visit from animmense herd of mustangs (wild horses). We saw them at first ascendingone of the swells of the prairie, and took them for hostile Indians; buthaving satisfied their curiosity, the whole herd wheeled round with asmuch regularity as a well-drilled squadron, and with their tails erectand long manes floating to the wind, were soon out of sight. 

Many strange stories have been related by trappers and hunters, of asolitary white horse which has often been met with near the CrossTimbers and the Red River. No one ever saw him trotting or galloping; heonly racks, but with such rapidity that no steed can follow him. Immensesums of money have been offered to any who could catch him, and manyhave attempted the task, but without success. The noble animal stillruns free in his native prairies, always alone and unapproachable. 

We often met with the mountain goat, an animal which participates bothof the deer and the common goat, but whose flesh is far superior toeither. It is gracefully shaped--long-legged and very fleet. One ofthem, whose fore-leg I had broken with a rifle-ball, escaped from ourfleetest horse (Castro's), after a chase of nearly thirty minutes. Themountain goat is found on the great platforms of the Rocky Mountains, and also at the broad waters of the rivers Brasos and Colorado. Thoughof a very timid nature they are superlatively inquisitive, and can beeasily attracted within rifle-range by agitating, from behind a tree, awhite or red handkerchief. 

We were also often visited, during the night, by rattlesnakes, who likedamazingly the heat and softness of our blankets. They were unwelcomecustomers, to be sure; but yet there were some others of which we werestill more in dread: among them I may class, as the ugliest and mostdeadly, the prairie tarantula, a large spider, bigger than a good-sizedchicken egg, hairy, like a bear, with small blood-shot eyes and littlesharp teeth. 

One evening, we encamped near a little spring, two miles from theBrasos. Finding no wood to burn near to us, Fitzgerald started to fetchsome. As I have said, his was a small wild horse; he was imprudentenough to tie to its tail a young tree, which he had cut down. The pony, of course, got angry, and galloped furiously towards the camp, surrounded by a cloud of dust. At this sight, the other horses began toshow signs of terror; but we were fortunate enough to secure them allbefore it was too late, or we should have lost them for ever. 

It is astonishing to witness in the prairies how powerfully fear willact, not only upon the buffaloes and mustangs, but also upon tame horsesand cattle. Oxen will run farther than horses, and some of them havebeen known, when under the influence of the estampede, or sudden fright, to run forty miles without ever stopping, and when at last they halted, it was merely because exhausted nature would not allow them to gofurther. The Texan expedition, on its way to Santa Fé, once lost ninetyfour horses by an estampede. I must say that nothing can exceed thegrandeur of the sight, when a numerous body of cattle are under itsinfluence. Old nags, broken by age and fatigue, who have been desertedon account of their weakness, appear as wild and fresh as young colts. As soon as they are seized with that inexplicable dread which forcesthem to fly, they appear to regain in a moment all the powers of theiryouth; with head and tail erect, and eyes glaring with fear, they rushmadly on in a straight line; the earth trembles under their feet;nothing can stop them--trees, abysses, lakes, rivers, or mountains--theygo over all, until nature can support it no more, and the earth isstrewed with their bodies. 

Even the otherwise imperturbable horse of our savant would sometimeshave an estampede after his own fashion; lazy and self-willed, preferring a slow walk to any other kind of motion, this animal showedin all his actions that he knew how to take care of number one, alwaysselecting his quarters where the water was cool and the grass tender. But he had a very bad quality for a prairie travelling nag, which wascontinually placing his master in some awkward dilemma. One day that wehad stopped to refresh ourselves near a spring, we removed the bridlesfrom our horses, to allow them to graze a few minutes, but the savant'scursed beast took precisely that opportunity of giving us a sample ofhis estampede. Our English friend had a way, quite peculiar to himself, of crowding upon his horse all his scientific and culinary instruments. He had suspended at the pommel of the saddle a thermometer, a rumcalabash, and a coffee-boiler, while behind the saddle hung a store ofpots and cups, frying-pan, a barometer, a sextant, and a long spy-glass. The nag was grazing, when one of the instruments fell down, at which thebeast commenced kicking, to show his displeasure. The more he kicked, the greater was the rattling of the cups and pans; the brute was nowquite terrified; we first secured our own steeds, and then watched thesingular and ridiculous movements of this estampedero. 

He would make ten leaps, and then stop to give as many kicks, then shakehimself violently and start off full gallop. At every moment, somearticle, mathematical or culinary, would get loose, fall down, and betrampled upon. The sextant was kicked to pieces, the frying-pan andspy-glass were put out of shape, the thermometer lost its mercury, andat last, by dint of shaking, rolling, and kicking, the brute got rid ofhis entire load and saddle, and then came quietly to us, apparently verywell satisfied with himself and with the damage he had done. It was amost ludicrous scene, and defies all power of description; so much didit amuse us, that we could not stop laughing for three or four hours. 

The next day, we found many mineral springs, the waters of which werestrongly impregnated with sulphur and iron. We also passed by the bodiesof five white men, probably trappers, horribly mangled, and evidentlymurdered by some Texan robbers. Towards evening, we crossed a largefresh Indian trail, going in the direction of the river Brasos, and, following it, we soon came up with the tribe of Lepans, of which oldCastro was the chief. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

The Lepans were themselves going northwards, and for a few days weskirted, in company with them, the western borders of the Cross Timbers. The immense prairies of Texas are for hundreds and hundreds of milesbordered on the east by a belt of thick and almost impenetrable forests, called the Cross Timbers. Their breadth varies from seventy to onehundred miles. There the oak and hiccory grow tall and beautiful, butthe general appearance of the country is poor, broken, and rugged. Theseforests abound with deer and bears, and sometimes the buffalo, whenhotly pursued by the Indians in the prairies, will take refuge in itsclosest thickets. Most of the trees contain hives of bees full of a verydelicate honey, the great luxury of the pioneers along these borders. 

We now took our leave of the Lepans and our two white friends, who wouldfain have accompanied us to the Comanches had there been a chance ofreturning to civilization through a safe road; as it was, Gabriel, Roche, and I resumed our journey alone. During two or three days wefollowed the edge of the wood, every attempt to penetrate into theinterior proving quite useless, so thick were the bushes and thornybriers. Twice or thrice we perceived on some hills, at a great distance, smoke and fires, but we could not tell what Indians might bethere encamped. 

We had left the Timbers, and had scarcely advanced ten miles in awesterly direction, when a dog of a most miserable appearance joined ourcompany. He was soon followed by two others as lean and as weak ashimself. They were evidently Indian dogs of the wolf breed, andmiserable, starved animals they looked, with the ribs almost bare, whiletheir tongues, parched and hanging downwards, showed clearly the want ofwater in these horrible regions. We had ourselves been twenty-four hourswithout having tasted any, and our horses were quite exhausted. 

We were slowly descending the side of a swell in the prairie, when abuffalo passed at full speed, ten yards before us, closely pursued by aTonquewa Indian (a ferocious tribe), mounted upon a small horse, whosegraceful form excited our admiration. This savage was armed with a longlance, and covered with a cloak of deer-skin, richly ornamented, hislong black hair undulating with the breeze. 

A second Indian soon followed the first, and they were evidently so muchexcited with the chase as not to perceive us, although I addressed thelast one, who passed not ten yards from me. The next day we met with aband of Wakoes Indians, another subdivision of the Comanches or of theApaches, and not yet seen or even mentioned by any traveller. They wereall mounted upon fine tall horses, evidently a short time beforepurchased at the Mexican settlements, for some of them had their shoesstill on their feet. They immediately offered us food and water, andgave us fresh steeds, for our own were quite broken down, and couldscarcely drag themselves along. We encamped with them that day on abeautiful spot, where our poor animals recovered a little. We bled themfreely, an operation which probably saved them to share with us manymore toils and dangers. 

The next day we arrived at the Wakoe village, pleasantly-situated uponthe banks of a cold and clear stream, which glided through a romanticvalley, studded here and there with trees just sufficient to vary thelandscape, without concealing its beauties. All around the village werevast fields of Indian corn and melons; further off numerous herds ofcattle, sheep, and horses were grazing; while the women were busy dryingbuffalo meat. In this hospitable village we remained ten days, by whichtime we and our beasts had entirely recovered from our fatigues. 

This tribe is certainly far superior in civilization and comforts to allother tribes of Indians, the Shoshones not excepted. The Wakoe wigwamsare well built, forming long streets, admirable for their cleanness andregularity. They are made of long posts, neatly squared, firmly fixedinto the ground, and covered over with tanned buffalo-hides, the roofbeing formed of white straw, plaited much finer than the common summerhats of Boston manufacture. These dwellings are of a conical form, thirty feet in height and fifteen in diameter. Above the partition-wallsof the principal room are two rows of beds, neatly arranged, as on boardof packet-ships. The whole of their establishment, in fact, proves thatthey not only live at ease, but also enjoy a high degree of comfortand luxury. 

Attached to every wigwam is another dwelling of less dimensions, thelower part of which is used as a provision-store. Here is always to befound a great quantity of pumpkins, melons, dried peaches, grapes, andplums, cured vension, and buffalo tongues. Round the store is a kind ofbalcony, leading to a small room above it. What it contained I know not, though I suspect it is consecrated to the rites of the Wakoe religion. Kind and hospitable as they were, they refused three or four times tolet us penetrate in this sanctum sanctorum, and of course we would notpress them further. 

The Wakoes, or, to say better, their villages, are unknown, except to afew trappers and hunters, who will never betray the kind hospitalitythey have received by showing the road to them. There quiet andhappiness have reigned undisturbed for many centuries. The hunters andwarriors themselves will often wander in the distant settlements of theYankees and Mexicans to procure seeds, for they are very partial togardening; they cultivate tobacco; in fact, they are, I believe, theonly Indians who seriously occupy themselves with agriculture, whichoccupation does not prevent them from being a powerful andwarlike people. 

As well as the Apaches and the Comanches, the Wakoes are always onhorseback; they are much taller and possess more bodily strength thaneither of these two nations, whom they also surpass in ingenuity. A fewyears ago, three hundred Texans, under the command of General Smith, metan equal party of the Wakoes hunting to the east of the Cross Timbers. As these last had many fine horses and an immense provision of hidesand cured meat, the Texans thought that nothing could be more easy thanrouting the Indians and stealing their booty. They were, however, sadlymistaken; when they made their attack, they were almost all cut topieces, and the unburied bones of two hundred and forty Texans remainblanching in the prairie, as a monument of their own rascality and theprowess of the Wakoes. 

Comfortable and well treated as we were by that kind people, we couldnot remain longer with them; so we continued our toilsome and solitaryjourney. The first day was extremely damp and foggy; a pack of sneakingwolves were howling about, within a few yards of us, but the sun cameout about eight o'clock, dispersing the fog and also the wolves. 

We still continued our former course, and found an excellent road forfifteen miles, when we entered a singular tract of land, unlike anythingwe had ever before seen. North and south, as far as the eye could reach, nothing could be seen but a sandy plain, covered with dwarf oaks two andthree feet high, and bearing innumerable acorns of a large size. Thisdesert, although our horses sank to the very knee in the sand, we wereobliged to cross; night came on before the passage was effected, and wewere quite tired with the fatigues of the day. We were, however, fortunate enough to find a cool and pure stream of running water, on theopposite side of which the prairie had been recently burnt, and thefresh grass was just springing up; here we encamped. 

We started the next morning, and ascended a high ridge, we were in greatspirits, little anticipating the horrible tragedy in which we shouldsoon have to play our parts. The country before us was extremely roughand broken: we pushed on, however, buffeting, turning, and twistingabout until nearly dark, crossing and recrossing deep gullies, ourprogress in one direction impeded by steep hills, and in another by, yawning ravines, until, finally, we encamped at night not fifteen milesfrom where we had started in the morning. During the day, we had foundlarge plum patches, and had picked a great quantity of this fruit, whichwe found sweet and refreshing after our toil. 

On the following morning, after winding about until noon among thehills, we at length reached a beautiful table-land, covered withmusqueet trees. So suddenly did we leave behind us the rough and uneventract of country and enter a level valley, and so instantaneous was thetransition, that the change of scenery in a theatre was brought forciblyto our minds; it was turning from the bold and wild scenery of SalvatorRosa to dwell upon the smiling landscape of a Poussin or Claude Lorrain. 

On starting in the morning, nothing was to be seen but a rough andrugged succession of hills before us, piled one upon another, eachsucceeding hill rising above its neighbour. At the summit of the highestof these hills, the beautiful and fertile plain came suddenly to view, and we were immediately upon it, without one of us anticipating anythingof the kind. The country between the Cross Timbers and the RockyMountains rises by steps, if I may so call them. The travellerjourneying west meets, every fifty or sixty miles, with a ridge of highhills; as he ascends these, he anticipates a corresponding descent uponthe opposite side, but in most instances, on reaching this summit, hefinds before him a level and fertile prairie. This is certainly the casesouth of the Red River, whatever it may be to the northward of it. 

We halted an hour or two on reaching this beautiful table-land, to restourselves and give our horses an opportunity to graze. Little villagesof prairie dogs were scattered here and there, and we killed half adozen of them for our evening meal. The fat of these animals, I haveforgotten to say, is asserted to be an infallible remedy for therheumatism. 

In the evening, we again started, and encamped, an hour after sun-down, upon the banks of a clear running stream. We had, during the last partof our journey, discovered the tops of three or four high mountains inthe distance; we knew them to be "The Crows, " by the description of themgiven to us by the Wakoes. 

Early the next morning we were awakened by the warbling of innumerablesinging birds, perched among the bushes along the borders of the stream. Pleasing as was the concert, we were obliged to leave it behind andpursue our weary march. Throughout the day we had an excellent road, andwhen night came we had travelled about thirty-five miles. The mountains, the summits of which we had perceived the evening before were nowplainly visible, and answered to the descriptions of the Wakoes as thosein the neighbourhood of the narrows of the Red River. 

We now considered that we were near the end of our journey. That nightwe swallowed a very scanty supper, lay down to sleep, and dreamed ofbeaver-tail and buffalo-hump and tongues. The next day, at noon, wecrossed the bed of a stream, which was evidently a large river duringthe rainy season. At that time but little water was found in it, andthat so salt, it was impossible even for our horses to drink it. 

Towards night, we came to the banks of a clear stream, the waters ofwhich were bubbling along, over a bed of golden sand, running nearlynorth and south, while at a distance of some six miles, and to our left, was the chain of hills I had previously mentioned; rising above the restwere three peaks, which really deserved the name of mountains. Wecrossed the stream, and encamped on the other side. Scarcely had weunsaddled our horses, when we perceived coming towards us a large partyof savages, whose war-paint, with the bleeding scalps hanging to theirbelts, plainly showed the errand from which they were returning. Theyencamped on the other side of the stream, within a quarter of amile from us. 

That night we passed watching, shivering, and fasting, for we dared notlight a fire in the immediate vicinity of our neighbours, whom we couldhear singing and rejoicing. The next morning, long before dawn, we stoleaway quietly, and trotted briskly till noon, when we encountered a deepand almost impassable ravine. There we were obliged to halt, and passthe remainder of the day endeavouring to discover a passage. Thisoccupied us till nightfall, and we had nothing to eat but plums andberries. Melancholy were our thoughts when we reflected upon thedifficulties we might shortly have to encounter, and gloomy were ourforebodings as we wrapt ourselves in our blankets, half starved, andoppressed with feelings of uncertainty as to our present position andour future destinies. 

The night passed without alarm; but the next morning we were sickened bya horrible scene which was passing about half a mile from us. A party ofthe same Indians whom we had seen the evening before were butcheringsome of their captives, while several others were busy cooking theflesh, and many were eating it. We were rooted to the spot by a thrillof horror we could not overcome; even our horses seemed to know byinstinct that something horrible was acting below, for they snuffed theair, and with their ears pointed straight forward, trembled so as tosatisfy us that for the present we could not avail ourselves of theirservices. Gabriel crept as near as he could to the party, leaving us toawait his return in a terrible state of suspense and anxiety. When herejoined us, it appeared our sight had not deceived us. There were ninemore prisoners, who would probably undergo the same fate on thefollowing day; four, he said, were Comanches, the other five Mexicanfemales, --two young girls and three women. 

The savages had undoubtedly made an inroad upon San Miguel or Taos, thetwo most northern settlements of the Mexicans, not far from the GreenMountains, where we were ourselves going. What could we do? We could notfight the cannibals, who were at least one hundred in number, and yet wecould not go away, and leave men and women of our own colour to ahorrible death, and a tomb in the stomach of these savages. The ideacould not be borne, so we determined to remain and trust to chance orProvidence. After their abominable meal, the savages scattered about theprairie in every direction, but not breaking up their camp, where theyleft their prisoners, under the charge of twelve of theiryoung warriors. 

Many plans did we propose for the rescue of the poor prisoners, but theywere all too wild for execution; at last chance favoured us, although wedid not entirely succeed in our enterprise. Three or four deer gallopedacross the prairie, and passed not fifty yards from the camp. A finebuck came in our direction, and two of the Indians who were left incharge started after him. They rushed in among us, and stood motionlesswith astonishment at finding neighbours they had not reckoned upon. We, however, gave them no time to recover from their surprise, our knivesand tomahawks performed quickly and silently the work of death, andlittle remorse did we feel, after the scene we had witnessed in themorning. We would have killed, if possible, the whole band, as theyslept, without any more compunction than we would have destroyed a nestof rattlesnakes. 

The deer were followed by a small herd of buffaloes. We had quicklysaddled and secured our horses to some shrubs, in case it should benecessary to rim for our lives, when we perceived the ten remainingIndians, having first examined and ascertained that their captives werewell bound, start on foot in chase of the herd of buffaloes; indeedthere were but about twenty horses in the whole band, and they had beenridden away by the others. Three of these Indians we killed withoutattracting the attention of the rest, and Gabriel, without beingdiscerned, gained the deserted encampment, and severed the thongs whichbound the prisoners. 

The Mexican women refused to fly; they were afraid of being captured andtortured; they thought they would be spared, and taken to the wigwams ofthe savages, who, we then learned, belonged to the tribe of the Cayugas. They told us that thirteen Indian prisoners had already been eaten, butno white people. The Comanche prisoners armed themselves with thelances, bows, and arrows left in the camp, and in an hour after thepassage of the buffaloes, but two of the twelve Indians were alive;these, giving the war-whoop to recall their party, at last discoveredthat their comrades had been killed. 

At that moment the prairie became animated with buffaloes and hunters;the Cayugas on horseback were coming back, driving another herd beforethem. No time was to be lost if we wished to save our scalps; we gaveone of our knives (so necessary an article in the wilderness) to theComanches, who expressed what they felt in glowing terms, and we leftthem to their own cunning and knowledge of the localities, to make theirescape. We had not overrated their abilities, for some few daysafterwards we met them safe and sound in their own wigwams. 

We galloped as fast as our horses could go for fifteen miles, along theravine which had impeded our journey during the preceding day, when wefell in with a small creek. There we and our horses drank incrediblequantities of water, and as our position was not yet very safe, we againresumed our march at a brisk trot. We travelled three or four more milesalong the foot of a high ridge, and discovered what seemed to be anIndian trail, leading in a zigzag course up the side of it. This wefollowed, and soon found ourselves on the summit of the ridge. There wewere again gratified at finding spread out before us a perfectly levelprairie, extending as far as the eye could reach, without a tree tobreak the monotony of the scene. 

We halted a few minutes to rest our horses, and for some time watchedwhat was passing in the valley we had left, now lying a thousand feetbelow us. All we could perceive at the distance which we were, was thatall was in motion, and we thought that our best plan was to leave asmuch space between us and the Cayugas as possible. We had but littletime to converse with the liberated Comanches, yet we gained from themthat we were in the right direction, and were not many days from ourdestination. 

At the moment we were mounting our horses, all was quiet again in thevalley below. It was a lovely panorama, and, viewing it from the pointwhere we stood, we could hardly believe that, some hours previous, sucha horrible tragedy had been there peformed. Softened down by thedistance, there was a tranquillity about it which appeared as if itnever had been broken. The deep brown skirting of bushes, on the sidesof the different water-courses, broke and varied the otherwise vastextent of vivid green. The waters of the river, now reduced to a silverthread, were occasionally brought to view by some turn in the stream, and again lost to sight under the rich foliage on the banks. 

We continued our journey, and towards evening we descried a large bearwithin a mile of us, and Roche started in chase. Having gained the otherside of the animal, he drove it directly towards me. Cocking a pistol, Irode a short distance in front, to meet him, and while in the act oftaking deliberate aim at the bear, then not more than eight yards fromme, I was surprised to see him turn a somerset and commence kicking withhis hind legs. Unseen by me, Gabriel had crept up close on the oppositeside of my horse, and had noosed the animal with his lasso, just as Iwas pulling the trigger of my pistol; Bruin soon disengaged himself fromthe lasso, and made towards Roche, who brought him down with a singleshot below the ear. 

Gabriel and I then went on ahead, to select a place for passing thenight, leaving our friend behind to cut up the meat; but we had not gonehalf a mile, when our progress was suddenly checked by a yawning abyss, or chasm, some two hundred yards across, and probably six hundred feetin depth. The banks, at this place, were nearly perpendicular, and fromthe sides projected sharp rocks, and, now and then, tall majesticcedars. We travelled a mile or more along the banks, but perceiving itwas too late to find a passage across, we encamped in a little hollowunder a cluster of cedars. There we were soon joined by Roche, and wewere indebted to Bruin for an excellent repast. 

The immense chasm before us ran nearly north and south, and we perceivedthat the current of the stream, or rather torrent, below us, ran towardsthe former point. The next morning, we determined to direct our steps tothe northward, and we had gone but a few miles before large buffalo orIndian trails were seen running in a south-west direction, and as wetravelled on, others were noticed bearing more to the west. Obliged tokeep out some distance from the ravine, to avoid the small gulliesemptying into it and the various elbows which it made, about noon westruck upon a large trail, running directly west; this we followed, andon reaching the main chasm, found that it led to the only place wherethere was any chance of crossing. Here, too, we found that innumerabletrails joined, coming from every direction--proof conclusive that wemust cross here or travel many weary miles out of our way. 

Dismounting from our animals, we looked at the yawning abyss before us, and our first impression was, that the passage was impracticable. Thatbuffaloes, mustangs, and, very probably, Indian horses, had crossedhere, was evident enough, for a zigzag path had been worn down the rockyand precipitous sides; but our three horses were unused to sliding downor climbing precipices, and they drew back on being led to the brink ofthe chasm. 

After many unsuccessful attempts, I at last persuaded my steed to takethe path; the others followed. In some places they went along the veryverge of rocky edges, where a false step would have precipitated themhundreds of feet down, to instant death; in others, they were compelledto slide down passes nearly perpendicular. Gabriel's horse was muchbruised, but after an hour's severe toil, we gained the bottom, withoutsustaining any serious injury. 

Here we remained a couple of hours, to rest our weary animals and findthe trail leading up the opposite side. This we discovered, and, aftergreat exertions, succeeded in clambering up to the top, where we againfound ourselves upon a smooth and level prairie. On looking backs Ishuddered to behold the frightful chasm we had so successfully passed, and thought it a miracle that we had got safely across; but a very shorttime afterwards, I was convinced that the feat we had just accomplishedwas a mere nothing. 

After giving our animals another rest, we resumed our journey across thedreary prairie. Not a tree or bush could be seen in any direction. Agreen carpeting of short grass was spread over the vast scene, withnaught else to relieve the sight. 

People may talk of the solitude of forests as much as they please, butthere is a company in trees which one misses upon the prairie. It is inthe prairie, with its ocean-like waving of grass, like a vast seawithout landmarks, that the traveller feels a sickly sensation ofloneliness. There he feels as if not in the world, although not out ofit; there he finds no sign or trace to tell him that there are, beyondor behind him, countries where millions of his own kindred are livingand moving. It is in the prairie that man really feels that heis--alone. 

We rode briskly along till sun-down, and encamped by the side of a smallwater-hole, formed by a hollow in the prairie. The mustangs, as well asthe deer and antelopes, had left this part of the prairie, driven out, doubtless, by the scarcity of water. Had it not been for occasionalshowers, while travelling through this dreary waste, we should mostinevitably have perished, for even the immense chasms had no water inthem, except that temporarily supplied by the rains. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The morning broke bright and cloudless, the sun rising from the horizonin all his majesty. Having saddled our horses, we pursued our journey ina north-east direction; but we had scarcely proceeded six miles beforewe suddenly came upon an immense rent or chasm in the earth, farexceeding in depth the one we had so much difficulty in crossing the daybefore. We were not aware of its existence until we were immediatelyupon its brink, when a spectacle exceeding in grandeur anything we hadpreviously witnessed burst upon our sight Not a tree or bush, no outlinewhatever, marked its position or course, and we were lost in amazementand wonder as we rode up and peered into the yawning abyss. 

In depth it could not have been less than one thousand feet, in widthfrom three to five hundred yards, and at the point where we first struckit, its sides were nearly perpendicular. A sickly sensation of dizzinesswas felt by all three of us, as we looked down, as it were, into thevery bowels of the earth. Below, an occasional spot of green relievedthe eye, and a stream of water, now visible, now concealed behind somehuge rock, was bubbling and foaming along. Immense walls, columns, and, in some places, what appeared to be arches, filled the ravine, worn bythe water undoubtedly, but so perfect in form, that we could withdifficulty be brought to believe that the hand of men or genii had notbeen employed in raising them. The rains of centuries, failing upon theextended prairie, had here found a reservoir and vent, and their sappingand undermining of the different veins of earth and stone had formedthese strange and fanciful shapes. 

Before reaching the chasm, we had crossed numerous large trails leadinga little more to the westward than we had been travelling, and we wereat once convinced that they all centred in a common crossing close athand. In this conjecture we were not disappointed; half-an-hour'strotting brought us into a large road, the thoroughfare for years ofmillions of Indians, buffaloes, and mustangs. Perilous as the descentappeared, we well knew there was no other near. My horse was againstarted ahead while the two others followed. Once in the narrow path, which led circuitously down the deep descent, there was no possibilityof turning back, and our maddened animals finally reached the bottomin safety. 

Several large stones were loosened from under our feet during thisfrightful descent. They would leap, dash, and thunder down theprecipitous sides, and strike against the bottom far below us with aterrific crash. 

We found a running stream at the bottom, and on the opposite side of ita romantic dell covered with short grass and a few scattered cotton-woodtrees. A large body of Indians had encamped on this very spot but a fewdays previous; the _blazed_ limbs of the trees and other "signs" showingthat they had made it a resting-place. We, too, halted a couple of hoursto give our horses an opportunity to graze and rest themselves, Thetrail which led up to the prairie on the opposite side was discovered ashort distance above us to the south. 

As we journeyed along this chasm, we were struck with admiration at thestrange and fanciful figures made by the washing of the waters duringthe rainy season. In some places, perfect walls, formed of a reddishclay, were to be seen standing; in any other locality it would have beenimpossible to believe but that they had been raised by the hand of man. The strata of which these walls were composed was regular in width, hard, and running perpendicularly; and where the softer sand which hadsurrounded them had been washed away, the strata still remained, standing in some places one hundred feet high, and three or four hundredin length. 

Here and there were columns, and such was their architecturalregularity, and so much of chaste grandeur was there about them, that wewere lost in admiration and wonder. In other places the breastworks offorts would be plainly visible, then again the frowning turrets of somecastle of the olden time. Cumbrous pillars, apparently ruins of somemighty pile, formerly raised to religion or royalty, were scatteredabout; regularity and perfect design were strangely mixed up with ruinand disorder, and nature had done it all. Niagara has been consideredone of her wildest freaks; but Niagara falls into insignificance whencompared with the wild grandeur of this awful chasm. Imagination carriedme back to Thebes, to Palmyra, and the Edomite Paetra, and I could nothelp imagining that I was wandering among their ruins. 

Our passage out of this chasm was effected with the greatest difficulty. We were obliged to carry our rifles and saddle-bags in our hands, and, in clambering up a steep precipice, Roche's horse, striking his shoulderagainst a projecting rock, was precipitated some fifteen or twenty feet, falling upon his back. We thought he must be killed by the fall; but, singular enough, he rose immediately, shook himself, and a second effortin climbing proved more successful. The animal had not received theslightest apparent injury. 

Before evening we were safely over, having spent five or six hours inpassing this chasm. Once more we found ourselves upon the level of theprairie, and after proceeding some hundred yards, on looking back, not asign of the immense fissure was visible. The waste we were thentravelling over was at least two hundred and fifty miles in width, andthe two chasms I have mentioned were the reservoirs, and at the sametime the channels of escape for the heavy rains which fall upon itduring the wet season. 

This prairie is undoubtedly one of the largest in the world, and thechasm is in perfect keeping with the size of the prairie. At sundown wecame upon a water-hole, and encamped for the night By this time we wereentirely out of provisions, and our sufferings commenced. 

The next day we resumed our journey, now severely feeling the cravingsof hunger. During our journey we saw small herds of deer and antelopes, doubtless enticed to the water courses by the recent rains, and towardsnight we descried a drove of mustangs upon a swell of the prairie half amile ahead of us. They were all extremely shy, and although wedischarged our rifles at them, not a shot was successful. In the eveningwe encamped near a water-hole, overspreading an area of some twentyacres, but very shallow. Large flocks of Spanish curlews, one of thebest-flavoured birds that fly, were hovering about, and lighting on iton all sides. Had I been in possession of a double-barrelled gun, withsmall shot, we could have had at least one good meal; but as I had but aheavy rifle and my bow and arrows, we were obliged to go to sleepsupperless. 

About two o'clock the next morning we saddled and resumed our travel, journeying by the stars, still in a north-east direction. On leaving theWakoes, we thought that we could be not more than one hundred miles fromthe Comanche encampment. We had now ridden much more than that distance, and were still on the immense prairie. To relieve ourselves from thehorrible suspense we were in--to push forward, with the hope ofprocuring some provisions--to get somewhere, in short, was now ourobject, and we pressed onward, with the hope of finding relief. 

Our horses had, as yet, suffered less than ourselves, for the grazing inthe prairie had been good; but our now hurried march, and the difficultcrossing of the immense chasms, began to tell upon them. At sunrise wehalted near a small pond of water, to rest the animals and allow them anhour to feed. 

While stretched upon the ground, we perceived a large antelope slowlyapproaching--now stopping, now walking a few steps nearer, evidentlyinquisitive as to who, or rather what, we might be. His curiosity costhim his life: with a well-directed shot, Gabriel brought him down, andnone but a starved man could appreciate our delight. We cooked the bestpart of the animal, made a plentiful dinner, and resumed our journey. 

For three days more, the same dreary spectacle of a boundless prairiewas still before us. Not a sign was visible that we were bearing itsedge. We journeyed rapidly on till near the middle of the afternoon ofthe third day, when we noticed a dark spot a mile and a half ahead ofus. At first we thought it to be a low bush, but as we gradually nearedit, it had more the appearance of a rock, although nothing of the kindhad been seen from the time we first came on the prairie, with theexception of those at the chasms. 

"A buffalo" cried Roche, whose keen eye at last penetrated the mystery:"a buffalo, lying down and asleep. " Here, then, was another chance formaking a good meal, and we felt our courage invigorated. Gabriel wentahead on foot, with his rifle, in the hope that he should at least getnear enough to wound the animal, while Roche and I made everypreparation for the chase. Disencumbering our horses of every pound ofsuperfluous weight, we started for the sport, rendered doubly excitingby the memory of our recent suffering from starvation. 

For a mile beyond where the buffalo lay, the prairie rose gradually, andwe knew nothing of the nature of the ground beyond. Gabriel crept tillwithin a hundred and fifty yards of the animal, which _now_ began tomove and show signs of uneasiness. Gabriel gave him a shot: evidentlyhit, he rose from the ground, whisked his long tail, and looked for amoment inquiringly about him. I still kept my position a few hundredyards from Gabriel, who reloaded his piece. Another shot followed: thebuffalo again lashed his sides, and then started off at a rapid gallop, directly towards the sun, evidently wounded, but not seriously hurt. 

Roche and I started In pursuit, keeping close together, until we hadnearly reached the top of the distant rise in the prairie. Here myhorse, being of a superior mettle, passed that of Roche, and, onreaching the summit, I found the buffalo still galloping rapidly, at aquarter of a mile's distance. The descent of the prairie was verygradual, and I could plainly see every object within five miles. I nowapplied the spurs to my horse, who dashed madly down the declivity. Giving one look behind, I saw that Roche, or at least his horse, hadentirely given up the chase. The prairie was comparatively smooth, andalthough I dared not to spur my horse to his full speed, I was soonalongside of the huge animal. It was a bull of the largest size, and hisbright, glaring eyeballs, peering out from his shaggy frontlet of hair, showed plainly that he was maddened by his wounds and the hot pursuit. 

It was with the greatest difficulty, so fierce did the buffalo look, that I could get my horse within twenty yards of him, and when I firedone of my pistols at that distance, my ball did not take effect. As thechase progressed, my horse came to his work more kindly, and soonappeared to take a great interest in the exciting race. I let him fallback a little, and then, by dashing the spurs deep into his sides, brought him up directly alongside, and within three or four yards of theinfuriated beast. 

I fired my other pistol, and the buffalo shrank as the ball struck justbehind the long hair on his shoulders. I was under such headway when Ifired, that I was obliged to pass the animal, cutting across close tohis head, and then again dropping behind. At that moment I lost myrifle, and I had nothing left but my bow and arrows; but by this time Ihad become so much excited by the chase, that I could not think ofgiving it up. Still at full speed, I strung my bow, once more put myspurs to my horse, he flew by the buffalo's right side, and I buried myarrow deep into his ribs. 

The animal was now frothing and foaming with rage and pain. His eyeswere like two deep red balls of fire, his tongue was out and curlingupwards, his long tufted tail curled on high, or lashing madly againsthis sides. A more wild, and at the same time a more magnificent pictureof desperation I had never witnessed. 

By this time my horse was completely subjected to my guidance. He nolonger pricked his ears with fear, or sheered off as I approached themonster, but, on the contrary, ran directly up, so that I could almosttouch the animal while bending my bow. I had five or six more arrowsleft, but I resolved not to shoot again unless I were certain oftouching a vital part, and succeeded at last in hitting him deep betwixtthe shoulder and the ribs. 

This wound caused the maddened beast to spring backwards, and I dashedpast him as he vainly endeavoured to gore and overthrow my horse. Thechase was now over, the buffalo stopped and soon rolled on the groundperfectly helpless. I had just finished him with two other arrows, when, for the first time, I perceived that I was no longer alone. Thirty orforty well-mounted Indians were quietly looking at me in an approvingmanner, as if congratulating me on my success. They were the Comancheswe had been so long seeking for. I made myself known to them, andclaimed the hospitality which a year before had been offered to me bytheir chief, "the white raven. " They all surrounded me and welcomed mein the most kind manner. Three of them started to fetch my rifle and tojoin my companions, who were some eight or nine miles eastward, while Ifollowed my new friends to their encampment, which was but a few milesdistant. They had been buffalo hunting, and had just reached the top ofthe swell when they perceived me and my victim. Of course, I and my twofriends were well received in the wigwam, though the chief was absentupon an expedition, and when he returned a few days after, a great feastwas given, during which some of the young men sang a little impromptupoem, on the subject of my recent chase. 

The Comanches are a noble and most powerful nation. They have hundredsof villages, between which they are wandering all the year round. Theyare well armed, and always move in bodies of some hundreds, and eventhousands; all active and skilful horsemen, living principally by thechase, and feeding occasionally, during their distant excursions, uponthe flesh of the mustang, which, after all, is a delightful food, especially when fat and young. A great council of the whole tribe isheld once a year, besides which there are quarterly assemblies, whereall important matters are discussed. They have long been hostile to theMexicans, but are less so now; their hatred having been concentratedupon the Yankees and Texans whom they consider as brigands. They do notapply themselves to the culture of the ground as the Wakoes, yet theyown innumerable herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, which graze in thenorthern prairies, and they are indubitably one of the wealthiest peoplein the world. They have a great profusion of gold, which they obtainfrom the neighbourhood of the San Seba hills, and work it themselvesinto bracelets, armlets, diadems, as well as bits for their horses, andornaments to their saddles. Like all the Shoshones' tribe, they are mostelegant horsemen, and by dint of caresses and good treatment render theanimals so familiar and attached to them, that I have often seen some ofthem following their masters like dogs, licking their hands andshoulders. The Comanche young women are exquisitely clean, good-looking, and but slightly bronzed; indeed the Spaniards of Andalusia and theCalabrians are darker than they are. Their voice is soft, their motionsdignified and graceful: their eyes dark and flashing, when excited, butotherwise mild, with a soft tinge of melancholy. The only fault to befound in them is that they are inclined to be too stout, arising fromtheir not taking exercise. 

The Comanches, like all the tribes of the Shoshone breed, are generousand liberal to excess. You can take what you please from thewigwam--horses, skins, rich furs, gold, anything, in fact, except theirarms and their females, whom they love fondly. Yet they are not jealous;they are too conscious of their own superiority to fear anything, andbesides, they respect too much the weaker sex to harbour any injurioussuspicion. 

It is a very remarkable fact, that all the tribes who claim any affinitywith the Shoshones, the Apaches, the Comanches, and the Pawnies Loups, have always rejected with scorn any kind of spirits when offered to themby the traders. They say that "Shoba-wapo" (the fire-water) is thegreatest enemy of the Indian race, and that the Yankees, too cowardly tofight the Indians as men, have invented this terrible poison to destroythem without danger. 

"We hated once the Spaniards and the Watchinangoes (Mexicans), " theysay, "but they were honourable men compared with the thieves of Texas. The few among the Spanish race who would fight, did so as warriors; andthey had laws among them which punished with death those who would giveor sell this poison to the Indians. "

The consequence of this abstinence from spirits is, that these Westernnations improve and increase rapidly; while, on the contrary, theEastern tribes, in close contact with the Yankees, gradually disappear. The Sioux, the Osage, the Winnebego, and other Eastern tribes, are verycruel in disposition; they show no mercy, and consider every means fair, however treacherous, to conquer an enemy. Not so with the Indians to thewest of the Rocky Mountains. They have a spirit of chivalry, whichprevents them taking any injurious advantage. 

As I have before observed, an Indian will never fire his rifle upon anenemy who is armed only with his lance, bow, and arrows; or if he does, and kills him, he will not take his scalp, as it would constantly recallto his mind that he had killed a defenceless foe. Private encounterswith their enemies, the Navahoes and Arrapahoes, are conducted astournaments in the days of yore. Two Indians will run full speed againsteach other with their well-poised lance; on their shield, with equalskill, they will receive the blow; then, turning round, they will saluteeach other as a mark of esteem from one brave foe to another. 

Such incidents happen daily, but they will not be believed by theEuropeans, who have the vanity of considering themselves alone aspossessing "le sentiment du chevalresque et du beau;" besides, they areaccustomed to read so many horrible accounts of massacres committed bythe savages, that the idea of a red skin is always associated in theirmind with the picture of burning stakes and slow torture. It is amistake, and a sad one; would to God that our highly civilized nationsof Europe had to answer for no more cruelties than those perpetrated bythe numerous gallant tribes of Western America. 

I was present one day when a military party came from Fort Bent, on thehead of the Arkansa, to offer presents and make proposals of peace tothe Comanche council. The commander made a long speech, after which heoffered I don't know how many hundred gallons of whisky. One of theancient chiefs had not patience to hear any more, and he rose full ofindignation. His name was Auku-wonze-zee, that is to say, "he who issuperlatively old. "

"Silence, " he said; "speak no more, double-tongued Oposh-ton-ehoc(Yankee). Why comest thou, false-hearted, to pour thy deceitful wordsinto the ears of my young men? You tell us you come for peace, and youoffered to us poison. Silence, Oposh-ton-ehoc, let me hear thee no more, for I am an old man; and now that I have one foot in the happy groundsof immortality, it pains me to think that I leave my people so near anation of liars. An errand of peace! Does the snake offer peace to thesquirrel when he kills him with the poison of his dreaded glance? doesan Indian say to the beaver, he comes to offer peace when he sets histraps for him? No! a pale-faced Oposh-ton-ehoc? or a '_Kish emokcomho-anac_' (the beast that gets drunk and lies, the Texan), can alonethus he to nature--but not a red-skin, nor even a girlish Wachinangoe, nor a proud '_Shakanah_' (Englishman), nor a '_Mahamate kosh ehoj_'(open-heart, open-handed Frenchman). 

"Be silent, then, man with the tongue of a snake, the heart of a deer, and the ill-will of a scorpion; be silent, for I and mine despise theeand thine. Yet, fear not; thou mayest depart in peace, for a Comanche istoo noble not to respect a white flag, even when carried by a wolf or afox. Till sunset eat, but alone; smoke, but not in our calumets; reposein two or three lodges, for we can burn them after pollution; and thendepart, and say to thy people, that the Comanche, having but one tongueand one nature, can neither speak with nor understand an Oposh-ton-ehoc. 

"Take back thy presents; my young men will have none of them, for theycan accept nothing except from a friend; and if thou look'st at theirfeet, thou shalt see their mocassins, their leggings, even theirbridles, are braided with the hair of thy people, perhaps of thybrothers. Take thy 'Shoba-wapo' (fire-water), and give it to drink tothy warriors, that we may see them raving and tumbling like swine. Silence, and away with thee. Our squaws will follow ye on your trail fora mile, to burn even the grass ye have trampled upon near our village. Away with you all, now and for ever! I have said!!!"

The American force was numerous and well armed, and a moment, a singlemoment, deeply wounded by these bitter taunts, they looked as if theywould fight and die to resent the insult; but it was only a transientfeeling; for they had their orders, and they went away, scorned andhumiliated. Perhaps, too, an inward voice whispered to them that theydeserved their shame and humiliation; perhaps the contrast of theirconduct with that of the savages awakened in them some better feeling, which had a long time remained dormant, and they were now disgusted withthemselves and their odious policy. 

As it was, they departed in silence, and the last of their line hadvanished under the horizon before the Indians could smother theindignation and resentment which the strangers had excited within theirhearts. Days, however, passed away, and with them the recollection ofthe event. Afterwards, I chanced to meet, in the Arkansas, with theColonel who commanded. He was giving a very strange version of hisexpedition; and as I heard facts so distorted, I could not helprepeating to myself the words of Auku-wonze-zee, "The Oposh-ton-ehoc isa double-tongued liar!"

CHAPTER XXIII. 

One morning, Roche, Gabriel, and myself were summoned to the greatcouncil lodge; there we met with the four Comanches whom we had rescuedsome days before, and it would be difficult to translate from theirglowing language their warm expressions of friendship and gratitude. Welearned from them, that before the return of the Cayugas from theprairie they had concealed themselves in some crevices of the earthuntil night, when they contrived to seize upon three of the horses, andeffect their escape. At the passage of the great chasm they had foundthe old red sash of Roche, which they produced, asking at the same timepermission to keep it as a token from their Pale-face brothers. We shookhands and exchanged pipes. How noble and warm is an Indian inhis feelings. 

In the lodge we also perceived our friend of former days, "OpishkaKoaki" (the White Raven); but as he was about to address the assembly, we restrained from renewing our acquaintance, and directed all ourattention to what was transacting. After the ordinary ceremonies, Opishka Koaki commenced:--

"Warriors, I am glad you have so quickly understood my messages; butwhen does a Comanche turn his back on receiving the vermilion from hischief? Never! You know I called you for war, and you have come. 'Tiswell. Yet, though I am a chief, I am a man. I may mistake; I may now andthen strike a wrong path. I will do nothing, attempt nothing, withoutknowing the thoughts of my brave warriors. Then hear me!

"There live under the sun a nation of Reds-kins, whose men are cowards, never striking an enemy but when his back is turned, or when they numbera hundred to one. This nation crawls in the prairies about the greatchasms; they live upon carrion, and have no other horses but those theycan steal from the deer-hearted Watchinangoes. Do my warrior? know sucha people? Let them speak! I hear!"

At that moment a hundred voices shouted the name of Cayugas. 

"I knew it!" exclaimed the chief, "there is but one such a people with ared skin; my warriors are keen-sighted, they cannot be mistaken. Now, weComanches never take the scalp of a Cayuga any more than that of ahedge-hog; we kick them out of our way when they cross our path; that'sall. Hear me, my braves, and believe me, though I will speak strangewords: these reptiles have thought that because we have not killed themas toads and scorpions, it was because we were afraid of their poison. One thousand Cayugas, among other prisoners, have taken eight Comanches;they have eaten four of them, they would have eaten them all, but thebraves escaped; they are here. Now, is an impure Cayuga a fit tomb forthe body of a Comanche warrior? No! I read the answer in your burningeyes. What then shall we do? Shall we chastise them and give theircarcases to the crows and wolves? What say my warriors; let them speak?speak? I hear?"

All were silent, though it was evident that their feelings had beenviolently agitated. At last, an old chief rose and addressed Opishka:--

"Great chief, " said he, "why askest thou? Can a Comanche and warriorthink in any way but one? Look at them! See you not into their hearts?Perceive you not how fast the blood runs into their veins? Why ask? Isay; thou knowest well their hearts' voice is but the echo of thine own. Say but a word, say, 'Let us go the Cayugas!' Thy warriors will answer:'We are ready, show us the path!' Chief of a mighty nation, thou hastheard my voice, and in my voice are heard the thousand voices of thythousand warriors. "

Opishka Koaki rose again. "I knew it, but I wanted to hear it, for itdoes my heart good; it makes me proud to command so many brave warriors. Then to-morrow we start, and we will hunt the Cayugas even to thedeepest of their burrows. I have said!"

Then the four rescued prisoners recounted how they had been taken, andwhat sufferings they had undergone. They spoke of their unfortunatecompanions and of their horrible fate, which they should have alsoshared had it not been for the courage of the three Pale-face brothers, who killed five Cayugas, and cut their bonds; they themselves killedfive more of their cowardly foes and escaped, but till to-day they hadhad no occasion of telling to their tribe the bravery and generosity ofthe three Pale-faces. 

At this narrative all the warriors, young and old, looked as though theywere personally indebted to us, and would have come, one and all, toshake our hands, had it not been for the inviolable rules of the councillodge, which forbids any kind of disorder. It is probable that the scenehad been prepared beforehand by the excellent chief, who wished tointroduce us to his warriors under advantageous circumstances. He wavedhis hand to claim attention, and spoke again. 

"It is now twelve moons, it is more! I met Owato Wanisha and his twobrothers. He is a chief of the great Shoshones, who are ourgrandfathers, far--far under the setting of the sun beyond the bigmountains. His two brothers are two great warriors from powerful nationsfar in the east and beyond the Sioux, the Chippewas beyond the'Oposh-ton-ehoc[20], ' even beyond the deep salt-water. One is a'Shakanah' (Englishman), the other a 'Naimewa' from the'Maha-mate-kosh-ehoj' (an exile from the French). They are good and theyare brave: they have learned wisdom from the 'Macota Konayas' (priests), and Owato Wanisha knows how to build strong forts, which he can betterdefend than the Watchinangoes have defended theirs. I have invited himand his brother to come and taste the buffalo of our prairies, to rideour horses, and smoke the calumet of friendship. They have come, andwill remain with us till we ourselves go to the big stony river (theColorado of the West). They have come; they are our guests; the best wecan command is their own already; but they are chiefs and warriors. Achief is a chief everywhere. We must treat them as chiefs, and let themselect a band of warriors for themselves to follow them till they goaway from us. 

[Footnote 20: Americans. ]

"You have heard what our scouts have said; they would have been eaten bythe Cayugas, had it not been for our guests, who have preserved not onlythe lives of four men--that is nothing--but the honour of the tribe. Ineed say no more; I know my young men; I know my warriors; I know theywill love the strangers as chiefs and brothers. I have said. "

Having thus spoken, he walked slowly out of the lodge, which wasimmediately deserted for the green lawn before the village. There wewere sumptuously entertained by all the principal chiefs and warriors ofthe tribe, after which they conducted us to a new tent, which they haderected for us in the middle of their principal square. There we foundalso six magnificent horses, well caparisoned, tied to the posts of thetent; they were the presents of the chiefs. At a few steps from the doorwas an immense shield, suspended upon four posts, and on which a beaver, the head of an eagle, and the claws of a bear were admirablypainted--the first totem for me, the second for Gabriel, and the thirdfor Roche. We gratefully thanked our hospitable hosts, and retired torest in our rich and elegant dwelling. 

The next morning we awoke just in time to witness the ceremony ofdeparture; a war party, already on horseback, was waiting for theirchief. At the foot of our shield were one hundred lances, whose ownersbelonged to the family and kindred of the Indians whom we had rescuedfrom the Cayugas. A few minutes afterwards, the owners of the weaponsappeared in the square, well mounted and armed, to place themselves atour entire disposal. We could not put our authority to a better use thanby joining our friends in their expedition, so when the chief arrived, surrounded by the elders of the tribe, Gabriel advanced towards him. 

"Chief, " he said, "and wise men of a brave nation, you have conferredupon us a trust of which we are proud. To Owato Wanisha, perhaps, it wasdue, for he is mighty in his tribe; but I and the Shakanah are nochiefs. We will not decline your favour, but we must deserve it. Theyoung beaver will remain in the village, to learn the wisdom of your oldmen, but the eagle and the bear must and will accompany you in yourexpedition. You have given them brave warriors, who would scorn toremain at home; we will follow you. "

This proposition was received with flattering acclamations, and thegallant army soon afterwards left the village on its mission of revenge. 

The Cayugas were, before that expedition, a powerful tribe, about whomlittle or nothing had ever been written or known. In their customs andmanners of living they resemble in every way the Club Indians of theColorado, who were destroyed by the small-pox. They led a wanderingprairie life, but generally were too cowardly to fight well, and tooinexpert in hunting to surround themselves with comforts, even in themidst of plenty. Like the Clubs, they are cannibals, though, I suspect, they would not eat a white man. They have but few horses, and these onlywhen they could be procured by stealth, for, almost always starving, they could not afford to breed them, always eating the colts before theycould be useful. 

Their grounds lie in the vicinity of the great fork of the Rio Puerco, by lat. 35 degrees and long. 105 degrees from Greenwich. The wholenation do not possess half-a-dozen of rifles, most all of them beingarmed with clubs, bows, and arrows. Some old Comanches have assured methat the Cayuga country abounds with fine gold. 

While I was with the Comanches, waiting the return of the expedition, Ihad an accident which nearly cost me my life. Having learned that therewere many fine basses to be fished in a stream some twenty miles off, Istarted on horseback, with the view of passing the night there. I tookwith me a buffalo-hide, a blanket, and a tin cup, and two hours beforesunset I arrived at the spot. 

As the weather had been dry for some time, I could not pick any worms, so I thought of killing some bird or other small animal, whose fleshwould answer for bait. Not falling in with any birds, I determined toseek for a rabbit or a frog. To save time, I lighted a fire, put mywater to boil, spread my hide and blanket, arranged my saddle for apillow, and then went in search of bait, and sassafras to make tea with. 

While looking for sassafras, I perceived a nest upon a small oak near tothe stream. I climbed to take the young ones, obtained two, which I putin my round jacket, and looked about me to see where I should jump uponthe ground. After much turning about, I suspended myself by the handsfrom a hanging branch, and allowed myself to drop down. My left footfell flat, but under the soft sole of my right mocassin I felt somethingalive, heaving or rolling. At a glance, I perceived that my foot was onthe body of a large rattle-snake, with his head just forcing itself fromunder my heel. 

Thus taken by surprise, I stood motionless and with my heart throbbing. The reptile worked itself free, and twisting round my leg, almost in asecond bit me two or three times. The sharp pain which I felt from thefangs recalled me to consciousness, and though I felt convinced that Iwas lost, I resolved that my destroyer should die also. With mybowie-knife I cut its body into a hundred pieces; walked away very sadand gloomy, and sat upon my blanket near the fire. 

How rapid and tumultuous were my thoughts! To die so young, and such adog's death! My mind reverted to the happy scenes of my early youth, when I had a mother, and played so merrily among the golden grapes ofsunny Frances and when later I wandered with my father in the Holy Land, in Italy and Egypt. I also thought of the Shoshones, of Roche andGabriel, and I sighed. It was a moral agony; for the physical pain hadsubsided, and my leg was almost benumbed by paralysis. 

The sun went down, and the last carmine tinges of his departed gloryreminded me how soon my sun would set; then the big burning tearssmothered me, for I was young, very young, and I could not command thecourage and resignation to die such a horrible death. Had I been woundedin the field, leading my brave Shoshones, and hallooing the war-whoop, Iwould have cared very little about it; but thus, like a dog! It washorrible! and I dropped my head upon my knees, thinking how few hours Ihad now to live. 

I was awakened from that absorbing torpor by my poor horse, who was busylicking my ears. The faithful animal suspected something was wrong, forusually at such a time I would sing Spanish ditties or some Indianwar-songs. Sunset was also the time when I brushed and patted him. Theintelligent brute knew that I suffered, and, in its own way, showed methat it participated in my affliction. My water, too, was boiling on thefire, and the bubbling of the water seemed to be a voice raised onpurpose to divert my gloomy thoughts. "Aye, boil, bubble, evaporate, "exclaimed I; "what do I care for water or tea now?"

Scarcely had I finished these words, when, turning suddenly my headround, my attention was attracted by an object before me, and a gleam ofhope irradiated my gloomy mind: close to my feet I beheld five or sixstems of the rattlesnake master weed. I well knew the plant, but I hadbeen incredulous as to its properties. Often had I heard the Indiansspeaking of its virtues, but I had never believed them. "A drowning manwill seize at a floating straw. " By a violent effort I got up on mylegs, went to fetch my knife, which I had left near the dead snake, andI commenced digging for two or three of the roots, with all the energyof despair. 

These roots I cut into small slices, and threw them in the boilingwater. It soon produced a dark green decoction, which I swallowed; itwas evidently a powerful alkali, strongly impregnated with a flavour ofturpentine. I then cut my mocassin, for my foot was already swollen totwice its ordinary size, bathed the wounds with a few drops of theliquid, and, chewing some of the slices, I applied them as a poultice, and tied them on with my scarf and handkerchief. I then put some morewater to boil, and, half an hour afterwards, having drank another pintof the bitter decoction, I drew my blanket over me. In a minute or lessafter the second draught, my brain whirled, and a strange dizzinessovertook me, which was followed by a powerful perspiration, and soonafterwards all was blank. 

The next morning I was awakened by my horse again licking me. Hewondered why I slept so late. I felt my head ache dreadfully, and Iperceived that the burning rays of the sun for the last two hours hadbeen darting upon my uncovered face. It was some time before I couldcollect my thoughts, and make out where I was. At last the memory of thedreadful incident of the previous evening broke upon my mind, and Iregretted I had not died during my unconsciousness; for I thought thatthe weakness I felt was an effect of the poison, and that I should haveto undergo an awful lingering death. Yet all around me, nature wassmiling. Thousands of birds were singing their morning concert, and, ata short distance, the low and soft murmuring of the stream reminded meof my excessive thirst. Alas! well hath the Italian bard sung, --

 "Nessun maggior dolore Che riccordarsi del tempo felice Nella miseria!"--DANTE. 

As I lay and reflected upon my utter helplessness, again my heartswelled and my tears flowed freely. Thirst, however, gave me the couragewhich the freshness and beauty of nature had not been able to inspire mewith. I thought of attempting to rise to fetch some water; but first Islowly passed my hand down my thigh, to feel my knee. I thought theinflammation would have rendered it as thick as my waist. My hand wasupon my knee, and so sudden was the shock that my heart ceased to beat. Joy can be most painful; for I felt an acute pang through my breast, asfrom a blow of a dagger. When I moved my finger across the cap of myknee, it was quite free from inflammation, and perfectly sound. Againthere was a reaction. "Ay, " thought I, "'tis all on the ankle. How can Iescape? Is not the poison a deadly one?" I dared not throw away theblanket and investigate further. I felt weaker and weaker, and againcovered my head to sleep. 

I did sleep, and when I awoke this time I felt myself a littleinvigorated, though my lips and tongue were quite parched. I rememberedeverything; down my hand slided; I could not reach my ankle, so I put upmy knee. I removed the scarf and the poultice of master weed. Myhandkerchief was full of a dried, green, glutinous matter, and thewounds looked clean. Joy gave me strength. I went to the stream, drankplentifully, and washed. I still felt very feverish; and, although I wassafe from the immediate effects of the poison, I knew that I had yet tosuffer. Grateful to Heaven for my preservation, I saddled my faithfulcompanion, and, wrapping myself closely in my buffalo-hide, I set off tothe Comanche camp. My senses had left me before I arrived there. Theyfound me on the ground, and my horse standing by me. 

Fifteen days afterwards I awoke to consciousness, a weak and emaciatedbeing. During this whole time I had been raving under a cerebral fever, death hovering over me. It appears that I had received a coup-de-soleil, in addition to my other mischances. 

When I returned to consciousness, I was astonished to see Gabriel andRoche by my side; the expedition had returned triumphant. The Cayugas'villages had been burnt, almost all their warriors destroyed, and thosewho remained had sought a shelter in the fissures of the earth, or inthe passes of the mountains unknown to any but themselves. Two of theMexican girls had also been rescued, but what had become of the othersthey could not tell. 

The kindness and cares of my friends, with the invigorating influence ofa beautiful clime, soon restored me to comparative health, but it was along time before I was strong enough to ride and resume my formerexercise. During that time Gabriel made frequent excursions to thesouthern and even to the Mexican settlements, and on the return from hislast trip he brought up news which caused the Indians, for that year, toforsake their hunting, and remain at home. General Lamar and hisassociates had hit upon a plan not only treacherous, but in opendefiance of all the laws of nations. But what, indeed, could be expectedfrom a people who murdered their guests, invited by them, and under thesanction of a white flag. I refer to the massacre of the Comanche chiefsat San Antonio. 

The President of Mexico, Bustamente, had a view to a cessation ofhostilities with Texas. The Texans had sent ambassadors to negotiate arecognition and treaty of alliance and friendship with other nations;they had despatched Hamilton to England to supplicate the cabinet of St. James to lend its mighty influence towards the recognition of Texas byMexico; and while these negotiations were pending, and the peace withMexico still in force, Lamar, in defiance of all good faith and honour, was secretly preparing an expedition, which, under the disguise of amercantile caravan, was intended to conquer Santa Fé and all thenorthern Mexican provinces. This expedition of the Texans, as it wouldpass through the territory of the Comanches, whose villages, &c. , ifunprotected, would, in all probability, have been plundered, and theirwomen and children murdered, induced the Comanches to break up theircamp, and return home as speedily as possible. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

During my convalescence, my tent, or I should say, the lawn before it, became a kind of general divan, where the warriors and elders of thetribe would assemble, to smoke and relate the strange stories of daysgone by. Some of them appeared to me particularly beautiful; I shall, therefore, narrate them to the reader. One old chief began as follows:--

"I will tell ye of the Shkote-nah Pishkuan, or the boat of fire, when Isaw it for the first time. Since that, the grass has withered fifteentimes in the prairies, and I have grown weak and old. Then I was awarrior, and many scalps have I taken on the eastern shores of theSabine. Then, also, the Pale-faces living in the prairies were good; wefought them because we were enemies, but they never stole anything fromus, nor we from them. 

"Well, at that time, we were once in the spring hunting the buffalo. TheCaddoes, who are now a small tribe of starved dogs, were then a largepowerful nation, extending from the Cross Timbers to the waters of thegreat stream, in the East, but they were gamblers and drunkards; theywould sell all their furs for the; 'Shoba-wapo' (fire-water), and returnto their villages to poison their squaws, and make brutes of theirchildren. Soon they got nothing more to sell; and as they could not nowdo without the 'Shoba-wapo, ' they began to steal. They would steal thehorses and oxen of the Pale-faces, and say 'The Comanches did it. ' Whenthey killed trappers or travellers, they would go to the fort of theYankees and say to them, 'Go to the wigwams of the Comanches, and youwill see the scalps of your friends hanging upon long poles. ' But we didnot care for we knew it was not true. 

"A long time passed away, when the evil spirit of the Cad does whisperedto them to come to the villages of the Comanches while they werehunting, and to take away with them all that they could. They did so, entering the war-path as foxes and owls, during night. When theyarrived, they found nothing but squaws, old women, and little children. Yet these fought well, and many of the Caddoes were killed before theyabandoned their lodges. They soon found us out in the hunting-ground;and our great chief ordered me to start with five hundred warriors, andnever return until the Caddoes should have no home, and wander like deerand starved wolves in the open prairie. 

"I followed the track. First, I burnt their great villages in the CrossTimbers, and then pursued them in the swamps and cane-brakes of theEast, where they concealed themselves among the long lizards of thewater (the alligators). We, however, came up with them again, and theycrossed the Sabine, to take shelter among the Yankees, where they hadanother village, which was their largest and their richest. We followed, and on the very shores of their river, although a thousand miles fromour own country, and where the waters are dyed with the red clay of thesoil, we encamped round their wigwams and prepared to conquer. 

"It was at the gloomy season, when it rains night and day; the river washigh, the earth damp, and our young braves shivering, even under theirblankets. It was evening, when, far to the south, above one of thewindings of the stream, I saw a thick black smoke rising as a tall pineamong the clouds, and I watched it closely. It came towards us; and asthe sky darkened and night came on, sparks of fire showed the progressof the strange sight. Soon noises were heard, like those of themountains when the evil spirits are shaking them; the sounds were awful, solemn, and regular, like the throbs of a warrior's heart; and now andthen a sharp, shrill scream would rend the air and awake other terriblevoices in the forest. 

"It came, and deer, bears, panthers were passing among us, madly flyingbefore the dreaded unknown. It came, it flew, nearer and nearer, till wesaw it plainly with its two big mouths, spitting fire like the burningmountains of the West. It rained very hard, and yet we saw all. It waslike a long fish, shaped like a canoe, and its sides had many eyes, fullof bright light as the stars above. 

"I saw no one with the monster; he was alone, breaking the waters andsplashing them with his arms, his legs, or his fins. On the top, and itwas very high, there was a square lodge. Once I thought I could see aman in it, but it was a fancy; or perhaps the soul of the thing, watching from its hiding-place for a prey which it might seize upon. Happily it was dark, very dark, and being in a hollow along the banks, we could not be perceived; and the dreadful thing passed. 

"The Caddoes uttered a loud scream of fear and agony, their hearts weremelted. We said nothing, for we were Comanches and warriors; and yet Ifelt strange, and was fixed to where I stood. A man is but a man, andeven a Red-skin cannot struggle with a spirit. The scream of theCaddoes, however, frightened the monster; its flanks opened anddischarged some tremendous Anim Tekis (thunders) on the village. I heardthe crashing of the logs, the splitting of the hides covering thelodges, and when the smoke was all gone, it left a smell of powder; themonster was far, far off and there was no trace of it left, except themoans of the wounded and the lamentation of the squaws amongthe Caddoes. 

"I and my young men soon recovered our senses; we entered the village, burnt everything, and killed the warriors. They would not fight; but asthey were thieves, we destroyed them. We returned to our own villages, every one of us with many scalps, and since that time the Caddoes havenever been a nation; they wander from north to south, and from east towest; they have huts made with the bark of trees, or they take shelterin the burrows of the prairie dogs, with the owls and the snakes; butthey have no lodges, no wigwams, no villages. Thus may it be with allthe foes of our great nation. "

This an historical fact. The steamboat "Beaver" made its firstexploration upon the Red River, some eighty miles above the Frenchsettlement of Nachitochy, just at the very time that the Comanches wereattacking the last Caddoe village upon the banks of the Red River. Thesepoor savages yelled with terror when the strange mass passed thus beforethem, and, either from wanton cruelty or from fear of an attack, theboat fired four guns, loaded with grape-shot, upon the village, fromwhich they were not a hundred yards distant. 

The following is a narrative of events which happened in the time ofMosh Kohta (buffalo), a great chief, hundreds of years ago, when theunfortunate "La Salle" was shipwrecked upon the coast of Texas, whileendeavouring to discover the mouth of the Mississippi. Such records arevery numerous among the great prairie tribes; they bear sometimes theOssianic type, and are related every evening during the month ofFebruary, when the "Divines" and the elders of the nation teach to theyoung men the traditions of former days. 

"It was in the time of a chief, a great chief, strong, cunning, andwise, a chief of many bold deeds. His name was Mosh Kohta. 

"It is a long while! No Pale-faces dwelt in the land of plenty (thetranslation of the Indian word 'Texas'); our grandfathers had justreceived it from the Great Spirit, and they had come from the setting ofthe sun across the big mountains to take possession. We were a greatnation--we are so now, we have always been so, and we will ever be. Atthat time, also, our tribe spread all along the western shores of thegreat stream Mississippi, for no Pale-face had yet settled upon it. Wewere a great people, ruled by a mighty chief; the earth, the trees, therivers, and the air know his name. Is there a place in the mountains orthe prairies where the name of Mosh Kohta has not been pronouncedand praised?

"At that time a strange warlike people of the Pale-Faces broke their bigcanoes along our coasts of the South, and they all landed on the shore, well armed with big guns and long rifles, but they had nothing to eat. These were the 'Mahamate-kosh-ehoj' (the French); their chief was a goodman, a warrior, and a great traveller; he had started from the northernterritories of the Algonquins, to go across the salt water in fardistant lands, and bring back with him many good things which theRed-skins wanted:--warm blankets to sleep upon, flints to strike a fire, axes to cut the trees, and knives to skin the bear and the buffalo. Hewas a good man, and loved the Indians, for they also were good, and goodpeople will always love each other. 

"He met with Mosh Kohta; our warriors would not fight the strangers, forthey were hungry, and their voices were soft; they were also too few tobe feared, though their courage seemed great under misfortune, and theywould sing and laugh while they suffered. We gave them food, we helpedthem to take from the waters the planks of their big canoe, and to buildthe first wigwam in which the Pale-faces ever dwelt in Texas. Two moonsthey remained hunting the buffalo with our young men, till at last theirchief and his bravest warriors started in some small canoes of ours, tosee if they could not enter the great stream, by following the coasttowards the sunrise. He was gone four moons, and when he returned, hehad lost half of his men, by sickness, hunger, and fatigue; yet MoshKohta bade him not despair; the great chief promised the Pale-faces toconduct them in the spring to the great stream, and for several moremoons we lived all together, as braves and brothers should. Then, forthe first time also, the Comanches got some of their rifles, and othersknives. Was it good--was it bad? Who knows? Yet the lance and arrowskilled as many buffaloes as lead and black dust (powder), and the squawscould take off the skin of a deer or a beaver without knives. How theydid it, no one knows now; but they did it, though they had not yet seenthe keen and sharp knives of the Pale-faces. 

"However, it was not long time before many of the strangers tired ofremaining so far from their wigwams: their chief every morning wouldlook for hours towards the rising of the sun, as if the eyes of his soulcould see through the immensity of the prairies; he became gloomy as aman of dark deeds (a Médecin), and one day, with half of his men, hebegan a long inland trail across prairies, swamps, and rivers, so muchdid he dread to die far from his lodge. Yet he did die: not of sickness, not of hunger, but under the knife of another Pale-face; and he was thefirst one from strange countries whose bones blanched without burial inthe waste. Often the evening breeze whispers his name along the swellsof the southern plains, for he was a brave man, and no doubt he is nowsmoking with his great Manitou. 

"Well, he started. At that time the buffalo and the deer were plentiful, and the men went on their trail gaily till they reached the river ofmany forks (Trinity River), for they knew that every day brought themnearer and nearer to the forts of their people, though it was yet a longway--very long. The Pale-face chief had a son with him; a noble youth, fair to look upon, active and strong: the Comanches loved him. MoshKohta had advised him to distrust two of his own warriors; but he wasyoung and generous, incapable of wrong or cowardice; he would notsuspect it in others, especially among men of his own colour and nation, who had shared his toils, his dangers, his sorrows, and his joys. 

"Now these two warriors our great chief had spoken of were bad men andvery greedy; they were ambitious too, and believed that, by killingtheir chief and his son, they would themselves command the band. Oneevening, while they were all eating the meal of friendship, groans wereheard--a murder had been committed. The other warriors sprang up; theysaw their chief dead, and the two warriors coming towards them; theirrevenge was quick--quick as that of the panther: the two base warriorswere killed. 

"Then there was a great fight among the Pale-face band, in which manywere slain; but the young man and some other braves escaped from theirenemies, and, after two moons, reached the Arkansas, where they foundtheir friends and some Makota Conayas (priests--black-gowns). Theremainder of the band who left us, and who murdered their chief, ourancestors destroyed like reptiles, for they were venomous and bad. Theother half of the Pale-faces, who had remained behind in their woodwigwams, followed our tribe to our great villages, became Comanches, andtook squaws. Their children and grandchildren have formed a good andbrave nation; they are paler than the Comanches, but their heart is allthe same; and often in the hunting-grounds they join our hunters, partake of the same meals, and agree like brothers. These are the nationof the Wakoes, not far in the south, upon the trail of the CrossTimbers. But who knows not the Wakoes?--even children can go to theirhospitable lodges. "

This episode is historical. In the early months of 1684, four vesselsleft La Rochelle, in France, for the colonization of the Mississippi, bearing two hundred and eighty persons. The expedition was commanded byLa Salle, who brought with him his nephew, Moranget. After a delay atSanto Domingo, which lasted two years, the expedition, missing the mouthof the Mississippi, entered the Bay of Matagorda, where they wereshipwrecked. "There, " says Bancroft in his History of America, "underthe suns of June, with timber felled in an inland grove, and dragged fora league over the prairie grass, the colonists prepared to build ashelter, La Salle being the architect, and himself making the beams, andtenons, and mortises. "

This is the settlement which made Texas a part of Louisiana. La Salleproposed to seek the Mississippi in the canoes of the Indians, who hadshowed themselves friendly, and, after an absence of about four months, and the loss of thirty men, he returned in rags, having failed to find"the fatal river. " The eloquent American historian gives him a noblecharacter:--"On the return of La Salle, " says he, "he learned that amutiny had broken out among his men, and they had destroyed a part ofthe colony's provisions. Heaven and man seemed his enemies, and, withthe giant energy of an indomitable will, having lost his hopes offortune, his hopes of fame, with his colony diminished to about onehundred, among whom discontent had given birth to plans of crime--withno European nearer than the river Pamuco, and no French nearer than thenorthern shores of the Mississippi, he resolved to travel on foot to hiscountrymen in the North, and renew his attempts at colonization. "

It appears that La Salle left sixty men behind him, and on the 20th ofMarch, 1686, after a buffalo-hunt, he was murdered by Duhaut andL'Archevêque, two adventurers, who had embarked their capital in theenterprise. They had long shown a spirit of mutiny, and the malignity ofdisappointed avarice so maddened them that they murdered theirunfortunate commander. 

I will borrow a page of Bancroft, who is more explicit than the Comanchechroniclers. 

"Leaving sixty men at Fort St. Louis, in January, 1687, La Salle, withthe other portion of his men, departed for Canada. Lading their baggageon the wild horses from the Cenis, which found their pasture everywherein the prairies, in shoes made of green buffalo-hides; for want of otherpaths, following the track of the buffalo, and using skins as the onlyshelter against rain, winning favour with the savages by the confidingcourage of their leader--they ascended the streams towards the firstridges of highlands, walking through beautiful plains and groves, amongdeer and buffaloes, now fording the clear rivulets, now building abridge by felling a giant tree across a stream, till they had passed thebasin of the Colorado, and in the upland country had reached a branch ofthe Trinity River. 

"In the little company of wanderers there were two men, Duhaut andL'Archevêque, who had embarked their capital in the enterprise. Ofthese, Duhaut had long shown a spirit of mutiny; the base malignity ofdisappointed avarice, maddened by sufferings and impatient of control, awakened the fiercest passions of ungovernable hatred. Inviting Morangetto take charge of the fruits of a buffalo-hunt, they quarrelled with himand murdered him. 

"Wondering at the delay of his nephew's return, La Salle, on the 20th ofMarch, went to seek him. At the brink of the river he observed eagleshovering, as if over carrion, and he fired an alarm-gun. Warned by thesound, Duhaut and L'Archevêque crossed the river; the former skulked inthe prairie grass; of the latter, La Salle asked, 'Where is my nephew?'At the moment of the answer, Duhaut fired; and, without uttering a word, La Salle fell dead. 'You are down now, grand bashaw! You are down now!'shouted one of the conspirators, as they despoiled his remains, whichwere left on the prairie, naked and without burial, to be devoured bywild beasts. 

"Such was the end of this daring adventurer. For force of will and vastconceptions; for various knowledge, and quick adaptation of his geniusto untried circumstances; for a sublime magnanimity, that resigneditself to the will of Heaven, and yet triumphed over affliction byenergy of purpose and unfaltering hope, --he had no superior among hiscountrymen. He had won the affection of the Governor of Canada, theesteem of Colbert, the confidence of Seignelay, the favour of Louis XIV. After beginning the colonization of Upper Canada, he perfected thediscovery of the Mississippi from the falls of St. Anthony to its mouth;and he will be remembered through all times as the father ofcolonization in the great central valley of the West. "

Jontel, with the brother and son of La Salle, and others, but seven inall, obtained a guide from the Indians for the Arkansas, and, fordingtorrents, crossing ravines, making a ferry over rivers with rafts orboats of buffalo-hides, without meeting the cheering custom of thecalumet, till they reached the country above the Red River, and leavingan esteemed companion in a wilderness grave, on the 24th of July, cameupon a branch of the Mississippi. There they beheld on an island a largecross. Never did Christians gaze on that emblem with more deep-feltemotion. Near it stood a log hut, tenanted by two Frenchmen. Amissionary, of the name of Tonti, had descended that river, and full ofgrief at not finding La Salle, had established a post near the Arkansas. 

As the reader may perceive, there is not much difference between ourprinted records and the traditions of the Comanches. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

It was during my convalescence that the fate of the Texan expedition toSanta Fé was decided; and as the real facts have been studiouslyconcealed, and my intelligence, gained from the Indians, who weredisinterested parties, was afterwards fully corroborated by an Irishgentleman who had been persuaded to join it, I may as well relate themhere. Assuming the character of friendly traders, with some hundreddollars' worth of goods, as a blind to their real intentions, which wereto surprise the Mexicans during the neutrality which had been agreedupon, about five hundred men were collected at Austin, for theexpedition. 

Although the report was everywhere circulated that this was to be atrading experiment, the expedition, when it quitted Austin, certainlywore a very different appearance. The men had been supplied withuniforms; generals, and colonels, and majors were dashing about in everydirection, and they quitted the capital of Texas with drums beating andcolours flying. Deceived by the Texans, a few respectable Europeans wereinduced to join this expedition, either for scientific research or thedesire to visit a new and unexplored country, under such protection, little imagining that they had associated themselves with a large bandof robbers, for no other name can be given to these lawless plunderers. But if the force made a tolerable appearance on its quitting thecapital, a few hours' march put an end to all discipline and restraint. 

Although the country abounded with game, and it was killed from merewantonness, such was their improvidence, that they were obliged toresort to their salt pork and other provisions; and as, in thirty days, forty large casks of whisky were consumed, it is easy to suppose, whichwas indeed the fact, that every night that they halted, the camp was ascene of drunkenness and riot. 

During the last few days of the march through the game country theykilled more than a hundred buffaloes, yet, three days after they hadquitted the prairies, and had entered the dreary northern deserts, theyhad no provisions left, and were compelled to eat their worn-out andmiserable horses. 

A true account of their horrible sufferings would beggar alldescription; they became so weak and utterly helpless that half a dozenMexicans, well mounted, could have destroyed them all. Yet, miserable asthey were, and under the necessity of conciliating the Indians, theycould not forego their piratical and thieving propensities. They fellupon a small village of the Wakoes, whose warriors and hunters wereabsent, and, not satisfied with taking away all the eatables they couldcarry, they amused themselves with firing the Indian stores and shootingthe children, and did not leave until the village was reduced to a heapof burning ashes. This act of cowardice sealed the fate of theexpedition, which was so constantly harassed by the Wakoe warriors, andhad lost already so many scalps, that afterwards meeting with a smallparty of Mexicans, they surrendered to them, that they might escape thewell deserved and unrelenting vengeance of the warlike Wakoes. 

Such was the fate of the Texan expedition; but there is another portionof the history which has been much talked of in the United States; Imean the history of their captivity and sufferings, while on their roadfrom Santa Fé to Mexico. Mr. Daniel Webster hath made it a governmentquestion, and Mr. Pakenham, the British Ambassador in Mexico, hasemployed all the influence of his own position to restore to freedom thehalf-dozen of Englishmen who had joined the expedition. Of course, theyknew nothing of the circumstances, except from the report of the Texansthemselves. Now, it is but just that the Mexicans' version should beheard also. The latter is the true one--at least, so far as I can judgeby what I saw, what I heard upon the spot, and from some Mexicandocuments yet In my possession. 

The day before their capture the Texans, who for the last thirteen dayshad suffered all the pangs of hunger, came suddenly upon a flock ofseveral thousand sheep, belonging to the Mexican government. As usual, the flock was under the charge of a Mexican family, living in a smallcovered waggon, in which they could remove from spot to spot, shiftingthe pasture-ground as required. In that country but very few individualsare employed to keep the largest herds of animals; but they are alwaysaccompanied by a number of noble dogs, which appear to be particularlyadapted to protect and guide the animals. These dogs do not run about, they never bark or bite, but, on the contrary, they will walk gently upto any one of the flock that happens to stray, take it carefully by theear, and lead it back to its companions. The sheep do not show the leastfear of these dogs, nor is there any occasion for it. These usefulguardians are a cross of the Newfoundland and St. Bernard breed, of avery large size, and very sagacious. 

Now, if the Texans had asked for a hundred sheep, either for money or inbarter (a sheep is worth about sixpence), they would have been supplieddirectly; but as soon as the flock was perceived one of the Texanleaders exclaimed, with an oath, "Mexicans' property, and a welcomebooty; upon it, my boys, upon it, and no mercy, " One of the poorMexicans who had charge was shot through the head; the others succeededIn escaping by throwing themselves down among the thick ranks of theaffrighted animals, till out of rifle-distance; then began a carnagewithout discrimination, and the Texans never ceased firing until theprairie was for miles covered with the bodies of their victims. Yet thisgrand victory was not purchased without a severe loss, for the dogsdefended the property intrusted to their care; they scorned to run away, and before they could all be killed they had torn to pieces half a dozenof the Texans, and dreadfully lacerated as many more. The evening was, of course, spent in revelry; the dangers and fatigues, the delays andvexations of the march were now considered over, and high were theiranticipations of the rich plunder in perspective. But this was the onlyfeat accomplished by this Texan expedition: the Mexicans had not beendeceived; they had had intelligence of the real nature of theexpedition, and advanced parties had been sent out to announce itsapproach. Twenty-four hours after they had regaled themselves withmutton, one of these parties, amounting to about one hundred men, madeits appearance. All the excitement of the previous evening hadevaporated, the Texans sent out a flag of truce, and three hundred ofthem surrendered themselves unconditionally to this small Mexican force. 

On one point the European nations had been much deceived, which is as tothe character of the Mexican soldier, who appears to be looked upon witha degree of contempt. This is a great mistake, but it has arisen fromthe false reports and unfounded aspersions of the Texans, as to theresult of many of their engagements. I can boldly assert (althoughopposed to them) that there is not a braver individual in the world thanthe Mexican; in my opinion, far superior to the Texan, although probablynot equal to him in the knowledge and use of firearms. 

One great cause of the Mexican army having occasionally met with defeatis that the Mexicans, who are of the oldest and best Castile blood, retain the pride of the Spanish race to an absurd degree. The sons ofthe old nobility are appointed as officers; they learn nothing, knownothing of military tactics--they know how to die bravely, and thatis all. 

The battle of St. Jacinta, which decided the separation of Texas, hasbeen greatly cried up by the Texans; the fact is, it was no battle atall. The Mexicans were commanded by Santa Anna, who has great militarytalent, and the Mexicans reposed full confidence in him. Santa Annafeeling very unwell, went to a farm-house, at a small distance, torecover himself, and was captured by half-a-dozen Texan robbers, whotook him on to the Texan army. 

The loss of the general with the knowledge that there was no one fit tosupply his place, dispirited the Mexicans, and they retreated; but sincethat time they have proved to the Texans how insecure they are, even atthis moment England and other European governments have thought proper, very hastily, to recognize Texas, but Mexico has not, and will not. 

The expedition to Santa Fé, by which the Texans broke the peace, occurred in the autumn of 1841; the Mexican army entered Texas in thespring of 1842, sweeping everything before them, from San Antonio deBejar to the Colorado; but the Texans had sent emissaries to Yucatan, toinduce that province to declare its independence. The war in Yucatanobliged the Mexican army to march back in that direction to quell theinsurrection, which it did, and then returned to Texas, and again tookpossession of San Antonio de Bejar in September of the same year, takingmany prisoners of consequence away with them. 

It was the intention of the Mexicans to have returned to Texas in thespring of the year, but fresh disturbances in Yucatan prevented SantaAnna from executing his projects. Texas is, therefore, by no meanssecure, its population is decreasing, and those who had respectabilityattached to their character have left it. I hardly need observe that theTexan national debt, now amounting to thirteen millions of dollars, may, for many reasons, turn out to be not a very profitable investment[21]. 

[Footnote 21: Perhaps the English reader will find it extraordinary thatSanta Anna, once freed from his captivity, should not have re-enteredTexas with an overwhelming force. The reason is very simple: Bustamentewas a rival of Santa Anna for the presidency; the general's absenceallowed him to intrigue, and when the news reached the capital thatSanta Anna had fallen a prisoner, it became necessary to elect a newpresident. Bustamente had never been very popular, but having promisedto the American population of the seaports that nothing should beattempted against Texas if he were elected, these, through mercantileinterest, supported him, not only with their influence but also withtheir money. 

When, at last, Santa Anna returned to Mexico, his power was lost, andhis designs upon Texas were discarded by his successor. Bustamente was aman entirely devoid of energy, and he looked with apathy upon thenumerous aggressions made by the Texans upon the borders of Mexico. Assoon, however, as the Mexicans heard that the Texans, in spite of thelaw of nations, had sent an expedition to Santa Fé, at the very timethat they were making overtures for peace and recognition of theirindependence, they called upon Bustamente to account for his culpablewant of energy. Believing himself secure against any revolution, thepresident answered with harsh measures, and the soldiery, nowexasperated, put Santa Anna at their head, forcing him to re-assume thepresidency. Bustamente ran away to Paris, the Santa Fé expedition wassoon defeated, and, as we have seen, the president, Santa Anna, beganhis dictatorship with the invasion of Texas (March, 1842). ] But toreturn to the Santa Fé expedition. The Texans were deprived of theirarms and conducted to a small village, called Anton Chico, till ordersshould have been received as to their future disposition, from GeneralArmigo, governor of the province. 

It is not to be supposed that in a small village of about one hundredgovernment shepherds, several hundred famished men could be suppliedwith all the necessaries and superfluities of life. The Texans accusethe Mexicans of having starved them in Anton Chico, forgetting thatevery Texan had the same ration of provisions as the Mexican soldier. 

Of course the Texans now attempted to fall back upon the originalfalsehood, that they were a trading expedition, and had been destroyedand plundered by the Indians; but, unfortunately, the assault upon thesheep and the cowardly massacre of the shepherds were not to be gotover. As Governor Armigo very justly observed to them, if they weretraders, they had committed murder; if they were not traders, they wereprisoners of war. 

After a painful journey of four months, the prisoners arrived in the oldcapital of Mexico, where the few strangers who had been induced to jointhe expedition, in ignorance of its destination, were immediatelyrestored to liberty; the rest were sent, some to the mines, to dig forthe metal they were so anxious to obtain, and some were passed over tothe police of the city, to be employed in the cleaning of the streets. 

Many American newspapers have filled their columns with all manner ofhistories relative to this expedition; catalogues of the crueltiespractised by the Mexicans have been given, and the sympathizing Americanpublic have been called upon to relieve the unfortunate men who hadescaped. I will only give one instance of misrepresentation in the NewOrleans _Picayune_, and put in juxta-position the real truth. It willbe quite sufficient. Mr. Kendal says:--

"As the sun was about setting, those of us who were in front werestartled by the report of two guns, following each other in quicksuccession. We turned to ascertain the cause, and soon found that apoor, unfortunate man, named Golpin, a merchant, and who had startedupon the expedition with a small amount of goods, had been shot by therear-guard, for no other reason than that he was too sick and weak tokeep up. He had made a bargain with one of the guard to ride his mule ashort distance, for which he was to pay him his only shirt! While in theact of taking it off, Salazar (the commanding officer) ordered a soldierto shoot him. The first ball only wounded the wretched man, but thesecond killed him instantly, and he fell with his shirt still about hisface. Golpin was a citizen of the United States, and reached Texas ashort time before the expedition. He was a harmless, inoffensive man, ofmost delicate constitution, and, during a greater part of the time wewere upon the road, was obliged to ride in one of the waggons. "

This story is, of course, very pathetic; but here we have a few linestaken from the _Bee_, a New Orleans newspaper:--

"_January_, 1840. HORRIBLE MURDER!--Yesterday, at the plantation ofWilliam Reynolds, was committed one of those acts which revolt humannature. Henry Golpin, the overseer, a Creole, and strongly suspected ofbeing a quadroone, had for some time acted improperly towards Mrs. Reynolds and daughters. A few days ago, a letter from W. R. Was receivedfrom St. Louis, stating that he would return home at the latter end ofthe week; and Golpin, fearing that the ladies would complain of hisconduct and have him turned out, poisoned them with the juice of someberries poured into their coffee. Death was almost instantaneous. Apretty mulatto girl of sixteen, an attendant and _protégée_ of the youngladies, entering the room where the corpses were already stiff, foundthe miscreant busy in taking off their jewels and breaking up somerecesses, where he knew that there were a few thousand dollars, Inspecie and paper, the produce of a recent sale of negroes. At first, hetried to coax the girl, offering to run away and marry her, but sherepulsed him with indignation, and, forcing herself off his hold, sheran away to call for help. Snatching suddenly a rifle, he opened awindow, and as the honest girl ran across the square towards thenegroes' huts, she fell quite dead, with a ball passing across hertemples. The Governor and police of the first and second municipalitiesoffer one thousand dollars reward for the apprehension of the miserableassassin, who, of course, has absconded. "

This is the "_harmless and inoffensive man of delicate constitution, acitizen of the United States, _" which Mr. Kendal would give us as amartyr of Mexican barbarism. During the trip across the prairie, everyman, except two or three, had shunned him, so well did every one knowhis character: and now I will describe the events which caused him to beshot in the way above related. 

Two journeys after they had left Santa Fé they passed the night in alittle village, four men being billeted in every house under the chargeof one soldier. Golpin and another of his stamp were, however, leftwithout any guard in the house of a small retailer of aguardiente, who, being now absent, had left his old wife alone in the house. She was agood hospitable soul, and thought it a Christian duty to administer tothe poor prisoners all the relief she could afford. She gave them someof her husband's linen, bathed their feet with warm water mixed withwhisky, and served up to them a plentiful supper. 

Before they retired to rest, she made them punch, and gave them a smallbottle of liquor, which they could conceal about them and use on theroad. The next morning the sounds of the drums called the prisoners inthe square to get ready for their departure. Golpin went to the oldwoman's room, insisting that she should give them more of the liquor. Now the poor thing had already done much. Liquor in these far inlandcountries, where there are no distilleries, reaches the enormous priceof from sixteen to twenty dollars a gallon. So she mildly but firmlyrefused, upon which Golpin seized from the nail, where it was hung, avery heavy key, which he knew to be that of the little cellarunderground, where the woman kept the liquor. She tried to regainpossession of it, but during the struggle Golpin beat her brains outwith a bar of iron that was in the room. This deed perpetrated, heopened the trap-door to the cellar, and among the folds of his blanketand that of his companion concealed as many flasks as they could carry. They then shut the street-door and joined their companions. 

Two hours afterwards, the husband returned, and knocked in vain; atlast, he broke open the door, and beheld his help-mate barbarouslymangled. A neighbour soon told him about the two Texan guests, and thewretched man having made his depositions to an alcade, or constable, they both started upon fresh horses, and at noon overtook the prisoners. The commanding officers soon ascertained who were the two men that hadbeen billeted at the old woman's, and found them surrounded by a groupof Texans, making themselves merry with the stolen liqnor. Seeing thatthey were discovered, to save his life, Golpin's companion immediatelypeached, and related the whole of the transaction. Of course theassassin was executed. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

At that time, the Pawnee Picts, themselves an offset of the Shoshonesand Comanches, and speaking the same language--tribe residing upon thenorthern shores of the Red River, and who had always been at peace withtheir ancestors, had committed some depredations upon the northernterritory of the Comanches. 

The chiefs, as usual, waited several moons for reparation to be offeredby the offenders, but as none came, it was feared that the Picts hadbeen influenced by the American agents to forget their long friendship, and commence hostilities with them. It was, therefore, resolved that weshould enter the war path, and obtain by force that justice whichfriendship could no longer command. 

The road which we had to travel, to arrive at the town of the PawneePicts, was rough and uneven, running over hills and intersected by deepgullies. Bad as it was, and faint and tired as were our horses, in tendays we reached a small prairie, within six miles of the river, on theother side of which lay the principal village of the Pawnee Picts. 

The heavens now became suddenly overcast, and a thunder-storm soonrendered it impossible for even our best warriors to see their way. Ahalt was consequently ordered; and, not withstanding a tremendous rain, we slept soundly till morn, when a drove of horses, numbering somehundreds, was discovered some distance to our left. In all appearancethey were tame animals, and many thought they could see the Pawneewarriors riding them. Four of us immediately started to reconnoitre, andwe made our preparations for attack; as we gradually approached thereappeared to be no little commotion among the herd, which we now plainlyperceived to be horses without any riders. 

When we first noticed them, we discerned two or three white spots, whichGabriel and I mistook for flags; a nearer view convinced us that theywere young colts. 

We continued our route. The sun had scarcely risen when we arrived onthe shore of the river, which was lined with hundreds of canoes, eachcarrying green branches at their bows and white flags at their sterns. Shortly afterwards, several chiefs passed over to our side, and invitedall our principal chiefs to come over to the village and talk to thePawnee Picts, who wished to remain brothers with their friends--theComanches. This was consented to, and Gabriel, Roche, and I accompaniedthem. This village was admirably protected from attack on every side;and in front, the Red River, there clear and transparent, rolls its deepwaters. At the back of the village, stony and perpendicular mountainsrise to the height of two thousand feet, and their ascent is impossible, except by ladders and ropes, or where steps have been cut into the rock. 

The wigwams, one thousand in number, extend, for the space of fourmiles, upon a beautiful piece of rich alluvial soil in a very high stateof cultivation; the fields were well fenced and luxuriant with maize, pumpkins, melons, beans, and squashes. The space between the mountainsand the river, on each side of the village, was thickly planted withclose ranks of prickly pear, impassable to man or beast, so that theonly way in which the Pawnees could be attacked was in front, by forcinga passage across the river, which could not be effected without a greatloss of life, as the Pawnees are a brave people and well supplied withrifles, although in their prairie hunts they prefer to use their lancesand their arrows. 

When we entered the great council lodge, the great chief, Wetara Sharoj, received us with great urbanity, assigned to us places next to him, andgave the signal for the Pawnee elders to enter the lodge. I was verymuch astonished to see among them some white men, dressed in splendidmilitary uniforms; but the ceremonies having begun, and it being theIndian custom to assume indifference, whatever your feelings may be, Iremained where I was. Just at the moment that the pipe-bearer waslighting the calumet of peace, the venerable Pawnee chief advanced tothe middle of the lodge, and addressed the Comanches:--

"My sight is old, for I have seen a hundred winters, and yet I canrecognize those who once were friends. I see among you Opishka Koaki(the White Raven), and the leader of a great people; Pemeh-Katey (theLong Carbine), and the wise Hah-nee (the Old Beaver). You are friends, and we should offer you at once the calumet of peace, but you have comeas foes; as long as you think you have cause to remain so, it would bemean and unworthy of the Pawnees to sue and beg for what perchance theymay obtain by their courage. Yet the Comanches and the Pawnees have beenfriends too long a time to fall upon each other as a starved wolf doesupon a wounded buffalo. A strong cause must excite them to fight againsteach other, and then, when it comes, it must be a war of extermination, for when a man breaks with an old friend, he becomes more bitter in hisvengeance than against an utter stranger. Let me hear what the braveComanches have to complain of, and any reparation, consistent with thedignity of a Pawnee chief, shall be made, sooner than risk a war betweenbrothers who have so long hunted together and fought together against acommon enemy. I have said. "

Opishka Koaki ordered me to light the Comanche calumet of peace, andadvancing to the place left vacant by the ancient chief, he answered:--

"I have heard words of great wisdom; a Comanche always loves andrespects wisdom; I love and respect my father, Wetara Sharoj; I willtell him what are the complaints of our warriors, but before, as we havecome as foes, it is but just that we should be the first to offer thepipe of peace; take it, chief, for we must be friends; I will tell ourwrongs, and leave it to the justice of the great Pawnee to efface them, and repair the loss his young men have caused to a nation of friends. "

The pipe was accepted, and the "talk" went on. It appeared that a partyof one hundred Pawnee hunters had had their horses estampeded onenight, by some hostile Indians. For five days they forced their way onfoot, till entering the northern territory of the Comanches, they metwith a drove of horses and cattle. They would never have touched them, had it not been that, a short time afterwards, they met with anothervery numerous party of their inveterate enemies--the Kiowas, by whomthey were pressed so very hard, that they were obliged to return to theplace where the Comanche herds of horse were grazing, and to take them, to escape their foes. So far, all was right; it was nothing more thanwhat the Comanches would have clone themselves in the land of thePawnees; but what had angered the Comanche warriors was, that thehundred horses thus borrowed in necessity, had never been returned, although the party had arrived at the village two moons ago. 

When the Pawnees heard that we had no other causes for complaint, theyshowed, by their expressions of friendship, that the ties of longbrotherhood were not to be so easily broken; and indeed the Pawnees had, some time before, sent ten of their men with one hundred of their finesthorses, to compensate for those which they had taken and ratherill-treated, in their hurried escape from the Kiowas. But they had takena different road from that by which we had come, and consequently we hadmissed them. Of course, the council broke up, and the Indians, who hadremained on the other side of the river, were invited in the village topartake of the Pawnee hospitality. 

Gabriel and I soon accosted the strangely-dressed foreigners. In fact, we were seeking each other, and I learned that they had been a long timeamong the Pawnees, and would have passed over to the Comanches, in orderto confer with me on certain political matters, had it not been thatthey were aware of the great antipathy the chiefs of that tribeentertained against the inhabitants of the United States. 

The facts were as follows:--These people were emissaries of the Mormons, a new sect which had sprung up in the States, and which was rapidlyincreasing in numbers. This sect had been created by a certain JosephSmith. Round the standard of this bold and ambitious leader, swarms ofpeople crowded from every part, and had settled upon a vast extent ofground on the eastern shores of the Mississippi, and there established acivil, religious, and military power, as anomalous as it was dangerousto the United States. In order to accomplish his ulterior views, thismodern apostle wished to establish relations of peace and friendshipwith all the Indians in the great western territories, and had for thatpurpose sent messengers among the various tribes east of the RockyMountains. Having also learned, by the St. Louis trappers, thatstrangers, long established among the Shoshones of the Pacific Ocean, were now residing among the Comanches, Smith had ordered his emissariesamong the Pawnees to endeavour to meet us, and concert together as towhat measures could be taken so as to secure a general league, defensiveand offensive, against the Americans and the Texans, and which was toextend from the Mississippi to the western seas. 

Such a proposition of course could not be immediately answered. Itherefore obtained leave from the Comanches to take the two strangerswith us, and we all returned together. It would be useless to relate tothe reader that which passed between me and the emissaries of theMormons; let it suffice to say, that after a residence of three weeks inthe village, they were conducted back to the Pawnees. With the advice ofGabriel, I determined to go myself and confer with the principal Mormonleaders; resolving in my own mind that if our interview was notsatisfactory, I would continue on to Europe, and endeavour either toengage a company of merchants to enter into direct communication withthe Shoshones or to obtain the support of the English government, infurtherance of the objects I had in view for the advantage of the tribe. 

As a large portion of the Comanches were making preparations for theirannual migration to the east of Texas, Roche, Gabriel, and I joined thisparty, and having exchanged an affectionate farewell with the remainderof the tribe, and received many valuable presents, we started, takingthe direction of the Saline Lake, which forms the head-waters of thesouthern branch or fork of the river Brazos. There we met again with ourold friends the Wakoes, and learned that there was a party of sixty orseventy Yankees or Texans roaming about the upper forks of the Trinity, committing all sorts of depredations, and painting their bodies like theIndians, that their enormities might be laid to the account of thesavages. This may appear strange to the reader, but it has been acommon practice for some time. There have always been in the UnitedStates a numerous body of individuals, who, having by their crimes beencompelled to quit the settlements of the east, have sought shelter outof the reach of civilization. These individuals are all desperatecharacters, and, uniting themselves in small bands, come fearlesslyamong the savages, taking squaws, and living among them till asufficient period has elapsed to enable them to venture, under anassumed name and in a distant state, to return with impunity and enjoythe wealth acquired by plunder and assassination. 

This is the history of the major portion of the western pioneers, whosecourage and virtues have been so much celebrated by American writers. Asthey increased in numbers, these pioneers conceived a plan by which theyacquired great wealth. They united together, forming a society of landprivateers or buccaneers, and made incursions into the very heart of theFrench and Spanish settlements of the west, where, not being expected, they surprised the people and carried off great booty. When, however, these Spanish and French possessions were incorporated into the UnitedStates, they altered their system of plunder; and under the name ofBorder's Buggles, they infested the states of the Mississippi andTennessee, where they obtained such a dreaded reputation that thegovernment sent out many expeditions against them, which, however, wereuseless, as all the principal magistrates of these states had contrivedeven themselves to be elected members of the fraternity. The increase ofpopulation broke up this system, and the "Buggles" were compelled toresort to other measures. Well acquainted with Indian manners, theywould dress and paint themselves as savages, and attack the caravans toMexico. The traders, in their reports, would attribute the deed to sometribe of Indians, probably, at the moment of the attack some five or sixhundred miles distant from the spot. 

This land pirating is now carried to a greater extent than ever. Bandsof fifty or sixty pioneers steal horses, cattle, and slaves from thewest of Arkansas and Louisiana, and sell them in Texas, where they havetheir agents; and then, under the disguise of Indian warriors, theyattack plantations in Texas, carrying away with them large herds ofhorses and cattle, they drive to Missouri, through the lonely mountainpasses of the Arkansas, or to the Attalapas and Opelousas districts ofWestern Louisiana, forcing their way through the lakes and swamps onboth shores of the river Sabine. The party mentioned by the Wakoes wasone of this last description. 

We left our friends, and, after a journey of three days, we crossed theBrazos, close to a rich copper mine, which has for ages been worked bythe Indians, who used, as they do now, this metal for the points oftheir arrows and lances. Another three days' journey brought us to oneof the forks of the Trinity, and there we met with two companies ofTexan rangers and spies, under the command of a certain Captain Hunt, who had been sent from the lower part of the river to protect thenorthern plantations. With him I found five gentlemen, who, tired ofresiding in Texas had taken the opportunity of this military escort toreturn to the Arkansas. As soon as they heard that I was going theremyself, they offered to join me, which I agreed to, as it was nowarranged that Gabriel and Roche should not accompany me further than tothe Red River[22]. 

[Footnote 22: It may appear singular to the reader that the Comanches, being always at war with the Texans, should not have immediatelyattacked the party under the orders of Hunt. But we were merely ahunting-party; that is to say, our band was composed chiefly of younghunters, not yet warriors. On such occasions there is frequently, thoughnot always, an ancient warrior for every eight hunters, just to show tothem the crafts of Indian mode of hunting. These parties often bringwith them their squaws and children, and never fight but when obligedto do so. ]

The next morning I received a visit from Hunt and two or three inferiorofficers, to advise upon the following subject. An agricultural companyfrom Kentucky had obtained from the Texan government a grant of lands onthe upper forks of the Trinity. There twenty-five or thirty families hadsettled, and they had with them numerous cattle, horses, mules, anddonkeys of a very superior breed. On the very evening I met with theTexan rangers, the settlement had been visited by a party of ruffians, who stole everything, murdering sixty or seventy men, women andchildren, and firing all the cottages and log-houses of this rising andprosperous village. All the corpses were shockingly mangled and scalped, and as the assailants were painted in the Indian fashion, the fewinhabitants who had escaped and gained the Texan camp declared that themarauders were Comanches. 

This I denied stoutly, as did the Comanche party, and we all proceededwith the Texan force to Lewisburg, the site of the massacre. As soon asI viewed the bodies, lying here and there, I at once was positive thatthe deed had been committed by white men. The Comanche chief couldscarcely restrain his indignation; he rode close to Captain Hunt andsternly said to him--

"Stoop, Pale-face of a Texan, and look with thy eyes open; be honest ifthou canst, and confess that thou knowest by thine own experience thatthis deed is that of white men. What Comanche ever scalped women andchildren? Stoop, I say, and behold--a shame on thy colour and race--arace of wolves, preying upon each other; a race of jaguars, killing thefemale after having forced her--stoop and see. 

"The bodies of the young women have been atrociously and cowardlyabused--seest thou? Thou well knowest the Indian is too noble and tooproud to level himself to the rank of a Texan or of a brute. "

Twenty of our Comanches started on the tracks, and in the eveningbrought three prisoners to the camp. They were desperate blackguards, well known to every one of the soldiers under Captain Hunt, who, inspite of their Indian disguise, identified them immediately. Huntrefused to punish them, or to make any further pursuit, under the pleathat he had received orders to act against Indian depredators, but notagainst white men. 

"If such is the case, " interrupted the Comanche chief, "retireimmediately with thy men, even to-night, or the breeze of evening willrepeat thy words to my young men, who would give a lesson of justice tothe Texans. Away with thee, if thou valuest thy scalp: justice shall bedone by Indians; it is time they should take it into their own hands, when Pale-faces are afraid of each other. "

Captain Hunt was wise enough to retire without replying, and the nextmorning the Indians armed with cords and switches, gave a severewhipping to the brigands, for having assumed the Comanche paint andwar-whoop. This first part of their punishment being over, their paintwas washed off, and the chief passed them over to us, who were, with theaddition I have mentioned, now eight white men. "They are too mean, "said the chief, "to receive a warrior's death; judge them according toyour laws; justice must be done. "

It was an awful responsibility; but we judged them according to the lawsof the United States and of Texas: they were condemned to be hanged, andat sunset they were executed. For all I know, their bodies may stillhang from the lower branches of the three large cotton-wood trees uponthe head waters of the Trinity River. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

We remained a few days where we were encamped to repose our horses andenable them to support the fatigues of our journey through the ruggedand swampy wilderness of North-east Texas. Three days after theexecution of the three prisoners, some of our Indians, on their returnfrom a buffalo chase, informed us that several Texan companies, numbering two hundred men, were advancing in our direction, and thatprobably they were out upon an expedition against the Indians of theCross Timbers, as they had with them many waggons evidently containingnothing but provisions and ammunition. 

We were encamped in a strong position, and of course did not think ofretiring. We waited for the Texan army, determined to give them a gooddrubbing if they dared to attempt to molest us. Notwithstanding thesecurity of our position, we kept a good watch during the night, butnothing happened to give us alarm. The next morning, two hours aftersunrise, we saw the little army halting two miles from us, on theopposite shore of a deep stream, which they must necessarily pass tocome to us. A company of the Comanches immediately darted forward todispute the passage; but some flags of truce being displayed by theTexans, five or six of them were allowed to swim over unmolested. 

These worthies who came over were Captain Hunt, of whom I have beforemade mention, and General Smith, commanding the Texan army, who was acertain butcher from Indiana, who had been convicted of having murderedhis wife and condemned to be hanged. He had, however, succeeded inescaping from the gaol, and making his way to Texas. The third eminentpersonage was a Colonel Hookley, and the other two were interpreters. Asan Indian will never hurt a foe who comes with a flag of truce, theComanches brought these gentlemen up to the camp. 

As soon as General Smith presented himself before the Comanche chief, hecommenced a bullying harangue, not stating for what purpose he had come, telling us gratuitously that he was the greatest general in the land, and that all the other officers were fools; that he had with him aninnumerable number of stout and powerful warriors, who had no equal inthe world; and thus he went on for half an hour, till, breath failinghim, he was obliged to stop. 

After a silence of a few minutes, he asked the Comanche chief what hecould answer to that? The chief looked at him and replied, with the mostineffable contempt: "What should I answer?" said he; "I have heardnothing but the words of a fool abusing other fools. I have heard thehowl of the wolf long before the buffalo was wounded; there can be noanswer to no question; speak, if thou canst; say what thou wishest, orreturn from whence thou comest, lest the greatest warrior of Texasshould be whipped by squaws and boys. "

The ex-butcher was greatly incensed at the want of breeding and mannersof the "poor devil of a savage, " but at last he condescended to come tothe point. First of all, having learned from Captain Hunt the wholetransaction at Lewisburg, and that the Comanches had detained theprisoners, he wished to have them restored to him. Next he wanted to getthe three young Pale-faces, who were with the Comanches (meaning me, Gabriel, and Roche). They were three thieves, who had escaped from thegaols, and he, the general, wanted to punish them. After all, they werethree vagabonds, d----d strangers, and strangers had nothing to do inTexas, so he must have them. Thirdly and lastly, he wanted to havedelivered unto him the five Americans who had left Captain Hunt to joinus. He suspected them to be rascals or traitors, or they would not havejoined the Indians. He, the great general, wished to investigate closelyinto the matter, and so the Comanches had better think quick about it, for he was in a hurry. 

I should here add, that the five Americans, though half-ruined by thethefts of the Texans, had yet with them four or five hundred dollars ingood bank-notes, besides which each had a gold watch, well-furnishedsaddle-bags, a good saddle, and an excellent travelling horse. 

The chief answered him: "Now I can answer, for I have heard words havinga meaning, although I know them to be great lies. I say first, thoushalt not have the prisoners who murdered those of thine own colour, forthey are hung yonder upon the tall trees, and there they shall remaintill the vultures and the crows have picked their flesh. 

"I say, secondly, that the three young Pale-faces are here and willanswer for themselves, if they will or will not follow thee; but I seethy tongue can utter big lies; for I know they have never mixed with thePale-faces of the south. As to the five Yankees, we cannot give themback to thee, because we can give back only what we have taken. They arenow our guests, and, in our hospitality, they are secure till they leaveus of their own accord. I have said!"

Scarcely were these words finished, when the general and his fourfollowers found themselves surrounded by twenty Comanches, who conductedthem back to the stream in rather an abrupt manner. The greatest officerof the land swore revenge, but as his guides did not understand him, hewas lucky enough to reserve his tongue for more lies and more swearingat a more fitting time. 

He soon rejoined his men, and fell back with them about a mile, apparently to prepare for an attack upon our encampment. In the evening, Roche and some five or six Indians passed the stream a few miles below, that they might observe what the Texans were about; but unfortunatelythey met with a party of ten of the enemy hunting, and Roche fellheavily under his horse, which was killed by a rifle-shot. One of theComanches immediately jumped from his horse, rescued Roche from hisdangerous position, and, notwithstanding that the Texans were at thatinstant charging, he helped Roche to his own saddle and bade him fly. Roche was too much stupefied by his fall that he could not reflect, orotherwise his generous nature would never have permitted him to save hislife at the expense of that of the noble fellow who was thus sacrificinghimself. As it was, he darted away, and his liberator, receiving theshock of the assailants, killed two of them, and fell pierced with theirrifle-balls[23]. 

[Footnote 23: So sacred are the laws of hospitality among these Indians, that a dozen lives would be sacrificed if required, to save that of aguest. In sacrificing himself for Roche, the Comanche considered that hewas doing a mere act of duty. ]

[Illustration: "They galloped across the plain, dragging after themthree mangled bodies. "]

The report of the rifles recalled Roche to his senses, and joining oncemore the three remaining Indians, he rushed madly upon the hunters, and, closing with one of them, he ripped him up with his knife, while theComanches had each of them successfully thrown their lassoes, and nowgalloped across the plain, dragging after them three mangled bodies:Roche recovered his saddle and holsters, and taking with him the corpseof the noble-minded Indian, he gave to his companions the signal forretreat, as the remaining hunters were flying at full speed towardstheir camp, and succeeded in giving the alarm. An hour after, theyreturned to us, and, upon their report, it was resolved that we shouldattack the Texans that very night. 

About ten o'clock we started, divided into three bands of seventy meneach, which made our number about equal to that of the Texans; Roche, who was disabled, with fifteen Indians and the five Americans remainingin the camp. Two of the bands went down the river to cross it withoutnoise, while the third, commanded by Gabriel and me, travelled up thestream for two miles, where we safely effected our passage. We had leftthe horses ready, in case of accident, under the keeping of five men forevery band. The plan was to surprise the Texans, and attack them at oncein front and in rear; we succeeded beyond all expectations, the Texans, as usual, being all more or less intoxicated. We reached their firesbefore any alarm was given. 

We gave the war-whoop and rushed among the sleepers. Many, many werekilled in their deep sleep of intoxication, but those who awoke and hadtime to seize upon their arms fought certainly better than they wouldhave done had they been sober. The gallant General Smith, the bravest ofthe brave and ex-butcher, escaped at the very beginning of the affray, but I saw the Comanche chief cleaving the skull of Captain Hunt withhis tomahawk. 

Before their onset, the Indians had secured almost all the enemy'swaggons and horses, so that flight to many became impossible. At thatparticular spot the prairie was undulatory and bare, except on the leftof the encampment, where a few bushes skirted the edge of a smallstream; but these were too few and too small to afford a refuge to theTexans, one hundred of whom were killed and scalped. The remainder ofthe night was passed in giving chase to the fugitives, who, at last, halted at a bend of the river, in a position that could not be forcedwithout great loss of life; so the Indians left them, and, after havingcollected all the horses and the booty they thought worth taking away, they burnt the waggons and returned to their own camp. 

As we quitted the spot, I could not help occasionally casting a glancebehind me, and the spectacle was truly magnificent. Hundreds of barrels, full of grease, salt pork, gin, and whisky, were burning, and theconflagration had now extended to the grass and the dry bushes. 

We had scarcely crossed the river when the morning breeze sprung up, andnow the flames extended in every direction, gaining rapidly upon thespot where the remaining Texans had stood at bay. So fiercely andabruptly did the flames rush upon them, that all simultaneously, men andhorses, darted into the water for shelter against the devouring element. Many were drowned in the whirlpools, and those who succeeded in reachingthe opposite shore were too miserable and weak to think of anything, except of regaining, if possible, the southern settlements. 

Though protected from the immediate reach of the flames by the branch ofthe river upon the shore of which we were encamped, the heat had becomeso intense, that we were obliged to shift farther to the west. Except inthe supply of arms and ammunition, we perceived that our booty was worthnothing. This Texan expedition must have been composed of a verybeggarly set, for there was not a single yard of linen, nor a miserableworn-out pair of trousers, to be found in all their bundles and boxes. 

Among the horses taken, some thirty or forty were immediately identifiedby the Comanches as their own property, many of them, during thepreceding year, having been stolen by a party of Texans, who had invitedthe Indians to a grand council. Gabriel, Roche, and I, of course, wouldaccept none of the booty; and as time was now becoming to me a questionof great importance, we bade farewell to our Comanche friends, andpursued our journey east, in company with the five Americans. 

During the action, the Comanches had had forty men wounded and only ninekilled. Yet, two months afterwards, I read in one of the Americannewspapers a very singular account of the action. It was a report ofGeneral Smith, commandant of the central force of Texas, relative to theglorious expedition against the savages, in which the gallant soldiersof the infant republic had achieved the most wonderful exploits. Itsaid, "That General Smith having been apprised, by the unfortunateCaptain Hunt, that five thousand savages had destroyed the rising cityof Lewisburg, and murdered all the inhabitants, had immediately hastenedwith his intrepid fellows to the neighbourhood of the scene; that there, during the night, and when every man was broken down with fatigue, theywere attacked by the whole force of the Indians, who had with them sometwenty half-breeds and French and English traders. In spite of theirdisadvantages, the Texans repulsed the Comanches with considerable loss, till the morning, when the men were literally tired with killing, andthe prairie was covered with the corpses of two thousand savages; theTexans themselves having lost but thirty or forty men, and these peopleof little consequence, being emigrants recently arrived from the States. During the day, the stench became so intolerable, that General Smithcaused the prairie to be set on fire, and crossing the river, returnedhome by slow marches, knowing it would be quite useless to pursue theComanches in the wild and broken prairies of the north. Only one Texanof note had perished during the conflict--the brave and unfortunateCaptain Hunt; so that, upon the whole, considering the number of theenemy, the republic may consider this expedition as the most gloriousenterprise since the declaration of Texan independence. "

The paragraph went on in this manner till it filled three close columns, and as a finale, the ex-butcher made an appeal to all the generous and"liberty-loving" sons of the United States and Texas, complainingbitterly against the cabinets of St. James and the Tuileries, who, jealous of the prosperity and glory of Texas, had evidently sent agents(trappers and half-breeds) to excite the savages, through malice, envy, and hatred of the untarnished name and honour of the great NorthAmerican Republic. 

The five Americans who accompanied us were of a superior class, threeof them from Virginia, and two from Maryland, Their history was that ofmany others of their countrymen, Three of them had studied the law, onedivinity, and the other medicine. Having no opening for the exercise oftheir profession at home, they had gone westward, to carve a fortune inthe new States; but there everything was in such a state of anarchy thatthey could not earn their subsistence; they removed farther west, untilthey entered Texas, "a country sprung up but yesterday, and where animmense wealth can be made. " They found, on their arrival at thisanticipated paradise, their chances of success in their profession stillworse than in their own country. The lawyers discovered that, on amoderate computation, there were not less than ten thousand attorneys inTexas, who had emigrated from the Eastern States; the president, thesecretaries, constables, tavern-keepers, generals, privates, sailors, porters, and horse-thieves were all of them originally lawyers, or hadbeen brought up to that profession. 

As to the doctor, he soon found that the apologue of the "wolf and thestork" had been written purposely for medical practice in Texas, for assoon as he had cured a patient (picked the bone out of his throat), hehad to consider himself very lucky if he could escape from half-a-dozeninches of the bowie-knife, by way of recompense; moreover, every visitcost him his pocket-handkerchief or his 'bacco-box, if he had any. Ihave to remark here, that kerchief-taking is a most common joke inTexas, and I wonder very much at it, as no individual of the malespecies, in that promised land, will ever apply that commodity to itsright use, employing for that purpose the pair of snuffers which naturalinstinct has supplied him with. At the same time, it must be admittedthat no professional man can expect employment, without he can flourisha pocket-handkerchief. 

As for the divine, he soon found that religion was not a commodityrequired in so young a country, and that he might just as well havespeculated in sending a cargo of skates to the West Indies, or supplyingMussulmans with swine. The merits of the voluntary system had not beenyet appreciated in Texas; and if he did preach, he had to preach byhimself, not being able to obtain a clerk to make the responses. 

As we travelled along the dreary prairies, these five Eldorado seekersproved to be jovial fellows, and there was about them an elasticity oftemper which did not allow them to despond. The divine had made up hismind to go to Rome, and convert the Pope, who, after all, was a cleverold _bon vivant_; the doctor would go to Edinburgh, and get selected, from his superior skill, as president of the Surgical College; one ofthe lawyers determined he would "run for legislature, " or keep a bar (awhisky one); the second wished to join the Mormons, who were a set ofclever blackguards; and the third thought of going to China, to teachthe celestial brother of the sun to use the Kentucky rifle and "brushthe English. " Some individuals in England have reproached me withindulging too much in building castles in the air; but certainly, compared to those of a Yankee in search after wealth, mine have beenmost sober speculations. 

Each of our new companions had some little Texan history to relate, which they declared to be the most rascally, but _smartish_ trick in theworld. One of the lawyers was once summoned before a magistrate, and afalse New Orleans fifty-dollar bank-note was presented to him, as theidentical one he had given to the clerk of Tremont House (the greathotel at Galveston), in payment of his weekly bill. Now, the lawyer hadoften dreamed of fifties, hundreds, and even of thousands; but fortunehad been so fickle with him, that he had never been in possession ofbank-notes higher than five or ten dollars, except one of the gloriousCairo Bank twenty-dollar notes, which his father presented to him inBaltimore, when he advised him most paternally to try his luck inthe West. 

By the bye, that twenty-dollar Cairo note's adventures should be writtenin gold letters, for it enabled the traveller to eat, sleep, and drink, free of cost, from Louisville to St. Louis, through Indiana andIllinois; any tavern-keeper preferring losing the price of a bed, or ofa meal, sooner than run the risk of returning good change for bad money. The note was finally changed in St. Louis for a three-dollar, bank ofSpringfield, which being yet current, at a discount of four cents to thedollar, enabled the fortunate owner to take his last tumbler ofport-wine sangaree before his departure for Texas. 

Of course, the lawyer had no remorse of conscience, in swearing thatthe note had never been his, but the tavern-keeper and two witnessesswore to his having given it, and the poor fellow was condemned torecash and pay expenses. Having not a cent, he was allowed to go, for itso happened that the gaol was not built for such vagabonds, but for thegovernment officers, who had their sleeping apartments in it. Thiscircumstance occasioned it to be remarked by a few commonly honestpeople of Galveston, that if the gates of the gaol were closed at night, the community would be much improved. 

Three days afterwards, a poor captain, from a Boston vessel, wassummoned for the very identical bank-note, which he was obliged to pay, though he had never set his foot into the Tremont Hotel. 

There is in Galveston a new-invented trade, called "the rag-trade, "which is very profitable. I refer to the purchasing and selling of falsebank-notes, which are, as in the lawyer's case, palmed upon any strangersuspected of having money. On such occasions, the magistrate and theplaintiff share the booty. I may as well here add a fact which is wellknown in France and the United States. Eight days after the Marquis deSaligny's (French chargé d'affaires) arrival in Houston, he was summonedbefore a magistrate, and upon the oaths of the parties, found guilty ofhaving passed seven hundred dollars in false notes to a land speculator. He paid the money, but as he never had had in his possession any money, except French gold and notes of the Banque de France, he complained tohis government; and this specimen of Texan honesty was the principalcause why the banker (Lafitte) suddenly broke the arrangement he hadentered into with General Hamilton (chargé d'affaires from Texas toEngland and France) for a loan of seven millions of dollars. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

We had now entered a tract of land similar to that which we hadtravelled over when on our route from the Wakoes to the Comanches. Theprairie was often intersected by chasms, the bottoms of which wereperfectly dry, so that we could procure water but once every twenty-fourhours, and that, too often so hot and so muddy, that even our poorhorses would not drink it freely. They had, however, the advantage overus in point of feeding, for the grass was sweet and tender, andmoistened during night by the heavy dews; as for ourselves, we werebeginning to starve in earnest. 

We had anticipated regaling ourselves with the juicy humps of thebuffaloes which we should kill, but although we had entered the veryheart of their great pasture-land, we had not met with one, nor evenwith a ground-hog; a snake, or a frog. One evening, the pangs of hungerbecame so sharp that we were obliged to chew tobacco and pieces ofleather to allay our cravings; and we determined that if, the next dayat sunset we had no better fortune, we would draw lots to kill one ofour horses. That evening we could not sleep, and as murmuring was of noavail, the divine entertained us with a Texan story, just, as he said, to pump the superfluous air out of his body. I shall give it in hisown terms:--

"Well, I was coming down the Wabash River (Indiana), when, as it happensnine times out of ten, the steam-boat got aground, and that so firmly, that there was no hope of her floating again till the next flood; so Itook my wallet, waded for two hundred yards, with the water to my knees, till I got safe on shore, upon a thick-timbered bank, full ofrattle-snakes, thorns of the locust-tree, and spiders' webs, so strong, that I was obliged to cut them with my nose, to clear the way before me. I soon got so entangled by the vines and the briars that I thought I hadbetter turn my back to the stream till I should get to the upland, whichI could now and then perceive through the clearings opened between thetrees by recent thunder-storms. Unhappily, between the upland and thelittle ridge on which I stood there was a wide river bottom[24], intowhich I had scarcely advanced fifty yards when I got bogged. Well, ittook me a long while to get out of my miry hole, where I was as fast asa swine in its Arkansas sty; and then I looked about for my wallet, which I had dropped. I could see which way it had gone, for, close tothe yawning circle from which I had just extricated myself, there wasanother smaller one two yards off, into which my wallet had sunk deep, though it was comfortably light; which goes to illustrate the Indianasaying, that there is no conscience so light but will sink in the bottomof the Wabash. Well, I did not care much, as in my wallet I had only anold coloured shirt and a dozen of my own sermons, which I knew by heart, having repeated them a hundred times over. 

[Footnote 24: River bottom is a space, sometimes of many miles in width, on the side of the river, running parallel with it. It is always veryvaluable and productive land, but unhealthy, and dangerous to cross, from its boggy nature. ]

"Being now in a regular fix, I cut a stick, and began wittling andwhistling, to lighten my sorrows, till at last I perceived at the bankof the river, and five hundred yards ahead, one of those large rafts, constructed pretty much like Noah's ark, in which a Wabash farmerembarks his cargo of women and fleas, pigs and chickens, corn, whisky, rats, sheep, and stolen niggers; indeed, in most cases, the whole of thecargo is stolen, except the wife and children, the only portion whom theowner would very much like to be rid of; but these will stick to him asnaturally as a prairie fly to a horse, as long as he has spirits todrink, pigs to attend to, and breeches to mend. 

"Well, as she was close to the bank, I got in. The owner was GeneralJohn Meyer, from Vincennes, and his three sons, the colonel, thecaptain, and the judge. They lent me a sort of thing, which many yearsbefore had probably been a horse-blanket. With it I covered myself, while one of the *'boys spread my clothes to dry, and, as I had nothingleft in the world, except thirty dollars in my pocket-book, I kept thatconstantly in my hand till the evening, when, my clothes being dried, Irecovered the use of my pocket. The general was free with his 'Wabashwater' (western appellation for whisky), and, finding me to his taste, as he said, he offered me a passage gratis to New Orleans, if I couldbut submit myself to his homely fare; that is to say, salt pork, withplenty of gravy, four times a day, and a decoction of burnt bran andgrains of maize, going under the name of coffee all over the States--thewhisky was to be _ad libitum_. 

"As I considered the terms moderate, I agreed, and the hospitablegeneral soon entrusted me with his plans. He had gone many times toTexas; he loved Texas--it was a free country, according to his heart;and now he had collected all his own (he might have said, 'and otherpeople's too'), to go to New Orleans, where his pigs and corn, exchangedagainst goods, would enable him to settle with his family in Texas in agallant style. Upon my inquiring what could be the cause of a certainabominable smell which pervaded the cabin, he apprized me that, in asmall closet adjoining, he had secured a dozen of runaway negroes, forthe apprehension of whom he would be well rewarded. 

"Well, the next morning we went on pretty snugly, and I had nothing tocomplain of, except the fleas and the 'gals, ' who bothered me not alittle. Three days afterwards we entered the Ohio, and the current beingvery strong, I began to think myself fortunate, as I should reach NewOrleans in less than forty days, passage free. We went on till night, when we stopped, three or four miles from the junction with theMississippi. The cabin being very warm, and the deck in possession ofthe pigs, I thought I would sleep ashore, under a tree. The general saidit was a capital plan, and, after having drained half a dozen cups of'stiff, true, downright Yankee No. 1, ' we all of us took our blankets (Imean the white-skinned party), and having lighted a great fire, thegeneral, the colonel, the major, and the judge lay down, --an examplewhich I followed as soon as I had neatly folded up my coat and fixed itupon a bush, with my hat and boots, for I was now getting particular, and wished to cut a figure in New Orleans; my thoughts running uponplump and rich widows, which you know are the only provision for uspreachers. 

"Well, my dreams were nothing but the continuation of my thoughts duringthe day. I fancied I was married, and the owner of a large sugarplantation. I had a good soft bed, and my pious wife was feeling aboutme with her soft hands, probably to see if my heart beat quick, and if Ihad good dreams;--a pity I did not awake then, for I should have savedmy dollars, as the hand which I was dreaming of was that of thehospitable general searching for my pocket-book. It was late when Iopened my eyes--and, lo! the sleepers were gone, with the boat, myboots, my coat, my hat, and, I soon found, with my money. I had beenleft alone, with a greasy Mackinaw blanket, and as in my stupefaction Igazed all round, and up and down, I saw my pocket-book empty, which thegenerous general had humanely left to me to put other notes in, 'when Icould get any. ' I kicked it with my foot, and should indubitably havebeen food for cat-fish, had I not heard most _à propos_ the puffing of asteam-boat coming down the river. "

At that moment the parson interrupted his narrative, by observing:

"Well, I'd no idea that I had talked so long; why, man, look to theeast, 'tis almost daylight. "

And sure enough the horizon of the prairie was skirted with that redtinge which always announces the break of day in these immense levelsolitudes. Our companions had all fallen asleep, and our horses, lookingto the east, snuffed the air and stamped upon the ground, as if toexpress their impatience to leave so inhospitable a region, I replied tothe parson:--

"It is now too late for us to think of sleeping; let us stir the fire, and go on with your story. "

We added fuel to the nearly consumed pile, and shaking our blankets, which were heavy with the dew, my companion resumed his narrative:--

"Well, I reckon it was more than half an hour before the steam-boat camein sight, and as the channel of the river ran close in with the shore, Iwas soon picked up. The boat was going to St. Louis, and as I had not acent left to pay my passage, I was obliged, in way of payment, to relatemy adventure. Everybody laughed. All the men declared the joke wasexcellent, and that General Meyer was a clever rascal; they told me Ishould undoubtedly meet him at New Orleans, but it would be of no use. Everybody knew Meyer and his pious family, but he was so smart, thatnothing could be done against him. Well, the clerk was a good-humouredfellow; he lent me an old coat and five dollars; the steward brought mea pair of slippers, and somebody gave me a worn-out loose cap. This wasvery good, but my luck was better still. The cause of my own ruin hadbeen the grounding of a steam-boat; the same accident happening againset me on my legs. Just as we turned the southern point of Illinois, weburied ourselves in a safe bed of mud. It was so common an occurrence, that nobody cared much about it, except a Philadelphian going to Texas;he was in a great hurry to go on westward, and no wonder. I learnedafterwards that he had absconded from the bank, of which he was acashier, with sixty thousand dollars. 

"Well, as I said, we were bogged; patience was necessary, laments wereof no use, so we dined with as much appetite as if nothing had happened, and some of the regular 'boys' took to 'Yooka, ' to kill the time. Theywere regular hands, to be sure, but I was myself trump No. 1. Pity wehave no cards with us; it would be amusing to be the first manintroducing that game into the western prairies. Well, I looked on, andby-and-bye, I got tired of being merely a spectator. My nose itched, myfingers too. I twisted my five-dollar bill in all senses, till a sharptook me for a flat, and he proposed kindly to pluck me out-and-out. Iplucked him in less than no time, winning eighty dollars at a sitting;and when we left off for tea, I felt that I had acquired consequence, and even merit, for money gives both. During the night I was sosuccessful, that when I retired to my berth I found myself the owner offour hundred and fifty dollars, a gold watch, a gold pin, and a silver'bacco-box. Everything is useful in this world, even getting aground. Now, I never repine at anything. 

"The next day another steam-boat passed, and picked us up. It was one ofthose light crafts which speculate upon misfortune; they hunt afterstranded boats, as a wolf after wounded deer--they take off thepassengers, and charge what they please. From Cincinnati to St. Louisthe fare was ten dollars, and the unconscious wreck-seeker of a captaincharged us twenty-five dollars each for the remainder of the trip--oneday's journey. However, I did not care. 

"An Arkansas man, who had no more money, sold me, for fifteen dollars, his wallet, a fine great-coat, two clean shirts, and a hat; from anotherI purchased a pair of bran-new, Boston-made, elegant black breeches, sothat when I landed at St. Louis I cut a regular figure, went toPlanter's Hotel, and in the course of a week made a good round sum bythree lectures upon the vanities of the world and the sin of desponding. Well, to cut matters short--by the bye, there must be something wrongstirring in the prairie; look at our horses, how uneasy they seem to be. Don't you hear anything?"

Our horses, indeed, were beginning to grow wild with excitement, andthinking that their instinct had told them that wolves were near, I tiedthem closer to where we bivouacked, and then applied my ears to theground, to try and catch any sound. 

"I hear no noise, " said I, "except the morning breeze passing throughthe withered grass. Our horses have been smelling wolves, but the bruteswill not approach our fire. "

The parson, who had a great faith in my "white Indian nature, " resumedthe thread of his narrative:--

"To cut the matter short, I pass over my trip to New Orleans andGalveston. Suffice it to say, that I was a gentleman preacher, withplenty of money, and that the Texans, president, generals, and all, condescended to eat my dinners, though they would not hear my sermons;even the women looked softly upon me, for I had two trunks, linen inplenty, and I had taken the precaution in Louisiana of getting rid of myshin-plasters for hard specie. I could have married anybody, if I hadwished, from the president's old mother to the barmaid at the tavern. Ihad money, and to me all was smiles and sunshine. One day I met GeneralMeyer; the impudent fellow came immediately to me, shook my hand inquite a cordial manner, and inquired how my health had been since he hadseen me last. That was more than my professional meekness could endure, so I reproached him with his rascality and abuse of hospitality towardsme, adding that I expected he would now repay me what he had sounceremoniously taken from me while I was asleep. General Meyer lookedperfectly aghast, and calling me a liar, a scoundrel, and a villain, herushed upon me with his drawn bowie-knife, and would have indubitablymurdered me, had he not been prevented by a tall powerful chap, to whom, but an hour before, I had lent, or given, five dollars, partly from fearof him and partly from compassion for his destitution. 

"The next day I started for Houston, where I settled, and preached toold women, children, and negroes, while the white male population weregetting drunk, swearing, and fighting, just before the door of thechurch. I had scarcely been there a month when a constable arrested meon the power of a warrant obtained against me by that rascally Meyer. Brought up before the magistrate, I was confronted with the blackguardand five other rascals of his stamp, who positively took their oathsthat they had seen me taking the pocket-book of the general, which hehad left accidentally upon the table in the bar of Tremont's. Themagistrate said, that out of respect for the character of my professionhe would not push the affair to extremities, but that I must immediatelygive back the two hundred dollars Meyer said I had stolen from him, andpay fifty dollars besides for the expenses. In vain I remonstrated myinnocence; no choice was left to me but to pay or go to gaol. 

"By that time I knew pretty well the character of the people among whomI was living; I knew there was no justice to whom I could apply; Ireckoned also that, if once put in gaol, they would not only take thetwo hundred and fifty dollars, but also the whole I possessed. So Isubmitted, as it was the best I could do; I removed immediately toanother part of Texas, but it would not do. Faith, the Texans are a veryugly set of gents. "

"And Meyer, " I interrupted, "what of him?"

"Oh!" replied the parson, "that is another story. Why, he returned toNew Orleans, where, with his three sons, he committed an awful murderupon the cashier of the legislature; he was getting away with twentythousand dollars, but being caught in the act, he was tried, sentenced, and hanged, with all his hopeful progeny, and the old negro hangman ofNew Orleans had the honour of making, in one day, a close acquaintancewith a general, a colonel, a major, and a judge. "

"What, talking still!" exclaimed the doctor, yawning: he had just awoke. "What the devil can you have babbled about during the whole blessednight? Why, 'tis morn. "

Saying this, he took up his watch, looked at it, applied it to his ear, to see if it had not stopped, and exclaimed:--

"By jingo, but I am only half-past one. " The parson drew out his also, and repeated the same, "half-past one. "

At that moment the breeze freshened, and I heard the distant and mufflednoise, which in the West announces either an earthquake, or an"estampede" of herds of wild cattle and other animals. Our horses, too, were aware of some danger, for now they were positively mad, strugglingto break the lassoes and escape. 

"Up!" I cried, "up! Gabriel, Roche, up!--up, strangers, quick! saddleyour beasts! run for your lives! the prairie is on fire, and thebuffaloes are upon us. "

They all started upon their feet, but not a word was exchanged; eachfelt the danger of his position; speed was our only resource, if it wasnot already too late. In a minute our horses were saddled, in another wewere madly galloping across the prairie, the bridles upon the necks ofour steeds, allowing them to follow their instinct. Such had been ourhurry, that all our blankets were left behind, except that of Gabriel;the lawyers had never thought of their saddle-bags, and the parson hadforgotten his holsters and his rifle. 

For an hour we dashed on with undiminished speed, when we felt the earthtrembling behind us, and soon afterwards the distant bellowing, mixed upwith the roaring and sharper cries of other animals, were borne downunto our ears. The atmosphere grew oppressive and heavy, while theflames, swifter than the wind, appeared raging upon the horizon. Thefleeter game of all kinds now shot past us like arrows; deer werebounding over the ground, in company with wolves and panthers; droves ofelks and antelopes passed swifter than a dream; then a solitary horse ora huge buffalo-bull. From our intense anxiety, although our horsesstrained every nerve, we almost appeared to stand still. 

The atmosphere rapidly became more dense, the heat more oppressive, theroars sounded louder and louder in our ears; now and then they weremingled with terrific howls and shrill sounds, so unearthly that evenour horses would stop their mad career and tremble, as if theyconsidered them supernatural; but it was only for a second, and theydashed on. 

A noble stag passed close to us, his strength was exhausted; threeminutes afterwards, we passed him--dead. But soon, with the rushingnoise of a whirlwind, the mass of heavier and less speedy animals closedupon us: buffaloes and wild horses, all mixed together, an immense darkbody, miles in front, miles in depth; on they came, trampling anddashing through every obstacle. This phalanx was but two miles from us. Our horses were nearly exhausted; we gave ourselves up for lost; a fewminutes more, and we should be crushed to atoms. 

At that moment, the sonorous voice of Gabriel was heard, firm andimperative. He had long been accustomed to danger, and now he faced itwith his indomitable energy, as if such scenes were his properelement:--"Down from your horses, " cried he; "let two of you keep themsteady. Strip off your shirts, linen, anything that will catch fire;quick, not a minute is to be lost. " Saying this, he ignited some tinderwith the pan of his pistol, and was soon busy in making a fire with allthe clothes we now threw to him. Then we tore up withered grass andBuffalo-dung, and dashed them on the heap. 

Before three minutes had passed, our fire burned fiercely. On came theterrified mass of animals, and perceiving the flame of our fire beforethem, they roared with rage and terror, yet they turned not, as we hadhoped. On they came, and already we could distinguish their horns, theirfeet, and the white foam; our fuel was burning out, the flames werelowering; the parson gave a scream, and fainted. On came the maddenedmyriads, nearer and nearer; I could see their wild eyes glaring; theywheeled not, opened not a passage, but came on like messengers ofdeath--nearer--nearer--nearer still. My brain reeled, my eyes grew dim;it was horrible, most horrible! I dashed down with my face covered, tomeet my fate. 

At that moment I heard an explosion, then a roar, as if proceeding fromten millions of buffalo-bulls--so stunning, so stupifying was the soundfrom the mass of animals, not twenty yards from us. Each moment Iexpected the hoofs which were to trample us to atoms; and yet, deathcame not. I only heard the rushing as of a mighty wind and the tremblingof the earth. I raised my head and looked. 

Gabriel at the critical moment had poured some whisky upon the flames, the leathern bottle had exploded, with a blaze like lightning, and, atthe expense of thousands crushed to death, the animals had swerved fromcontact with the fierce, blue column of fire which had been created. Before and behind, all around us, we could see nothing but the shaggywool of the huge monsters; not a crevice was to be seen in the flyingmasses, but the narrow line which had been opened to avoid our fire. 

In this dangerous position we remained for one hour, our lives dependingupon the animals not closing the line: but Providence watched over us, and after what appeared an eternity of intense suspense, the columnsbecame thinner and thinner, till we found ourselves only encircled withthe weaker and more exhausted animals which brought up the rear. Ourfirst danger was over, but we had still to escape from one asimminent--the pursuing flame, now so much closer to us. The wholeprairie behind us was on fire, and the roaring element was gaining on uswith a frightful speed. Once more we sprang upon our saddles, and thehorses, with recovered wind and with strength tenfold increased by theirfear, soon brought us to the rear of the buffaloes. 

It was an awful sight! a sea of fire roaring in its fury, with Itsheaving waves and unearthly hisses, approaching nearer and nearer, rushing on swifter than the sharp morning breeze. Had we not justescaped so unexpectedly a danger almost as terrible, we should havedespaired and left off an apparently useless struggle for our lives. 

Away we dashed, over hills and down declivities; for now the ground hadbecome more broken. The fire was gaining fast upon us, when we perceivedthat, a mile ahead, the immense herds before us had entered a deep, broad chasm, into which they dashed, thousands upon thousands, tumblingheadlong into the abyss. But now, the fire rushing quicker, blazingfiercer than before, as if determined not to lose its prey, curled itswaves above our heads, smothering us with its heat and lurid smoke. 

A few seconds more we spurred in agony; speed was life; the chasm was tobe our preservation or our tomb. Down we darted? actually borne upon thebacks of the descending mass, and landed, without sense or motion, morethan a hundred feet below. As soon as we recovered from the shock, wefound that we had been most mercifully preserved; strange to say, neither horse nor rider had received any serious injury. We heard, aboveour heads, the hissing and cracking of the fire; we contemplated withawe the flames, which were roaring along the edge of the precipice--nowrising, now lowering, just as if they would leap over the space andannihilate all life in these western solitudes. 

We were preserved; our fall had been broken by the animals, who hadtaken a leap a second before us, and by the thousands of bodies whichwere heaped up as a hecatomb, and received us as a cushion below. Withdifficulty we extricated ourselves and horses, and descending the massof carcasses, we at last succeeded in reaching a few acres of clearground. It was elevated a few feet above the water of the torrent, whichran through the ravine, and offered to our broken-down horses amagnificent pasture of sweet blue grass. But the poor things were tooterrified and exhausted, and they stretched themselves down upon theground, a painful spectacle of utter helplessness. 

We perceived that the crowds of flying animals had succeeded in finding, some way further down an ascent to the opposite prairie; and as theearth and rocks still trembled, we knew that the "estampede" had notceased, and that the millions of fugitives had resumed their mad career. Indeed there was still danger, for the wind was high, and carried beforeit large sheets of flames to the opposite side, where the dried grassand bushes soon became ignited, and the destructive element thus passedthe chasm and continued its pursuit. 

We congratulated ourselves upon having thus found security, and returnedthanks to heaven for our wonderful escape; and as we were now safe fromimmediate danger, we lighted a fire and feasted upon a youngbuffalo-calf, every bone of which we found had been broken intosplinters[25]. 

[Footnote 25: I have said, at a venture, that we descended more than ahundred feet into the chasm before we fairly landed on the bodies of theanimals. The chasm itself could not have been less than two hundred andfifty to three hundred feet deep at the part that we plunged down. Thiswill give the reader some idea of the vast quantity of bodies ofanimals, chiefly buffaloes, which were there piled up. I consider thatthis pile must have been formed wholly from the foremost of the mass, and that when formed, it broke the fall of the others, who followedthem, as it did our own: indeed, the summit of the heap was pounded intoa sort of jelly. ]

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Two days did we remain in our shelter, to regain our strength and torest our horses. Thus deeply buried in the bosom of the earth, we weresafe from the devastating elements. On the second day we heardtremendous claps of thunder; we knew that a storm was raging which wouldquench the fire, but we cared little about what was going on above. 

We had plenty to eat and to drink, our steeds were recovering fast, and, in spite of the horrors we had just undergone, we were not a littleamused by the lamentations of the parson, who, recollecting thedestruction of his shirts, forgot his professional duty, and sworeagainst Texas and the Texans, against the prairies, the buffaloes, andthe fire: the last event had produced so deep an impression upon hismind, that he preferred shivering all night by the banks of the torrentto sleeping near our comfortable fire; and as to eating of the delicatefood before him, it was out of the question; he would suck it, but notmasticate nor swallow it; his stomach and his teeth refused toaccomplish their functions upon the abhorred meat; and he solemnlydeclared that never again would he taste beef--cow or calf--- tame orwild--even if he were starving. 

One of the lawyers, too, was loud in his complaints, for although bornin the States, he had in his veins no few drops of Irish blood, andcould not forget the sacrifice Gabriel had made of the whisky. "Suchstuff!" he would exclaim, "the best that ever came into this land ofabomination, to be thrown in the face of dirty buffaloes: the devil takethem! Eh! Monsheer Owato Wanisha, --queer outlandish name, by-the-bye, --please to pass me another slice of the varmint (meaning thebuffalo-calf). Bless my soul, if I did not think, at one time, it wasafter the liquor the brutes were running!"

Upon the morning of the third day, we resumed our journey, following thestream down for a few miles, over thousands of dead animals, which thenow foaming torrent could not wash away. We struck the winding pathwhich the "estampedados" had taken; and as it had been worked by themillions of fugitives into a gentle ascent, we found ourselves longbefore noon, once more upon the level of the prairie. What a spectacleof gloom and death! As far as the eye could reach, the earth was nakedand blackened. Not a stem of grass, not a bush, had escaped the awfulconflagration; and thousands of half-burnt bodies of deer, buffaloes, and mustangs covered the prairie in every direction. 

The horizon before us was concealed by a high and rugged ridge of therolling prairie, towards which we proceeded but slowly, so completelywas the track made by the buffaloes choked by burnt bodies of alldescriptions of animals. At last we reached the summit of the swell, andperceived that we were upon one of the head branches of the TrinityRiver, forming a kind of oblong lake, a mile broad, but exceedinglyshallow; the bottom was of a hard white sandy formation, and as wecrossed this beautiful sheet of clear water, the bottom appeared to bestudded with grains of gold and crystals. 

This brought round the characteristic elasticity of temper belonging tothe Americans, and caused the doctor to give way to his mentalspeculations:--He would not go to Edinburgh; it was nonsense; here was afortune made. He would form a company in New York, capital one millionof dollars--the Gold, Emerald, Topaz, Sapphire, and AmethystAssociation, in ten thousand shares, one hundred dollars a-piece. Infive years he would be the richest man in the world; he would build tencities on the Mississippi, and would give powder and lead to theComanches for nothing, so that they could at once clear the world ofTexans and buffaloes. He had scarcely finished, when we reached theother side of the lake; there we had to pass over a narrow ridge, covered with green bushes, but now torn and trampled down; the herds hadpassed over there, and the fire had been extinguished by the waters ofthis "fairy lake, " for so we had baptized it. Half an hour more broughtus clear out from the cover, and a most strange and unusual sight waspresented to our eyes. 

On a rich and beautiful prairie, green and red, the wild clover and theroses, and occasionally a plum-tree, varying the hues were lyingprostrate, as far as the eye could reach, hundreds of thousands ofanimals of all species, some quietly licking their tired limbs, andothers extending their necks, without rising, to graze upon the softgrass around them. The sight was beautiful above all description, andrecalled to mind the engravings of the creation affixed to the oldBibles. Wolves and panthers were lying but a few paces from a smallflock of antelopes; buffaloes, bears, and horses were mixed together, every one of them incapable of moving from the spot on which they haddropped from exhaustion and fatigue. 

We passed a large jaguar, glaring fiercely at a calf ten feet from him;on seeing us, he attempted to rise, but, utterly helpless, he bent hisbody so as to form a circle, concealing his head upon his breast underhis huge paws, and uttered a low growl, half menacing, half plaintive. Had we had powder to waste, we would certainly have rid the gramnivorousfrom many of their carnivorous neighbours, but we were now entering atract of country celebrated for the depredations of the Texans andBuggles free bands, and every charge of powder thrown away was a chancethe less, in case of a fight. 

As by this time our horses were in want of rest, we took off theirsaddles, and the poor things feasted better than they had done for along while. As for us, we had fortunately still a good supply of thecold calf, for we felt a repugnance to cut the throats of any of thepoor broken-down creatures before us. Close to us there was a finenoble stag, for which I immediately took a fancy. He was so worn outthat he could not even move a few inches to get at the grass, and hisdried, parched tongue showed plainly how much he suffered from the wantof water. I pulled up two or three handfuls of clover, which I presentedto him; but though he tried to swallow it, he could not. 

As there was a water-hole some twenty yards off, I took the doctor's furcap, and filling it with water, returned to the stag. What an expressiveglance! What beautiful eyes! I sprinkled at first some drops upon histongue, and then, putting the water under his nose, he soon drained itup. My companions became so much interested with the sufferings of thepoor animals, that they took as many of the young fawns as they could, carrying them to the edge of the water-hole, that they might regaintheir strength and fly away before the wolves could attack them. 

Upon my presenting a second capful of water to the stag, the gratefulanimal licked my hands, and, after having drunk, tried to rise to followme, but its strength failing, its glances followed me as I was walkingto and fro; they spoke volumes; I could understand their meaning. I hateto hear of the superiority of man! Man is ungrateful as a viper, while ahorse, a dog, and many others of the "soulless brutes, " will neverforget a kindness. 

I wondered what had become of our three lawyers, who had wandered awaywithout their rifles, and had been more than two hours absent. I wasabout to propose a search after them when they arrived, with theirknives and tomahawks, and their clothes all smeared with blood. They hadgone upon a cruise against the wolves, and had killed the brutes untilthey were tired and had no more strength to use their arms. 

The reader, comfortably seated in his elbow-chair, cannot comprehend thehatred which a prairie traveller nourishes against the wolves. As soonas we found out what these three champions of the wilderness had beenabout, we resolved to encamp there for the night, that we might destroyas many as we could of these prairie sharks. Broken-down as they were, there was no danger attending the expedition, and, tightening on ourbelts, and securing our pistols, in case of an attack from a recoveringpanther, we started upon our butchering expedition. On our way we metwith some fierce-looking jaguars, which we did not think it prudent toattack, so we let them alone, and soon found occupation enough for ourknives and tomahawks among a close-packed herd of wolves. 

How many of these detested brutes we killed I cannot say, but we did notleave off until our hands had become powerless from exhaustion, and ourtomahawks were so blunted as to be rendered of no use. When we left thescene of massacre, we had to pass over a pool of blood ankle-deep, andsuch was the howling of those who were not quite dead, that the deer andelk were in every direction struggling to rise and fly[26]. We had beenemployed more than four hours in our work of destruction, when wereturned to the camp, tired and hungry. Roche had picked up a bear-cub, which the doctor skinned and cooked for us while we were taking ourround to see how our _protégés_ were going on. All those that had beenbrought up to the water-hole were so far recovered that they weregrazing about, and bounded away as soon as we attempted to near them. Mystag was grazing also, but he allowed me to caress him, just as if wehad been old friends, and he never left the place until the nextmorning, when we ourselves started. 

[Footnote 26: The prairie wolf is a very different animal from thecommon wolf and will be understood by the reader when I give adescription of the animals found in California and Texas. ]

The doctor called us for our evening meal, to which we did honour, for, in addition to his wonderful culinary talents, he knew some plants, common in the prairies, which can impart even to a bear's chop a mostsavoury and aromatic flavour. He was in high glee, as we praised hisskill, and so excited did he become, that he gave up his proposal of the"Gold, Emerald, Topaz, Sapphire, and Amethyst Association, in tenthousand shares, " and vowed he would cast away his lancet and turn cookin the service of some _bon vivant_, or go to feed the padres of aMexican convent. He boasted that he could cook the toughest old woman, so as to make the flesh appear as white, soft, and sweet as that of aspring chicken; but upon my proposing to send him, as a _cordon bleu_, to the Cayugas, in West Texas, or among the Club Indians, of theColorado of the West, he changed his mind again, and formed new plansfor the regeneration of the natives of America. 

After our supper, we rode our horses to the lake, to water and bathethem, which duty being performed, we sought that repose which we weredoomed not to enjoy; for we had scarcely shut our eyes when a tremendousshower fell upon us, and in a few minutes we were drenched to the skin. The reader may recollect that, excepting Gabriel, we had all of us leftour blankets on the spot where we had at first descried the prairie wasin flames, so that we were now shivering with cold, and, what was worse, the violence of the rain was such, that we could not keep our firealive. It was an ugly night, to be sure; but the cool shower saved thepanting and thirsty animals, for whose sufferings we had felt so much. All night we heard the deer and antelopes trotting and scamperingtowards the lake; twice or thrice the distant roars of the panthersshowed that these terrible animals were quitting our neighbourhood, andthe fierce growling of the contending wolves told us plainly that, ifthey were not strong enough to run, they could at least crawl and preyupon their own dead. It has been asserted that wolves do not prey upontheir own species, but it is a mistake, for I have often seen themattacking, tearing, and eating each other. 

The warm rays of the morning sun at last dispersed the gloom and cloudsof night; deer, elks, and antelopes were all gone except my own stag, towhich I gave a handful of salt, as I had some in my saddle-bags. Somefew mustangs and buffaloes were grazing, but the larger portion, extending as far as the eye could reach, were still prostrate on thegrass. As to the wolves, either from their greater fatigue they hadundergone, or from their being glutted with the blood and flesh of theircompanions, they seemed stiffer than ever. We watered our horses, replenished our flasks, and, after a hearty meal upon the cold flesh ofthe bear, we resumed our journey to warm ourselves by exercise and dryour clothes, for we were wet to the skin, and benumbed with cold. 

The reader may be surprised at these wild animals being in the state ofutter exhaustion which I have described; but he must be reminded that, in all probability, this prairie fire had driven them before it forhundreds of miles, and that at a speed unusual to them, and whichnothing but a panic could have produced. I think it very probable thatthe fire ran over an extent of five hundred miles; and my reason for soestimating it is, the exhausted state of the carnivorous animals. 

A panther can pass over two hundred miles or more at full speed withoutgreat exhaustion; so would a jaguar, or, indeed an elk. 

I do not mean to say that all the animals, as the buffaloes, mustangs, deer, &c. , had run this distance; of course, as the fire rolled on, theanimals were gradually collected, till they had formed the astoundingmass which I have described, and thousands had probably alreadyperished, long before the fire had reached the prairie where we wereencamped; still I have at other times witnessed the extraordinaryexertions which animals are capable of when under the influence of fear. At one estampede, I knew some oxen, with their yokes on their necks, toaccomplish sixty miles in four hours. 

On another occasion, on the eastern shores of the Vermilion Sea, Iwitnessed an estampede, and, returning twelve days afterwards, I foundthe animals still lying in every direction on the prairie, although muchrecovered from their fatigue. On this last occasion, the prairie hadbeen burnt for three hundred miles, from east to west, and there is nodoubt but that the animals had estampedoed the whole distance at theutmost of their speed. 

Our horses having quite recovered from their past fatigue, we started ata brisk canter, under the beams of a genial sun, and soon felt the warmblood stirring in our veins. We had proceeded about six or seven miles, skirting the edge of the mass of buffaloes reclining on the prairie, when we witnessed a scene which filled us with pity. Fourteen hungrywolves, reeling and staggering with weakness, were attacking a splendidblack stallion, which was so exhausted, that he could not get up uponhis legs. His neck and sides were already covered with wounds, and hisagony was terrible. Now, the horse is too noble an animal not to find aprotector in man against such bloodthirsty foes; so we dismounted anddespatched the whole of his assailants; but as the poor stallion waswounded beyond all cure, and would indubitably have fallen a prey toanother pack of his prairie foes, we also despatched him with a shot ofa rifle. It was an act of humanity, but still the destruction of thisnoble animal in the wilderness threw a gloom over our spirits. Thedoctor perceiving this, thought it advisable to enliven us with thefollowing story:--

"All the New York amateurs of oysters know well the most jovialtavern-keeper in the world, old Slick Bradley, the owner of the'Franklin, ' in Pearl-street. When you go to New York, mind to call uponhim, and if you have any relish for a cool sangaree, a mint-julep, or asavoury oyster-soup, none can make it better than Slick Bradley. Besides, his bar is snug, his little busy wife neat and polite, and ifyou are inclined to a spree, his private rooms up-stairs are comfortableas can be. 

"Old Slick is good-humoured and always laughing; proud of his cellar, ofhis house, of his wife, and, above all, proud of the sign-post hangingbefore his door; that is to say, a yellow head of Franklin, painted bysome bilious chap, who looked in the glass for a model. 

"Now Slick has kept house for more than forty years, and though he hasmade up a pretty round sum, he don't wish to leave off the business. No!till the day of his death he will remain in his bar, smoking hisHavanas, and mechanically playing with the two pocket-books in his deepwaistcoat pockets--one for the ten-dollar notes and above, the other forthe fives, and under. Slick Bradley is the most independent man in theworld; he jokes familiarly with his customers, and besides their bill offare, he knows how to get more of their money by betting, for betting isthe great passion of Slick; he will bet anything, upon everything:contradict him in what he says, and down come the two pocket-books underyour nose. 'I know better, ' he will say, 'don't I? What will youbet--five, ten, fifty, hundred? Tush! you dare not bet, you know you arewrong;' and with an air of superiority and self-satisfaction, he willtake long strides over his well-washed floor, repeating, 'Iknow better. '

"Slick used once to boast that he had never lost a bet; but since alittle incident which made all New York laugh at him, he confesses thathe did once meet with his match, for though he certainly won the bet, hehad paid the stakes fifty times over. Now, as I heard the circumstancefrom the jolly landlord himself, here it goes, just as I had it, neithermore nor less. 

"One day, two smart young fellows entered the Franklin; they alightedfrom a cab, and were dressed in the tip-top of fashion. As they were newcustomers, the landlord was all smiles and courtesy, conducted them intosaloon No. 1, and making it up in his mind that his guests could benothing less than Wall street superfines, he resolved that they shouldnot complain of his fare. 

"A splendid dinner was served to them, with sundry bottles of old winesand choice Havanas, and the worthy host was reckoning in his mind allthe items he could decently introduce in the bill, when ding, ding, wentthe bell, and away he goes up stairs, capering, jumping, smiling, andholding his two hands before his bow window in front. 

"'Eh, old Slick, ' said one of the sparks, 'capital dinner, by Jove; goodwine, fine cigars; plenty of customers, eh?'

"Slick winked; he was in all his glory, proud and happy. 

"'Nothing better in life than a good dinner, ' resumed the spark No. 1;'some eat only to live--they are fools; I live only to eat, that is thetrue philosophy. Come, old chap, let us have your bill, and mind, makeit out as for old customers, for we intend to return often; don't we?'

"This last part of the sentence was addressed to spark No. 2, who, withhis legs comfortably over the corner of the table, was picking his teethwith his fork. 

"'I shall, by jingo!' slowly drawled out No. 2, 'dine well here! d---dcomfortable; nothing wanted but the champagne. '

"'Lord, Lord! gentlemen, ' exclaimed Slick, 'why did you not say so? Why, I have the best in town. '

"'Faith, have you?' said No. 1, smacking his lips; 'now have you thereal genuine stuff? Why then bring a bottle, landlord, and you must joinus; bring three glasses; by Jove, we will drink your health. '

"When Slick returned, he found his customers in high glee, and soconvulsive was their merriment that they were obliged to hold theirsides. Slick laughed too, yet losing no time; in a moment he presentedthe gentlemen with the sparkling liquor. They took their glasses, drankhis health, and then recommenced their mirth. 

"'And so you lost the wager?' asked No. 2. 

"'Yes, by Heaven, I paid the hundred dollars, and, what was worse, waslaughed at by everybody. '

"Slick was sadly puzzled; the young men had been laughing, they were nowtalking of a bet, and he knew nothing of it. He was mightilyinquisitive; and knowing, by experience, that wine opens the heart andunlooses the tongue, he made an attempt to ascertain the cause of themerriment. 

"'I beg your pardon, gentlemen, if I make too bold; but please, what wasthe subject of the wager, the recollection of which puts you in so gooda humour?'

"'I'll tell you, ' exclaimed No. 1, 'and you will see what a fool I havemade of myself. You must know that it is impossible to follow thependulum of the clock with the hand, and to repeat "Here she goes--theresee goes, " just as it swings to and fro, that is when people are talkingall round you, as it puts you out. One day I was with a set of jollyfellows in a dining-room, with a clock just like this in your room; theconversation fell upon the difficulty of going on "Here she goes, " and"there she goes, " for half an hour, without making a mistake. Well, Ithought it was the easiest thing in the world to do it; and upon mysaying so, I was defied to do it: the consequence was the bet of ahundred dollars, and, having agreed that they could talk to me as muchas they pleased, but not touch me, I posted myself before the clock andwent on--"Here she goes, there she goes, " while some of my companionsbegan singing, some shouting, and some laughing. Well, after threeminutes I felt that the task was much more difficult than I hadexpected; but yet I went on, till I heard somebody saying, "As I amalive there is Miss Reynolds walking arm-in-arm with that lucky dog, Jenkins. " Now, you must know, landlord, that Miss Reynolds was mysweetheart, and Jenkins my greatest enemy, so I rushed to the window tosee if it was true, and at that moment a roar of laughter announced tome that I had lost the bet. '

"Now, Slick Bradley, as I have said, was very fond of betting. Moreover, he prided himself not a little upon his self-command, and as he had notany mistress to be jealous of, as soon as the gentleman had finished hisstory he came at once to the point. 

"'Well, ' said he, 'you lost the wager, but it don't signify. I thinkmyself, as you did, that it is the easiest thing in the world. I am sureI could do it half an hour, aye, and an hour too. '

"The gentlemen laughed, and said they knew better, and the now excitedhost proposed, if the liberty did not offend them, to make any bet thathe could do it for half an hour. At first they objected, under the pleathat they would not like to win his money, as they were certain he hadno chance; but upon his insisting, they consented to bet twentydollars; and Slick, putting himself face to face with his greatgrandfather's clock, began following the pendulum with his hand, repeating 'Here she goes, there she goes. '

"The two gentlemen discovered many wonderful things through the window:first a sailor had murdered a woman, next the stage had just capsized, and afterwards they were sure that the shop next door was on fire. Slickwinked and smiled complacently, without leaving his position. He was tooold a fox to be taken by such childish tricks. All at once, No. 2observed to No. 1, that the bet would not keep good, as the stakes hadnot been laid down, and both addressed the host at the same time, 'Notcunning enough for me, ' thought Slick; and poking his left hand into theright pocket of his waistcoat, he took out his pocket-book containingthe larger notes, and handed it to his customers. 

"'Now, ' exclaimed No. 2 to his companion, 'I am sure you will lose thewager; the fellow is imperturbable; nothing can move him. '

"'Wait a bit; I'll soon make him leave off, ' whispered the other, loudenough for Slick to hear him. 

"'Landlord, ' continued he, 'we trust to your honour to go on for half anhour; we will now have a talk with bonny Mrs. Slick. ' Saying this, theyquitted the room without closing the door. 

"Slick was not jealous; not he. Besides, the bar was full of people; itwas all a trick of the gents, who were behind the door watching him. After all, they were but novices, and he would win their money: he onlyregretted that the bet had not been heavier. 

"Twenty minutes had fairly passed, when Slick's own little boy enteredthe room. 'Pa, ' said he, 'there is a gemman what wants you below inthe bar. '

"'Another trick, ' thought the landlord; 'they shan't have me, though. --Here she goes, there she goes. ' And as the boy approached nearto him to repeat his errand, Slick gave him a kick. 'Get away. Here shegoes, there she goes. '

"The boy went away crying, and soon returned with Mrs. Slick, who criedin an angry tone, 'Now, don't make a fool of yourself; the gentleman yousold the town-lot to is below with the money. '

"'They shan't have me, though, ' said Slick to himself. And to all theinvectives and reproaches of Mrs. Slick he answered only with, 'Here shegoes? there she goes. ' At last the long needle marked the half hour, andthe landlord, having won the wager, turned round. 

"'Where are they?' said he to his wife. 

"'They?-who do you mean?' answered she. 

"'The two gentlemen, to be sure. '

"'Why, they have been gone these last twenty minutes, '

"Slick was thunderstruck. 'And the pocket-book?' he uttered, convulsively. 

"His wife looked at him with ineffable contempt. 

"'Why, you fool, you did not give them your money, did you?'

"Slick soon discovered that he was minus five hundred dollars, besidesthe price of the two dinners. Since that time he never bets but cashdown, and in the presence of witnesses. "

CHAPTER XXX. 

We continued our route for a few days after we had left the buffaloes, and now turned our horses' heads due east. Having left behind thelocalities frequented by the wild herds, we soon became exposed to thecravings of hunger. Now and then we would fall in with a prairie hen, aturkey, or a few rattlesnakes, but the deer and antelopes were so shy, that though we could see them sporting at a distance, we could nevercome within a mile of them. 

The ground was level, and the grass, although short, was excellentpasture, and richly enamelled with a variety of flowers. It was abeautiful country. We had fine weather during the day, but the nightswere exceedingly cold, and the dew heavy. Having lost our blankets, wepassed miserable nights. There was no fuel with which we could light ourfire; even the dung of animals was so scarce that we could not, duringseven days, afford to cook our scanty meals more than thrice, and thefour last grouse that we killed were eaten raw. 

About the middle of the eighth day a dark line was seen rising above thehorizon, far in the south-east, and extending as far as the eye couldreach. We knew it was a forest, and that when we gained it we werecertain of having plenty to eat; but it was very far off, at leasttwenty miles, and we were much exhausted. In the evening we were almostdriven to desperation by hunger, and we found that the approach to theforest would prove long and difficult, as it was skirted by a bed ofthick briars and prickly pears, which in breadth could not be less thanthree leagues, and that a passage must be forced through this almostimpassable barrier. The forest was undoubtedly the commencement of thatextended line of noble timber which encircles as a kind of naturalbarrier the States of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri. By reaching itwe should soon leave privation and fatigue behind us, whereas, on thecontrary, travelling to the north would have added to our sufferings, asthe same level and untenanted prairie extended to the very shores of theRed River. We consequently determined to force our way through thethorns and briars, even if we were obliged to cut a road with our knivesand tomahawks. We journeyed on till sunset, when we came to a deep drygully, on the very edge of the prickly pear barrier, and there weencamped for the night. To go farther without something to eat wasimpossible. The wild and haggard looks of my companions, their sunkeneyes, and sallow, fleshless faces, too plainly showed that somesubsistence must be speedily provided more nutritious than the unripeand strongly acidulated fruit presented to us. We drew lots, and theparson's horse was doomed; in a few minutes, his hide was off, and apart of the flesh distributed. 

The meat of a young mustang is excellent, but that of an old broken-downhorse is quite another affair. It was as tough as india-rubber, and themore a piece of it was masticated, the larger it became in the mouth. Aman never knows what he can eat, until driven to desperation by a week'sstarving, and the jolly parson, who had pledged himself never to eateven calf's meat, fiercely attacked the leathery remains of hisfaithful ambler. 

The next morning we directed our steps in a south course, and crossingthe gully, we entered in what appeared to be a passage, or a bear's paththrough the prickly pears; but after travelling some six or eight miles, we found our further progress cut off by a deep and precipitous chasm, lined with impassable briars. To return was our only alternative, and, at noon we again found ourselves near to the point from whence we hadstarted in the morning. 

A consultation was now held as to our future course. The lawyers andRoche proposed to go farther south, and make another attempt, butrecollecting, that on the morning of the preceding day we had passed alarge, though shallow, sandy stream, Gabriel and I thought it moreadvisable to return to it. This stream was evidently one of thetributaries of the Red River, and was running in an easterly direction, and we were persuaded that it must flow through the chasm, and enterinto the forest. 

Our proposal was agreed to, and without any more loss of time, each ofus taking with him a piece of horse-flesh, we retraced our steps. Theparson was on foot, and though I proposed many times that we should ridealternately, he always refused, preferring now to travel on foot, as hewas heartily tired of riding. Indeed, I never saw a better walker in mylife; the man had evidently mistaken his profession, for he would, havegained more money with his legs as an Indian runner, or a scout, than hehad any chance of obtaining in the one to which he belonged, and forwhich he was most unqualified. 

The next day, at noon, we encamped on the stream, and though with littlehope of success, I threw in my fishing-line, baiting my hook withhorse-flies and grasshoppers. My hooks had scarcely sunk in the water, when the bait was taken, and to my astonishment and delight, I soondragged out of the water two very large trout. I shouted to mycompanions, who were soon round me, and we resolved to pass the nightthere, as we considered that a good meal or two would enable us so muchbetter to continue our fatiguing journey. A little above us was alsodiscovered a large quantity of drift timber, left dry upon the sand, andin a short time every one of us were actively employed in preparing fora jovial meal. Gabriel, being the best marksman, started for game, and Icontinued fishing, to the great delight of the doctor and the parson, the first one taking under his care the cooking department, and the lastscouring the prairie to catch grasshoppers and horse-flies. In less thanthree hours I had twenty large trout, and a dozen cat-fish, and Gabrielreturned with two Canadian geese. Invigorated by an abundant meal and awarm fire, we soon regained our spirits, and that night we slept sound, and made up for our former watching and shivering. 

The next morning, after breakfast, we filled our saddle-bags with theremainder of our provisions, and following the stream for ten miles, with water to our horses' shoulders, as both sides of the river werecovered with briars. The parson had been obliged to ride behind one ofthe lawyers, who had a strong built, powerful horse; and great was ourmerriment when one of our steeds stumbled into a hole, and brought downhis master with him. For nine miles more we continued wading down theriver, till at last the prickly pears and briars receding from thebanks, allowed us once more to regain the dry ground: but we had nottravelled an hour upon the bank, when our road was interrupted by abroken range of hills. 

After incredible fatigue to both horses and men, for we were obliged todismount and carry our arms and saddle-bags, the ascent was finallyachieved. When we arrived at the summit, we found below us a peacefuland romantic valley, through the centre of which the river winded itsway, and was fed by innumerable brooks, which joined it in everydirection. Their immediate borders were fringed with small trees, bushesof the deepest green, while the banks of the river were skirted with anarrow belt of timber, of larger and more luxuriant growth. 

This valley was encircled by the range of hills we had ascended, so faras to the belt of the forest. We led our horses down the declivity, andin less than an hour found ourselves safe at the bottom. A brisk ride ofthree or four miles through the valley brought us to the edge of theforest, where we encamped near a small creek, and after another goodnight's rest, we pushed on through a mass of the noblest maple andpine-trees I had ever seen. Now game abounded; turkeys, bears, and deer, were seen almost every minute, and, as we advanced, the traces of mulesand jackasses were plainly visible. A little further on, the footprintsof men were also discovered, and from their appearance they were but afew hours' old. This sight made us forget our fatigues, and we hurriedon, with fond anticipations of finding a speedy termination to all oursufferings. 

Late in the afternoon, I killed a very fat buck, and although we wereanxious to follow the tracks, to ascertain what description oftravellers were before us, our horses were so tired, and our appetitesso sharpened, that upon reflection, we thought it desirable to remainwhere we were. I took this opportunity of making myself a pair ofmocassins, with the now useless saddle-bags of the parson. 

That evening we were in high glee, thinking that we had arrived at oneof the recent settlements of western emigration, for, as I haveobserved, we had seen tracks of jackasses, and these animals are neveremployed upon any distant journey. We fully expected the next morning tofind some log houses, within ten or fifteen miles, where we should beable to procure another horse for the parson, and some more ammunition, as we had scarcely half a pound of balls left between us. The lawyerenjoyed, by anticipation, the happiness of once more filling hishalf-gallon flask, and the doctor promised to give us dishes of his owninvention, as soon as he could meet with a frying-pan. In fine, soexuberant were our spirits, that it was late before we laid downto sleep. 

At about two o'clock in the morning, feeling a pressure upon my breast, I opened my eyes, and saw Gabriel with a finger upon his lips, enjoiningme to silence. He then informed me, in a whisper, that a numerous partyof thieves were in our neighbourhood, and that they had alreadydiscovered our horses. Taking with us only our knives and tomahawks, wecrawled silently till we came to a small opening in the forest, when wesaw some twenty fellows encamped, without any light or fire, but allarmed to the teeth. Three or four of them appeared animated in theirconversation, and, being favoured by the darkness, we approached nearer, till we were able to hear every word. 

"All sleeping sound, " said one of them, "but looking mighty wretched;not a cent among them, I am sure; if I can judge by their clothing, three of them are half-breeds. "

"And the horses?" said another voice. 

"Why, as to them, they have only seven, " replied the first voice, "andthey are broken down and tired, although fine animals. They would sellwell after a three weeks' grazing. "

"Take them away, then; are they tied?"

"Only two. "

"Break the halters then, and start them full speed, as if they werefrightened; it will not awaken their suspicion. "

"Why not settle the matter with them all at once? we would get theirsaddles. "

"Fool! suppose they are a vanguard of General Rusk's army, and one ofthem should escape? No; to-morrow at sunrise they will run upon thetracks of their horses, and leave their saddles and saddle-bags behind;three men shall remain here, to secure the plunder, and when the ducks(travellers) are fairly entangled in the forest, being on foot, we cando what we please. "

Others then joined the conversation, and Gabriel and I returned to ourfriends as silently as we left them. Half an hour afterwards we heardthe galloping of our horses, in a southerly direction, and Gabriel goingonce more to reconnoitre, perceived the band taking another course, towards the east, leaving, as they had proposed, three of their menbehind them. For a few minutes he heard these men canvassing as to thebest means of carrying the saddles, and having drank pretty freely froma large stone jug, they wrapped themselves in their blankets, andcrawled into a sort of a burrow, which had probably been dug out by thebrigands as a cachette for their provisions and the booty which theycould not conveniently carry. 

By the conversation of the three fellows, Gabriel conjectured that theband had gone to a place of rendezvous, on the bank of some river, andthat the party who had carried away our horses was to proceed only sixmiles south, to a stream where the track of the horses would be effacedand lost in case of our pursuit. As soon as they considered that we werefar enough from our encampment, they were to return by another road, andrejoin the three men left behind. Gabriel conjectured that only four menhad gone away with the horses. After a little consultation, we awoke ourcomrades, and explaining to them how matters stood, we determined upon acounterplot. 

It was at first proposed to shoot the three scoundrels left for oursaddle-bags, but reflecting that they were better acquainted than wewere with the locality, and that the report of one of their fire-armswould excite the suspicion of those who had charge of our horses; wedetermined upon another line of conduct. Before daylight, I took my bowand arrows and succeeded in reaching a secure position, a few yards fromthe burrow where the thieves were concealed. Gabriel did the same, in abush halfway between the burrow and our encampment. In the meantime, Roche, with the five Americans played their part admirably--walking nearto the burrow swearing that our horses had been frightened by somevarmin and escaped, and started upon the tracks, with as much noise asthey could make; to deceive the robbers the more, they left theirrifles behind. 

As soon as they were gone, the thieves issued from their places ofconcealment, and one arming himself with his rifle, "went, " as he said, "to see if the coast was clear, " He soon returned with two of our riflesand a blazing piece of wood, and the worthies began laughing together atthe success of their ruse. They lighted a fire, took another dram, andwhile one busied himself with preparing coffee, the other two started, with no other weapon but their knives, to fetch the saddle-bagsand saddles. 

They had not been gone five minutes when I perceived an enormousrattlesnake, ready to spring, at not half a yard from me. Since my snakeadventure among the Comanches, I had imbibed the greatest dread of thatanimal, and my alarm was so great, that I rushed out of my concealment, and, at a single bound; found myself ten yards from the fellow, who wasquietly blowing his fire and stirring his coffee. He arose immediately, made two steps backwards, and, quite unnerved by so sudden anapparition, he extended his hand towards a tree, against which therifles had been placed. 

That movement decided his fate, for not choosing to be shot at, nor toclose with a fellow so powerful that he could have easily crushed myhead between his thumb and finger, I drew at him; though rapid, my aimwas certain, and he fell dead, without uttering a single word, the arrowhaving penetrated his heart. I then crawled to Gabriel, to whom Iexplained the matter, and left him, to take my station near the tworemaining brigands. I found them busy searching the saddle-bags, andputting aside what they wished to secrete for their own use. 

After they had been thus employed for half an hour, one of them putthree saddles upon his head, and, thus loaded, returned to the burrow, desiring his companion to come along, and drink his coffee while it washot. Some five minutes afterwards, the noise of a heavy fall was heard(it was that of the thief who had just left, who was killed by thetomahawk of Gabriel), and the remaining robber, loading himself with thesaddle-bags, prepared to follow, swearing aloud against his companion, "who could not see before his eyes, and would break the pommels ofthe saddles. "

I had just drawn my bow, and was taking my aim, when Gabriel, passingme, made a signal to forbear, and rushing upon the thief, he kicked himin the back, just as he was balancing the saddles upon his head. Thethief fell down, and attempted to struggle, but the prodigious muscularstrength of Gabriel was too much for him; in a moment he laid halfstrangled and motionless. We bound him firmly hand and foot, and carriedhim to his burrow; we laid the two bodies by his side, stowed ourluggage in the burrow, and having destroyed all traces of the struggle, we prepared for the reception of the horse-thieves. 

Chance befriended us. While we were drinking the coffee thus left as aprize to the conquerors, we heard at a distance the trampling of horses. I seized one of the rifles, and Gabriel, after a moment of intenselistening, prepared his lasso, and glided behind the bushes. It was notlong before I perceived my own horse, who, having undoubtedly thrown hisrider, was galloping back to the camp. He was closely pursued by one ofthe rascals, mounted upon Gabriel's horse, and calling out to the threerobbers, "Stop him; Russy, Carlton--stop him!" At that moment, Gabriel'slasso fell upon his shoulders, and he fell off the horse as dead as ifstruck by lightning: his neck was broken. 

Having gained our horses, we saddled them, and took our rifles, notdoubting but that we would easily capture the remaining rascals, as thespeed of our two steeds was very superior to that of the others. Afterhalf an hour's hard riding, we fell in with Roche and our companions, who had been equally fortunate. It appeared that the fellow who had beenriding my horse had received a severe fall against a tree; and while oneof his companions started in chase of the animal, who had galloped off, the two others tied their horses to the trees, and went to hisassistance. When thus occupied, they were surprised, and bound hand andfoot by Roche and his party. 

We brought back our prisoners, and when we arrived at the burrow, wefound that, far from having lost anything by the robbers, we had, on thecontrary, obtained articles which we wanted. One of the lawyers found inthe stone jug enough of whisky to fill his flask; the parson got anotherrifle, to replace that which he had lost in the prairie, and the pouchesand powder-horns of the three first robbers were found well suppliedwith powder and balls. We also took possession of four green Mackinaublankets and a bag of ground coffee. 

We heartily thanked Providence, who had thrown the rascals in our way, and, after a good meal, we resumed our journey in a southern direction, each of the three lawyers leading, by a stout rope, one of the brigands, who were gagged and their hands firmly bound behind their backs. Duringthe whole day, the parson amused himself with preaching honesty andmorality to our prisoners, who, seeing now that they had not the leastchance to escape, walked briskly alongside of the horses. 

Towards evening we encamped in one of those plains, a mile incircumference, which are so frequently met with in the forests of thewest. We had performed a journey of twenty miles, and that, with theforced ride which our beasts had performed in the morning, had quitetired them out. Besides, having now four men on foot, we could notproceed so fast as before. We lighted a fire and fed our prisoners, putting two of them in the centre of our circles, while the two others, who were much braised by their falls of the morning, took their stationnear the fire, and we covered them with a blanket. Though we believed wehad nothing to fear from our prisoners, the two first being bound handand foot, and the two last being too weak to move, we neverthelessresolved that a watch should be kept, and as Gabriel and I had not sleptduring the night before, we appointed Roche to keep the first watch. 

When I awoke, I felt chilly, and to my astonishment I perceived that ourfire was down. I rose and looked immediately for the prisoners. The twothat we had put within our circle were still snoring heavily, but theothers, whose feet we had not bound on account of their painful bruises, were gone. I looked for the watch, and found that it was one of thelawyers, who, having drank too freely of the whisky, had fallen asleep. The thieves had left the blanket; I touched it; I perceived that it wasyet warm, so that I knew they could not have been gone a long while. 

The day was just breaking, and I awoke my companions, the lawyer wasmuch ashamed of himself, and offered the humblest apologies, and as aproof of his repentance, he poured on the ground the remainder of theliquor in his flask. As soon as Gabriel and Roche were up, we searchedin the grass for the foot-prints, which we were not long in finding, andwhich conducted us straight to the place where we had left our horsesloose and grazing. Then, for the first time, we perceived that thehorses which were shod, and which belonged to the three lawyers, had hadtheir shoes taken off, when in possession of the thieves the day before. 

By the foot-prints, multiplied in every direction, it was evident thatthe fugitives had attempted, though in vain, to seize upon some of ourhorses. Following the foot-marks a little farther, brought us to a smallsandy creek, where the track was lost; and on the other side, to ourgreat astonishment, we saw plainly (at least the appearance seemed toimply as much), that help had been at hand, and that the thieves hadescaped upon a tall American horse, ambling so lightly, that the fourshoes of the animal were comparatively but feebly marked on the ground. It seemed, also, that the left foreleg of the animal had been at sometime hurt, for the stopping was not regular, being sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, and now and then deviating two or three inchesfrom the line. 

I thought immediately that we had been discovered by another rovingparty of the brigands, and that they had gone to get a reinforcement tooverpower us, but upon a closer examination of the track, I came at onceto the solution of the mystery. I remarked that on the print left by theshoes, the places upon which the head of the nails should have presseddeeper, were, on the contrary, convex, the shoes were, therefore, notfixed by nails; and my suspicions being awakened, I soon spied upon asoft sandy spot, through which the track passed, that there wassomething trailing from the left hind foot, and I satisfied myself thatthis last slight mark was made by a piece of twine. A little afterwardsI remarked that on the softer parts of the ground, and two or threeinches behind and before the horse-shoe prints, were two circularimpressions, which I ascertained to be the heel and the toe-marks leftby a man's mocassins. 

The mystery was revealed. We had never searched our prisoners, one ofwhom must have had some of the shoes taken off the horses, which shoes, in these districts, are very valuable, as they cannot be replaced. Having tried in vain to catch some of our horses, they had washed outthe tracks in the creek, and had fixed the horse-shoes to their own feetwith pieces of twine; after which, putting themselves in a line at therequired distance one from the other, they had started off, both withthe same foot, imitating thus the pacing of a swift horse. 

The plan was cunning enough, and proved that the blackguards were nonovices in their profession, but they had not yet sufficiently acquiredthat peculiar tact natural to savage life. Had they been Indians, theywould have fixed small pieces of wood into the holes of the shoe toimitate the nails, and they would then have escaped. We returned to thecamp to arm ourselves, and the lawyers, wishing to recover ourconfidence, entreated that they might be permitted to chase andrecapture the fellows. At noon they returned quite exhausted, but theyhad been successful; the prisoners were now bound hand and foot, andalso tied by the waist to a young pine, which we felled for the purpose. It was useless to travel further on that day, as the lawyers' horseswere quite blown, and having now plenty of ammunition, some of us wentin pursuit of turkeys and pheasants, for a day or two's provisions. Allmy efforts to obtain information from the prisoners were vain. To myinquiries as to what direction lay the settlements, I receivedno answer. 

Towards evening, as we were taking our meal, we were visited by a bandof dogs, who, stopping ten yards from us, began to bark most furiously. Thinking at first they belonged to the band of robbers, who employedthem to follow travellers, we hastily seized our arms, and prepared fora fight; but Gabriel asserting the dogs were a particular breedbelonging to the Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, and other tribes ofhalf-civilized Indians, established upon the Red River, we beganshouting and firing our rifles, so as to guide towards us the Indians, who, we presumed, could not be far behind their dogs. We did not waitlong, for a few minutes afterwards a gallant band of eighty Cherokeesdashed through the cover, and reined up their horses before us. All wasexplained in a moment. 

A system of general depredation had been carried on, for a long whilewith impunity, upon the plantations above the great bend of the RedRiver. The people of Arkansas accused the Texans, who, in their turn, asserted that the parties were Indians. Governor Yell, of the Arkansas, complained to Ross, the highly talented chief of the Cherokees, whoanswered that the robbers were Arkansas men and Texans, and, as a proofof his assertion, he ordered a band to scour the country, until they hadfallen in with and captured the depredators. For the last two days, theyhad been following some tracks, till their dogs, having crossed thetrail left by the lawyers and their prisoners, guided the warriors toour encampments. 

We gave them all our prisoners, whom we were very glad to get rid of;and the Indian leader generously ordered one of his men to give up hishorse and saddle to the parson. To this, however, we would not consent, unless we paid for the animal; and each of us subscribing ten dollars, we presented the money to the man, who certainly did not lose bythe bargain. 

The next morning, the leader of the Cherokee party advised me to take asouthern direction, till we should arrive at the head waters of theriver Sabine, from whence, proceeding either northward or eastward, weshould, in a few days, reach the Red River, through the cane-brakes andthe clearings of the new settlers. Before parting, the Indians made uspresents of pipes and tobacco, of which we were much in want; and aftera hearty breakfast, we resumed our journey. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

The Cherokee Indians, a portion of whom we had just met on such friendlyterms, are probably destined to act no inconsiderable part in the futurehistory of Texas. Within the last few years they have given a severelesson to the governments of both Texas and the United States. Thereader is already aware that, through a mistaken policy, the governmentof Washington have removed from several southern states those tribes ofhalf-civilized Indians which indubitably were the most honourable andindustrious portion of the population of these very states. TheCherokees, the Creeks, and the Choctaws, among others, were establishedon the northern banks of the Red River, in the territory west ofthe Arkansas. 

The Cherokees, with a population of twenty-four thousand individuals;the Creeks, with twenty thousand, and the Choctaws, with fifteen, assoon as they reached their new country, applied themselves toagriculture, and as they possessed wealth, slaves, and cattle, theircotton plantations soon became the finest west from the Mississippi, andlatterly all the cotton grown by the Americans and the Texans, withinone hundred miles from the Indian settlements, has been brought up totheir mills and presses, to be cleaned and put into bales, before it wasshipped to New Orleans. Some years before the independence of Texas, asmall number of these Cherokees had settled as planters upon the Texanterritory, where, by their good conduct and superior management of theirfarms, they had acquired great wealth, and had conciliated the goodwillof the warlike tribes of Indians around them, such as the Cushates, theCaddoes, and even the Comanches. 

As soon as the Texans declared their independence, their rulers, thinking that no better population could exist in the northern districtsthan that of the Cherokees, invited a few hundred more to come from theRed River, and settle among them; and to engage them so to do, the firstsession of congress offered them a grant of two or three hundredthousand acres of land, to be selected by them in the district theywould most prefer. Thus enticed, hundreds of wealthy Cherokee plantersmigrated to Texas, with their wealth and cattle. Such was the state ofaffairs until the presidency of Lamar, a man utterly unequal to the taskof ruling over a new country. 

Under his government, the Texans, no longer restrained by the energy andhonourable feelings of an Austin or a Houston, followed the bent oftheir dispositions, and were guilty of acts of barbarism and crueltywhich, had they, at the time, been properly represented to the civilizedpeople of Europe, would have caused them to blot the name of Texas outof the list of nations. 

I have already related the massacre of the Comanches in San Antonio, andthe miserable pilfering expedition to Santa Fé, but these two acts hadbeen preceded by one still more disgraceful. 

The Cherokees, who had migrated to Texas, were flourishing in their newsettlement, when the bankruptcy of the merchants in the United Stateswas followed by that of the planters. The consequence was, that fromTennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas, hundreds of planterssmuggled their negroes and other property into Texas, and as they darednot locate themselves too far west, from their dread of the Mexicans andIndians, they remained in the east country, upon the rivers of whichonly, at that time, navigation had been attempted. 

These new comers, however, had to struggle with many difficulties; theyhad to clear the ground, to build bridges, to dry up mud-holes andswamps; and, moreover, they found that they could not enter intocompetition with the Cherokees, who having been established there for alonger time, and raising abundant crops of maize, cotton, and tobacco, were enabled to sell their provisions at one-half the price which thewhite planter wished to realize. The Europeans, of course, preferred tosettle near the Cherokees, from whom they could obtain their Indian cornat fifty cents a bushel, while the American planters demanded twodollars, and sometimes three. In a short time, the Cherokee districtbecame thickly settled, possessing good roads, and bridges and ferriesupon every muddy creek; in short, it was, in civilization, full acentury ahead of all the other eastern establishments of Texas. 

The Texan planters from the United States represented to the governmentthat they would have no chance of cultivating the country and buildingeastern cities, as long as the Cherokees were allowed to remain; and, moreover, they backed their petition with a clause showing that theminimum price the Cherokee land would be sold at to new comers from theUnited States was ten dollars an acre. This last argument prevailed, andin spite of the opposition of two or three honest men, the greedylegislators attacked the validity of the acts made during the formerpresidency; the Cherokees' grant was recalled, and notice given to themthat they should forthwith give up their plantations and retirefrom Texas. 

To this order the Cherokees did not deign to give an answer, and, awareof the character of the Texans, they never attempted to appeal forjustice; but, on the contrary, prepared themselves to defend theirproperty from any invasion. Seeing them so determined, the Texans'ardour cooled a little, and they offered the Indians twelve cents anacre for their land, which proposition was not attended to; and probablythe Cherokees, from the fear which they inspired, would never have beenmolested had it not been for an act of the greatest cowardice on thepart of the Texan government, and a most guilty indifference on that ofthe United States. 

In Alabama, Tennessee, and Arkansas, labour had fallen so low, thatthousands of individuals had abandoned their farms to becomehorse-thieves and negro smugglers. Many among them had gone to sell theproduce of their depredations to the Cherokees, who not only did notcondescend to deal with them, but punished them with rigour, subjectingthem to their own code of laws. These ruffians nurtured plans ofvengeance which they dared not themselves execute, but, knowing thegreedy spirit of their countrymen, they spread the most incrediblestories of Cherokee wealth and comforts. The plan succeeded well, for assoon as the altercation between the Texans and Cherokee Indians was madeknown to the Western States, several bands were immediately formed, who, in the expectation of a rich booty, entered Texas, and offered theCongress to drive away the Cherokees. As soon as this was known, representations were made by honourable men to the government of theUnited States, but no notice was taken, and the Western States, probablyto get rid at once of the scum of their population, gave everyencouragement to the expedition. 

For a few months the Cherokees invariably discomfited their invaders, destroying their bands as soon as they were newly formed, and treatingthem as common robbers; but, being farmers, they could not fight andcultivate their ground at the same time, and they now thought ofabandoning so unhospitable a land; the more so as, discovering that theCherokees were more than a match for them in the field, a system ofincendiarism and plunder was resorted to, which proved more disastrousto the Cherokees than the previous open warfare. 

The Cherokees wisely reflected, that as long as the inhabitants of theWestern States would entertain the hope of plunder and booty, they wouldconstantly pour upon them their worthless population. They, therefore, destroyed their farms and their bridges; and collecting their horses andcattle, they retreated upon the Red River among their own people. TheCherokee campaign is a topic of much boasting among the Texans, as theysay they expelled the Indians from their country; but a fact, which theyare not anxious to publish, is, that for every Cherokee killed, twentyTexans bit the dust. 

Since that period the Cherokees, Choctaws, and Creeks have had severalwar councils, and I doubt not that they are only waiting for anopportunity to retaliate, and will eventually sweep off the entireeastern population of Texas. 

The fact is, that a democratic form of government is powerless when thenation is so utterly depraved. Austin, the father of Texan colonization, quitted the country in disgust. Houston, whose military talents andwell-known courage obtained for him the presidency, has declared hisintention to do the same, and to retire to the United States, to followup his original profession of a lawyer. Such is the demoralized state ofTexas at the present moment; what it may hereafter be is in the wombof Time. 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

We had now entered the white settlements of the Sabine river, and found, to our astonishment, that, far from arriving at civilization, we werereceding from it; the farms of the Wakoes and well-cultivated fields ofthe Pawnee-Picts, their numerous cattle and comfortable dwellings, werea strong contrast to the miserable twelve-feet-square mud-and-log cabinswe passed by. Every farmer we met was a perfect picture of wretchednessand misery; their women dirty and covered with rags, which couldscarcely conceal their nudity; the cattle lean and starving; and thehorses so weak that they could scarcely stand upon their legs. 

Where was the boasted superiority of the Texans over the Indian race? orwere these individuals around us of that class of beings who, not daringto reside within the jurisdiction of the law, were obliged to lead aborderer's life, exposed to all the horrors of Indian warfare andfamine? Upon inquiry, we discovered that these frontier men were all, more or less, eminent members of the Texan Republic, one being ageneral, another a colonel; some speakers of the House ofRepresentatives; and many of them members of Congress, judges, andmagistrates. Notwithstanding their high official appointments, we didnot think it prudent to stop among them, but pushed on briskly, with ourrifles across the pommels of our saddles; indeed, from the covetous eyeswhich these magistrates and big men occasionally cast upon our horsesand saddle-bags, we expected at every moment that we should be attacked. 

A smart ride of two hours brought us to a second settlement, whichcontrasted most singularly with the first. Here, all the houses wereneat and spacious, with fine barns and stables; the fields were wellenclosed, and covered with a green carpet of clover, upon which weregrazing cattle and horses of a superior breed. 

This sight of comfort and plenty restored our confidence incivilization, which confidence we had totally lost at the firstsettlement we had fallen in with; and perceiving, among others, adwelling surrounded with gardens arranged with some taste, we stoppedour horses and asked for accommodation for ourselves and beasts. Threeor four smart young boys rushed out, to take care of our horses, and avenerable old man invited us to honour his hearth. He was a Mormon, andinformed us that hundreds of farmers belonging to that sect hadestablished themselves in East Texas, at a short distance from eachother, and that, if we were going to travel through the Arkansas, andchose to do so, we could stop every other day at a Mormon farm, until wearrived at the southern borders of the state of Missouri. 

We resolved to avail ourselves of this information, anticipating thatevery Mormon dwelling would be as clean and comfortable as the one wewere in; but we afterwards found out our mistake, for, during thefifteen days' journey which we travelled between the Sabine and a placecalled Boston, we stopped at six different Mormon farms, either fornight or for noon meals, but, unlike the first, they were anything butcomfortable or prosperous. One circumstance, however, attractedparticularly our attention; it was, that, rich or poor, the Mormonplanters had superior cattle and horses, and that they had invariablystored up in their granaries or barns the last year's crop of everythingthat would keep. Afterwards I learned that these farmers were onlystipendiary agents of the elders of the Mormons, who, in the case of awestward invasion being decided upon by Joe Smith and his people, wouldimmediately furnish their army with fresh horses and all the provisionsnecessary for a campaign. 

One morning we met with a Texan constable going to arrest a murderer. Heasked us what o'clock it was, as he had not a _watch_, and told us thata few minutes' ride would bring us to Boston, a new Texan city. Wesearched in vain for any vestiges which could announce our being in thevicinity of even a village; at last, however, emerging from a swamp, through which we had been forcing our way for more than an hour, wedescried between the trees a long building, made of the rough logs ofthe black pine, and as we advanced, we perceived that the space betweenthe logs (about six inches) had not been filled up, probably to obtain amore free circulation of air. This building, a naked negro informed us, was Ambassadors' Hall, the great and only hotel of Texan Boston. 

Two hundred yards farther we perceived a multitude of individualsswarming around another erection of the same description, but without aroof, and I spurred on my horse, believing we should be in time towitness some cockfighting or a boxing-match; but my Americanfellow-travellers, better acquainted with the manners and customs of thenatives, declared it was the "Court-House. " As we had nothing to dothere, we turned our horses' heads towards the tavern, and the barkingof a pack of hungry dogs soon called around us a host of the Bostonians. 

It is strange that the name of city should be given to an unfinishedlog-house, but such is the case in Texas; every individual possessingthree hundred acres of land calls his lot a city, and his house becomesat once the tavern, the post-office, the court-house, the gaol, thebank, the land-office, and, in fact, everything. I knew a man near theRed River, who had obtained from government an appointment ofpostmaster, and during the five years of his holding the office, he hadnot had a single letter in his hand. 

This city mania is a very extraordinary disease in the United States, and is the cause of much disappointment to the traveller. In the Iowaterritory, I once asked a farmer my way to Dubuque. 

"A stranger, I reckon, " he answered; "but no matter, the way is plainenough. Now, mind what I say. After you have forded the river, you willstrike the military road till you arrive in the prairie; then you ridetwenty miles east, till you arrive at Caledonia city; there they willtell you all about it. "

I crossed the river, and, after half an hour's fruitless endeavours, Icould not find the military road, so I forded back, and returned tomy host. 

"Law!" he answered; "why, the trees are blazed on each side of theroad. "

Now, if he had told me that at first, I could not have mistaken, for Ihad seen the blazing of a bridle-path; but as he had announced amilitary road, I expected, what it imported, a military road. I resumedmy journey and entered the prairie. The rays of the sun were verypowerful, and, wishing to water my horse, I hailed with delight amiserable hut, sixteen feet square, which I saw at about half a milefrom the trail. In a few minutes I was before the door, and tied myhorse to a post, upon which was a square board bearing some kind ofhieroglyphics on both sides. Upon a closer inspection, I saw upon oneside "Ice, " and upon the other, "POSTOFF. "

"A Russian, a Swede, or a Norwegian, " thought I, knowing that Iowacontained eight or ten thousand emigrants of these countries. "Ice--well, that is a luxury rarely to be found by a traveller in theprairie, but it must be pretty dear; no matter, have some I must. "

I entered the hut, and saw a dirty woman half-naked, and slumbering upona stool, by the corner of the chimney. 

"Any milk?" I inquired, rousing her up. 

She looked at me and shook her head; evidently she did not understandme; however, she brought me a stone jug full of whisky, a horn tumbler, and a pitcher of water. 

"Can you give my horse a pail of water?" I asked again. 

The woman bent down her body, and dragging from under the bed a girl offourteen, quite naked, and with a skin as tough as that of an alligator, ordered her to the well with a large bucket. Having thus provided for mybeast, I sat upon a stump that served for a chair, and once moreaddressed my hostess. 

"Now, my good woman, let us have the ice. "

"The what?" she answered. 

As I could not make her understand what I wanted, I was obliged to drinkthe whisky with water almost tepid, and my horse being refreshed, I paidmy fare and started. 

I rode for three hours more, and was confident of having performed twicethe distance named by mine host of the morning, and yet the prairiestill extended as far as the eye could reach, and I could not perceivethe city of Caledonia. Happily, I discovered a man at a distance ridingtowards me: we soon met. 

"How far, " said I, "to Caledonia city?"

"Eighteen miles, " answered the traveller. 

"Is there no farm on the way?" I rejoined, "for my horse is tired. "

The horseman stared at me in amazement "Why, Sir, " he answered, "youturn your back to it; you have passed it eighteen miles behind. "

"Impossible!" I exclaimed: "I never left the trail, except to water myhorse at a little hut. "

"Well, " he answered, "that was at General Hiram Washington Tippet's; hekeeps the post-office--why, Sir, that was Caledonia city. "

I thanked him, unsaddled my horse, and bivouacked where I was, laughingheartily at my mistake in having asked for _ice_, when the two sides ofthe board made _post-office. _

But I must return to Boston and its court-house. As it was the time ofthe assizes, some fifty or sixty individuals had come from differentquarters, either to witness the proceedings, or to swap their horses, their saddles, their bowie-knife, or anything; for it is while law isexercising its functions that a Texan is most anxious to swap, to cheat, to gamble, and to pick pockets and quarrel under its nose, just to showhis independence of all law. 

The dinner-bell rang a short time after our arrival, and for the firsttime in my life I found myself at an American _table-d'hôte_. I wasastonished, as an Indian well might be. Before my companions and selfhad had time to sit down and make choice of any particular dish, all wasdisappearing like a dream. A general opposite to me took hold of afowl, and in the twinkling of an eye, severed the wings and legs. Ithought it was polite of him to carve for others as well as himself, andwas waiting for him to pass over the dish after he had helped himself, when, to my surprise, he retained all he had cut off, and pushed thecarcase of the bird away from him. Before I had recovered from myastonishment, his plate was empty. Another seized a plate ofcranberries, a fruit I was partial to, and I waited for him to helphimself first and then pass the dish over to me; but he proved to bemore greedy than the general, for, with an enormous horn spoon, heswallowed the whole. 

The table was now deserted by all except by me and my companions, who, with doleful faces, endeavoured to appease our hunger with some straypotatoes. We called the landlord, and asked him for something to eat; itwas with much difficulty that we could get half a dozen of eggs and asmany slices of salt pork. This lesson was not thrown away upon me; andafterwards, when travelling in the States, I always helped myself beforeI was seated, caring nothing for my neighbours. Politeness at meals maybe and is practised in Europe, or among the Indians, but among theAmericans it would be attended with starvation. 

After dinner, to kill time, we went to the court-house, and werefortunate enough to find room in a position where we could see and hearall that was going on. 

The judge was seated upon a chair, the frame of which he was whittlingwith such earnestness that he appeared to have quite forgotten where hewas. On each side of him were half a dozen of jurymen, squatted uponsquare blocks, which they were also whittling, judge and jurymen havingeach a cigar in the mouth, and a flask of liquor, with which now andthen they regaled themselves. The attorney, on his legs, addressing thejury, was also smoking, as well as the plaintiff, the defendant, and allthe audience. The last were seated, horseback-fashion, upon parallel lowbenches, for their accommodation, twenty feet long, all turned towardsthe judge, and looking over the shoulders of the one in front of him, and busily employed in carving at the bench between his thigh and thatof his neighbour. It was a very singular _coup d'oeil, _ and a new-comerfrom Europe would have supposed the assembly to have been a"whittling club. "

[Illustration: "The attorney, on his legs, addressing the jury, was alsosmoking. "]

Having surveyed the company, I then paid attention to the case on trial, and, as I was just behind the defendant, I soon learned how justice wasexecuted in Texas, or, at least, in Texan Boston. It appeared that thedefendant was the postmaster and general merchant of the country. Two orthree weeks back, the son of the plaintiff had entered his shop topurchase his provision of coffee, sugar, and flour, and had given him tochange a good one-hundred-dollar bill of one of the New Orleans banks. The merchant had returned to him a fifty-dollar note and another of ten. Two hours afterwards, the young man, having swapped his horse, carriole, and twenty dollars, for a waggon and two couple of oxen, presented thefifty-dollar note, which was refused as being counterfeited. The son ofthe plaintiff returned to the merchant, and requested him to give him agood note. The merchant, however, would not: "Why did you take it?" saidhe; "I be d----d if I give you any other money for it. " Upon which theyoung man declared it was shameful swindling, and the merchant, throwingat him an iron weight of nine pounds, killed him on the spot. 

The attorney, who was now pleading for the defendant, was trying toimpress upon the jury that the murder had been merely accidental, inasmuch as the merchant had thrown the missile only in sport, just toscare away the fellow who was insulting him in his own house; but, strange to say, no mention was made at all of the note, though everybodyknew perfectly well that the merchant had given it, and that it was apart of his trade to pass forged notes among his inexperiencedcustomers. As soon as the lawyer had ended the defence, the merchant wascalled upon by the judge to give his own version of what occurred. He rose:

"Why, " said he, "it was just so as has been said. I wished not to hurtthe fellow; but he called me a swindler. Well, I knew the man was in apassion, and I did not care. I only said, 'How dare you, Sir?' and Ithrew the piece of iron just to frighten him. Well, to be sure, theblackguard fell down like a bull, and I thought it was a humbug. Ilaughed and said, 'None of your gammon;' but he was dead. I think thething must have struck something on the way, and so swerved against hishead. I wished not to kill the fellow--I be damned if I did. "

The jurymen looked at each other with a significant and approving air, which could be translated as accidental death. Gabriel touched themerchant upon the shoulder, "You should have said to him, that youmerely wished to kill a musquito upon the wall. "

"Capital idea, " cried the defendant "I be d----d if it was not amusquito eating my molasses that I wished to kill, after all. "

At that moment one of the jurymen approached the merchant, and addressedhim in a low voice; I could not hear what passed, but I heard theparting words of the juryman, which were, "All's right!" To thisdispenser of justice succeeded another; indeed, all the jurymen followedin succession, to have a little private conversation with the prisoner. At last the judge condescended to cease his whittling, and come to makehis own bargain, which he did openly:

"Any good saddles, Fielding? mine looks rather shabby. "

"Yes, by Jingo, a fine one, bound with blue cloth, and silvernails--Philadelphia-made--prime cost sixty dollars. "

"That will do, " answered the judge, walking back to his seat. 

Ten minutes afterwards the verdict of manslaughter was returned againstthe defendant, who was considered, in a speech from the judge, sufficiently punished by the affliction which such an accident mustproduce to a generous mind. The court broke up, and Fielding, probablyto show how deep was his remorse, gave three cheers, to which the wholecourt answered with a hurrah, and the merchant was called upon to treatthe whole company: of course he complied, and they all left thecourt-house. Gabriel and I remained behind. He had often tried topersuade me to abandon my ideas of going to the States and Europe, pointing out to me that I should be made a dupe and become a prey topretended well-wishers. He had narrated to me many incidents of his ownlife, of his folly and credulity, which had thrown him from an eminentstation in civilized society, and had been the cause of our meeting inthe Western World. He forewarned me that I should be disappointed in myexpectations, and reap nothing but vexation and disappointment. He knewthe world too well. I knew nothing of it, and I thought that he wasmoved by bitterness of spirit to rail so loud against it. He would fainpersuade me to return with him to my own tribe of Shoshones, and not goin search of what I never should obtain. He was right, but I wasobstinate. He did not let pass this opportunity of giving me a lesson. 

"You have now witnessed, " said he, "a sample of justice in this_soi-disant_ civilized country. Two hundred dollars perhaps, havecleared a murderer; ten millions would not have done it among theShoshones. "

"But Texas is not Europe, " replied I. 

"No, " said Gabriel, "it is not; but in Europe, as in Texas, with moneyyou can do anything, without money nothing. "

At that moment we perceived a man wrapt in his blanket, and leaningagainst a tree. 

He surveyed the group receding to the tavern, and the deepest feelingsof hatred and revenge were working evidently within him. He saw us not, so intense were his thoughts. It was the plaintiff whose son had beenmurdered. Gabriel resumed. 

"Now, mark that man; he was the plaintiff, the father of the youngfellow so shamefully plundered and murdered; he is evidently a poorfarmer, or the assassin would have been hung. He is now brooding overrevenge; the law gave not justice, he will take it into his own hands, and he will probably have it to-night, or to-morrow. Injustice causescrime, and ninety-nine out of a hundred are forced into it by theimpotency of the law; they suffer once, and afterwards act towardsothers as they have been acted by. That man may have been till this daya good, industrious, and hospitable farmer; to-night he will be amurderer, in a week he will have joined the free bands, and will thenrevenge himself upon society at large, for the injustice he has receivedfrom a small portion of the community. "

Till then I had never given credit to my friend for any great share ofpenetration, but he prophesied truly. Late in the night the fatherannounced his intention of returning to his farm, and entered thegeneral sleeping-room of the hotel to light a cigar. A glance informedhim of all that he wished to know. Forty individuals were rangedsleeping in their blankets, alongside of the walls, which, as I haveobserved, were formed of pine logs, with a space of four or six inchesbetween each: parallel with the wall, next to the yard, lay themurderer Fielding. 

The father left the room, to saddle his horse. An hour afterwards thereport of a rifle was heard, succeeded by screams and cries of "Murder!help! murder!" Every one in the sleeping-room was up in a moment, lightswere procured, and the judge was seen upon his knees with his hands uponhis hinder quarters; his neighbour Fielding was dead, and the same ballwhich had passed through his back and chest had blazed the bark off thenether parts of this pillar of Texan justice. 

When the first surprise was over, pursuit of the assassin was resolvedupon, and then it was discovered that, in his revenge, the father hadnot lost sight of prudence. All the horses were loose; the stable andthe court-house, as well as the bar and spirit-store of the tavern, werein flames. While the Bostonians endeavoured to steal what they could, and the landlord was beating his negroes, the only parties upon whom hecould vent his fury, our companions succeeded in recovering theirhorses, and at break of day, without any loss but the gold watch of thedoctor, which had probably been stolen from him during his sleep, westarted for the last day's journey which we had to make in Texas. 

As we rode away, nothing remained of Texan Boston except three patchesof white ashes, and a few half-burnt logs, nor do I know if thatimportant city has ever been rebuilt. 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

We were now about twenty miles from the Red River, and yet this shortdistance proved to be the most difficult travelling we had experiencedfor a long while. We had to cross swamps, lagoons, and canebrakes, inwhich our horses were bogged continually; so that at noon, and after aride of six hours, we had only gained twelve miles. We halted upon a dryknoll, and there, for the first time since the morning, we entered intoconversation; for, till then, we had been too busy scrutinizing theground before our horses' feet. I had a great deal to say both toGabriel and to Roche; we were to part the next morning, --they to returnto the Comanches and the Shoshones, I to go on to the Mormons, andperhaps to Europe. 

I could not laugh at the doctor's _bon mots_, for my heart was full;till then, I had never felt how long intercourse, and sharing the sameprivations and dangers, will attach men to each other; and theperspective of a long separation rendered me gloomier and gloomier, asthe time we still had to pass together became shorter. 

Our five American companions had altered their first intention oftravelling with me through the Arkansas. They had heard on the way, thatsome new thriving cities had lately sprung up on the American side ofthe Red River; the doctor was already speculating upon the fevers andagues of the ensuing summer; the parson was continually dreaming of aneat little church and a buxom wife, and the three lawyers, of rich feesfrom the wealthy cotton planters. The next day, therefore, I was to bealone, among a people less hospitable than the Indians, and among whom Ihad to perform a journey of a thousand miles on horseback, constantly onthe outskirts of civilization, and consequently exposed to all thedangers of border travelling. 

When we resumed our march through the swampy cane-brake, Gabriel, Roche, and I kept a little behind our companions. 

"Think twice, whilst it is yet time, " said Gabriel to me, "and believeme, it is better to rule over your devoted and attached tribe ofShoshones than to indulge in dreams of establishing a western empire;and, even if you will absolutely make the attempt, why should we seekthe help of white men? what can we expect from them and their assistancebut exorbitant claims and undue interference? With a few months' regularorganization, the Comanches, Apaches, and Shoshones can be made equal toany soldiers of the civilized world, and among them you will have notraitors. "

I felt the truth of what he said, and for a quarter of an hour Iremained silent. "Gabriel, " replied I at last, "I have now gone too farto recede, and the plans which I have devised are not for my ownadvantage, but for the general welfare of the Shoshones and of all thefriendly tribes. I hope to live to see them a great nation, and, at allevents, it is worth a trial. "

My friend shook his head mournfully; he was not convinced, but he knewthe bent of my temper, and was well aware that all he could say wouldnow be useless. 

The natural buoyancy of our spirits would not, however, allow us to begrave long; and when the loud shouts of the doctor announced that he hadcaught a sight of the river, we spurred our horses, and soon rejoinedour company. We had by this time issued from the swampy canebrakes, andwere entering a lane between two rich cotton-fields, and at the end ofwhich flowed the Red River; not the beautiful, clear, and transparentstream running upon a rocky and sandy bed, as in the country inhabitedby the Comanches and Pawnee Picts, and there termed the Colorado of theWest; but a red and muddy, yet rapid stream. We agreed that we shouldnot ferry the river that evening, but seek a farm, and have a feastbefore parting company. We learned from a negro, that we were in a placecalled Lost Prairie, and that ten minutes' ride down the bank of thestream would carry us to Captain Finn's plantation. We received thisnews with wild glee, for Finn was a celebrated character, one whose lifewas so full of strange adventures in the wilderness, that it would fillvolumes with hair-breadth encounters and events of thrilling interest. 

Captain Finn received us with a cordial welcome, for unboundedhospitality is the invariable characteristic of the older cottonplanters. A great traveller himself, he knew the necessities of atravelling life, and, before conducting us to the mansion, he guided usto the stables, where eight intelligent slaves, taking our horses, rubbed them down before our eyes, and gave them a plentiful supply offodder and a bed of fresh straw. 

"That will do till they are cool, " said our kind host; "to-night theywill have their grain and water; let us now go to the old woman and seewhat she can give us for supper. "

A circumstance worthy of remark is, that, in the western states, ahusband always calls his wife the old woman, and she calls him the oldman, no matter how young the couple may be. I have often heard men oftwenty-five sending their slaves upon some errand "to the old woman, "who was not probably more than eighteen years old. A boy of ten yearscalls his parents in the same way. "How far to Little Rock?" I onceasked of a little urchin; "I don't know, " answered he, "but the old oneswill tell you. " A few yards farther I met the "old ones;" they wereboth young people, not much more than twenty. 

In Mrs. Finn we found a stout and plump farmer's wife, but she was alady in her manners. Born in the wilderness, the daughter of one boldpioneer and married to another, she had never seen anything but woods, canebrakes, cotton, and negroes, and yet, in her kindness andhospitality, she displayed a refinement of feeling and good breeding. She was daughter of the celebrated Daniel Boone, a name which hasacquired a reputation even in Europe. She immediately ransacked herpantry, her hen-roost, and garden, and when we returned from thecotton-mill, to which our host, in his farmer's pride, had conducted us, we found, upon an immense table, a meal which would have satisfied fiftyof those voracious Bostonians whom we had met with the day before at the_table d'hôte_. 

Well do I recollect her, as she stood before us on that gloriousevening, her features beaming with pleasure, as she witnessed therapidity with which we emptied our plates. How happy she would look whenwe praised her chickens, her honey, and her coffee; and then she wouldcarve and cut, fill again our cups, and press upon us all the delicaciesof the Far West borders, delicacies unknown in the old countries; suchas fried beaver-tail, smoked tongue of the buffalo-calf, and (the_gourmand's_ dish _par excellence_) the Louisiana gombo. Her coffee, too, was superb, as she was one of the few upon the continent of Americawho knew how to prepare it. 

After our supper, the captain conducted us under the piazza attached tothe building, where we found eight hammocks suspended, as white as snow. There our host disinterred from a large bucket of ice several bottles ofMadeira, which we sipped with great delight: the more so as, for ourcane pipes and cheap Cavendish, Finn substituted a box of genuineHavanna cazadores. After our fatigues and starvation, it was more thancomfortable--it was delightful. The doctor vowed he would become aplanter, the parson asked if there were any widows in the neighbourhood, and the lawyers inquired if the planters of the vicinity were any waylitigious. By the bye, I have observed that Captain Finn was acelebrated character. As we warmed with the _Madère frappé à glace_, wepressed him to relate some of his wild adventures, with which request hereadily complied; for he loved to rehearse his former exploits, and itwas not always that he could narrate them to so numerous an assembly. Asthe style he employed could only be understood by individuals who haverambled upon the borders of the Far West, I will relate the little Iremember in my own way, though I am conscious that the narrative mustlose much when told by any one but Finn himself. 

When quite an infant, he had been taken by the Indians and carried intothe fastnesses of the West Virginian forests: there he had been broughtup till he was sixteen years old, when, during an Indian war, he wasrecaptured by a party of white men. Who were his parents, he could neverdiscover, and a kind Quaker took him into his house, gave him his name, and treated him as his own child, sending him first to school, and thento the Philadelphia college. The young man, however, was little fit forthe restrictions of a university; he would often escape and wander fordays in the forests, until hunger would bring him home again. At last, he returned to his adopted father, who was now satisfied that histhoughts were in the wilderness, and that, in the bustle of a large cityand restraint of civilized life, he would not live, but linger on tillhe drooped and died. 

This discovery was a sad blow to the kind old man, who had fondlyanticipated that the youngster would be a kind and grateful companion tohim, when age should make him feel the want of friendship; but he was ajust man, and reflecting that perhaps a short year of rambling wouldcure him, he was the first to propose it. Young Finn was grateful;beholding the tears of his venerable protector, he would have remainedand attended him till the hour of his death; but the Quaker would notpermit him, he gave him his best horse, and furnished him with arms andmoney. At that time the fame of Daniel Boone had filled the EasternStates, and young Finn had read with avidity the adventures of that boldpioneer. Hearing that he was now on the western borders of Kentucky, making preparations for emigration farther west, into the very heart ofthe Indian country, he resolved to join him and share the dangers of hisexpedition. 

The life of Boone is too well known for me to describe this expedition. Suffice it to say, that, once in Missouri, Finn conceived and executedthe idea of making alone a trip across the Rocky Mountains, to the veryborders of the Pacific Ocean. Strange to say, he scarcely remembersanything of that first trip, which lasted eleven months. 

The animals had not yet been scared out of the wilderness; water wasfound twice every day; the vine grew luxuriantly in the forests, and thecaravans of the white men had not yet destroyed the patches of plums andnuts which grew wild in the prairies. 

Finn says he listened to the songs of the birds, and watched the sportof the deer, the buffaloes, and wild horses, in a sort of dreamingexistence, fancying that he heard voices in the streams, in the foliageof the trees, in the caverns of the mountains; his wild imaginationsometimes conjuring up strange and beautiful spirits of another world, who were his guardians, and who lulled him asleep every evening withmusic and perfumes. 

I have related this pretty nearly in the very terms of our host, andmany of his listeners have remarked, at different times, that when hewas dwelling upon that particular portion of his life, he became gloomyand abstracted, as if still under the influence of former indelibleimpressions. Undoubtedly Captain Finn is of a strong poeticaltemperament, and any one on hearing him narrate would say the same; butit is supposed that, when the captain performed this first solitaryexcursion, his brain was affected by an excited and highly poeticalimagination. After eleven months of solitude, he reached the PacificOcean, and awoke from his long illusion in the middle of a people whoselanguage he could not understand; yet they were men of his colour, kindand hospitable; they gave him jewels and gold, and sent him back east ofthe mountains, under the protection of some simple and mild-heartedsavages. The spot where Finn had arrived was at one of the missions, andthose who released him and sent him back were the good monks of one ofthe settlements in Upper California. 

When Finn returned to the Mississippi, his narrative was so much blendedwith strange and marvellous stories that it was not credited; but whenhe showed and produced his stock of gold dust in bladders, and someprecious stones, fifty different proposals were made to him to guide aband of greedy adventurers to the new western Eldorado. Finn, likeBoone, could not bear the society of his own countrymen; he dreaded tohear the noise of their axes felling the beautiful trees; he fearedstill more to introduce them, like so many hungry wolves, among the goodpeople who knew so well the sacred rites of hospitality. 

After a short residence with the old backwoodsman, Finn returned toVirginia, just in time to close the eyes of the kind old Quaker. Hefound that his old friend had expected his return, for he had sold allhis property, and deposited the amount in the hands of a safe banker, tobe kept for Finn's benefit. The young wanderer was amazed; he had nowten thousand dollars, but what could he do with so much money? Hethought of a home, of love and happiness, of the daughter of old Boone, and he started off to present her with his newly acquired wealth. Finnentered Boone's cottage, with his bags and pocket-books in each hand, and casting his burden into a corner, he entered at once uponthe matter. 

"Why, I say, old man, I am sure I love the gal. "

"She Is a comely and kind girl, " said the father. 

"I wish she could love me. "

"She does. "

"Does she? well, I tell you what, Boone, give her to me, I'll try tomake her happy. "

"I will, but not yet, " said the venerable patriarch. "Why, you are bothof you mere children; she can't get a house, and how could yousupport her?"

Finn jumped up with pride and glee. "Look, " said he, while he scatteredon the floor his bank-notes, his gold, and silver, "that will supporther bravely; tell me, old father, that will keep her snug, won't it?"

The pioneer nodded his head. "Finn, " answered he, "you are a good youngman, and I like you; you think like me; you love Polly, and Polly lovesyou; mind, you shall have her when you are both old enough; butremember, my son, neither your pieces of money nor your rags of paperwill ever keep a daughter of mine. No, no! you shall have Polly, but youmust first know how to use the rifle and the axe. "

A short time after this interview, Finn started upon another trip tounknown lands, leaving old Boone to make the most he could of his money. Now, the old pioneer, although a bold hunter, and an intrepid warrior, was a mere child in matters of interest, and in less than two months hehad lost the whole deposit, the only "gentleman" he ever trusted havingsuddenly disappeared with the funds. In the meanwhile Finn had gone downthe Mississippi, to the thirty-second degree of north latitude, when, entering the western swamps, where no white man had ever penetrated, heforced his way to the Red River, which he reached a little above the oldFrench establishment of Nachitoches. Beyond this point, inlandnavigation had never been attempted, and Finn, procuring a lightdug-out, started alone, with his arms and his blanket, upon his voyageof discovery. During four months he struggled daily against the rapidstream, till he at last reached, in spite of rafts and dangerous eddies, its source at the Rocky Mountains. On his return, a singular andterrible adventure befel him: he was dragging his canoe over a raft, exactly opposite to where now stands his plantation, when, happening tohurt his foot, he lost hold of his canoe. It was on the very edge of theraft, near a ruffled eddy: the frail bark was swamped in a moment, andwith it Finn lost his rifle, all his arms, and his blanket[27]. 

[Footnote 27: Rafts are an assemblage of forest trees, which have beenwashed down to the river, from the undermining of its banks. At certainpoints they become interlaced and stationary, stretching right acrossthe river, prevailing the passage of even a canoe. ]

Now that cotton grown on the Red River has been acknowledged to be thebest in the States, speculators have settled upon both sides of it asfar as two hundred miles above Lost Prairie; but at the time that Finnmade his excursion, the country was a wilderness of horrible morasses, where the alligators basked unmolested. For months Finn found himself aprisoner at Lost Prairie, the spot being surrounded with impenetrableswamps, where the lightest foot would have sunk many fathoms below thesurface. As to crossing the river, it was out of the question, as it wasmore than half a mile broad, and Finn was no swimmer: even now, no humanbeing or animal can cross it at this particular spot, for so powerfulare the eddies, that, unless a pilot is well acquainted with thepassage, a boat will be capsized in the whirlpools. Human life can besustained upon very little, for Finn managed to live for months upon amarshy ground six miles in extent, partially covered with prickly pears, sour grapes, and mushrooms. Birds he would occasionally kill withsticks; several times he surprised tortoises coming on shore to deposittheir eggs, and once, when much pressed by hunger, he gave battle to ahuge alligator. Fire he had none; his clothes had long been in rags; hisbeard had grown to a great length, and his nails were sharp as the clawsof a wild beast. At last there was a flood in the river, and above theraft Finn perceived two immense pine trees afloat in the middle of thestream. Impelled by the force of the current, they cut through the raft, where the timber was rotten, and then grounded. 

This was a chance which Finn lost no time in profiting by; out of thefibrous substance of the prickly pear, he soon manufactured sufficientrope to lash the two trees together, with great labour got them afloat, and was carried down the stream with the speed of an arrow. He succeededin landing many miles below, on the eastern bank, but he was so bruised, that for many days he was unable to move. 

One day a report was spread in the neighbourhood of Port Gibson, that astrange monster, of the ourang-outang species, had penetrated thecanebrakes upon the western banks of the Mississippi. Some negroesdeclared to have seen him tearing down a brown bear; an Arkansas hunterhad sent to Philadelphia an exaggerated account of this recentlydiscovered animal, and the members of the academies had written to himto catch the animal, if possible, alive, no matter at what expense. Ahunting expedition was consequently formed, hundreds of dogs were letloose in the canebrakes, and the chase began. 

The hunters were assembled, waiting till the strange animal should breakcover, when suddenly he burst upon them, covered with blood, andfollowed closely by ten or fifteen hounds. He was armed with a heavyclub, with which he now and then turned upon the dogs, crushing them ata blow. The hunters were dumb with astonishment; mounting their horses, they sprang forward to witness the conflict; the brute, on seeing them, gave a loud shout; one of the hunters, being terrified, fired at himwith his rifle; the strange animal put one of its hairy paws upon itsbreast, staggered, and fell; a voice was heard: "The Lord forgive youthis murder!"

On coming near, the hunters found that their victim was a man, coveredwith hair from head to foot; he was senseless, but not dead. Theydeplored their fatal error, and resolved that no expense or attentionshould be spared upon the unfortunate sufferer. This hunted beast, thishairy man, was Finn. The wound, not being mortal, was soon cured; but hebecame crazy, and did not recover his reason for eight months. Herelated his adventures up to his quitting the Lost Prairie: after whichall was a blank. His narrative soon spread all over the States, and landspeculators crowded from every part to hear Finn's description of theunknown countries. The government became anxious to establish newsettlements in these countries, and Finn was induced to commence thework of colonization by the gift of the "Lost Prairie. " Money was alsosupplied to him, that he might purchase slaves; but before takingpossession of his grant, he went to Missouri to visit his old friend, and claim his bride. Her father had been dead for some time, but thedaughter was constant. 

With his wife, his brother-in-law, his negroes, and several waggonsloaded with the most necessary articles, Finn forced his way to LittleRock, on the Arkansas River, whence, after a short repose, he againstarted in a S. S. W. Direction, through a hilly and woody country neverbefore travelled. At last he reached the "Lost Prairie, " nothing washeard of him for two years, when he appeared at Nachitoches in a long_cow_[28] laden with produce. 

[Footnote 28: A cow is a kind of floating raft peculiar to the westernrivers of America, being composed of immense pine-trees tied together, and upon which a log cabin is erected. ]

From Nachitoches Finn proceeded to New Orleans, where the money receivedfor his cotton, furs, and honey enabled him to purchase two more negroesand a fresh supply of husbandry tools. A company was immediately formed, for the purpose of exploring the Red River, as far as it might provenavigable, and surveying the lands susceptible of cultivation. A smallsteamboat was procured, and its command offered to Finn, who thus becamea captain. Although the boat could not proceed higher than Lost Prairie, the result of the survey induced hundreds of planters to settle upon thebanks of the river, and Captain Finn lived to become rich and honouredby his countrymen; his great spirit of enterprise never deserted him, and it was he who first proposed to the government to cut through thegreat rafts which impeded the navigation. His plans were followed, andexploring steamboats have since gone nearly a thousand miles aboveCaptain Finn's plantation at Lost Prairie. 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

The next morning our American companions bade us farewell, and resumedtheir journey; but Captain Finn insisted that Gabriel, Roche, and Ishould not leave him so soon. He pointed out that my steed would not beable to travel much farther, if I did not give him at least two or threedays' repose; as for the horses of my two companions, they had becomequite useless, and our host charged himself with procuring them others, which would carry them back to the Comanches. 

Captain Finn's hospitality was not, however, so heavily taxed, forduring the day a flotilla of fifteen canoes stopped before theplantation, and a dozen of French traders came up to the house. Theywere intimate friends of the captain, who had known them for a longtime, and it fortunately happened that they were proceeding with goodsto purchase the furs of the Pawnee Picts. They offered a passage toGabriel and Roche, who, of course, accepted the welcome proposition. They embarked their saddles with sundry provisions, which the good Mrs. Finn forced upon them, while her hospitable husband, unknown to them, put into the canoes a bale of such articles as he thought would beuseful to them during their long journey. The gift, as I afterwardslearned, was composed of pistols and holsters, a small keg of powder, bars of lead, new bits and stirrups, and of four Mackinaw blankets. 

At last the moment arrived when I was to part with my friends. I felt abitter pang, and I wept when I found myself alone. However, I consoledmyself with the reflection that our separation was not to be a long one, and, cheered up by the captain, I soon overcame the bitterness of theseparation. Yet, for months afterwards, I felt lonely and tired ofmyself; I had never had an idea how painful it is to part from the onlyfew individuals who are attached to you. My worthy host showed muchinterest in my welfare. As he had some business to transact at the LandOffice in the Arkansas, he resolved that he would accompany me two orthree days on my journey. Five days after the departure of Gabriel andRoche, we crossed the Red River, and soon arrived at Washington, theonly place of any importance in the west of Arkansas. 

From Washington to Little Rock, the capital of the state, there is amail-road, with farms at every fifteen or twenty miles; but the captaininformed me they were inhabited by the refuse from other states, andthat west of the Mississippi (except in Louisiana and Missouri) it wasalways safer to travel through the wilderness, and camp out. Weaccordingly took the back-wood trail, across a hilly and romanticcountry, entirely mineral, and full of extinct volcanoes. The quantityof game found in these parts is incredible; every ten minutes we wouldstart a band of some twenty turkeys. At all times, deer were seengrazing within rifle-shot, and I don't think that, on our first day'sjourney over the hills, we met less than twenty bears. 

Independent of his love for the wilderness, and his hatred ofbowie-knife men, Captain Finn had another reason for not following themail-road. He had business to transact at the celebrated hot springs, and he had to call on his way upon one of his brothers in-law, a son ofBoone, and a mighty hunter, who had settled in the very heart of themountains, and who made it a rule to take a trip every spring to theRocky Mountains. The second day, at noon, after a toilsome ascent of afew thousand feet, we arrived at a small clearing on the top of themountains, where the barking of the dogs and the crowing of the fowlsannounced the vicinity of a habitation, and, ere many minutes hadelapsed, we heard the sharp report of a rifle. 

"Young Boone's own, I declare, " exclaimed Finn; "'twas I that gave himthe tool. I should know its crack amidst a thousand. Now mark me, chief, Boone never misses; he has killed a deer or a bear; if the first, searchfor a hole between the fifth and sixth rib; if a bear, look in the eye. At all events, the young chap is a capital cook, and we arrive in goodtime. Did I not-say so? By all the alligators in the swamps! Eh, Boone, my boy, how fares it with ye?"

We had by this time arrived at the spot where the buck lay dead, andnear the body was standing the gaunt form of a man, about forty yearsold, dressed in tanned leather, and standing six feet nine in hismocassins. Though we were within a yard of him, he reloaded his riflewith imperturbable gravity, and it was only when he had finished thatjob that I could perceive his grim features beaming with a smile. 

"Welcome, old boy; welcome, stranger; twice welcome to the hunter'shome. I knew somebody was coming, because I saw the pigeons were flyingup from the valley below; and as dried venison won't do after a morningtrip, why, I took the rifle to kill a beast out of my _flock_" Thehunter grinned at his conceit. "You see, " he continued, "this place ofmine is a genuine spot for a hunter. Every morning, from my threshold, Ican shoot a deer, a bear, or a turkey. I can't abide living in a countrywhere an honest man must toil a whole day for a mouthful of meat; itwould never do for me. Down Blackey, down Judith, down dogs. Old boy, take the scalping-knife and skin the beast under the red oak. "

This second part of the sentence was addressed to a young lad ofsixteen, an inmate of the hunter's cabin; and the dogs, having come tothe conclusion that we were not robbers, allowed us to dismount ourhorses. The cabin was certainly the _ne plus ultra_ of simplicity, andyet it was comfortable. Four square logs supported a board--it was thetable; many more were used _fauteuils_; and buffalo and bear hides, rolled in a corner of the room, were the bedding. A stone jug, two tincups, and a large boiler completed the furniture of the cabin. There wasno chimney: all the cooking was done outside. In due time we feastedupon the hunter's spoil, and, by way of passing the time, Boone relatedto us his first grizzly bear expedition. 

While a very young man, he had gone to the great mountains of the Westwith a party of trappers. His great strength and dexterity in handlingthe axe, and the deadly precision of his aim with the rifle, had givenhim a reputation among his companions, and yet they were always talkingto him as if he were a boy, because he had not yet followed theRed-skins on the war-path, nor fought a grizzly bear, which deed isconsidered quite as honourable and more perilous. 

Young Boone waited patiently for an opportunity, when one day hewitnessed a terrible conflict, in which one of these huge monsters, although wounded by twenty balls, was so closely pursuing the trappers, his companions, that they were compelled to seek their safety byplunging into the very middle of a broad river. There, fortunately, thestrength of the animal failed, and the stream rolled him away. It hadbeen a terrible fight, and for many days the young man would shudder atthe recollection; but he could no longer bear the taunts which werebestowed upon him, and, without announcing his intention to hiscompanions, he resolved to leave them and bring back with him the clawsof a grizzly bear, or die in the attempt. For two days he watched in thepasses of the mountains, till he discovered, behind some bushes, themouth of a dark cave, under a mass of rocks. The stench which proceededfrom it and the marks at the entrance were sufficient to point out tothe hunter that it contained the object of his search; but, as the sunhad set, he reflected that the beast was to a certainty awake, and mostprobably out in search of prey. Boone climbed up a tree, from which hecould watch the entrance of the cave; having secured himself and hisrifle against a fall, by thongs of leather, with which a hunter isalways provided, fatigue overpowered him, and he slept. 

At morn he was awakened by a growl and a rustling noise below; it wasthe bear dragging to his abode the carcase of a buck. When he thoughtthat the animal was glutted with flesh, and sleeping, Boone descendedthe tree, and, leaning his rifle against the rock, he crawled into thecave to reconnoitre. It must have been a terrible moment; but he hadmade up his mind, and he possessed all the courage of his father: thecave was spacious and dark. The heavy grunt of the animal showed that hewas asleep. 

By degrees, the vision of Boone became more clear, and he perceived theshaggy mass at about ten feet from him and about twenty yards from theentrance of the cave. The ground under him yielded to his weight, for itwas deeply covered with the bones of animals, and more than once hethought himself lost, when rats, snakes, and other reptiles, disturbedby him from their meal, would start away, in every direction, with loudhissing and other noises. The brute, however, never awoke, and Boone, having finished his survey, crawled out from this horrid den to preparefor the attack. 

He first cut a piece of pitch-pine, six or seven feet long, then, takingfrom his pouch a small cake of bees-wax, he wrapped it round one end ofthe stick, giving it at the extremity the shape of a small cup, to holdsome whisky. This done, he re-entered the cavern, turned to his left, fixed his new kind of flambeau upright against the wall, poured theliquor in the wax cup, and then went out again to procure fire. With theremainder of his wax and a piece of cotton twine, he made a small taper, which he lighted, and crawled in again over the bones, shading his lightwith one hand, till he had applied the flame to the whisky. The liquorwas above proof, and as Boone returned and took up his position nearerthe entrance, with his rifle, it threw up a vivid flame, which soonignited the wax and the pitch-pine itself. 

The bear required something more than light to awake him from his almostlethargic sleep, and Boone threw bone after bone at him, till the brutewoke up, growled with astonishment at the unusual sight before him, andadvanced lazily to examine it. The young man had caught up his rifle bythe barrel; he took a long and steady aim, as he knew that he must dieif the bear was only wounded; and as the angry animal raised his paw tostrike down the obnoxious torch, he fired. There was a heavy fall, agroan and a struggle, --the light was extinguished, and all was dark asbefore. The next morning Boone rejoined his companions as they weretaking their morning meal, and, throwing at their feet his bleedingtrophies, he said to them, "Now, who will dare to say that I am nota man?"

The history of this bold deed spread in a short time to even theremotest tribes of the North, and when, years afterwards, Boone fell aprisoner to the Black-feet Indians, they restored him to liberty andloaded him with presents, saying that they could not hurt the greatbrave who had vanquished in his own den the evil spirit of themountains. 

At another time, Boone, when hardly pressed by a party of the Flat-headIndians, fell into a crevice and broke the butt of his rifle. He wassafe, however, from immediate danger; at least he thought so, andresolved he would remain where he was till his pursuers should abandontheir search. On examining the place which had afforded him so opportunea refuge, he perceived it was a spacious natural cave, having no otherentrance than the hole or aperture through which he had fallen. Hethanked Providence for this fortunate discovery, as, for the future, hewould have a safe place to conceal his skins and provisions whiletrapping; but as he was prosecuting his search, he perceived withdismay that the cave was already inhabited. 

In a corner he perceived two jaguars, which followed his movements withglaring eyes. A single glance satisfied him they were cubs; but amaddening thought shot across his brain; the mother was out, probablynot far; she might return in a moment, and he had no arms, except hisknife and the barrel of his broken rifle. While musing upon his periloussituation, he heard a roar, which summoned all his energy; he rolled aloose mass of rock to the entrance; made it as firm as he could, bybacking it with other stones; tied his knife to the end of hisrifle-barrel, and calmly waited for the issue. A minute passed, when atremendous jaguar dashed against the rock, and Boone needed all hisgiant's strength to prevent it from giving way. 

Perceiving that main force could not clear the passage, the animal beganscratching and digging at the entrance, and its hideous roars were soonresponded to by the cubs, which threw themselves upon Boone. He kickedthem away, but not without receiving several ugly scratches, and, thrusting the blade of his knife through the opening between the largestone and the solid rock, he broke it in the shoulder of the femalejaguar, which, with a yell, started away. This respite was fortunate, asby this time Boone's strength was exhausted; he profited by thesuspension of hostility, so as to increase the impediments, in case of anew attack; and reflecting that the mewings of the cubs attracted andenraged the mother, he knocked their brains out with the barrel of hisrifle. During two hours he was left to repose himself after hisexertions, and he was beginning to think the animal had been scaredaway, when another terrible bound against the massive stone forced it afew inches into the cave. For an hour he struggled, till the jaguar, itself tired, and not hearing the mewings of her cubs, retired with apiteous howl. 

Night came, and Boone began to despond. Leaving the cave was out ofquestion, for the brute was undoubtedly watching for him; and yetremaining was almost as dangerous, as long watching and continualexertion weighed down his eyelids and rendered sleep imperative. Hedecided to remain where he was, and after another hour of labour infortifying the entrance, he lay down to sleep, with the barrel of hisrifle close to him, in case of attack. 

He had slept about three or four hours, when he was awakened by a noiseclose to his head. The moon was shining, and shot her beams through thecrevices at the mouth of the cave. A foreboding of danger would notallow Boone to sleep any more; he was watching with intense anxiety, when he observed several of the smaller stones he had placed round thepiece of rock rolling towards him, and that the rays of light streaminginto the cave were occasionally darkened by some interposed body. It wasthe jaguar, which had been undermining the rock: one after the other, the stones gave way; Boone rose, grasped his heavy rifle-barrel, anddetermined to await the attack of the animal. 

In a second or two, the heavy stone rolled a few feet into the cave; thejaguar advanced her head, then her shoulders, and at last, a noiselessbound brought her within four feet of Boone, who at that critical momentcollecting all his strength for a decisive blow, dashed her skull toatoms. Boone, quite exhausted, drank some of her blood to allay histhirst, pillowed his head upon her body, and fell into a deep sleep. 

The next morning Boone, after having made a good meal off one of thecubs, started to rejoin his companions, and communicated to them hisadventure and discovery. A short time afterwards, the cave was storedwith all the articles necessary to a trapper's life, and soon became therendezvous of all the adventurous men from the banks of the river Platteto the shores of the Great Salt Lake. 

Since Boone had settled in his present abode, he had had a hand-to-handfight with a black bear, in the very room where we were sitting. When hehad built his log cabin, it was with the intention of taking to himselfa wife. At that time he courted the daughter of one of the old Arkansassettlers, and he wished to have "a place and a crop on foot" before hemarried. The girl was killed by the fall of a tree, and Boone, in hissorrow, sent away the men whom he had hired to help him in "turning hisfield, " for he wished to be alone. 

Months elapsed, and his crop of corn promised an abundant harvest; buthe cared not. He would take his rifle and remain sometimes for a monthin the woods, brooding over his loss. The season was far advanced, when, one day returning home, he perceived that the bears, the squirrels, andthe deer had made rather free with the golden ears of his corn. Theremainder he resolved to save for the use of his horse, and as hewished to begin harvest next morning, he slept that night in the cabin, on his solitary pallet. The heat was intense, and, as usual in thesecountries during summer, he had left his door wide open. 

It was about midnight, when he heard something tumbling in the room; herose in a moment, and, hearing a short and heavy breathing, he asked whoit was, for the darkness was such, that he could not see two yardsbefore him. No answer being given, except a kind of half-smotheredgrunt, he advanced, and, putting out his hand, he seized the shaggy coatof a bear. Surprise rendered him motionless, and the animal giving him ablow in the chest with his terrible paw, threw him down outside thedoor. Boone could have escaped, but, maddened with the pain of his fall, he only thought of vengeance, and, seizing his knife and tomahawk, whichwere fortunately within his reach, he darted furiously at the beast, dealing blows at random. Great as was his strength, his tomahawk couldnot penetrate through the thick coat of the animal, which, havingencircled the body of his assailant with his paws, was pressing him inone of those deadly embraces which could only have been resisted by agiant like Boone. Fortunately, the black bear, unlike the grizzly, veryseldom uses his claws and teeth in fighting, contenting himself withsmothering his victim. Boone disentangled his left arm, and with hisknife dealt a furious blow upon the snout of the animal, which, smartingwith pain, released his hold. The snout is the only vulnerable part inan old black bear. Even at forty yards, the ball of a rifle will flattenagainst his skull, and if in any other part of the body, it willscarcely produce any serious effect. 

Boone, aware of this, and not daring to risk another hug, darted awayfrom the cabin. The bear, now quite angry, followed and overtook himnear the fence. Fortunately the clouds were clearing away, and the moonthrew light sufficient to enable the hunter to strike with a morecertain aim: chance also favoured him; he found on the ground one of therails made of the blue ash, very heavy, and ten feet in length; hedropped his knife and tomahawk, and seizing the rail, he renewed thefight with caution, for it had now become a struggle for life or death. 

Had it been a bull or a panther, they would have had their bonesshivered to pieces by the tremendous blows which Boone dealt upon hisadversary with all the strength of despair; but Bruin is by nature anadmirable fencer, and, in spite of his unwieldy shape, there is not inthe world an animal whose motions are more rapid in a close encounter. Once or twice he was knocked down by the force of the blows, butgenerally he would parry them with a wonderful agility. At last, hesucceeded in seizing the other end of the rail, and dragged it towardshim with irresistible force. Both man and beast fell, Boone rolling tothe place where he had dropped his arms, while the bear advanced uponhim; the moment was a critical one, but Boone was accustomed to look atand brave death under every shape, and with a steady hand he buried histomahawk in the snout of his enemy, and, turning round, he rushed to hiscabin, believing he would have time to secure the door. He closed thelatch, and applied his shoulders to it; but it was of no avail, theterrible brute dashed in head foremost, and tumbled in the room withBoone and the fragments of the door. The two foes rose and stared ateach other; Boone had nothing left but his knife, but Bruin wastottering and unsteady, and Boone felt that the match was more equal:once more they closed. 

A few hours after sunrise, Captain Finn, returning home from theLegislature at Little Rock, called upon his friend, and, to his horror, found him apparently lifeless on the floor, and alongside of him, thebody of the bear. Boone soon recovered, and found that the lucky blowwhich had saved him from being crashed to death had buried the wholeblade of his knife, through the left eye, in the very brain of theanimal[29]. 

[Footnote 29: The black bear does not grow to any great size in theeastern and northern parts of America, but in Arkansas and the adjacentStates it becomes, from its size and strength, almost as formidable anantagonist as a grizzly bear. It is very common to find them eighthundred weight, but sometimes they weigh above a thousand pounds. ]

CHAPTER XXXV. 

The next morning, we all three started, and by noon we had crossed theWashita River. It is the most beautiful stream I know of, being cool andtransparent, averaging a depth of eight or ten feet, and running upon ahard sandy bottom. While we were crossing, Boone told us that as soon aswe arrived at the summit of the woody hills before us, if we lookedsharp, we should see some bears, for he had never passed that waywithout shooting one or two. 

We forded the stream, and entered into a noble forest of maple trees, the ground now rising in gentle swells for several miles, when thefir-pines, succeeding to the maple, told us that we had reached thehighest point of the hills. Hearing some trampling and rustling at adistance, I spurred my horse to take the lead and have the first chanceof a shot, when I perceived to my left, not twenty yards from me and ina small patch of briars, a large she-bear playing with her cub. I wasjust raising my rifle to fire, when Boone's voice called me back, and Iperceived that he and Finn had just dismounted and entered a thicket. Knowing that they must have an object in view, I joined them, and askedthem what was the matter. 

"Rare sport, " answered Finn, extending his hand towards a precipitousand rocky part of the mountain. 

It was sport, and of a very singular description. 

A large deer was running at full speed, closely pursued by a puma. Thechase had already been a long one, for as they came nearer and nearer, Icould perceive both their long parched tongues hanging out of theirmouths, and their bounding, though powerful, was no longer so elastic asusual. The deer, having now arrived within two hundred yards of thebear, stopped a moment to sniff the air; then coming still nearer, hemade a bound, with his head extended, to ascertain if Bruin was stillnear him. As the puma was closing with him, the deer wheeled sharpround, and turning back almost upon his own trail, passed within thirtyyards of his pursuer, who, not being able at once to stop his career, gave an angry growl and followed the deer again, but at a distance ofsome hundred yards; hearing the growl, Bruin drew his body half out ofthe briars, remaining quietly on the look-out. 

"Gone, " I exclaimed. 

"Wait a bit, " answered Boone; "here he comes again. "

He was right; the deer again appeared, coming towards us, but his speedwas much reduced, and as he approached us, it was evident that theanimal was calculating his distance with precision. The puma, nowexpecting to seize his prey, followed about thirty yards behind; thebear, aware of the close vicinity of her enemy, cleared the briars andsquared herself for action, when the deer, with a beautiful and powerfulspring, passed the bear's head and disappeared. At the moment he tookthe leap, the puma was close upon him, and was just balancing himselffor a spring, when he perceived, to his astonishment, that now he wasfaced by a formidable adversary, not the least disposed to fly. Hecrouched, lashing his flanks with his long tail, while the bear, aboutfive yards from him, remained like a statue looking at the puma with hislittle glaring eyes. 

One minute they remained thus; the puma, its sides heaving withexertion, agitated, and apparently undecided; the bear, perfectly calmand motionless. Gradually the puma crawled backwards, till at a rightdistance for a spring, when, throwing all its weight upon its hindparts, to increase its power, it darted upon the bear like lightning, and fixed its claws into her back. The bear, with irresistible force, seized the puma with her two fore-paws, pressing it with all the weightof her body and rolling over it. We heard a heavy grunt, a plaintivehowl, a crashing of bones, and the puma was dead. The cub of the bearcame to ascertain what was going on, and after a few minutes'examination of the victim, it strutted down the slope of the hill, followed by its mother, which was apparently unhurt. We did not attemptto prevent their retreat, for among real hunters in the wilds, there isa feeling which restrains them from attacking an animal which has justundergone a deadly strife. This is a very common practice of the deer, when chased by a puma--that of leading him to the haunt of a bear; Ihave oftened witnessed it, although I never before knew the deer toturn, as it did in this instance. 

This incident reminds me of another, which was witnessed by Gabriel, ashort time before the murder of the Prince Seravalle. Gabriel had lefthis companions, to look after game, and he soon came upon the track of awild boar, which led to a grove of tall persimon trees; then, for thefirst time, he perceived that he had left his pouch and powder-horn inthe camp; but he cared little about it, as he knew that his aim wascertain. When within sixty yards of the grove, he spied the boar at thefoot of one of the outside trees: the animal was eating the fruit whichhad fallen. Gabriel raised his eyes to the thick-leaved branches of thetree, and perceived that there was a large black bear in the tree, alsoregaling himself with the fruit. Gabriel approached to within thirtyyards, and was quite absorbed with the novelty of the sight. 

At every motion of Bruin, hundreds of persimons would fall down, andthese, of course were the ripest. This the bear knew very well, and itwas with no small jealousy that he witnessed the boar below making soluxurious a meal at his expense, while he could only pick the greenfruit, and that with difficulty, as he dared not trust his body too farupon the smaller limbs of the tree. Now and then he would growlfiercely, and put his head down, and the boar would look at him with apleased and grateful motion of the head, answering the growl by a grunt, just as to say, "Thank you; very polite to eat the green ones and sendme the others. " This Bruin understood, and he could bear it no longer;he began to shake the tree violently, till the red persimons fell like ashower around the boar; then there was a duet of growls andgrunts--angry and terrific from the bear above, denoting satisfactionand pleasure on the part of the boar below. 

Gabriel had come in pursuit of the boar, but now he changed his mind, for, considering the present angry mood of Bruin, he was certain to beattacked by him if discovered. As to going away, it was a thing he wouldnot think of, as long as his rifle was loaded; so he waited and watched, until the bear should give him an opportunity of aiming at a vital part. This he waited for in vain, and, on reflection, he determined to woundthe bear: for, knowing the humour of the animal, he felt almost positiveit would produce a conflict between him and the boar, which the bearwould attack in his wrath. He fired; the bear was evidently wounded, although but slightly, and he began roaring and scratching his neck in amost furious manner, and looking vindictively at the boar, which, at thereport of the rifle, had merely raised his head for a moment, and thenresumed his meal. Bruin was certainly persuaded that the wound he hadreceived had been inflicted by the beast below. He made up his mind topunish him, and, to spare the trouble and time of descending, droppedfrom the tree, and rushed upon the boar, which met him at once, and, notwithstanding Bruin's great strength, he proved to him that a tenyears' old wild boar, with seven-inch tusks, was a very formidableantagonist. Bruin soon felt the tusks of the boar ripping him up; tenor twelve streams of blood were rushing from his sides, yet he did notgive way; on the contrary, he grew fiercer and fiercer, and at last theboar was almost smothered under the huge paws of his adversary. Thestruggle lasted a few minutes more, the grunting and growling becomingfainter and fainter, till both combatants lay motionless. They were deadwhen Gabriel came up to them; the bear horribly mangled, and the boarwith every bone of his body broken. Gabriel filled his hat with thepersimons which were the cause of this tragedy, and returned to the campfor help and ammunition. 

Finn, Boone, and I resumed our journey, and after a smart ride of twohours we entered upon a beautiful spot, called "Magnet Cove. " This isone of the great curiosities of the Arkansas, and there are few planterswho do not visit it at least once in their lives, even if they have totravel a distance of one hundred miles. 

It is a small valley surrounded by rocky hills, one or two hundred feethigh, and forming a belt, in the shape of a horse-shoe. From these rocksflow hundreds of sulphuric springs, some boiling and some cold, allpouring into large basins, which their waters have dug out during theirconstant flow of so many centuries. These mineral springs are so verynumerous in this part of the country, that they would scarcely be worthmentioning, were it not that in this valley, for more than a mile incircumference, the stones and rocks, which are of a dull black colourand very heavy, are all magnetic. 

It is a custom for every visitor to bring with him some pieces of iron, to throw against the rocks: the appearance is very strange; oldhorse-shoes, forks, knives, bars of iron, nails, and barrels of pistols, are hanging from the projecting stones, the nails standing upright, asif they were growing. These pieces of iron have themselves become verypowerfully magnetic. I picked up a horse-shoe, which I afterwards foundlifted a bar of steel of two pounds weight. 

Half a mile from this singular spot dwelt another old pioneer, a friendof my companions, and at his cabin we stopped to pass the night. Ourhost was only remarkable for his great hospitality and greatertaciturnity; he had always lived in the wilds, quite alone, and the onlyfew words he would utter were incoherent. It appeared as if his mind wasfixed upon scenes of the past. In his early life he had been one of thecompanions of the celebrated pirate La Fitte, and after the defence ofNew Orleans, in which the pirates played no inconsiderable part (theyhad the management of the artillery), he accepted the free pardon of thePresident, and forcing his way through the forests and swamps ofLouisiana, was never heard of for five or six years. Subsequently, circumstances brought about an intimacy between him and my twocompanions, but, contrary to the habits of pioneers and trappers, henever reverted to his former adventures, but always evaded the subject. 

There were mysterious rumours afloat about treasure which had beenburied by the pirates in Texas, known only to him; a thing notimprobable, as the creeks, lagoons, and bays of that country had alwaysbeen a favourite resort of these freebooters; but nothing had ever beenextracted from him relative to the question. He was now living with anIndian woman of the Flat-head tribe, by whom he had several children, and this was also a subject upon which the western farmers had muchto say. 

Had the squaw been a Creek, a Cherokee, or an Osage woman, it would havecreated no surprise; but how came he in possession of a woman belongingto so distant a tribe? Moreover, the squaw looked so proud, soimperious, so queenly; there was a mystery, which every one was anxious, but unable to solve. 

We left our host early in the morning, and arrived at noon at the hotsprings, where I was to part company with my entertaining companions. 

I was, however, persuaded to remain till the next morning, as Finnwished to give me a letter for a friend of his in South Missouri. Of thehot springs of the Arkansas, I can give no better description, than byquoting the following lines from a Little Rock newspaper:--

"The warm springs are among the most interesting curiosities of ourcountry: they are in great numbers. One of them, the central one, emitsa vast quantity of water; the ordinary temperature is that of boilingwater. When the season is dry, and the volume of water somewhatdiminished, the temperature of the water increases. 

"The waters are remarkably limpid and pure, and are used by the peoplewho resort there for health, for culinary purposes. They have beenanalyzed, and exhibit no mineral properties beyond common spring water. Their efficacy, then, for they are undoubtedly efficacious to manyinvalids that resort there, results from the shades of the adjacentmountains, and from the cool and oxygenated mountain breeze; theconvenience of warm and tepid bathing; the novelty of fresh and mountainscenery, and the necessity of temperance, imposed by the poverty of thecountry and the difficulty of procuring supplies. The cases in which thewaters are supposed to be efficacious, are those of rheumatic affection, general debility, dyspepsia, and cutaneous complaints. At a few yardsfrom the hot springs is one strongly sulphuric and remarkable for itscoldness. In the wild and mountain scenery of this lonely region, thereis much of grandeur and novelty to fix the curiosity of the loverof nature. "

The next morning I bade farewell to Finn and Boone, and set off on myjourney. I could not help feeling a strange sensation of loneliness, asI passed hill after hill, and wood after wood. It seemed to me as ifsomething was wrong; I talked to myself, and often looked behind to seeif any one was coming my way. This feeling, however, did not last long, and I soon learned that, west of the Mississippi, a man with a purse anda good horse must never travel in the company of strangers, without heis desirous to lose them and his life to boot. 

I rode without stopping the forty-five miles of dreary road which leadsfrom the hot springs to Little Rock, and I arrived in that capitalearly at noon. 

Foreigners are constantly visiting every part of the United States, andyet very few, if any, have ever visited the Arkansas. They seem all tobe frightened away by the numerous stories of Arkansas murders, withwhich a tourist is always certain to be entertained on board one of theMississippi steam-boats. Undoubtedly these reports of murders andatrocities have been, as all things else are in the United States, muchexaggerated, but none can deny that the assizes of Arkansas contain morecases of stabbing and shooting than ten of the other Statesput together. 

The very day I arrived at Little Rock I had an opportunity of witnessingtwo or three of these Arkansas incidents, and also to hear the commentsmade upon them. Legislature was then sitting. Two of the legislatorshappened to be of a contrary opinion, and soon abused each other. Fromwords they came to blows, and one shot the other with one of Colt'srevolving six-barrel pistols. This event stopped legislative businessfor that day; the corpse was carried to the tavern where I had justarrived, and the murderer, having procured bail for two thousanddollars, ran away during the night, and nobody ever thought ofsearching for him. 

The corpse proved to be a bonus for my landlord, who had it deposited ina room next to the bar, and as the news spread, all the male populationof Little Rock came in crowds to see with their own eyes, and to givetheir own opinion of the case over a bottle of wine or a glassof whisky. 

Being tired, I went to bed early, and was just dozing, in spite of theloud talking and swearing below, when I heard five or six shots fired inrapid succession, and followed by yells and screams. I got up andstopped a negro girl, as she was running up-stairs, a picture of terrorand despair. 

"What is the matter, Blackey?" said I, "are they shooting in the bar?"

"Oh, yes, Massa, " she answered, "they shoot terrible. Dr. Francis says, Dr. Grey is a blackguard; Dr. Grey says, Dr. Francis is a ruffian; Dr. Francis shoots with big pistols and kills Dr. Grey; Dr. Grey shoots withother pistols and kills Dr. Francis. "

"What, " I exclaimed, "after he was dead?"

"Oh no, Massa, before he was dead; they shoot together--pan, pan, pan. "

I went downstairs to ascertain the circumstances attending this doublemurder. A coroner's inquest had been held upon the body of thelegislator killed in the morning, and the two surgeons, who had bothdrunk freely at the bar, had quarrelled about the direction which theball had taken. As they did not agree, they came to words; from words toblows; ending in the grand _finale_ of shooting each other. 

I was so sickened and disgusted with the events of one day, that I paidmy bill, saddled my horse myself, and got a man to ferry me over theArkansas river, a noble, broad, and rapid stream, on the southern bankof which the capital is situated. I rode briskly for a short hour, andcamped in the woods alone, preferring their silence and dreariness toremaining to witness, under a roof, further scenes of bloodshedand murder. 

North of the Arkansas river, the population, though rough and "notbetter than it should be, " is less sanguinary and much more hospitable;that is to say, a landlord will show you civility for your money, and inBatesville, a city (fifty houses, I think) upon the northern bank of theWhite River, I found thirty generals, judges, and majors, whocondescended to show me every bar in the place, purchasing sundry dozensof Havannahs and drinking sundry long toasts in iced wine, which wineand tobacco, although ordered and consumed by themselves, they left meto pay for, which I was willing to do, as I was informed that thesegentlemen always refrain from paying anything when a stranger ispresent, from fear of wounding his delicacy. 

It was in Batesville that I became enlightened as to the western papercurrency, which was fortunate, as I purchased one hundred and fortydollars in "shin plasters, " as they call them, for an English sovereign;and for my travelling expenses they answered just as well. In the WhiteRiver ferry-boat I met with one of those itinerant Italian pedlars, whoare found, I think, everywhere under heaven, selling pins, needles, andbadly-coloured engravings, representing all the various passages ofWilliam Tell's history, and the combats during the "three days" in 1830. Although not a refined companion, the Genevese spoke Italian, and I wasdelighted to converse in that soft tongue, not a word of which I hadspoken since the death of Prince Seravalle. I invited my companion tothe principal tavern, and called at the bar for two tumblers oficed-mint tulip. 

"How much?" I asked from the bar-keeper. 

"Five dollars, " he answered. 

I was quite thunderstruck, and, putting my money back in my pocket, Itold him I would not pay him at all. The man then began to swear I was aqueer sort of a chap, and wondered how a _gentleman_ could drink at abar and not pay for his liquor. 

"I always pay, " I answered, "what others pay; but I will not submit tosuch a swindling, and give five dollars for what Is only worthtwenty-five cents. "

The host then came to me, with a smile. 

"Why, Sir, we don't charge more to you than to others. Five dollars in'shin-plasters, ' or twenty-five cents in specie. "

All was thus explained, and the next morning. I satisfied my bill oftwenty-two dollars, with one dollar and twelve cents in silver. 

This may appear strange to the English reader, who prefers bank-notes togold; but he must reflect that England is not Arkansas, and that theBank of England is not the "Real Estate Bank of Arkansas, " capital twomillions of dollars. 

Notwithstanding the grandeur of the last five words, I have beenpositively informed that the bank never possessed five dollars, and hadnot been able to pay the poor Cincinnati engraver who made the notes. The merchants of Little Rock, who had set up the bank, were the usualpurchasers of the produce from the farmer; but the credit of the bankwas so bad, that they were obliged to offer three dollars in their notesfor a bushel of wheat, which, in New York, commanded only eighty-fourcents in specie. 

The farmers, however, were as sharp as the merchants, and, compelled todeal with them, they hit upon a good plan. The principal landholders ofevery county assembled, and agreed that they would also have a farmers'bank, and a few months afterwards the country was inundated with notesof six-and-a-quarter, twelve-and-a-half, twenty-five, and fifty cents, with the following inscription: "We, the freeholders and farmers of suchcounty, promise to pay (so much) in Real Estate Bank of Arkansas notes, but not under the sum of five dollars. "

The bankers were caught in their own snares. They were obliged to acceptthe "shin plasters" for the goods in their stores, with the pleasingperspective of being paid back with their own notes, which made theirfaces as doleful as the apothecary who was obliged to swallow hisown pills. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

From Batesville to the southern Missouri border, the road continues fora hundred miles through a dreary solitude of rocky mountains and pineforests, full of snakes and a variety of game, but without the smallestvestige of civilization. There is not a single blade of grass to befound, except in the hollows, and these are too swampy for a horse toventure upon. Happily, small clear and limpid brooks are passed everyhalf-hour, and I had had the precaution to provide myself, at a farm, with a large bag of maize for my horse. After all, we fared better thanwe should have done at the log huts, and my faithful steed, at allevents, escaped the "ring. " What the "ring" is, I will explain tothe reader. 

In these countries, it always requires a whole day's smart riding to gofrom one farm to another; and when the traveller is a "raw trotter" or a"green one" (Arkansas denomination for a stranger), the host employs allhis cunning to ascertain if his guest has any money, as, if so, hisobject is to detain him as long as he can. To gain this information, although there are always at home half-a-dozen strong boys to take thehorses, he sends a pretty girl (a daughter, or a niece) to show you thestable and the maize-store. This nymph becomes the traveller'sattendant; she shows him the garden and the pigs, and the stranger'sbedroom, &c. The consequence is, that the traveller becomes gallant, thegirl insists upon washing his handkerchief and mending his jacket beforehe starts the next morning, and by keeping constantly with him, andcontinual conversation, she is, generally speaking, able to find outwhether the traveller has money or not, and reports accordingly. 

Having supped, slept, and breakfasted, he pays his bill and asks for hishorse. 

"Why, Sir, " answers the host, "something is wrong with the animal--he islame. "

The traveller thinks it is only a trifle; he starts, and discovers, before he has made a mile, that his beast cannot possibly go on; so hereturns to the farm, and is there detained, for a week perhaps, untilhis horse is fit to travel. 

I was once cheated in this very manner, and had no idea that I had beentricked; but, on leaving another farm, on the following day, I found myhorse was again lame. Annoyed at having been delayed so long, Idetermined to go on, in spite of my horse's lameness. I travelled on forthree miles, till at last I met with an elderly man also on horseback. He stopped and surveyed me attentively, and then addressed me:--

"I see youngster, you are a green one. "

Now I was in uncommon bad temper that morning, and I answered hisquestion with a "What do you mean, you old fool?"

"Nay, pardon me, " he resumed; "I would not insult a stranger. I amGovernor Yell, of this state, and I see that some of my 'clevercitizens' have been playing a trick upon you. If you will allow me, Iwill cure the lameness of your horse in two minutes. "

At the mention of his name, I knew I was speaking to a gentleman. Iapologized for my rough rejoinder, and the governor, dismounting, thenexplained to me the mystery of the "ring. " Just above my horse's hoof, and well concealed under the hair, was a stout silken thread, tied verytight; this being cut, the horse, in a moment, got rid of his lameness. 

As the governor and I parted, he gave me this parental advice:--

"My dear young man, " said he, "I will give you a hint, which will enableyou to travel safely through the Arkansas. Beware of pretty girls, andhonest, clever people; never say you are travelling further than fromthe last city to the nearest, as a long journey generally implies thatyou have cash; and, if possible, never put your horse in a stable. Farewell. "

The soil in the Arkansas is rocky and mountainous as far as to thewestern border of the state, when you enter upon the great Americandesert, which continues to the other side of the Cimarron, nearly to thefoot of the Cordilleras. The eastern portion of Arkansas, which iswatered by the Mississippi, is an unknown swamp, for there the ground istoo soft even for the light-footed Indian; and, I may say, that thewhole territory contained between the Mississippi and the St. Francisriver is nothing but a continued river-bottom. 

It is asserted, on the authority of intelligent residents, that theriver-bottoms of the St. Francis were not subject to be overflowedprevious to the earthquakes of 1811 and 1812, when an extensive tract inthe valley of that river sank to a considerable depth. According toStoddart, who knew nothing of the shocks of 1811, earthquakes have beencommon here from the first settlement of the country; he himselfexperienced several shocks at Kaskaskia, in 1804, by which the soldiersstationed there were aroused from sleep, and the buildings were muchshaken and disjointed. Oscillations still occur with such frequency asto be regarded with indifference by the inhabitants, who familiarly callthem _shakes_. But the earthquakes of 1811 and 1812, which were feltfrom New England to New Orleans, are the only ones known to have leftpermanent traces, although there is every probability that this part ofthe valley of the Mississippi has been much convulsed at former periods. 

In 1812 the earth opened in wide chasms, from which columns of water andsand burst forth; hills disappeared, and their sites were occupied bylakes; the beds of the lakes were raised, and their waters flowed off, leaving them dry; the courses of the streams were changed by theelevation of their beds and the falling of their banks; for one wholehour the current of the Mississippi was turned backwards towards itssource, until its accumulated waters were able to break through thebarrier which had dammed them up; boats were dashed on the banks, orsuddenly left dry in the deserted channel, or hurried backwards andforwards with the surging eddies; while in the midst of these awfulchanges, electric fires, accompanied by loud rumblings, flashed throughthe air, which was darkened with clouds and vapour. 

In some places, submerged forests and cane-brakes are still visible at agreat depth, on the bottom of lakes, which were then formed. That thecauses of these convulsions were not local, as some have imagined, isevident enough from the fact, that the Azores, the West India Islands, and the northern coast of South America were unusually agitated at thesame time, and the cities of Carracas, Laguayra, and some others weretotally destroyed. 

I had been advised not to stop at any house on the borders, and wouldhave proceeded on to Missouri, bivouacking during the night, had it notbeen that the rainy season had just commenced, and it was far frompleasant to pass the night exposed to the most terrific showers of rainthat could be imagined. When I arrived upon the St. Francis river, Ifound myself compelled by the state of the weather to stop at aparson's--I don't know what particular sect he professed to belong to;but he was reputed to be the greatest hypocrite in the world, and the"smartest scoundrel" in the Arkansas. 

My horse was put into the stable, my saddle into the hall, and Ibrought my saddle-bags into the sitting-room. Then, as usual, I went tothe well for a purification after my day's ride. To my astonishment, Ifound, on my return, that my saddlebags had already disappeared. I hadin them jewels and money to rather a considerable amount for a person inmy position, and I inquired of a woman cooking in the next room what hadbecome of them. She answered she did not know, but that probably herfather had put them out of the way. 

I waited a long while, standing at the door, with no small anxiety, tillat last I perceived the parson crossing an Indian-corn field, and comingtowards the house. I went to meet him, and asked what he had done withmy saddle-bags; to which question he answered angrily, he did not knowwhat I meant; that I had no saddle-bags when I came to his house; thathe suspected I was a knowing one, but could not come round so old a foxas he was. 

As by that time I was perfectly _au fait_ to all the tricks of Arkansassmartness, I returned to the hall, took my pistols from the holsters, placed them in my belt, and, seizing my rifle, I followed his trail uponthe soft ground of the fields. It led me to a corn-house, and there, after an hour's search, I found my lost saddle-bags. I threw them uponmy shoulders, and returned to the house just as a terrible shower hadcommenced. When within fifteen yards from the threshold, the parson, with his wife and daughter, a pretty girl of sixteen, in tears, came upto me to apologize. The mother declared the girl would be the death ofher, and the parson informed me, with great humility, that his daughter, having entered the room, and seeing the saddle-bags, had taken andhidden them, believing that they belonged to her sweetheart, who wasexpected on a visit. Upon this, the girl cried most violently, sayingshe only wished to play a trick to Charley. She was an honest girl, and no thief. 

I thought proper to pretend to be satisfied with this explanation andordered my supper, and, shortly afterwards, to my great relief, newguests arrived; they were four Missourian planters, returning home froma bear-hunt in the swamps of the St. Francis. One of them was a Mr. Courtenay, to whom I had a letter from Captain Finn, and, before the dayhad closed, I received a cordial invitation to go and stay with him forat least a week. 

As he spoke French, I told him, in that language, my saddle-bagadventure; he was not surprised, as he was aware of the character of ourhost. It was arranged that Mr. Courtenay and I should sleep in adouble-bedded room on the first floor; the other hunters wereaccommodated in another part of the house. Before retiring for thenight, they all went to visit their horses, and the young girl took thatopportunity to light me to the room. 

"Oh, Sir, " she said to me, after she had closed the door, "pray do nottell the other travellers what I did, or they would all say that I amcourting Charley, and my character would be lost. "

"Mark me, " replied I, "I have already told the story, and I know theCharley story is nothing but a--what your father ordered you to say. When I went to the corn-house, the tracks I followed were those made byyour father's heavy boots, and not by your light pumps and small feet. The parson is a villain; tell him that; and if it were not too muchtrouble, I would summon him before some magistrate. "

The girl appeared much shocked, and I repented my harshness, and wasabout to address her more kindly, when she interrupted me. 

"Spare me, Sir, " she said, "I know all; I am so unhappy; if I had but aplace to go to, where I could work for bread, I would do it in a minute, for here I am very, very miserable. "

At that moment the poor girl heard the footsteps of the hunters, returning from the stable, and she quitted me in haste. 

When Mr. Courtenay entered the room, he told me he expected that theparson was planning some new iniquity, for he had seen him just thencrossing the river in a dug-out. As everything was to be feared from therascal, after the circumstance of the saddle-bags, we resolved that wewould keep a watch; we dragged our beds near the window, and lay downwithout undressing. 

To pass away the time, we talked of Captain Finn and of the Texans. Mr. Courtenay related to me a case of negro-stealing by the same GeneralJohn Meyer, of whom my fellow companion, the parson, had already talkedso much while we travelling in Texas. One winter, Mr. Courtenay, returning from the East, was stopped In Vincennes (Indiana) by thedepth of the snow, which for a few days rendered the roads impassable. There he saw a very fine breed of sheep, which he determined tointroduce upon his plantation; and hearing that the general would becoming down the river in a large flat boat as soon as the ice wouldpermit, he made an agreement with him that he should bring a dozen ofthe animals to the plantation, which stood a few miles below the mouthof the Ohio, on the other side of the Mississippi. 

Meyer made his bargain, and two months afterwards delivered the livestock, for which he received the price agreed upon. Then he askedpermission to encamp upon Mr. Courtenay's land, as his boat had receivedsome very serious injury, which could not be repaired under five or sixdays. Mr. Courtenay allowed Meyer and his people to take shelter in abrick barn, and ordered his negroes to furnish the boat-men withpotatoes and vegetables of all descriptions. 

Three or four days afterwards he was astonished by, several of hisslaves informing him the general had been tampering with them, sayingthey were fools to remain slaves, when they could be as free as whitemen, and that if they would come down the river with him, he would takethem to Texas, where he would pay them twenty dollars a month fortheir labour. 

Courtenay advised them, by all means, to seem to accede to theproposition, and gave them instructions as to how they were to act. Hethen despatched notes to some twenty neighbours, requesting them to cometo the plantation, and bring their whips with them, as they wouldbe required. 

Meyer having repaired his boats, came to return thanks, and to announcehis departure early on the following morning. At eleven o'clock, when hethought everybody in the house was asleep, he hastened, with two of hissons, to a lane, where he had made an appointment with the negroes tomeet him and accompany him to his boat, which was ready to start. Hefound half-a-dozen of the negroes, and, advising them not to speakbefore they were fairly off the plantation, desired them to follow himto the boat; but, to his astonishment, he soon discovered that the lanewas occupied with other negroes and white men, armed with themuch-dreaded cow-hides. He called out to his two sons to fly, but it wastoo late. 

The general and his two sons were undoubtedly accustomed to suchdisasters, for they showed amazing dexterity in taking advantage of theangles of the fences, to evade the lashes: but, in spite of all theirdevices, they were cruelly punished, as they had nearly a quarter of amile of gauntlet to run through before they were clear of the lane. Invain they groaned, and swore, and prayed; the blows fell thicker andthicker, principally from the hands of the negroes, who, having now andthen tasted of the cow-hide, were in high glee at the idea of floggingwhite men. 

The worshipful general and his dutiful sons at last arrived at theirboat, quite exhausted, and almost fainting under the agony of thewell-applied lashes. Once on board, they cut their cable, and pushedinto the middle of the stream; and although Meyer had come down theriver at least ten times since, he always managed to pass the plantationduring night, and close to the bank of the opposite shore. 

I told Mr. Courtenay what I knew myself about General John Meyer; whileI was talking, his attention was attracted by a noise near the stables, which were situated at the bottom of a lane, before our windows. Weimmediately suspected that there would be an attempt to steal ourhorses; so I handed my rifle to my companion, who posted himself in aposition commanding the lane, through which the thief or thieves mustnecessarily pass. 

We waited thus in suspense for a few minutes, till Mr. Courtenay desiredme to take his place, saying, --

"If any one passes the lane with any of our horses, shoot him; I will godown myself and thrash the blackguard, for I suspect the parson willturn them into the swamps, where he is pretty certain of recovering themafterwards. "

Saying this, he advanced to the door, and was just putting has hand uponthe latch, when we heard a most terrific yell, which was followed by aneighing, which I recognized as that of my horse. Taking our pistols andbowie-knives, we hurried down the lane. 

We found that our two horses, with a third, belonging to one of thehunters, were out of the stable, and tied neck and tail, so as torequire only one person to lead them. The first one had the bridle on, and the last, which was mine, was in a state of excitement, as ifsomething unusual had happened to him. On continuing our search, wefound the body of a young man, most horribly mangled, the breast beingentirely open, and the heart and intestines hanging outside. 

It appeared that my faithful steed, which had already shown, in Texas, agreat dislike to being taken away from me, had given the thief theterrible kick, which had thrown him ten or fifteen yards, as I have saida mangled corpse. By this time, the other hunters came out to us; lightswere procured, and then we learned that the victim was the parson'seldest son, newly married, and settled on the east side of the St. Francis. The parson was not long himself in making his appearance; buthe came from an opposite direction to that of the house, and he wasdressed as on the evening before: he had evidently not been to bedduring that night. 

As soon as he became aware of the melancholy circumstance, he raved andswore that he would have the lives of the damned Frenchman and hisdamnation horse; but Mr. Courtenay went to him, and said--

"Hold your tongue, miserable man! See your own work, for you have causedthis death. It was to fetch your son, to help you to steal the horses, that you crossed the river in the dug-out. Be silent, I say; you knowme; look at your eldest-born, villain that you are! May the chain ofyour future misery be long, and the last link of it the gibbet, whichyou deserve!"

The parson was silent, even when his sobbing wife reproached him. "Iwarned thee, husband, " she said; "even now has this come, and I fearthat worse is still to come. Unlucky was the hour we met: still more sowhen the child was born;" and, leaning against the fence, shewept bitterly. 

I will pass over the remainder of this melancholy scene. We all felt forthe mother and the poor girl, who stood by with a look of despair. Saddling our horses, Mr. Courtenay and I resumed our journey, thehunters remaining behind till the arrival of the magistrate, whom wepromised to send. To procure one, we were obliged to quit the high road, and, after a ride of several miles, having succeeded in finding hishouse, we woke him, gave him the necessary directions, and, at sunrise, forded the river. 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

At last we arrived at the plantation of Mr. Courtenay: the house was oneof the very few buildings in the United States in which taste wasdisplayed. A graceful portico, supported by columns; large verandahs, sheltered by jessamine; and the garden so green and so smiling, with itsavenues of acacias and live fences of holly and locust, all recalled tomy mind the scenes of my childhood in Europe. Every thing was so neatand comfortable; the stables so airy, the dogs so well housed, and theslaves so good-humoured-looking, so clean and well dressed. 

When we descended from our horses, a handsome lady appeared at theportico, with joy and love beaming in her face, as five or six beautifulchildren, having at last perceived our arrival, left their play towelcome and kiss their father. A lovely vision of youth and beauty alsomade its appearance--one of those slender girls of the South, a woman offifteen years old, with her dark eyelashes and her streaming ebony hair;slaves of all ages--mulattoes and quadroon girls, old negroes and boynegroes, all calling together--"Eh! Massa Courtenay, kill plenty bear, dare say; now plenty grease for black family, good Massa Courtenay. "

Add to all this, the dogs barking and the horses neighing, and truly thewhole _tableau_ was one of unbounded affection and happiness, I doubtif, in all North America, there is another plantation equal to that ofMr. Courtenay. 

I soon became an inmate of the family, and for the first time enjoyedthe pleasures of highly-polished society. Mrs. Courtenay was anadmirable performer upon the harp; Miss Emma Courtenay, her niece, was adelightful pianist; and my host himself was no mean amateur upon theflute. Our evenings would pass quickly away, in reading Shakspeare, Corneille, Racine, Metastasio, or the modern writers of Englishliterature: after which we would remain till the night had far advanced, enjoying the beautiful compositions of Beethoven, Gluck, and Mozart, orthe brilliant overtures of Donizetti, Bellini, and Meyerbeer. 

Thus my time passed like a happy dream, and as, from the rainy seasonhaving just set in, all travelling was impossible. I remained many weekswith my kind entertainers, the more willingly, that the various trials Ihad undergone had, at so early an age, convinced me that, upon earth, happiness was too scarce not to be enjoyed when presented to you. Yet inthe midst of pleasure I did not forget the duty I owed to my tribe, andI sent letters to Joe Smith, the Mormon leader at Nauvoo, that we mightat once enter into an arrangement. Notwithstanding the bad season, wehad some few days of sunshine, in which pretty Miss Emma and I wouldtake long rambles in the woods; and sometimes, too, my host would invitethe hunters of his neighbourhood, for a general _battue_ against bears, deer, and wild cats. Then we would encamp out under good tents, andduring the evening, while smoking near our blazing fires, I would hearstories which taught me more of life in the United States than if I hadbeen residing there for years. 

"Dis-moi qui tu fréquentes, je te dirai qui tu es, " is the old Frenchproverb. Mr. Courtenay never chose his companions but among the moreintellectual classes of the society around him, and, of course, thesestories were not only well told, but interesting in their subject. Oftenthe conversation would fall upon the Mormons, and perceiving how anxiousI was to learn anything about this new sect, my host introduced me to avery talented gentleman, who had every information connected with theirhistory. From him I learned the particulars which gave rise toMormonism, undoubtedly the most extraordinary imposition of thenineteenth century. 

There existed years ago a Connecticut man, named Solomon Spalding, arelation of the one who invented the wooden nut-megs. By following himthrough his career, the reader will find him a Yankee of the true stock. He appears at first as a law student; then as a preacher, a merchant, and a bankrupt; afterwards he becomes a blacksmith in a small westernvillage: then a land speculator and a county schoolmaster; later still, he becomes the owner of an iron-foundry; once more a bankrupt; at last awriter and a dreamer. 

As might be expected, he died a beggar somewhere in Pennsylvania, littlethinking that, by a singular coincidence, one of his productions (the"Manuscript found"), redeemed from oblivion by a few rogues, wouldprove in their hands a powerful weapon, and be the basis of one of themost anomalous, yet powerful secessions which has ever been experiencedby the Established Church. 

We find, under the title of the "Manuscript found, " an historicalromance of the first settlers of America, endeavouring to show that theAmerican Indians are the descendants of the Jews, or the lost tribes. Itgives a detailed account of their journey from Jerusalem, by land and bysea, till they arrived in America, under the command of Nephi and Lehi. They afterwards had quarrels and contentions, and separated into twodistinct nations, one of which is denominated Nephites, and the otherLamanites. 

Cruel and bloody wars ensued, in which great multitudes were slain. Theyburied their dead in large heaps, which caused the mounds now socommonly found on the continent of America. Their knowledge in the artsand sciences, and their civilization, are dwelt upon, in order toaccount for all the remarkable ruins of cities and other curiousantiquities, found in various parts of North and South America. 

Solomon Spalding writes in the biblic style, and commences almost everysentence with, "And it came to pass, "--"Now, it came to pass. "

Although some powers of imagination, and a degree of scientificinformation are displayed throughout the whole romance, it remained forseveral years unnoticed, on the shelves of Messrs. Patterson andLambdin, printers, in Pittsbourg. 

Many years passed, when Lambdin the printer, having failed, wished _toraise the wind by some book speculation_. Looking over the variousmanuscripts then in his possession, the "Manuscript found, " venerable inits dust, was, upon examination, looked upon as a gold mine, which wouldrestore to affluence the unfortunate publisher. But death summonedLambdin away, and put an end to the speculation, as far as his interestswere concerned. 

Lambdin had intrusted the precious manuscript to his bosom friend, Sidney Rigdon, that he might embellish and alter it, as he might thinkexpedient. The publisher now dead, Rigdon allowed this _chef-d'oeuvre_to remain in his desk, till, reflecting upon his precarious means, andupon his chances of obtaining a future livelihood, a sudden idea struckhim. Rigdon well knew his countrymen, and their avidity for themarvellous; he resolved to give to the world the "_manuscript found_, "not as a mere work of imagination or disquisition, as its writer hadintended it to be, but as a new code of religion, sent down to man, asof yore, on awful Sinai, the tables were given unto Moses. 

For some time, Rigdon worked very hard, studying the Bible, altering hisbook, and preaching every Sunday. As the reader may easily imagine, ourBible student had been, as well as Spalding, a Jack-of-all-trades, having successively filled the offices of attorney, bar keeper, clerk, merchant, waiter, newspaper editor, preacher, and, finally, a hanger-onabout printing-offices, where he could always pick up some little job inthe way of proof correcting and so forth. 

To us this variety of occupations may appear very strange, but among theunsettled and ambitious population of the United States, men at the ageof fifty have been, or at least have tried to be everything, not ingradation, from the lowest up to the highest, but just as it mayhappen--doctor yesterday and waiter to-day--the Yankee philosopher willto-morrow run for a seat in legislature; if he fails, he may turn aMethodist preacher, a Mormon, a land speculator, a member of the "NativeAmerican Society, " or a mason--that is to say, a journeyman mason. 

Two words more upon Rigdon, before we leave him in his comparativeinsignificance! He is undoubtedly the father of Mormonism, and theauthor of the "Golden Book, " with the exception of a few subsequentalterations made by Joe Smith. It was easy for him, from the firstplanning of his intended imposture to publicly discuss, in the pulpit, many strange points of controversy, which were eventually to become thecorner-stones of the structure which he wished to raise. 

The novelty of the discussions was greedily received by many, and, ofcourse, prepared them for that which was coming. Yet, it seems thatRigdon soon perceived the evils which his wild imposture would generate, and he recoiled from his task, not, because there remained lurking inhis breast some few sparks of honesty, but because he wanted courage; hewas a scoundrel, but a timorous one, and always in dread of thepenitentiary. With him, Mormonism was a mere money speculation, and heresolved to shelter himself behind some fool who might bear the wholeodium, while he would reap a golden harvest, and quietly retire beforethe coming of a storm. But, as is often the case, he reckoned withouthis host; for it so happened that, in searching for a tool of thisdescription, he found in Joe Smith one not precisely what he hadcalculated upon. He wanted a compound of roguery and folly as his tooland slave; Smith was a rogue and an unlettered man, but he was whatRigdon was not aware of--a man of bold conception, full of courage andmental energy, one of those unprincipled, yet lofty, aspiring beings, who, centuries past, would have succeeded as well as Mahomet, and whohas, even in this more enlightened age, accomplished that which iswonderful to contemplate. 

When it was too late to retract, Rigdon perceived with dismay that, instead of acquiring a silly bondsman, he had subjected himself to asuperior will; he was now himself a slave, bound by fear and interest, his two great guides through life. Smith consequently became, instead ofRigdon, "the elect of God, " and is now at the head of thousands, a greatreligious and political leader. 

From the same gentleman, I also learned the history of Joseph Smith; andI will lay before the reader what, from various documents, I havesucceeded in collecting concerning this remarkable impostor, togetherwith a succinct account of the rise and progress of this new sect, as itis a remarkable feature in the history of nations. 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

My readers have already been made acquainted with the history of the"Book, " upon which the imposture of Mormonism has been founded, and ofthe acquaintance which took place between Rigdon and Joe Smith, whosecareer I shall now introduce. 

The father of Joe was one of a numerous class of people who are termed, in the west, "money diggers, " living a sort of vagrant life, imposingupon the credulous farmers by pretending that they knew of treasureconcealed, and occasionally stealing horses and cattle. Joseph Smith wasthe second son, and a great favourite of his father, who statedeverywhere that Joe had that species of second sight, which enabled himto discover where treasure was hidden. Joe did certainly turn out verysmart, and it was prophesied by the "old ones" that, provided he was nothung, Joe would certainly become a general, if he did not gain theoffice of President of the United States. But Joe's smartness was sogreat, that Palmyra, where his father usually resided, became too smallfor the exercise of his talents, and our hero set off on his travels. 

Some time afterwards Joe was again heard of. In one of his rambles, hehad gone to Harmony (Pennsylvania), and there formed an acquaintancewith a young woman. In the fall of 1826, being then at Philadelphia, heresolved to go and get married to her, but, being destitute of means, henow set his wits to work to raise some money and get a recommendation, so as to obtain the fair one of his choice. He went to a man namedLawrence, and stated that he had discovered in Pennsylvania, on the bankof the Susquehanna river, a very rich mine of silver, and if he, Lawrence, would go there with him, he might have a share in the profits;that it was near high water mark, and that they could put the silverinto boats, and take it down the river to Philadelphia, and dispose ofit. Lawrence asked Joseph if he was not deceiving him. 

"No, " replied Joe, "for I have been there and seen it with my own eyes, and if you do not find it is so when we get there, I will bind myself tobe your servant for three years. "

By oaths, asseverations, and fair promises, Lawrence was induced tobelieve in Joe's assertion, and agreed to go with him; and as Joseph wasout of money, Lawrence had to defray the whole expenses of the journey. When they arrived at Harmony, Joseph was strongly recommended byLawrence, who was well known to the parents of the young woman; afterwhich, they proceeded on their journey to the silver mine, made adiligent search, and of course found nothing. Thus Lawrence had histrouble for his pains, and returned home with his pockets lighter thanwhen he started, whilst honest Joe had not only his expenses paid, but agood recommendation to the father of his fair one. 

Joe now proposed to marry the girl, but the parents were opposed to thematch. One day, when they happened to be from home, he took advantage ofthe opportunity, went off with her, and the knot was tied. 

Being still destitute of money, he now again set his wits to work tocontrive to get back to Manchester, at that time his place of residence, and he hit upon the following plan, which succeeded. He went to anhonest old Dutchman, by the name of Stowel, and told him that he haddiscovered on the banks of the Black River, in the village of Watertown(Jefferson County, N. Y. ), a cave, in which he found a bar of gold as bigas his leg, and about three or four feet long; that he could not get itout alone on account of its great weight; and if Stowel would frank himand his wife to Manchester (N. Y. ), they would then go together to thecave, and Stowel should share the prize with him. The good Dutchmanconsented. 

A short time after their arrival at Manchester, Stowel reminded Josephof his promise, but he coolly replied that he could not go just then, ashis wife was amongst strangers, and would be very lonesome if he quittedher. Mr. Stowel was, like Mr. Lawrence, obliged to return without anyremuneration, and with less money than he came. I mention these twofreaks of Joe Smith, as they explain the money-digger's system of fraud. 

It would hardly be believed that, especially among the cunning Yankees, such "mines and treasures" stories should be credited; but it is apeculiar feature in the U. S. That the inhabitants, so difficult toover-reach in other matters, will greedily take the bait when "mines" or"hidden treasure" are spoken of. In Missouri and Wisconsin, immense bedsof copper ore and lead have been discovered in every direction. Thousands of poor, ignorant farmers, emigrants from the East, haveturned diggers, miners, and smelters. Many have accumulated largefortunes in the space of a few years, and have returned "wealthygentlemen" to their own native state, much to the astonishment of theirneighbours. 

Thus has the "mining spirit" been kept alive, and impostors of everyvariety have reaped their harvest, by speculating upon the well-knownavidity of the "_people of America!_"

It was in the beginning of 1827, that Joe, in a trip to Pittsburg, became acquainted with Rigdon. A great intimacy took place betwixt them, and they paid each other alternate visits--Joe coming to Pittsburg andRigdon going to the Susquehanna, _for pleasure excursions, at afriend's_. It was also during the year that the Smith family assumed anew character. In the month of June, Joseph Smith, sen. , went to awealthy, but credulous farmer, and related the following story:--

"That some years ago, a spirit had appeared to Joe, his son, and, in avision, informed him that in a certain place there was a record onplates of gold, and that he was the person who must obtain them, andthis he must do in the following manner:--On the 22nd of September, hemust repair to the place where these plates of gold were deposited, dressed in black clothes, and riding a black horse, with a switch tail, and demand the plates in a certain name; and, after obtaining them, hemust immediately go away, and neither lay them down nor lookbehind him. "

The farmer gave credit to old Smith's communication. He accordinglyfitted out Joseph with a suit of black clothes, and borrowed a blackhorse. Joe (by his own account) repaired to the place of deposit, anddemanded the plates, which were in a stone box, unsealed, and so nearthe surface of the ground that he could see one end of it; raising thelid up, he took out the plates of gold; but fearing some one mightdiscover where he got them, he laid them down, to replace the top stoneas he had found it; when, turning round, to his surprise, there were noplates to be seen. He again opened the box, and saw the plates in it; heattempted to take them out, but was not able. He perceived in the boxsomething like a toad, which gradually assumed the appearance of a man, and struck him on the side of his head. Not being discouraged attrifles, Joe again stooped down and attempted to take the plates, whenthe spirit struck him again, knocked him backwards three or four rods, and hurt him very much: recovering from his fright, he inquired of thespirit, why he could not take the plates; to which the spirit madereply, "Because you have not obeyed your orders. " He then inquired whenhe could have them, and was answered thus: "Come one year from this day, and bring with you your eldest brother; then you shall have them. "

"This spirit, " said the elder Joseph Smith, "was the spirit of theprophet who wrote this book, and who was sent to Joe Smith, jun. , tomake known these things to him. Before the expiration of the year, theeldest brother died; which, " the old man said, "was a decree ofProvidence. " He also added--

"Joe went one year from that day to demand the plates, and the spiritinquired for his brother, and Joe replied that he was dead. The spiritthen commanded him to come again in one year from that day, and bring aman with him. On asking who might be the man, he was answered that hewould know him when he saw him. "

Thus, while Rigdon was concocting his Bible and preaching new doctrines, the Smith family were preparing the minds of the people for theappearance of something wonderful; and although Joe Smith was well knownto be a drunken vagabond, he succeeded in inspiring, in hundreds ofuneducated farmers, a feeling of awe which they could not account for. Imust here stop in my narrative, to make a few observations. 

In the great cities of Europe and America, civilization, education, andthe active bustle of every-day life, have, to a great degree, destroyedthe superstitious feelings so common among the lower classes, and havecompletely removed the fear of evil geniuses, goblins, and spirits. Butsuch is not the case in the Western country of the United States, on theborders of the immense forests and amidst the wild and broken scenery ofglens and mountains, where torrents roll with impetuosity through cavesand cataracts; where, deprived of the amusements and novelties whichwould recreate his imagination, the farmer allows his mind to beoppressed with strange fancies, and though he may never avow thefeeling, from the fear of not meeting with sympathy, he broods over it, and is a slave to the wild phantasmagoria of his brain. The principalcause of this is, the monotony and solitude of his existence. 

At these confines of civilization, the American is always a hunter, andthose who dwell on the smaller farms, at the edges of forests, oftendepend, for their animal food, upon the skill of the male portion oftheir community. In the fall of the year, the American shoulders hisrifle, and goes alone into the wilds, to "see after his pigs, horses, and cows. " Constantly on the look-out for deer and wild bees, he resortsto the most secluded spots, to swamps, mountain ridges, or along thebushy windings of some cool stream. Constant views of nature in hergrandeur, the unbroken silence of his wanderings, causes a depression ofthe mind, and, as his faculties of sight and hearing are ever on thestretch, it affects his nervous system. He starts at the falling of adried leaf, and, with a keen and painful sensation, he scrutinizes thewithered grass before him, aware that at every step he may trample uponsome venomous and deadly reptile. Moreover, in his wanderings, he isoften pressed with hunger, and is exposed to a great deal of fatigue. 

"Fast in the wilds, and you will dream of spirits, " is an Indian axiom, and a very true one. If to the above we add, that his mind is alreadyprepared to receive the impressions of the mysterious and marvellous, wecannot wonder at their becoming superstitious. As children, they imbibea disposition for the marvellous; during the long evenings of winter, when the snow is deep, and the wild wind roars through the trees, theold people will smoke their pipes near huge blazing logs, and relate tothem some terrible adventure. They speak of unearthly noises heard nearsome caves, of hair-breadth escapes in encounters with evil spirits, under the form of wild animals; and many will whisper, that at such atime of night, returning from some neighbouring market, they have metwith the evil one in the forest, in such and such a spot, where the tworoads cross each other, or where the old oak has been blasted bylightning. 

The boy grows to manhood, but these family traditions are deeplyengraved in his memory, and when alone, in the solitude, near the"haunted places, " his morbid imagination embodies the phantoms of hisdiseased brain. No wonder, then, that such men should tamely yield tothe superior will of one like Joe Smith, who, to their knowledge, wanders alone by moon-light in the solitude of forests, and who, intheir firm belief, holds communication with spirits of another world. For, be it observed, Smith possesses all the qualities and exercises allthe tricks of the necromancers during the middle ages. His speech isambiguous, solemn, and often incomprehensible--a great proof to thevulgar of his mystical vocation. 

Cattle and horses, lost for many months, have been recovered through themeans of Joe, who, after an inward prayer, looked through a sacredstone, "the gift of God, " as he has asserted, and discovered what hewished to know. We need not say that, while the farmer was busy at homewith his crop, Smith and his gang, ever rambling in woods and glens, were well acquainted with every retired, shady spot, the usual abode ofwild as well as of tame animals, who seek there, during the summer, ashelter against the hot rays of the sun. Thus, notwithstanding his badconduct, Smith had spread his renown for hundreds of miles as that of a"strange man;" and when he started his new religion, and declaredhimself "a prophet of God, " the people did not wonder. Had Rigdon, orany other, presented himself, instead of Joe, Mormonism would never havebeen established; but in the performer of _mysterious deeds_, it seemeda natural consequence. As the stone we have mentioned did much Inraising Joe to his present high position, I will here insert anaffidavit made relative to Joe Smith's obtaining possession of thismiraculous treasure. 

 "Manchester, Ontario County, N. Y. , 1833. 

 "I became acquainted with the Smith family, known as the authors of the Mormon Bible, in the year 1820. At that time they were engaged in the money-digging business, which they followed until the latter part of the season of 1827. In the year 1822, I was engaged in digging a well; I employed Joe Smith to assist me. After digging about twenty feet below the surface of the earth, we discovered a singular-looking stone, which excited my curiosity. I brought it to the top of the well, and as we were examining it, Joseph laid it in the crown of his hat, and then put his face into the top of his hat. It has been said by Smith, that he got the stone from God, but this is false. 

 "The next morning Joe came to me, and wished to obtain the stone, alleging that he could see in it; but I told him I did not wish to part with it, on account of its being a curiosity, but would lend it. After obtaining the stone, he began to publish abroad what wonders he could discover by looking in it, and made so much disturbance among the credulous part of the community, that I ordered the stone to be returned to me again. He had it in his possession about two years. I believe, some time in 1825, Hiram Smith (Joe's brother) came to me, and wished to borrow the same stone, alleging that they wanted to accomplish some business of importance, which 'could not very well be done without the aid of the stone. ' I told him it was of no particular worth to me, but I merely wished to keep it as a curiosity, and if he would pledge me his word and honour that I should have it when called for, he Might have it; which he did, and took the stone. I thought I could rely on his word at this time, as he had made a profession of religion; but in this I was disappointed, for he disregarded both his word and honour. 

 "In the fall of 1826, a friend called upon me, and wished to see that stone about which so much had been said; and I told him, if he would go with me to Smith's (a distance of about half a mile), he might see it. To my surprise, however, on asking Smith for the stone, he said, 'You cannot have it. ' I told him it belonged to me; repeated to him the promise he had made me at the time of obtaining the stone; upon which he faced me with a malignant look, and said, '_I don't care who the devil it belongs to; you shall not have it_. '

 "Col. NAHUM HOWARD. "

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

I must pass over many details interesting in themselves, but too long toinsert in this work. It must suffice to say, that after a time Joe Smithstated that he had possession of the golden plates, and had receivedfrom heaven a pair of spectacles by means of which the unknowncharacters could be decyphered by him. It may appear strange that suchabsurd assertions should be credited, but the reader must call to mindthe credence given in this country to Joanna Southcote, and theinfatuation displayed by her proselytes to the very last. 

The origin of Mormonism deserves peculiar examination from the successwhich has attended the imposture, and the prospects which it has ofbecoming firmly established as a new creed. At its first organization, which took place at the time that the golden plates were translating, which the reader may suppose was nothing more than the contents of thebook that Rigdon had obtained possession of, and which had beenoriginally written by S. Spalding, there were but six members of thenew creed. 

These first members, consisting mostly of persons who were engaged withSmith in the translation of the plates, forthwith applied themselveswith great zeal to building up the church Their first efforts wereconfined to Western New York and Pennsylvania, where they met withconsiderable success. Alter a number of converts had been made, Smithreceived a revelation that he and all his followers should go toKirkland, in Ohio, and there take up their abode. Many obeyed thiscommand, selling their possessions, and helping each other to settle onthe spot designated. This place was the head-quarters of the Church andthe residence of the prophets until 1838; but it does not appear thatthey ever regarded it as a permanent settlement; for, in the Book ofCovenants, it is said, in speaking of Kirkland, "I consecrate this landunto them for a little season, until I the Lord provide for them togo home. "

In the spring of 1831, Smith, Rigdon, and others declared themselvesdirected by revelation to go on a journey to Missouri, and there theLord was to show them the place of the New Jerusalem. This journey wasaccordingly taken, and when they arrived, a revelation was received, pointing out the town of Independence, in Jackson County, as the centralspot of the land of promise, where they were directed to build a temple, &c. , &c. Shortly after their return to Kirkland, a number of revelationswere received, commanding the saints throughout the country to purchaseand settle in this land of promise. Accordingly, many went and began tobuild up "Zion, " as they called it. 

In 1831, a consecration law was established in the church by revelation. It was first published in the Book of Covenants, in the followingwords:--"If thou lovest me, thou shalt keep my commandments, and thoushalt consecrate all thy properties onto me with a covenant and deedwhich cannot be broken. " This law, however, has been altered since thattime. As modified, it reads thus:--"If thou lovest me, thou shalt serveand keep all of my commandments, and, behold, thou shalt remember thepoor, and consecrate of thy properties for their support that which thouhast to impart unto them, with a covenant and a deed which cannotbe broken. "

In April, 1832, a firm was established by revelation, ostensibly for thebenefit of the church, consisting of the principal members in Kirklandand Independence. The members of this firm were bound together by anoath and covenant to manage the affairs of the poor, and all thingspertaining to the church, both in Zion (Missouri) and in Shinakar(Kirkland). In June, 1833, another revelation was received to lay offKirkland in lots, and the proceeds of the sale were to go to this firm. In 1834 or 1835, the firm was divided by revelation, so that those inKirkland continued as one firm, and those in Missouri as another. In thesame revelation they are commanded to divide the consecrated propertybetween the individuals of the firm, which each separately were tomanage as stewards. 

Previous to this (1833), a revelation was received to build a temple, which was to be done by the consecrated funds, which were under thecontrol of the firm. In erecting this building the firm involved itselfin debt to a large amount; to meet which, in the revelation lastmentioned, the following appears: "Inasmuch as ye are humble andfaithful, and call on my name, behold, I will give you the victory. Igive unto you a promise that you shall be delivered this once out ofyour bondage, inasmuch as you obtain a chance to loan money by hundredsand thousands, even till you have obtained enough to deliver yourselvesout of bondage. " This was a command to borrow money, in order to freethemselves from the debt that oppressed them. They made the attempt, butfailed to get sufficient to meet their exigencies. This led to anotherexpedient. 

In 1835, Smith, Rigdon, and others, formed a mercantile house, andpurchased goods in Cleveland and in Buffalo to a very large amount, on acredit of six months. In the fall other houses were formed, and goodspurchased in the eastern cities to a still greater amount. A great partof the goods of these houses went to pay the workmen on the temple, andmany were sold on credit, so that when the notes came due the house wasnot able to meet them. Smith, Rigdon, and Co. , then attempted to borrowmoney, by issuing their notes, payable at different periods after date. This expedient not being effectual, the idea of a bank suggested itself. Accordingly, in 1837, the far-famed Kirkland bank was put intooperation, without any charter. 

This institution, by which so many have been swindled, was formed afterthe following manner. Subscribers for stock were allowed to pay theamount of their subscriptions in town lots, at five or six times theirreal value; others paid in personal property at a high valuation; andsome paid the cash. When the notes were first issued, they were currentin the vicinity, and Smith took advantage of their credit to pay offwith them the debts he and the brethren had contracted in theneighbourhood for land and other purchases. The eastern creditors, however, refused to take their notes. This led to the expedient ofexchanging them for the notes of other banks. 

Accordingly, the elders were sent off the country to barter Kirklandmoney, which they did with great zeal, and continued the operation untilthe notes were not worth sixpence to the dollar. As might have beenexpected, this institution exploded after a few months, involving Smithand his brethren in inextricable difficulties. The consequence was thathe and most of the members of the church set off. In the spring of 1838, for Missouri, pursued by their creditors, but to no effect. 

We must now go back for a short period to state another circumstance. In1836 an endowment meeting, or solemn assembly, was called, to be held inthe temple at Kirkland. It was given out that those who were inattendance at the meeting should receive an endowment or blessingsimilar to that experienced by the disciples of Christ on the day ofPentecost. When the day arrived, great numbers convened from thedifferent churches in the country. They spent the day In fasting andprayer, and in washing and perfuming their bodies; they also washedtheir feet and anointed their heads with what they called holy oil, andpronounced blessings. 

In the evening they met for the endowment; the fast was then broken, byeating light wheat bread, and drinking as much wine as they thoughtproper. Smith knew well how to infuse the spirit which they expected toreceive; so he encouraged the brethren to drink freely, telling themthat the wine was consecrated, and would not make them drank. As may besupposed, they drank to some purpose; after this, they began toprophesy, pronouncing blessings upon their friends and curses upon theirenemies; after which the meeting adjourned. 

We now return to Missouri. The Mormons who had settled in and aboutIndependence, in the year 1831, having become very arrogant, claimingthe land as their own, saying, the Lord had given it to them, and makingthe most haughty assumptions, so exasperated the old citizens, that amob was raised in 1833, and expelled the whole Mormon body from thecounty. They fled to Clay county, where the citizens permitted them tolive in quiet till 1836, when a mob spirit began to manifest itself, andthe Mormons retired to a very thinly settled district of the country, where they began to make improvements. 

This district was at the session of 1836-7 of the Missouri legislature, erected into a county by the name of Caldwell, with Far-West for itscapital. Here the Mormons remained in quiet until after the bankexplosion in Kirkland, in 1838, when Smith, Rigdon, and others of theheads of the sect arrived. Shortly after this, the Danite Society wasorganised, the object of which, at first, was to drive the dissentersout of the county. The members of this society were bound by an oath andcovenant, with the penalty of death attached to a breach of it, todefend the presidency, and each other, unto death, right or wrong. Theyhad their secret signs, by which they knew each other, either by day ornight; and were divided into bands of tens and fifties, with a captainover each band, and a general over the whole. After this body wasformed, notice was given to several of the Dissenters to leave thecounty, and they were threatened severely in case of disobedience. Theeffect of this was that many of the dissenters left. Among these wereDavid Whitmer, John Whitmer, Hiram Page, and Oliver Cowdery, allwitnesses to the Book of Mormon; also Lyman Johnson, one of thetwelve apostles. 

The day after John Whitmer left his house in Far-West, it was takenpossession of by Sidney Rigdon. About this time Rigdon preached hisfamous "Salt Sermon. " The text was--"Ye are the salt of the earth, butif the salt has lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it isthenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be troddenunder foot of men. " He informed the Mormons that the Church was thesalt; that dissenters were the salt that had lost its savour; and thatthey were literally to be trodden under the foot of the Church, untiltheir bowels should gush out. 

In one of the meetings of the Danite band, one of the leaders informedthem that the time was not far distant when the elders of the Churchshould go forth to the world with swords at their sides, and that theywould soon have to go through the State of Missouri, and slay every man, woman, and child! They had it in contemplation at one time to prophesy adreadful pestilence in Missouri, and then to poison the waters of theState, to bring it about, and thus to destroy the inhabitants. 

In the early part of the fall of the year 1838, the last disturbancebetween the Mormons and the Missourians commenced. It had its origin atan election in Davies county, some of the Mormons had located. A citizenof Davies, in a conversation with a Mormon, remarked that the Mormonsall voted one way. This was denied with warmth; a violent contestensued, when, at last, the Mormon called the Missourian a liar. Theycame to blows, and the quarrel was followed by a row between the Mormonsand the Missourians. 

A day or two after this, Smith, with a company of men from Far-West, went into Davies county, for the purpose, as they said, of quelling themob; but when they arrived, the mob had dispersed. The citizens ofDavies gathered in their turn; however, the Mormons soon collected aforce to the amount of five hundred men, and compelled the citizens toretire; they fled, leaving the country deserted for many miles around. At this time, the Mormons killed between two and three hundred hogs, anda number of cattle; took at least forty or fifty stands of honey, and atthe same time destroyed several fields of corn. The word was given outthat the Lord had consecrated, through the Church, the spoils untoHis host. 

All this was done when they had plenty of their own, and previous to thecitizens in that section of the country taking anything from them. Theycontinued these depredations for near a week, when the Clay CountyMilitia was ordered out. The contest was a bloody one: suffice it to saythat, finally, Smith, Rigdon, and many others were taken, and, at acourt of inquiry, were remanded over for trial. Rigdon was afterwardsdischarged on _habeas corpus_, and Smith and his comrades, after beingin prison several months, escaped from their guards, and reached Quincy, Illinois. The Mormons had been before ordered to leave the State, bydirection of the governor, and many had retired to Illinois previous toSmith's arrival. 

The Mormons, as a body, arrived in Illinois in the early part of theyear 1839, in a state of great destitution and wretchedness. Theircondition, with their tales of persecutions and privations, wroughtpowerfully upon the sympathies of the citizens, and caused them to bereceived with the greatest hospitality and kindness. After the arrivalof Smith, the greater part of them settled at Commerce, situated uponthe Mississippi river, at the lower rapids, just opposite the entranceof the river Des Monies, a site equal in beauty to any on the river. Here they began to build, and in the short time of four years they haveraised a city. At first, as was before said, on account of their formersufferings, and also from the great political power which theypossessed, from their unity, they were treated by the citizens ofIllinois with great respect; but subsequent events have turned the tideof feeling against them. 

In the winter of 1840, they applied to the legislature of the State forseveral charters; one for the city of Nauvoo, the name Smith had givento the town of Commerce; one for the Nauvoo legion, a military body; onefor manufacturing purposes, and one for the Nauvoo University. Theprivileges which they asked for were very extensive, and such was thedesire to secure their political support, that all were granted for themere asking; indeed, the leaders of the American legislature seemed tovie with each other in sycophancy towards this body of fanaticalstrangers, so anxious was each party to do them some favour that wouldsecure their gratitude. This tended to produce jealousy in the minds ofthe neighbouring citizens, and fears were expressed lest a body sounited, religiously and politically, might become dangerous to liberalinstitutions. 

The Mormons had at every election voted in a body with their leaders;this alone made them formidable. The legion of Mormons had been amplysupplied with arms by the state, and the whole body was under thestrictest military discipline. These facts, together with complaintssimilar to those which were made in Missouri, tended to arouse a strongfeeling against them, and at last, in the early part of the summer of1841, the citizens of Illinois organized a strong force in opposition;the Mormons were beaten in the contest. The disposition now manifestedby the citizens appears to be to act upon the defensive, but at allhazards to maintain their rights. 

As regards the pecuniary transactions of the Mormons since they havebeen in Illinois, Smith still uses his power for his own benefit. Hispresent arrangements are to purchase land at a low rate, lay it off intotown lots, which he sells to his followers at a high price; thus lotsthat scarcely cost him a dollar, are frequently sold for a thousand. Hehas raised several towns in this manner, both in Illinois and in Iowa. 

During the last year, he has made two proclamations to his followersabroad, to come and settle in the county of Hancock. These proclamationshave been obeyed to a great extent, and, strange to say, hundreds havebeen flocking in from the great manufacturing cities of England. WhatIs to be the result of all this, it is impossible to tell; but one thingIs certain, that, in a political point of view, the Mormons are alreadypowerful, and that the object of Smith Is evidently to collect all hisfollowers Into one focus, and thus concentrate all his power and wealth. 

The designs of Smith and his coadjutors, at the time of the firstpublication of the Book of Mormon, was, doubtlessly, nothing more thanpecuniary aggrandizement. We do not believe they expected at that timethat so many could ever be duped to be converted; when, however, thedelusion began to spread, the publishers saw the door opened not onlyfor wealth, but also for extensive power, and their history throughoutshows that they have not been remiss in their efforts to acquire both. The extent of their desires is now by no means limited, for theirwritings and actions show a design to pursue the same path, and attainthe same end by the same means, as did Mahomet. The idea of a secondMahomet arising in the nineteenth century may excite a smile, but whenwe consider the steps now taken by the Mormons to concentrate theirnumbers, and their ultimate design to unite themselves with the Indians, it will not be at all surprising, if scenes unheard of since the days offeudalism should soon be re-enacted. 

I will here submit to my readers a letter directed to Mr. Courtenay in1842, by a superior officer of the United States artillery. 

"Yesterday (July the 10th) was a great day among the Mormons; theirlegion, to the number of three thousand men, was reviewed by GeneralsSmith, Bennet, and others, and certainly made a very noble and imposingappearance; the evolutions of the troops commanded by Joe would dohonour to any body of regular soldiers In England. France, or Prussia. What does this mean? Why this exact discipline of the Mormon corps? Dothey intend to conquer Missouri, Illinois, Mexico? It Is true they arepart of the militia of the state of Illinois, by the charter of theirlegion, but then there are no troops In the States like them in point ofdiscipline and enthusiasm; and led on by ambitious and talentedofficers, what may not be effected by them? perhaps the subversion ofthe constitution of the United States; and If this should be consideredtoo great a foreign conquest will most certainly be attempted. Thenorthern provinces of Mexico will fall into their hands, even if Texasshould first take possession of them. 

"These Mormons are accumulating, like a snow-ball rolling down aninclined plane. They are also enrolling among their officers some of thefirst talent in the country, by titles which they give and by moneywhich they can command. They have appointed Captain Henry Bennet, lateof the United States army, Inspector-General of their legion, and he iscommissioned as such by Governor Carlin. This gentleman is known to bewell skilled in fortification, gunnery, and military engineeringgenerally; and I am assured that he is receiving regular pay, derivedfrom the tithing of this warlike people. I have seen his plans forfortifying Nauvoo, which are equal to any of Vauban's. 

"General John C. Bennet (a new England man) is the prophet's great gun. They call him, though a man of diminutive stature, the 'forty-twopounder. ' He might have applied his talents in a more honourable cause;but I am assured that he is well paid for the important services he isrendering this people, or, I should rather say, rendering the prophet. This gentleman exhibits the highest degree of field military talent(field tactics), united with extensive learning. He may yet becomedangerous to the states. He was quartermaster-general of the state ofIllinois, and, at another time, a professor in the Erie University. Itwill, therefore, be seen that nothing but a high price could havesecured him to these fanatics. Only a part of their officers andprofessors are Mormons: but then they are united by a common interest, and will act together on main points to a man. Those who are not Mormonswhen they come here, very soon become so, either from interest orconviction. 

"The Smiths are not without talent; Joe, the chief, is a noble-lookingfellow, a Mahomet every inch of him; the postmaster, Sidney Rigdon, is alawyer, a philosopher, and a saint. The other generals are also men oftalent, and some of them men of learning. I have no doubt they are allbrave, as they are most unquestionably ambitious, and the tendency oftheir religious creed is to annihilate all other sects. We may, therefore, see the time when this gathering host of religious fanaticswill make this country shake to its centre. A western empire is certain. Ecclesiastical history presents no parallel to this people, inasmuch asthey are establishing their religion on a learned basis. In theircollege, they teach all the sciences, with Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Italian, and Spanish; the mathematical department is under an extremelyable professor, of the name of Pratt; and a professor of TrinityCollege, Dublin, is president of their university. 

"I arrived there, incog. , on the 1st inst. , and, from the greatpreparations for the military parade, was induced to stay to see theturn-out, which, I confess, has astonished and filled me with fears forthe future consequences. The Mormons, it is true, are now peaceable, butthe lion is asleep. Take care, and don't rouse him. 

"The city of Nauvoo contains about fifteen thousand souls, and israpidly increasing. It is well laid out, and the municipal affairsappear to be well conducted. The adjoining country is a beautifulprairie. Who will say that the Mormon prophet is not among the greatspirits of the age?

"The Mormons number, in Europe and America, about one hundred and fiftythousand, and are constantly pouring into Nauvoo and the neighbouringcountry. There are probably in and about this city, at a short distancefrom the river, not far from thirty thousand of these warlike fanatics, and it is but a year since they have settled in the Illinois. "

CHAPTER XL. 

While I was at Mr. Courtenay's plantation I had a panther adventure, acircumstance which, in itself, would be scarcely worth mentioning, wereit not that this fierce animal was thought to have entirely left thecountry for more than twenty years. For several days there had been arapid diminution among the turkeys, lambs, and young pigs in theneighbourhood, and we had unsuccessfully beaten the briars andcane-brakes, expecting at every moment to fall in with some largetiger-cat, which had strayed from the southern brakes. After muchfruitless labour, Mr. Courtenay came to the conclusion that a gang ofnegro marroons were hanging about, and he ordered that a watch shouldfor the future be kept every night. 

It happened that the whole family was one day invited to a wedding onthe other side of the river. Not having any clothes fit for a party, Iremained at home, and at mid-day started on horseback alone, with allthe dogs, for a battue. The day was sultry, although windy; as the roarof the wind in the canes prevented me from hearing the barking of thedogs, having arrived at one of our former hunting camping-places, fifteen miles from the house, I threw myself upon the ground, andallowed my horse to graze. I had scarcely been half-an-hour occupied insmoking my pipe, when all the dogs, in full cry, broke from the briars, and rushed into the cane-brakes, passing me at a distance of thirtyyards. I knew it was neither bear nor deer that they were running after, and as I had observed a path through the canes, I leaped upon my saddle, and followed the chase, wondering what it could be, as, had the animalbeen any of the smaller feline species, it would have kept to thebriars, where dogs have never the least chance against them. 

I rode briskly till I arrived at a large cypress swamp, on the otherside of which I could perceive through the openings another cane-brake, higher and considerably thicker. I fastened my horse, giving him thewhole length of the lasso, to allow him to browse upon the young leavesof the canes, and with my bowie knife and rifle entered the swamp, following the trail of the dogs. When I came to the other cane-brake, Iheard the pack before me barking most furiously, and evidently at bay, Icould only be directed by the noise, as it was impossible for me to seeanything; so high and thick were the canes, that I was obliged to open away with my knife, and it was with much trouble and fatigue that Iarrived within twenty yards of the dogs. I knew that I was once moreapproaching a swamp, for the canes were becoming thinner; raising myeyes, I perceived that I was in the vicinity of a large cotton-tree, atthe foot of which probably the dogs were standing. Yet I could not seethem, and I began to examine with care the upper limbs of the tree, toascertain if any tiger-cat had lodged itself upon some of the forks. Butthere was nothing that I could discover; cutting the canes on the leftand the right, I advanced ten yards more, when, to my surprise, Iperceived, thirty feet above me, a large panther embracing the trunk ofa tree with its huge paws, and looking angrily below at the dogs. 

I would have retired, but I dared not, as I feared that the least noisewould attract the attention of the animal, who would spring upon me fromits elevated position. The dogs barked louder and louder; twice Iraised my rifle, but did not fire, my nerves were too much agitated, andmy arms shook. At last I regained my self-command, and reflecting thatamong the pack there were some dogs almost a match for the terribleanimal, I rested my rifle upon the limb of one of the heavy canes, andfired: my aim was true, the brute fell mortally wounded, though notdead; half of the dogs were upon it in a moment, but, shaking them off, the animal attempted to re-ascend the tree. The effort, however, wasabove its strength, and, after two useless springs, it attempted to slipaway. At that moment the larger dogs sprang upon the animal, which couldstruggle no longer, as life was ebbing fast with the stream of blood. Ere I had time to reload my rifle, it was dead. 

When I approached, all the dogs were upon the animal, except a fiercelittle black bitch, generally the leader of the pack; I saw her dartthrough the canes with her nose on the ground, and her tail hanging low. The panther was a female, very lean, and of the largest size; by herdugs I knew she had a cub which could not be far off, and I tried toinduce the pack to follow the bitch, but they were all too busy intearing and drinking the blood of the victim, and it was not safe to useforce with them. For at least ten minutes I stood contemplating them, waiting till they would be tired. All at once I heard a bark, a growl, and a plaintive moan. I thought at first that the cub had beendiscovered, but as the dogs started at full speed, following the chasefor more than twenty minutes, I soon became convinced that it must besome new game, either a boar or a bear. I followed, but had not gonefifty steps, when a powerful rushing through the canes made me awarethat the animal pursued had turned back on its trail, and, twenty yardsbefore me, I perceived the black bitch dead and horribly mangled. I wasgoing up to her, when the rushing came nearer and nearer; I had justtime to throw myself behind a small patch of briars, before anotherpanther burst out from the cane-brakes. 

[Illustration: "With a long and light spring it broke out of thecanes. "]

I had never seen before so tremendous, and, at the same time, somajestic and so beautiful an animal, as with a long and light spring itbroke out of the canes. It was a male; his jaws were covered with foamand blood; his tail was lashing through the air, and at times he lookedsteadily behind, as if uncertain if he would run or fight hispursuers. At last his eyes were directed to the spot where the bitch laydead, and with a single bound he was again upon the body, and rolled itunder his paws till it had lost all shape. As the furious animal stoodthus twenty yards before me, I could have fired, but dared not do so, while the dogs were so far off. However, they soon emerged from thebrake, and rushed forward. A spirited young pup, a little ahead of theothers, was immediately crushed by his paw, and making a few boundstowards a large tree, he climbed to the height of twenty feet, where heremained, answering to the cries of the dogs with a growl as loudas thunder. 

I fired, and this time there was no struggle. My ball had penetratedthrough the eye to the brain, yet the brute in its death strugglestill clung on. 

At last the claws relaxed from their hold, and it fell down a ponderousmass, terrible still in death. 

The sun had already set, and not wishing to lose any time in skinningthe animal, I merely cut off its long tail, which I secured as a trophyround my waist. My adventures, however, were not yet terminated, forwhile I was crossing the short width of cane-brake which was between meand where the she-panther laid dead, the dogs again gave tongue, and, inless than three minutes, had tracked another animal. Night was coming onpretty fast, and I was beginning to be alarmed. Till now I had beensuccessful, each time having destroyed, with a single ball, a terribleenemy, whom even the boldest hunters fear to attack alone; but should Ihave the same good luck in a third encounter? It was more than I couldexpect, especially as the darkness would render it more difficult totake a certain aim. I therefore allowed the dogs to bark as much as theypleased, and forced my way to my first victim, the tail of which I alsosevered, as a proof of my prowess. It, however, occurred to me that ifthere were many more panthers in the cover, it would be very unsafe toreturn alone to where I had left my horse. I therefore made sure that myrifle was in good order, and proceeded towards the place where the dogswere still baying. There I beheld another panther, but this time it wasa sport unattended by any danger, for the animal was a very young cub, who had taken refuge fifteen feet from the ground upon a tree which hadbeen struck by lightning, and broken off about three yards from itsroots. The animal was on the broken part which had its summit entangledin the lower branches of another tree. 

It was truly a pretty sight, as the little animal's tail, hanging down, served as a _point de mire_ to all the dogs, who were jumping up tocatch it. The cub was delighted, mewing with high glee, sometimesrunning up, sometimes down, just to Invite his playfellows to come tohim. I felt great reluctance to kill so graceful and playful an animal, but it became a necessity, as no endeavours of mine could have forcedthe dogs to leave it. I shot him, and, tying him round my neck, I nowbegan to seek, with some anxiety, for the place where I had leftmy horse. 

There is but little twilight in America, in the spring of the yearespecially; great was my hurry, and consequently less was my speed. Ilost my trail, bogged myself in a swamp, tore my hands and face with thebriars, and, after an hour of severe fatigue, at last heard my horse, who was impatient at being left alone, neighing loudly. Though mydistance to the house was only eighteen miles and the road quite safe, Icontrived to lose myself three or four times, till, _en désespoir_, Ithrew the bridle on my horse's neck, trusting to his instinct toextricate me from my difficulties. 

It was nearly midnight when I approached the back fences of Mr. Courtenay's plantation, and I wondered very much at seeing torchesglaring in every direction. I galloped rapidly through the lane, andlearned from a negro that the family had long returned home, and thatsupper had been, as usual, served at eight o'clock; that they had beenanxiously waiting for me, and that Mr. Courtenay, fearing some accidenthad happened, had resolved to go himself in search of me with the majorportion of his negroes. Leaving my horse to the care of the slave, I rantowards the house, where the dogs had already announced my arrival. Thefamily came under the portico to welcome me, and simultaneously asked mewhat could have detained me so long. "I have caught the robbers, "replied I, approaching the group, "I have killed them and lost two dogs;here are my _spolia opima_. "

My host was thunderstruck; he was too much of a hunter not to be able toestimate the size of the animals by the tokens I had brought with me, and he had believed that for the last twenty or thirty years, not one ofthese terrible animals was actually living in the country. The fact wasso very remarkable, that he insisted on going himself that very nightwith his negroes to skin the animals; and, after a hasty meal, he leftus to fulfil his intentions. Relating my adventures to my kind hostessand her niece, I had the satisfaction of feeling that my narrativeexcited emotions which could only arise from a strong interest inmy welfare. 

This panther story got wind, and nothing could convince the neighbouringfarmers but the very sight of the skins. All the western newspapersrelated the matter, and for two months at least I was quite a "lion. "

A few days after that adventure, the _Caroline_, the largest and fineststeamboat upon the Mississippi, struck a snag in coming down the stream, and sank immediately. The river, however, being very low, the upperdecks remained above water, and help coming down from the neighbouringplantations, all the passengers were soon brought on shore without anyloss of life. Three hundred sheep, one hundred hogs, eighty cows, andtwelve horses were left to their fate, and it was a painful sight towitness the efforts of the poor brutes struggling against the powerfulcurrent and looking towards the people on shore, as if to implorefor help. 

Only one pig, two cows, and five horses ever reached the bank of theriver, many disappearing under the repeated attacks of the gar-fish, andother monsters, and the remainder carried by the stream to feed thealligators and the cawanas of the south. But very few objects on boardwere insured, and hundreds of hogsheads of Missouri tobacco and barrelsof Kentucky flour were several days afterwards picked up by the Arkansasand Tennessee wreckers. Articles thus lost by shipwreck upon theMississippi are seldom reclaimed, as the principal owners of the goods, on hearing the news, generally collect all the property which they can, run away, change their names, and enter upon new speculations inanother state. 

Among the passengers on board, Mr. Courtenay recognized several of hisfriends, whom he directly invited into the mansion, while temporarysheds were erected for the others, till steamboat should pass and takethem off. So sudden had been the catastrophe, that no luggage of anykind had been saved, and several Englishmen, travelling to purchasecotton and minerals, suffered very serious loss. As to the Americansthemselves, though they complained very loudly, vowing they would bringan action against the river, the steamboats, against every boat, andevery thing, for I don't know how many millions of dollars, their losseswere very trifling, as it is the custom for a man in the Western Statesto carry all his money in his pocket-book, and his pocket-book in hispocket; as to luggage, he never has any except a small valise, two feetlong, in which are contained a shirt, two bosoms, three frills, a razor, and a brush, which may serve for his head, clothing, boots, andperhaps teeth. 

It was amusing to hear all the complaints that were made and toenumerate the sums which were stated to have been lost; there was notone among the travellers, even among those who had taken a deck-passage, who had not lost from ten to fifty thousand dollars, with which he wasgoing to purchase a cotton plantation, a steamboat, or a whole cargo ofHavannah cigars. What made it more ridculous was the facility with whicheverybody found a witness to certify his loss, "I had five thousanddollars, " one would say; "ask the general, he will tell you if it istrue. " "True, as I am an honest man, " would answer the general, "to wit, that I swapped with the judge my eastern notes for his southern ones. "

It would be impossible to explain to a sober Englishman the life that isled on, and the numerous tricks that are played in, a Mississippisteamboat. One I will mention, which will serve as a sample. Anitinerant preacher, well known as a knave upon both banks, and the wholelength of the river, used (before he was sent to the Penitentiary forpicking pockets) to live comfortably in the steamboats without everpaying a farthing. From St. Louis he would book for New Orleans, and thepassage-money never being asked in the West but at the termination ofthe trip, the preacher would go on shore at Vicksburg, Natches, Bayou, Sarah, or any other such station in the way. Then he would get on boardany boat bound to the Ohio, book himself for Louisville, and step onshore at Memphis. He had no luggage of any kind except a green cottonumbrella; but, in order to lull all suspicion, he contrived always tosee the captain or the clerk in his office, and to ask themconfidentially if they knew the man sleeping in the upper bed, if he wasrespectable, as he, the preacher, had in his trunks considerable sumsintrusted to him by some societies. The consequence was, that, believinghim rich, the captain and officers would pay him a great deal ofattention, inviting him to wine and liquor. When he disappeared, theywould express how sorry they were to have been obliged to leave thegentleman behind, but they hoped they would see him at St. Louis, NewOrleans, or Louisville, or hear from him, so as to know where to directhis trunks. But they would soon ascertain that there were no trunks leftbehind, that there had never been any brought on board, and that theyhad been duped by a clever sharper. 

In less than twenty-four hours almost all the passengers had got onboard some other boats, but those who had been invited by Mr. Courtenaytarried a few days with us, for we were on the eve of a great fishingparty on the lake, which in the Far-West is certainly a very curiousscene. Among the new guests were several cotton planters from the South, and English cotton-brokers. One of them had passed a short time amongthe Mormons, at Nauvoo, and had many amusing stories to tell of them. One I select among many, which is the failure of an intended miracle byJoe Smith. 

Towards the close of a fine summer's day, a farmer of Ioway found arespectable-looking man at his gate, who requested permission to passthe night under his roof. The hospitable farmer readily complied; thestranger was invited into the house, and a warm and substantial supperset before him. 

After he had eaten, the farmer, who appeared to be a jovial, warm-hearted, humorous, and withal a shrewd old man, passed severalhours in conversation with his guest, who seemed to be very ill at ease, both in body and mind; yet, as if desirous of pleasing his entertainer, he replied courteously and agreeably to whatever was said to him. Finally, he pleaded fatigue and illness as an excuse for retiring torest, and was conducted by the farmer to an upper chamber where hewent to bed. 

About the middle of the night, the farmer and his family were awakenedby dreadful groans, which they soon ascertained proceeded from thechamber of the traveller. On going to ascertain the cause, they foundthat the stranger was dreadfully ill, suffering the most acute painsand uttering the most doleful cries apparently quite unconscious of whatwas passing around him. Everything that kindness and experience couldsuggest was done to relieve the sick man; but all efforts were in vain, and, to the consternation of the farmer and his family, their guest, inthe course of a few hours, expired. 

At an early hour in the morning, in the midst of their trouble andanxiety, two travellers came to the gate, and requested entertainment. The farmer told them that he would willingly offer them hospitality, butthat just now his household was in the greatest confusion, on account ofthe death of a stranger, the particulars of which he proceeded to relateto them. They appeared to be much surprised and grieved at the poorman's calamity, and politely requested permission to see the corpse. This, of course, the farmer readily granted, and conducted them to thechamber in which laid the dead body. They looked at it for a few minutesin silence, and then the oldest of the pair gravely told the farmer thatthey were elders of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, andwere empowered by God to perform miracles, even to the extent of raisingthe dead; and that they felt quite assured they could bring to life theman who laid dead before them!

The farmer was, of course, "pretty considerably, " astonished at thequality and powers of the persons who addressed him, and, ratherincredulously asked if they were quite sure that they could perform allwhich they professed. 

"O certainly! not a doubt of it. The Lord has commissioned us expresslyto work miracles, in order to prove the truth of the prophet JosephSmith, and the inspiration of the books and doctrines revealed to him. Send for all your neighbours, that, in the presence of a multitude, wemay bring the dead man to life, and that the Lord and his church may beglorified to all men. "

The farmer, after a little consideration, agreed to let themiracle-workers proceed, and, as they desired, sent his children to hisneighbours, who, attracted by the expectation of a miracle, flocked tothe house in considerable numbers. 

The Mormon elders commenced their task by kneeling and praying beforethe body with uplifted hands and eyes, and with most stentorian lungs. Before they had proceeded far with their prayer, a sudden idea struckthe farmer, who quietly quitted the house for a few minutes, and thenreturned, and waited patiently by the bedside, until the prayer wasfinished, and the elders ready to perform their miracle. Before theybegan, he respectfully said to them, that, with their permission, hewished to ask them a few questions upon the subject of this miracle. They replied that they had no objection. The farmer then asked, --

"You are quite certain that you can bring this man to life again?"

"We are. "

"How do you know that you can?"

"We have just received a revelation from the Lord, informing us that wecan. "

"Are you quite sure that the revelation was from the Lord?"

"Yes; we cannot be mistaken about it. "

"Does your power to raise this man to life again depend upon theparticular nature of his disease? or could you now bring any dead manto life?"

"It makes no difference to us; we could bring any corpse to life. "

"Well, if this man had been killed, and one of his arms cut off, couldyou bring him to life, and also restore to him his arm?"

"Certainly! there is no limit to the power given us by the Lord. Itwould make no difference, even if both his arms and legs were cut off. "

"Could you restore him, if his head had been cut off?"

"Certainly we could!"

"Well, " said the farmer, with a quiet smile upon his features "I do notdoubt the truth of what such holy men assert; but I am desirous that myneighbours here should be fully converted, by having the miracleperformed in the completest manner possible. So, by your leave, if itmakes no difference whatever, I will proceed to cut off the head ofthis corpse. "

Accordingly, he produced a huge and well-sharpened broad axe frombeneath his coat, which he swung above his head, and was, apparently, about to bring it down upon the neck of the corpse, when, lo and behold!to the amazement of all present, the dead man started up in greatagitation, and swore that, "by hell and jingo, " he would not have hishead cut off, in any consideration whatever!

The company immediately seized the Mormons, and soon made them confessthat the pretended dead man was also a Mormon elder, and that they hadsent him to the farmer's house, with directions to die there at aparticular hour, when they would drop in, as if by accident, and performa miracle that would astonish everybody. The farmer, after giving theimpostors a severe chastisement, let them depart to practise their_humbug_ in some other quarter. 

These two "_Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints_", were honest Joe and his worthy _compeer_ and coadjutor, Sidney Rigdon. 

CHAPTER XLI. 

The day of the fishing at length arrived; our party of ladies andgentlemen, with the black cooks and twenty slaves, started two hoursbefore sunrise, and, after a smart ride of some twelve miles, we haltedbefore a long row of tents, which had been erected for the occasion, onthe shores of one of these numerous and beautiful western lakes. Fiftynegroes were already on the spot, some cutting wood for fuel, somepreparing breakfast, while others made ready the baits and lines, orcleaned empty barrels, in which our intended victims were to be salted. We scarcely had had time to look around us, when, from twenty differentquarters, we beheld the approach of as many parties, who had beeninvited to share the sport. We greeted them planter fashion;--"Are youhungry, eh, eh?--Sam, Napoleon, Washington, Caesar--quick--thebreakfast. "

For several days previous, all the creeks of the neighbourhood had beendrained of their cray-fish, minnows, and shell-fish. All the dug-outsand canoes from every stream thirty miles round had also been dragged tothe lake, and it was very amusing to see a fleet of eighty boats andcanoes of every variety, in which we were about to embark to prosecuteour intentions against the unsuspecting inhabitants of the water. 

After a hearty, though somewhat hasty meal, we proceeded to business;every white man taking with him a negro, to bait his line and unhook thefish; the paddles were soon put in motion, and the canoes, keeping adistance of fifty yards from each other, having now reached the deepestpart of the lake, bets were made as to who would pull up the first fish, the ladies on shore watching the sport, and the caldrons upon the fireready to receive the first victims. I must not omit to mention, that twoof the larger canoes, manned only by negroes, were ordered to pull upand down the line of fishing-boats and canoes, to take out the fish asthey were captured. 

At a signal given by the ladies, the lines were thrown into the lake, and, almost at the same moment, a deafening hurrah of a hundred voicesannounced that all the baits had been taken before reaching the bottom, every fisherman imagining that he had won his bet. The winner, however, could never be ascertained, and nobody gave it a second thought allbeing now too much excited with the sport. The variety of the fish wasequal to the rapidity with which they were taken: basses, perch, sun-fish, buffaloes, trouts, and twenty other sorts. In less than halfan hour my canoe was full to sinking: and I should certainly have sunkwith my cargo, had it not been most opportunely taken out by one of thespare boats. All was high glee on shore and on the lake, and the scenewas now and then still diversified by comic accidents, causing the moremirth, as there was no possibility of danger. 

The canoe next to me was full to the gunwale, which was not two inchesabove water: it contained the English traveller and a negro, who wasquite an original in his way. As fish succeeded to fish, their positionbecame exceedingly ludicrous: the canoe was positively sinking, and theywere lustily calling for assistance. The spare boat approached rapidly, and had neared them to within five yards, when the Englishman's line wassuddenly jerked by a very heavy fish, and so unexpectedly, that thesportsman lost his equilibrium and fell upon the larboard side ofthe canoe. 

The negro, wishing to restore the equilibrium, threw his weight on theopposite side; unluckily, this had been the simultaneous idea of hiswhite companion, who also rolled over the fish to starboard. The canoeturned the turtle with them, and away went minnows, crawfish, lines, men, and all. Everybody laughed most outrageously, as the occupants ofthe canoe reappeared upon the surface of the water, and made straightfor the shore, not daring to trust to another canoe after their ducking. The others continued fishing till about half-past nine, when the raysof the sun were becoming so powerful as to compel us to seek shelter inthe tents. 

If the scene on the lake had been exciting, it became not less soon-shore, when all the negroes, male and female, crowding together, began to scale, strip, and salt the fish. Each of them had an account togive of some grand fishery, where a monstrous fish, a mile in length, had been taken by some fortunate "Sambo" of the South. The girls gapedwith terror and astonishment, the men winking and trying to look grave, while spinning these yarns, which certainly beat all the wonders of theveracious Baron Munchausen. 

The call to renew the sport broke off their ludicrous inventions. Ourfortune was as great as in the forenoon, and at sunset we returned home, leaving the negroes to salt and pack the fish in barrels, for the supplyof the plantation. 

A few days afterwards, I bade adieu to Mr. Courtenay and his delightfulfamily, and embarked myself and horse on board of one of the steamersbound to St. Louis, which place I reached on the following morning. 

St. Louis has been described by so many travellers, that it is quiteuseless to mention anything about this "queen city of the Mississippi. "I will only observe, that my arrival produced a great sensation amongthe inhabitants, to whom the traders in the Far West had often toldstories about the wealth of the Shoshones. In two or three days, Ireceived a hundred or more applications from various speculators, "to goand kill the Indians in the West, and take away their treasures;" and Ishould have undoubtedly received ten thousand more, had I not hit upon agood plan to rid myself of all their importunities. I merely sent allthe notes to the newspapers as fast as I received them; and it excited ahearty laugh amongst the traders, when thirty letters appeared in thecolumns, all of them written in the same tenour and style. 

One evening I found at the post-office a letter from Joseph Smithhimself, in which he invited me to go to him without any loss of time, as the state of affairs having now assumed a certain degree ofimportance, it was highly necessary that we should at once come to acommon understanding. Nothing could have pleased me more than thiscommunication, and the next morning I started from St. Louis, arrivingbefore noon at St. Charles, a small town upon the Missouri, inhabitedalmost entirely by French Creoles, fur-traders, and trappers. There, for the first time, I saw a steam-ferry, and, to say the truth, I do notunderstand well how horses and waggons could have been transported overbefore the existence of steamboats, as, in that particular spot, themighty stream rolls its muddy waters with an incredible velocity, forming whirlpools, which seem strong enough to engulf anything that maycome into them. 

From St. Charles I crossed a hilly land, till I arrived once more uponthe Mississippi; but there "the father of the waters, " (as the Indianscall it) presented an aspect entirely new: its waters, not having yetmixed with those of the Missouri, were quite transparent; the banks, too, were several hundred feet high, and recalled to my mind thecountries watered by the Buona Ventura River. For two days I continuedmy road almost always in sight of the stream, till at last, the groundbecoming too broken and hilly, I embarked upon another steam ferry atLouisiana, a rising and promising village, and landed upon the shores ofIllinois, where the level prairies would allow of more rapid travelling. 

The state of Missouri, in point of dimensions, is the second state ofthe Union, being inferior in extent only to Virginia. It extends from36° to 40° 35' N. Lat, and from 89° 20' to 95° W. Long. , having an areaof about 68, 500 square miles. Its boundaries, as fixed by theConstitution, are a line drawn from a point in the middle of theMississippi, in 36° N. Lat. , and along that parallel, west to itsintersection, a meridian line passing through the mouth of the Kansas. Thence, the western boundary was originally at that meridian: but, byact of Congress in 1836, the triangular tract between it and theMissouri, above the mouth of the Kansas, was annexed to the state. Onthe north, the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids ofthe River Desmoines, forms the boundary between that river andthe Missouri. 

The surface of that portion of the state which lies north of theMissouri is, in general, moderately undulating, consisting of anagreeable interchange of gentle swells and broad valleys, and rarely, though occasionally, rugged, or rising into hills of much elevation. With the exception of narrow strips of woodland along the water-courses, almost the whole of this region is prairie, at least nine-tenths beingwholly destitute of trees. The alluvial patches or river-bottoms areextensive, particularly on the Missouri, and generally of greatfertility; and the soil of the upland is equal, if not superior, to thatof any other upland tract in the United States. The region south of theMissouri River and west of the Osage, is of the same description; thenorthern and western Missouri country is most delightful, a soil ofinexhaustible fertility, and a salubrious climate, rendering it a mostdesirable and pleasant residence; but south-east of the latter river, the state is traversed by numerous ridges of the Ozark mountains, andthe surface is here highly broken and rugged. 

This mountainous tract has a breadth of from one hundred to one hundredand fifty miles; but although it often shoots up into precipitous peaks, it is believed that they rarely exceed two thousand feet in height; noaccurate measurements of their elevation have, however, been made, andlittle is known of the course and mutual relations of the chains. Thetimber found here is pitch-pine, shrub oaks, cedar, &c. , indicative ofthe poverty of the soil; in the uplands of the rest of the state, hickory, post-oak, and white oaks, &c. , are the prevailing growth; andin river-bottoms, the cotton-tree, sycamore, or button-wood, maple, ash, walnut, &c. , predominate. The south-eastern corner of the state, belowCape Girardeau, and east of the Black River, is a portion of the immenseinundated region which borders the Arkansas. A considerable part of thistract is indeed above the reach of the floods, but these patches areisolated and inaccessible, except by boats, during the rise ofthe waters. 

My friend, Mr. Courtenay, penetrated these swamps with three Indians andtwo negroes. His companions were bogged and lost; he returned, havingkilled seven fine elks, and two buffaloes. Some of these mighty animalshave been breeding there for a long while, undisturbed by man. 

The state of Missouri is abundantly supplied with navigable channels, affording easy access to all parts. The Mississippi washes the easternborder, by the windings of the stream, for a distance of about fourhundred and seventy miles. Above St. Genevieve, it flows for the mostpart between high and abrupt cliffs of limestone, rising to an elevationof from one hundred to four hundred feet above the surface of the river;sometimes separated from it by bottoms of greater or less width, and atothers springing up abruptly from the water's edge. A few miles belowCape Girardeau, and about thirty-five miles above the mouth of the Ohio, are the rocky ledges, called the Little and Grand Chain; and abouthalf-way between that point and St. Genevieve, is the Grand Tower, oneof the wonders of the Mississippi. It is a stupendous pile of rocks, ofa conical form, about one hundred and fifty feet high, and one hundredfeet in circumference at its base, rising up out of the bed of theriver. It seems, in connection with the rocky shores on both sides, tohave been opposed, at some former period, as a barrier to the flow ofthe Mississippi, which must here have had a perpendicular fall of morethan one hundred feet. 

The principal tributaries of the Mississippi, with the exception of theMissouri, are the Desmoines, Wyacond, Fabius, Salt, and Copper Rivers, above that great stream, and the Merrimac, St. Francis and White Riverbelow; the two last passing into Arkansas. Desmoines, which is only aboundary stream, is navigable one hundred and seventy miles, and SaltRiver, whose northern sources are in Iowa, and southern in Boone county, and which takes its name from the salt licks or salines on its borders, may be navigated by steamboats up to Florida (a small village); that isto say, ninety-five or a hundred miles. The Rivière au Cuivre, or CopperRiver, is also a navigable stream; but the navigation of all theserivers is interrupted by ice in winter, and by shoals and bars in thedry season. 

The Missouri river flows through the state for a distance of about sixhundred miles; but although steamboats have ascended it two thousandfive hundred miles from its mouth, its navigation is rendered difficultand dangerous by sand-bars, falling banks, snags, and shifting channels. 

The bank of the Mississippi river, on the Illinois side, is not by farso picturesque as the country I have just described, but its fertilityis astonishing. Consequently, the farms and villages are less scattered, and cities, built with taste and a great display of wealth, are found ata short distance one from the other. Quincy I may mention, among others, as being a truly beautiful town, and quite European in its style ofstructure and neatness. Elegant fountains are pouring their cool watersat the end of every row of houses; some of the squares are magnificent, and, as the town is situated upon a hill several hundred feet above theriver, the prospect is truly grand. 

At every place where I stopped between St. Louis and Quincy, I alwaysheard the Mormons abused and spoken of as a set of scoundrels, but fromQuincy to Nauvoo the reports were totally different. The higher or moreenlightened classes of the people have overlooked the petty tricks ofthe Mormon leaders, to watch with more accuracy the advance and designsof Mormonism. In Joe Smith they recognize a great man, a man of will andenergy, one who has the power of carrying everything before him, andthey fear him accordingly. 

On leaving Quincy, I travelled about seventy miles through a countryentirely flat, but admirably cultivated. I passed through several littlevillages and at noon of the second day I reached my destination. 

CHAPTER XLII. 

Nauvoo, the holy city of the Mormons, and present capital of theirempire, is situated in the north-western part of Illinois, on the eastbank of the Mississippi, in lat. 40° 35' N. ; it is bounded on the north, south, and west by the river, which there forms a large curve, and isnearly two miles wide. Eastward of the city is a beautiful undulatingprairie; it is distant ten miles from Fort Madison, in Iowa, and morethan two hundred from St. Louis. 

Before the Mormons gathered there, the place was named _Commerce_, as Ihave already said, and was but a small and obscure village of sometwenty houses; so rapidly, however, have they accumulated, that thereare now, within four years of their first settlement, upwards of fifteenthousand inhabitants in the city, and as many more in itsimmediate vicinity. 

The surface of the ground upon which Nauvoo is built is very uneven, though there are no great elevations. A few feet below the soil is avast bed of limestone, from which excellent building material can bequarried, to almost any extent. A number of _tumuli_, or ancient mounds, are found within the limits of the city, proving it to have been aplace of some importance with the former inhabitants of the country. 

The space comprised within the city limits is about four miles in itsextreme length, and three in its breadth; but is very irregular in itsoutline, and does not cover so much ground as the above measurementwould seem to indicate. 

The city is regularly laid out, the streets crossing each other at rightangles, and generally of considerable length, and of convenient width. The majority of the houses are still nothing more than log cabins, butlately a great number of plank and brick houses have been erected. Thechief edifices of Nauvoo are the temple, and an hotel, called the NauvooHouse, but neither of them is yet finished; the latter is of brick, upona stone foundation, and presents a front of one hundred and twenty feet, by sixty feet deep, and is to be three stories high, exclusive of thebasement. Although intended chiefly for the reception and entertainmentof strangers and travellers, it contains, or rather will contain, asplendid suite of apartments for the particular accommodation of theprophet Joe Smith, and his heirs and descendants for ever. 

The privilege of this accommodation he pretends was granted to him bythe Lord, in a special revelation, on account of his services to theChurch. It is most extraordinary that the Americans, imbued withdemocratic sentiments and with such an utter aversion to hereditaryprivileges of any kind, could for a moment be blinded to the selfishnessof the prophet, who thus easily provided for himself and his posterity apalace and a maintenance. 

The Mormon temple is a splendid structure of stone, quarried within thebounds of the city; its breadth is eighty feet, and its length onehundred and forty, independent of an outer court of thirty feet, makingthe length of the whole structure one hundred and seventy feet. In thebasement of the temple is the baptismal font, constructed in imitationof the famous brazen sea of Solomon; it is supported by twelve oxen, well modelled and overlaid with gold. Upon the sides of the font, inpanels, are represented various scriptural subjects, well painted. Theupper story of the temple will, when finished, be used as a lodge-roomfor the Order Lodge and other secret societies. In the body of thetemple, where it is intended that the congregation shall assemble, aretwo sets of pulpits, one for the priesthood, and the other for thegrandees of the church. 

The cost of this noble edifice had been defrayed by tithing the wholeMormon church. Those who reside at Nauvoo and are able to labour, havebeen obliged to work every tenth day in quarrying stone, or upon thebuilding of the temple itself. Besides the temple, there are in Nauvootwo steam saw-mills, a steam flour-mill, a tool-factory on a largescale, a foundry, and a company of considerable wealth, fromStaffordshire, have also established there a manufacture ofEnglish china. 

The population of the holy city itself is rather a mixed kind. Thegeneral gathering of the saints has, of course, brought together men ofall classes and characters. The great majority of them are uneducatedand unpolished people, who are undoubtedly sincere believers in theprophet and his doctrines. A great proportion of them consist ofconverts from the English manufacturing districts, who were easilypersuaded by Smith's missionaries to exchange their wretchedness at homefor ease and plenty in the promised land. These men are devotedlyattached to the prophet's will, and obey his orders as they would thoseof God himself. 

These aliens can, by the law of Illinois, vote after six months'residence in the state, and they consequently vote blindly, giving theirvotes according to the will of Joe Smith. To such an extent does hiswill influence them, that at the election in Nauvoo (1842) there werebut six votes against the candidates he supported. Of the Mormons, Ibelieve the majority to be ignorant, deluded men, really and earnestlydevoted to their new religion. But their leaders are men of intellect, who profess Mormonism because of the wealth, titles[30], rank, and powerwhich it procures them. 

[Footnote 30: As I have mentioned the word _titles_, I must make myselfunderstood. There are certain classes of individuals in the UnitedStates who, by their own fortune, education, and social position, couldnot be easily brought over to Mormonism. Joe Smith, as a founder of asect, has not only proved himself a great man, but that he perfectlyunderstands his countrymen, and, above all, their greediness for anykind of distinction which can nominally raise them above the commonherd, for it is a fact that no people hate the word equality more thanthe American. Joe Smith has instituted titles, dignities, and officescorresponding to those of the governments in the Old World. He has notyet dared to make himself a king, but he has created a nobility thatwill support him when he thinks proper to assume the sovereign title. Thus he has selected individuals expressly to take care of the Church;these form the order of the Templars, with their grand masters, &c. , &c. He has organised a band of soldiers, called _Danites_, a sacredbattalion--the _celeres_ of Romulus--these are all _comites_ or counts;their chiefs are _conductors_, or dukes. Then follow the pontiffs, thebishops, &c. , &c. This plan has proved to answer well, as it has givento Mormonism many wealthy individuals from the Eastern States, whoaccepted the titles and came over to Europe to act as emissaries fromJoe, under the magnificent titles of Great Commander, Prince of Zion, Comte de Jerusalem, Director of the Holy College, &c. , &c. ] As amilitary position, Nauvoo, garrisoned by twenty or thirty thousandfanatics, well armed and well supplied with provisions, would be mostformidable. It is unapproachable upon any side but the east, and therethe nature of the ground (boggy) offers great obstacles to any besiegingoperations. It is Smith's intention to congregate his followers there, until he accumulates a force that can defy anything that can be broughtagainst him. 

Nauvoo is a Hebrew word, and signifies a beautiful habitation for a man, carrying with it the idea of rest. It is not, however, considered by theMormons as their final home, but as a resting-place; they only intend toremain there till they have gathered a force sufficient to enable themto conquer Independence (Missouri), which, according to them, _is one ofthe most fertile, pleasant, and desirable countries on the face of theearth, possessing a soil unsurpassed by any region_. Independence theyconsider their Zion, and they there intend to rear their great temple, the corner stone of which is already laid. There is to be the greatgathering-place for all the saints, and, in that delightful and healthycountry, they expect to find their Eden, and build their New Jerusalem. 

What passed between Joe Smith and myself I feel not at liberty todisclose; in fact, publicity would interfere with any future plans. Iwill only say, that the prophet received me with the greatestcordiality, and confirmed the offers which his agents had made to mewhen I was among the Comanches. When, however, I came to the point, andwished to ascertain whether the Mormons would act up to the promises oftheir leaders, I perceived, to my great disappointment, that the "means"at least for the present--the operative means--were not yet ready to beput in motion. According to him, the Foxes, Osages, Winnebegoes, Sioux, and Mennonionie Indians would act for him at a moment's notice; and, onmy visiting the Foxes to ascertain the truth of these assertions, Idiscovered that they had indeed promised to do so, provided that, previously, the Mormons should have fulfilled certain promises to them, the performance of which I knew was not yet in the power of the Mormons. 

In the meanwhile, I heard from Joe Smith himself how God had selectedhim to obtain and be the keeper of the divine bible; and the reader willform his own idea of Joe Smith by the narrative. The day appointed wasthe 22nd of September, and Joe told me that on that day--

"He arose early in the morning, took a one-horse waggon of some one thathad stayed overnight at his house, and, accompanied by his wife, repaired to the hill which contained the book. He left his wife in thewaggon by the road, and went alone to the hill, a distance of thirty orforty rods. He then took the book out of the ground, hid it in a treetop, and returned home. The next day he went to work for some time inthe town of Macedon, but about ten days afterwards, it having beensuggested that some one had got his book, his wife gave him notice ofit; upon which, hiring a horse, he returned home in the afternoon, stayed just time enough to drink a cup of tea, went in search of hisbook, found it safe, took off his frock, wrapt it round his treasure, put it under his arm, and ran all the way home, a distance of about twomiles. He said he should think that, being written on plates of gold, ifweighed sixty pounds, but, at all events, was sure it was not less thanforty. On his return he was attacked by two men in the woods, knockedthem both down, made his escape, and arrived safe at home withhis burden. "

The above were the exact words of Smith, to which he adds, somewhere inhis translation of the book, that had it not been for the supernaturalvirtues of the stone he carried with him, virtues which endowed him withdivine strength and courage, he would never have been able to undergothe fatigues and conquer the obstacles he encountered during thatfrightful night. 

Thus Smith gets possession of his precious manuscript. But, alas! 'tiswritten in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Joe calls to his assistance thewonderful stone, "the gift of God, " and peeping hastily through it, hesees an angel pointing somewhere towards _a miraculous pair ofspectacles!!!_ Yes, two polished pieces of crystal were the humble meansby which the golden plates were to be rendered comprehensible. By thebye, the said spectacles are a heavy, ugly piece of workmanship of thelast century; they are silver-mounted, and bear the maker's name, plainly engraved, "Schneider, Zurich. "

The Book of Mormon was published in the year 1830, Since that period itsbelievers and advocates have propagated its doctrines and absurditieswith a zeal worthy of a better cause. Through every State of the Union, and in Canada, the apostles of this wild delusion have disseminated itsprinciples and duped thousands to believe it true. They have crossed theocean, and in England have made many converts: recently some of theirmissionaries have been sent to Palestine. Such strenuous exertionshaving been, and still being made, to propagate the doctrines of thisbook, and such fruits having already appeared from the labours of itsfriends, it becomes a matter of some interest to investigate the historyof this strange delusion, and, although it does not deserve it, treatthe subject seriously. 

The Book of Mormon purports to be the record or history of a certainpeople who inhabited America previous to its discovery by Columbus. According to the book, this people were the descendants of one Lehi, whocrossed the ocean from the eastern continent to that of America. Theirhistory and records, containing prophecies and revelations, wereengraven, by the command of God, on small plates, and deposited in thehill Comora, which appears to be situated in Western New York. Thus waspreserved an account of this race (together with their religious creed)up to the period when the descendants of Laman, Lemuel, and Sam, whowere the three eldest sons of Lehi, arose and destroyed the descendantsof Nephi, who was the youngest son. From this period the descendants ofthe eldest sons "dwindled in unbelief, " and "became a dark, loathsome, and filthy people. " These last-mentioned are the presentAmerican Indians. 

The plates above-mentioned remained in their depository until 1827, whenthey were found by Joseph Smith, jun. , who was directed in the discoveryby the angel of the Lord. On these plates were certain hieroglyphics, said to be of the Egyptian character, which Smith, by the direction ofGod, being instructed by Inspiration as to their meaning, proceeded totranslate. 

It will be here proper to remark, that a narrative so extraordinary asthat contained in the Book of Mormon, translated from hieroglyphics, ofwhich even the most learned have but a limited knowledge, and that too, by an ignorant man, who pretended to no other knowledge of thecharacters than what he derived from inspiration, requires more thanordinary evidence to substantiate it. It will, therefore, be our purposeto inquire into the nature and degree of testimony which has been givento the world to substantiate the claims of this extraordinary book. 

In the first place, the existence of the plates themselves has eversince their alleged discovery been in dispute. On this point it would beextremely easy to give some proofs, by making an exhibition of them tothe world. If they are so ancient as they are claimed to be, anddesigned for the purpose of transmitting the history of a people, and ifthey have lain for ages deposited In the earth, their appearance wouldcertainly indicate the fact. What evidence, then, have we of the_existence_ of these plates? Why, none other than the mere _dictum_ ofSmith himself and the certificates of eleven other individuals, who saythat they have seen them; and upon this testimony we are required tobelieve this most extraordinary narrative. 

Now, even admitting, for the sake of argument, that these witnesses areall honest and credible men, yet what would be easier than for Smith todeceive them? Could he not easily procure plates and inscribe thereon aset of characters, no matter what, and exhibit them to the intendedwitnesses as genuine? What would be easier than thus to impose on theircredulity and weakness? And if it were necessary to give them theappearances of antiquity, a chemical process could effect the matter. But we do not admit that these witnesses were honest; for six of them, after having made the attestation to the world that they had seen theplates, left the Church, thus contradicting that to which they hadcertified. And one of these witnesses, Martin Harris, who is frequentlymentioned In the Book of Covenants--who was a high-priest of theChurch--who was one of the most infatuated of Smith's followers--whoeven gave his property in order to procure the publication of the Bookof Mormon, afterwards seceded from the Church. Smith, in speaking of himin connection with others, said that they were so far beneath contempt, that a notice of them would be too great a sacrifice for a gentlemanto make. 

Some of the Mormons have said that a copy of the plates was presented toProfessor Anthon, a gentleman standing in the first rank as a classicalscholar, and that he attested to the faithfulness of the translation ofthe Book of Mormon. Now, let us read what the professor himself has tosay on this matter. In a letter recently published he expresseshimself thus:--

"Many years ago, the precise date I do not now recollect, aplain-looking countryman called upon me, with a letter from Dr. SamuelL. Mitchell, requesting me to examine and give my opinion upon a certainpaper, marked with various characters, which the doctor confessed hecould not decipher, and which the bearer of the note was very anxious tohave explained. A very brief examination of the paper convinced me thatit was not only a mere hoax, but a very clumsy one. The characters werearranged in columns, like the Chinese mode of writing, and presented themost singular medley I ever beheld. Greek, Hebrew, and all sorts ofletters, more or less distorted, either through unskilfulness or fromactual design, were intermingled with sundry delineations of half-moons, stars, and other natural objects, and the whole ended in a ruderepresentation of the Mexican zodiac. The conclusion was irresistible, that some cunning fellow had prepared the paper in question, for thepurpose of imposing upon the countryman who brought it, and I told theman so, without any hesitation. He then proceeded to give me the historyof the whole affair, which convinced me that he had fallen into thehands of some sharper, while it left me in great astonishment at hissimplicity. "

The professor also states that he gave his opinion in writing to theman, that "the marks on the paper appeared to be merely an imitation ofvarious alphabetic characters, and had no meaning at all connectedwith them. "

The following letter, which I received, relative to the occupation ofJoe Smith, as a treasure-finder, will probably remind the reader of thecharacter of Dousterswivel, in Walter Scott's tale of the Antiquary. Onecould almost imagine that either Walter Scott had borrowed from Joe, orthat Joe had borrowed from the great novelist. 

"I first became acquainted with Joseph Smith, senior, and his family, in1820. They lived at that time in Palmyra, about one mile and a half frommy residence. A great part of their time was devoted to digging formoney; especially in the night-time, when, they said, the money could bemost easily obtained. I have heard them tell marvellous tales respectingthe discoveries they have made in their peculiar occupation ofmoney-digging. They would say, for instance, that in such and such aplace, in such a hill, or a certain man's farm, there were depositedkegs, barrels, and hogsheads of coined silver and gold, bars of gold, golden images, brass kettles filled with gold and silver, goldcandlesticks, swords, &c. , &c. They would also say, that nearly all thehills in this part of New York were thrown by human hands, and in themwere large caves, which Joseph, jun. , could see, by placing a stone ofsingular appearance in his hat, in such a manner as to exclude alllight; at which time they pretended he could see all things within andunder the earth; that he could spy within the above-mentioned caveslarge gold bars and silver plates; that he could also discover thespirits in whose charge these treasures were, clothed in ancientdresses. At certain times, these treasures could be obtained veryeasily; at others, the obtaining of them was difficult. The facility ofapproaching them depended in a great measure on the state of the moon. New moon and Good Friday, I believe, were regarded as the mostfavourable times for obtaining these treasures. These tales, of course, I regarded as visionary. However, being prompted by curiosity, I atlength accepted their invitation to join them in their nocturnalexcursions. I will now relate a few incidents attending these nocturnalexcursions. 

"Joseph Smith, sen. , came to me one night, and told me that Joseph, jun. , had been looking in his stone, and had seen, not many rods fromhis house, two or three kegs of gold and silver, some feet under thesurface of the earth, and that none others but the elder Joseph andmyself could get them. I accordingly consented to go, and early in theevening repaired to the place of deposit. Joseph, sen. , first made acircle, twelve or fourteen feet in diameter: 'This circle, ' said he, 'contains the treasure. ' He then stuck in the ground a row ofwitch-hazel sticks around the said circle, for the purpose of keepingoff the evil spirits. Within this circle he made another, of about eightor ten feet in diameter. He walked around three times on the peripheryof this last circle, muttering to himself something I could notunderstand. He next stuck a steel rod in the centre of the circles, andthen enjoined profound silence, lest we should arouse the evil spiritwho had the charge of these treasures. After we had dug a trench ofabout five feet in depth around the rod, the old man, by signs andmotions, asked leave of absence, and went to the house to inquire of theson the cause of our disappointment. He soon returned, and said, thatJoe had remained all the time in the house, looking in his stone andwatching the motions of the evil spirit; that he saw the spirit come upto the ring, and as soon as it beheld the cone which we had formedaround the rod, it caused the money to sink. We then went into thehouse, and the old man observed that we had made a mistake in thecommencement of the operation; 'If it had not been for that, ' said he, 'we should have got the money. '

"At another time, they devised a scheme by which they might satiatetheir hunger with the flesh of one of my sheep. They had seen in myflock of sheep a large, fat, black wether. Old Joseph and one of theboys came to me one day, and said, that Joseph, jun. , had discoveredsome very remarkable and valuable treasures, which could be procuredonly in one way. That way was as follows:--that a black sheep should betaken on the ground where the treasures were concealed; that, aftercutting its throat, it should be led around a circle while bleeding;this being done, the wrath of the evil spirit would be appeased, thetreasures could then be obtained, and my share of them would befour-fold. To gratify my curiosity, I let them have the sheep. Theyafterwards informed me that the sheep was killed pursuant tocommandment; but, as there was some mistake in the process, it did nothave the desired effect. This, I believe, is the only time they evermade money-digging a profitable business. They, however, had constantlyaround them a worthless gang, whose employment it was to dig for moneyat night, and who, during day, had more to do with mutton than money. 

"When they found that the better classes of people of this vicinitywould no longer put any faith in their schemes for digging money, theythen pretended to find a gold bible, of which they said the Book ofMormon was only an introduction. This latter book was at length fittedfor the press. No means were taken by any individual to suppress itspublication; no one apprehended danger from a book originating withindividuals who had neither influence, honesty, nor honour. The twoJosephs and Hiram promised to show me the plates after the Book ofMormon was translated; but afterwards, they pretended to have receivedan express commandment, forbidding them to show the plates. Respectingthe manner of obtaining and translating the Book of Mormon, theirstatements were always discordant. The elder Joseph would say, that hehad seen the plates, and that he knew them to be gold; at other times hewould say, they looked like gold; and at other times he asserted he hadnot seen the plates at all. 

"I have thus briefly stated a few of the facts, in relation to theconduct and character of this family of Smiths; probably sufficient hasbeen stated without my going into detail. 

"WILLIAM STAFFORD. "

The following is a curious document from one of the very individuals whoprinted the Mormon Bible:--

"Having noticed in a late number of the _Signs of the Times_ a notice ofa work entitled 'Mormon Delusions and Monstrosities, ' it occurred to methat it might, perhaps, be of service to the cause of truth to state onecircumstance, relative to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, whichoccurred during its publication, at which time I was engaged in theoffice where it was printed, and became familiar with the men and theirprinciples, through whose agency it was 'got up. '

"The circumstance alluded to was as follows!--We had heard much said byMartin Harris, the man who paid for the printing, and the only one inthe concern worth any property, about the wonderful wisdom of thetranslators of the mysterious plates, and we resolved to test theirwisdom. Accordingly, after putting one sheet in type? we laid it aside, and told Harris it was lost, and there would be a serious defection inthe book in consequence, unless another sheet, like the original, couldbe produced. The announcement threw the old gentleman into greatexcitement; but, after a few moments reflection, he said he would tryto obtain another. After two or three weeks, another sheet was produced, but no more like the original than any other sheet of paper would havebeen, written over by a common schoolboy, after having read, as theyhad, the manuscript preceding and succeeding the lost sheet. As might beexpected, the disclosure of this trick greatly annoyed the authors, andcaused no little merriment among those who were acquainted with thecircumstance. As we were none of us _Christians_, and only laboured forthe 'gold that perisheth, ' we did not care for the delusion, only so faras to be careful to avoid it ourselves and enjoy the hoax. _Not one_ ofthe hands in the office where the wonderful book was printed ever becamea convert to the system, although the writer of this was often assuredby Harris, that if he did not, he would be destroyed in 1832. 

"T. N. S. TUCKER. "

GROTON, MAY 23, 1842. 

CHAPTER XLIII. 

Let us now examine into the political views of the Mormons, and followSmith in his lofty and aspiring visions of sovereignty for the future. He is a rogue and a swindler, --no one can doubt that; yet there issomething grand in his composition. Joe, the mean, miserable, half-starved money-digger of western New York, was, as I have beforeobserved, cast in the mould of conquerors, and out of that same claywhich Nature had employed for the creation of a Mahomet. 

His first struggle was successful; the greater portion of his followerssurrounded him in Kirkland, and acknowledged his power, as that of God'sright hand; while many individuals from among the better classesrepaired to him, attracted by the ascendancy of a bold genius, or by theexpectation of obtaining a share in his fame, power, and glory. 

Kirkland, however, was an inland place; there, on every side, Smith hadto contend with opposition; his power was confined and his plans had notsufficient room for development He turned his mind towards the westernborders of Missouri: it was but a thought; but with him, rapid actionwas as much a natural consequence of thought as thunder is of lightningExamine into the topography of that country, the holy Zion and promisedland of the Mormons, and it will be easy to recognize the fixed andunchangeable views of Smith, as connected with the formation of avast empire. 

For the last twelve or fifteen years the government of the United Stateshas, through a mistaken policy been constantly engaged in sending to thewestern borders all the eastern Indian tribes that were disposed to selltheir land, and also the various tribes who, having rebelled againsttheir cowardly despotism, had been overpowered and conquered during thestruggle. This gross want of policy is obvious. 

Surrounded and demoralized by white men, the Indian falls into acomplete state of _décadence_ and _abrutissement_. Witness the Choctawtribes that hover constantly about Mobile and New Orleans; theWinnibegoes, who have of late come into immediate contact with thesettlers of Wisconsin; the Pottawatomies, on both shores of LakeMichigan; the Miamis of North Indiana, and many more. On the contrary, the tribes on the borders, or in the wilderness, are on the increase. Ofcourse, there are a few exceptions, such as the Kanzas, or the poorMandans, who have lately been almost entirely swept away from the earthby the small-pox. Some of the smaller tribes may be destroyed bywarfare, or they may incorporate themselves with others, and thus losetheir name and nationality; but the increase of the Indian population isconsiderable among the great uncontrolled nations; such as the Chippewasand Dahcotahs (Siouxes), of the north United States; the Comanches andthe Pawnees, on the boundaries, or even in the very heart of Texas; theShoshones (Snakes), on the southern limits of Oregon; and the braveApaches of Sonora, those bold Bedouins of the Mexican deserts, who, constantly on horseback, wander, in immense phalanxes, from the easternshores of the Gulf of California to the very waters of the Rio Grande. 

Admitting, therefore, as a fact, that the tribes on the borders doincrease, in the same ratio with their material strength, grows alsotheir invincible, stern, and unchangeable hatred towards the American. In fact, more or less, they have all been ill-treated and abused, andevery additional outrage to one tribe is locked up in the memory of all, who wait for the moment of retaliation revenge. In the Wisconsin war(Black Hawk, 1832), even after the poor starved warriors had surrenderedthemselves by treaty, after a noble struggle, more than two hundred oldmen, women, and children were forced by the Americans to cross the riverwithout boats or canoes. The poor things endeavoured to pass it with thehelp of their horses; the river there was more than half a mile broad, and while these unfortunates were struggling for life against a currentof nine miles an hour, they were shot in the water. 

This fact is known to all the tribes--even to the Comanches, who are sodistant. It has satisfied them as to what they may expect from those whothus violate all treaties and all faith. The remainder of that bravetribe is now dwelling on the west borders of Iowa, but their wrongs aretoo deeply dyed with their own blood to be forgotten even bygenerations, and their cause is ready to be espoused by every tribe, even those who have been their hereditary enemies; for what is, afterall, their history, but the history of almost every Indian nationtransplanted on the other side of the Mississippi?

This belt of Indian tribes, therefore, is rather an unsafe neighbour, especially in the event of a civil war or of a contest with England. Having themselves, by a mistaken policy, collected together a cordon ofoffended warriors, the United States will some day deplore, when toolate, their former greediness, and cruelty towards the natural owners oftheir vast territories. 

It is among these tribes that Joe Smith wishes to lay the foundation ofhis future empire; and settling at Independence, he was interposing as aneutral force between two opponents, who would, each of them, havepurchased his massive strength and effective energy with the gift ofsupremacy over an immense and wealthy territory. As we have seen, chanceand the fortune of war have thrown Smith and the Mormons back on theeastern shores of the Mississippi, opposite the entrance of Desmoinesriver; but when forced back, the Mormons were an unruly and turbulentcrowd, without means or military tactics; now, such is not the case. Already, the prophet has sent able agents over the river; the Sacs andFoxes, the same tribe we have just spoken of as the much-abused nationof Wisconsin, and actually residing at about eighty miles N. N. W. FromNauvoo, besides many others, are on a good understanding with theLatter-day Saints. A few bold apostles of Mormonism have also gone tothe far, far west, among the unconquered tribes of the prairies, toorganize an offensive power, ever ready for action. 

Thus, link after link, Smith extends his influence, which is alreadyfelt in Illinois, in Iowa, in Missouri, at Washington, and at the veryfoot of the Rocky Mountains. Moreover, hundreds of Mormons, withoutavowing their creed, have gone to Texas, and established themselvesthere. They save all their crops, and have numerous cattle and droves ofhorses, undoubtedly to feed and sustain a Mormon army on any futureinvasion. Let us now examine further into this cunning and long-sightedpolicy, and we shall admire the great genius that presides over it. Weare not one of those, so common in these days, who have adopted the _niladmirari_ for their motto. Genius, well or ill guided, is still genius;and if we load with shame the former life of Smith and his presentabominable religious impositions, still we are bound to do justice tothat conquering spirit which can form such vast ideas, and work such amultitude to his will. 

The population of Texas does not amount to seventy thousand souls, amongwhom there are twenty-five different forms of religion. Two-thirds ofthe inhabitants are scoundrels, who have there sought a refuge againstthe offended laws of their country. They are not only a curse and acheck to civilization, but they reflect dishonour upon the remainingthird portion of the Texans, who have come from distant climes for thehonest purposes of trade and agriculture. This mongrel and mixedcongregation of beings, though firmly united in one point (war withMexico, and that in the expectation of a rich plunder), are continuallyat variance on other points. Three thousand Texans would fight againstMexico, but not two hundred against the Mormons; and that for manyreasons: government alone, and not an individual, would be a gainer by avictory; in Texas, not a soul cares for anything but himself. Besides, the Mormons are Yankees, and can handle a rifle, setting aside theirgood drilling and excellent discipline. In number, they would also havethe advantage; while I am now writing, they can muster five thousandwell-drilled soldiers, and, in the event of an invasion of Texas, theycould easily march ten thousand men from the Sabine to the Rio Grande, from the Red River to the Gulf of Mexico. Opposition they will not meet. A year after the capture, the whole of Texas becomes Mormon, whileJoe--king, emperor, Pharaoh, judge or regenerator--rules over a host oftwo hundred and fifty thousand devoted subjects. 

Let our reader observe that these are not the wild Utopias of a heatedimagination. No; we speak as we do believe, and our intercourse with theMormons during our travels has been sufficiently close to give us aclear insight into their designs for the future. 

Joe's policy is, above all, to conciliate the Indians, and that oncedone, there will not be in America a power capable of successfullyopposing him. In order to assist this he joins them in his new faith. Inadmitting the Indians to be the "right, though guilty, " descendants ofthe sacred tribes, he flatters them with an acknowledgment of theirantiquity, the only point on which a white can captivate and even blindthe shrewd though untutored man of the wilds. 

In explanation of the plans and proceedings of Joe Smith and theMormons, it may not be amiss to make some remarks upon the localitywhich he has designed as the seat of his empire and dominion, and wherehe has already established his followers, as the destined instruments ofhis ambition. 

According to the Mormon prophets, the whole region of country betweenthe Rocky Mountains and the Alleghanies was, at a period of aboutthirteen hundred years ago, densely peopled by nations descended from aJewish family, who emigrated from Jerusalem in the time of the prophetJeremiah, some six or seven hundred years before Christ; immense citieswere founded, and sumptuous edifices reared, and the whole landoverspread with the results of a high and extensive civilization. 

The Book of Mormon speaks of cities with stupendous stone walls, and ofbattles, in which hundreds of thousands were slain. The land afterwardsbecame a waste and howling wilderness, traversed by a few stragglingbands or tribes of savages, descended from a branch of the aforesaidJewish family, who, in consequence, of their wickedness, had theircomplexion changed from white to red; but the emigrants from Europe andtheir descendants, having filled the land, and God having been pleasedto grant a revelation by which is made known the true history of thepast in America, and the events which are about to take place, he hasalso commanded the Saints of the Latter Day to assemble themselvestogether there, and occupy the land which was once held by the membersof the true church. 

The states of Missouri and Illinois, and the territory of Iowa, are theregions to which the prophet has hitherto chiefly directed his schemesof aggrandizement, and which are to form the nucleus of the Mormonempire. The remaining states are to be _licked up_ like salt, and fallbefore the sweeping falchion of glorious prophetic dominion, like thedefenceless lamb before the mighty king of the forest. 

I have given the results of my notes taken relative to the Mormons, not, perhaps, in very chronological order, but as I gathered them from timeto time. The reader will agree with me, that the subject is well worthattention. Absurd and ridiculous as the creed may be, no creed ever, inso short a period, obtained so many or such devoted proselytes. Frominformation I have since received, they may now amount to three hundredthousand; and they have wealth, energy, and unity--they haveeverything--in their favour; and the federal government has been solong passive, that I doubt if it has the power to disperse them. Indeed, to obtain their political support, they have received so manyadvantages, and, I may say, such assistance, that they are now sostrong, that any attempt to wrest from them the privileges which havebeen conceded would be the signal for a general rising. 

They have fortified Nauvoo; they can turn out a disciplined force aslarge as the States are likely to oppose to them, and, if successful, can always expect the co-operation of seventy thousand Indians, or, ifdefeated, a retreat among them, which will enable them to coalesce for amore fortunate opportunity of action. Neither do I imagine that the lossof their leader, Joe Smith, would now much affect their strength; thereare plenty to replace him, equally capable, not perhaps to have formedthe confederacy, religious and political, which he has done, but touphold it, now that it is so strong. The United States appear to me tobe just now in a most peculiar state of progression, and very soon theeyes of the whole world will be directed towards them and the result oftheir institutions. A change is about to take place; what that changewill be, it is difficult to say; but a few years will decidethe question. 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

Having now related the principal events which I witnessed, or in which Iwas an actor, both in California and in Texas, as these countries arestill new and but little known (for, indeed, the Texans themselves knownothing of their inland country), I will attempt a topographical sketchof these regions, and also make some remarks upon the animals whichinhabit the immense prairies and mountains of the wilderness. 

Along the shores of the Pacific Ocean, from the 42° down to the 34°North, the climate is much the same; the only difference between thewinter and summer being that the nights of the former season are alittle chilly. The causes of this mildness in the temperature areobvious. The cold winds of the north, rendered sharper still by passingover the snows and ices of the great northern lakes, cannot force theirpassage across the rocky chain south of the latitude 44° N. , beingprevented by a belt of high mountains or by impenetrable forests. To theeastward, on the contrary, they are felt very severely; not encounteringany kind of obstacles, they sweep their course to the very shores of theGulf of Mexico, so that in 26° N. Latitude, on the southern boundariesof Texas, winter is still winter; that is to say, fire is necessary inthe apartments during the month of January, and flannel and clothdresses are worn; while, on the contrary, the same month on the shoresof the Pacific, up to 40°, is mild enough to allow strangers from thesouth, and even the Sandwich islanders, to wear their light nankeentrowsers and gingham round-abouts. 

There is also a wide difference between the two coasts of the continentduring summer. In Upper California and the Shoshone territory, althoughthe heat, from the rays of the sun, is intense, the temperature is socooled both by the mountain and sea-breeze, as never to raise themercury to more than 95° Fahrenheit, even in St. Diego, which liesunder the parallel of 32° 39'; while in the east, from 27° in SouthTexas, and 30° at New Orleans, up to 49° upon Lake Superior, the mercuryrises to 100° every year, and frequently 105°, 107° in St Louis, inPrairie du Chien, Green Bay, St. Anthony's Falls, and the Lake Superior. 

The _résumé_ of this is simply that the climate of the western coast ofAmerica is the finest in the world, with an air so pure, that during theintense heat of summer a bullock, killed, cleansed, and cut into slices, will keep for months without any salting nor smoking. 

Another cause which contributes to render these countries healthy andpleasant to live in is, that there are, properly speaking, no swamps, marshes, nor bayous, as in the United States, and in the neighbourhoodof Acapulco and West Mexico. These lakes and bayous drying duringsummer, and exposing to the rays of the sun millions of dead fish, impregnate the atmosphere with miasma, generating typhus, yellow fever, dysenteries, and pulmonary diseases. 

If the reader will look over the map I have sketched of the Shoshonecountry, he will perceive how well the land is watered; the lakes areall transparent and deep, the rivers run upon a rocky bottom as well asall the brooks and creeks, the waters of which are always cool andplentiful. One more observation to convince the reader of thesuperiority of the clime is, that, except a few ants in the forest, there are no insects whatever to be found. No mosquitoes, no prairiehorse-flies, no beetles, except the ceconilla or large phosphoric fly ofCalifornia, and but very few worms and caterpillars; the consequence is, that there are but two or three classes of the smaller species ofcarnivorous birds; the large ones, such as the common and red-headedvulture and crow, are very convenient, fulfilling the office of generalscavengers in the prairies, where every year thousands of wild cattledie, either from fighting, or, when in the central deserts, from thewant of water. On the western coast, the aspect of the country, ingeneral, is gently diversified; the monotony of the prairies in theinterior being broken by _islands_ of fine timber, and now and then bymountains projecting boldly from their bases. Near the sea-shore theplains are intersected by various ridges of mountains, giving birth tothousands of small rapid streams, which carry their cool and limpidwaters to the many tributaries of the sea, which are very numerousbetween the mouth of the Calumet and Buonaventura. Near to the coastlies a belt of lofty pines and shady odoriferous magnolias, whichextends in some places to the very beach and upon the high cliffs, underwhich the shore is so bold that the largest man-of-war could sailwithout danger. I remember to have once seen, above the bay of SanFrancisco, the sailors of a Mexican brig sitting on the ends of theirtopsail yards, and picking the flowers from the branches of the trees asthey glided by. 

In that part of the country, which is intersected by mountains, the soilis almost everywhere mineral, while the mountains themselves containrich mines of copper. I know of beds of gallena extending for more thana hundred miles; and, in some tracts, magnesian earths cover an immenseportion of the higher ridges. Most of the sandy streams of the Shoshoneterritory contain a great deal of gold-dust, which the Indians collecttwice a year and exchange away with the Mexicans, and also with theArrapahoes. 

The principal streams containing gold are tributaries to theBuonaventura, but there are many others emptying into small lakes ofvolcanic formation. The mountains in the neighbourhood of the Coloradoof the West, and in the very country of the Arrapahoes, are full ofsilver, and perhaps no people in the world can show a greater profusionof this bright metal than these Indians. 

The Shoshone territory is of modern formation, at least in comparisonwith the more southern countries where the Cordillieres and the Andesproject to the very shores of the ocean. It is evident that the bestportion of the land, west of the Buonaventura, was first redeemed fromthe sea by some terrible volcanic eruption. Until about two centuriesago, or perhaps less, these subterranean fires have continued toexercise their ravages, raising prairies into mountains, and sinkingmountains and forests many fathoms below the surface of the earth; theirsites now marked by lakes of clear and transparent water, frequentlyimpregnated with a slight, though not unpleasant, taste of sulphur;while precious stones, such as topazes, sapphires, large blocks ofamethysts, are found every day in the sand and among the pebbles ontheir borders. 

In calm days I have often seen, at a few fathoms deep, the tops of pinetrees still standing in their natural perpendicular position. In thesouthern streams are found emeralds of very fine water; opals also arevery frequently met with. 

The formation of the rocks is in general basaltic, but white, black, andgreen marble, red porphyry, jaspar, red and grey granite, abound east ofthe Buonaventura. Quartz, upon some of the mountains near the sea-shore, is found in immense blocks, and principally in that mountain range whichis designated in the map as the "Montagne du Monstre, " at the foot ofwhich were dug up the remains of the huge Saurian lizard. 

The greater portion of the country is, of course, prairie; theseprairies are covered with blue grass, muskeet grass, clovers, sweetprairie hay, and the other grasses common to the east of the continentof America. Here and there are scattered patches of plums of thegreengage kind, berries, and a peculiar kind of shrub oaks, never morethan five feet high, yet bearing a very large and sweet acorn; ranges ofhazel nuts will often extend thirty or forty miles, and are the abode ofmillions of birds of the richest and deepest dyes. 

Along the streams which glide through the prairies, there is a luxuriantgrowth of noble timber, such as maple, magnolia, blue and green ash, redoak, and cedar, around which climb vines loaded with grapes. Near thesea-shores, the pine, both black and white, becomes exceedingly common, while the smaller plains and hills are covered with that peculiarspecies of the prickly pear upon which the cochineal insect feeds. Allround the extinguished volcano, and principally in the neighbourhood ofthe hill Nanawa Ashta jueri è, the locality of our settlement upon thebanks of the Buonaventura, the bushes are covered with a very superiorquality of the vanilla bean. 

The rivers and streams, as well as the lakes of the interior, aboundwith fish; in the latter, the perch, trout, and carp are very common; inthe former, the salmon and white cat-fish, the soft-shelled tortoise, the pearl oyster, the sea-perch (Lupus Maritimes), the ecrivisse, andhundred families of the "crevette species, " offer to the Indian a greatvariety of delicate food for the winter. In the bays along the shore, the mackarel and bonita, the turtle, and, unfortunately, the sharks, arevery numerous; while on the shelly beach, or the fissures of the rocks, are to be found lobsters, and crabs of various sorts. 

The whole country offers a vast field to the naturalist; the most commonbirds of prey are the bald, the white-headed eagle, the black and thegrey, the falcon, the common hawk, the epervier, the black andred-headed vulture, the raven and the crow. Among the granivorous, theturkey, the wapo (a small kind of prairie ostrich), the golden andcommon pheasant, the wild peacock, of a dull whitish colour, and theguinea-fowl; these two last, which are very numerous, are not indigenousto this part of the country, but about a century ago escaped from thevarious missions of Upper California, at which they had been bred, andsince have propagated in incredible numbers; also the grouse, theprairie hen, the partridge, the quail, the green parrot, the blackbird, and many others which I cannot name, not knowing their genericdenomination. The water-fowls are plentiful, such as swans, geese, ducksof many different species, and the Canadian geese with their long blacknecks, which, from November to March, graze on the prairies inthousands. 

The quadrupeds are also much diversified. First in rank, among thegrazing animals, I may name the mustangs, or wild horses, which wanderin the natural pastures in herds of hundreds of thousands. They vary inspecies and size, according to the country where they are found, butthose found in California, Sonora, and the western district of Texas, are the finest breed in the world. They were imported from Andalusia bythe Spaniards, almost immediately after the conquest of Grenada, theBishop of Leon having previously, by his prayers, "exorcised the devilout of their bodies. "

Mr. Catlin says, that in seeing the Comanche horse, he was muchdisappointed; it is likely, Mr. Catlin having only visited the northernborders of Texas, and the poorest village of the whole Comanche tribe. If, however, he had proceeded as far as the Rio Puerco, he would haveseen the true Mecca breed, with which the Moslems conquered Spain. Hewould have also perceived how much the advantages of a beautiful climeand perpetual pasture has improved these noble animals, making themsuperior to the primitive stock, both in size, speed, and bottom. Withone of them I made a journey of five thousand miles, and on arriving inMissouri, I sold him for eight hundred dollars. He was an entire horse, as white as snow, and standing seventeen and a half hands high. Onethousand pounds would not have purchased him in England. 

Next, the lordly buffaloes, the swift wild-goat, the deer, the antelope, the elk, the prairie dogs, the hare, and the rabbits. The carnivorousare the red panther, or puma[31], the spotted leopard, the ounce, thejaguar, the grizzly black and brown bear, the wolf, black, white andgrey; the blue, red, and black fox, the badger, the porcupine, thehedgehog, and the coati (an animal peculiar to the Shoshone territory, and Upper California), a kind of mixture of the fox and wolf breed, fierce little animals with bushy tails and large heads, and a quick, sharp bark. 

[Footnote 31: The puma, or red panther, is also called "American lion, cougar, " and in the western States, "catamount. " It was once spread allover the continent of America, and is even now found, although veryrarely, as far north as Hudson's Bay. No matter under what latitude, thepuma is a sanguinary animal; but his strength, size, and thirst ofblood, vary with the clime. 

I have killed this animal in California, in the Rocky Mountains, inTexas, and in Missouri; in each of these places it presented quite adifferent character. In Chili it has the breadth and limbs approachingto those of the African lion; to the far north, it falls away in bulk, until it is as thin and agile as the hunting leopard. In Missouri andArkansas, the puma will prey chiefly upon fowls and young pigs; it willrun away from dogs, cows, horses, and even from goats. In Louisiana andTexas it will run from man, but it fights the dogs, tears the horse, andkills the cattle, even the wild buffalo, merely for sport. In theAnahuar, Cordillieres, and Rocky Mountains, it disdains to fly, becomesmore majestic in its movements, and faces its opponents, from thegrizzly bear to a whole company of traders; yet it will seldom attackunless when cubbing. In Sonora and California, it is even moreferocious. When hungry, it will hunt by the scent, like the dog, withits nose on the ground. Meeting a trail, it follows it at the rate oftwenty miles an hour, till it can pounce upon a prey; a single horseman, or an army, a deer, or ten thousand buffaloes, it cares not, it attackseverything. 

I did not like to interrupt my narrative merely to relate a pumaadventure, but during the time that I was with the Comanches, a Mexicanpriest, who had for a long time sojourned as instructor among theIndians, arrived in the great village on his way to St. Louis, Mi. , where he was proceeding on clerical affairs. The Comanches received himwith affection, gave him a fresh mule, with new blankets, and mustered asmall party to accompany him to the Wakoes Indians. 

The Padre was a highly talented man, above the prejudices of his cast;he had lived the best part of his life in the wilderness among the wildtribes on both sides of the Anahuar, and had observed and learned enoughto make him love "these children of nature. " So much was I pleased withhim, that I offered to command the party which was to accompany him. Myrequest was granted, and having provided ourselves with a long tent andthe necessary provisions, we started on our journey. 

Nothing remarkable happened till we arrived at the great chasm I havealready mentioned, when, our provisions being much reduced, we pitchedthe tent on the very edge of the chasm, and dedicated half a day tohunting and grazing our horses. A few deer were killed, and to avoid anocturnal attack from the wolves, which were very numerous, we hung themeat upon the cross-pole inside of the tent. The tent itself was aboutforty feet long, and about seven in breadth; large fires were lighted atthe two ends, piles of wood were gathered to feed them during the night, and an old Indian and I took upon us the responsibility of keeping thefires alive till the moon should be up. 

These arrangements being made, we spread our buffalo-hides, with oursaddles for pillows, and, as we were all exhausted, we stretchedourselves, if not to sleep, at least to repose. The _padre_ amused me, during the major portion of my watch, in relating to me his pastadventures, when he followed the example of all the Indians, who wereall sound asleep, except the one watching at the other extremity of thetent. This Indian observed to me, that the moon would rise in a coupleof hours, and that, if we were to throw a sufficient quantity of fuel onthe fire, we could also sleep without any fear. I replenished the fuel, and, wrapping myself in my blanket, I soon fell asleep. 

I awoke suddenly, thinking I had heard a rubbing of some body againstthe canvas outside of the tent. My fire was totally extinguished, but, the moon having risen, gave considerable light. The hour of danger hadpassed. As I raised my head, I perceived that the fire at the otheropening of the tent was also nearly extinguished; I wrapt myself stillcloser, as the night had become cool, and soon slept as soundlyas before. 

Once more I was awakened, but this time there was no delusion of thesenses, for I felt a heavy pressure on my chest. I opened my eyes, andcould scarcely refrain from crying out, when I perceived that the weightwhich had thus disturbed my sleep was nothing less than the hind paw ofa large puma. There he stood, his back turned to me, and seeming towatch with great avidity a deer-shoulder suspended above his head. Myfeelings at that moment were anything but pleasant; I felt my heartbeating high; the smallest nervous movement, which perhaps I could notcontrol, would divert the attention of the animal, whose claws wouldthen immediately enter my flesh. 

I advanced my right hand towards the holster, under my head, to take oneof my pistols, but the holsters were buttoned up, and I could not undothem, as this would require a slight motion of my body. At last I feltthe weight sliding down my ribs till it left me; and I perceived, thatin order to take a better leap at the meat, the puma had moved on alittle to the left, but in so doing one of his fore paws rested upon thechest of the _padre_. I then obtained one of the pistols, and was justin the act of cocking it under my blanket, when I heard a mingled shriekand roar. Then succeeded a terrible scuffling. A blanket was for asecond rolled over me; the canvas of the tent was burst open a footabove me; I heard a heavy fall down the chasm; the _padre_ screamedagain; by accident I pulled the trigger and discharged my pistol; andthe Indians, not knowing what was the matter, gave a tremendouswar-whoop. 

The scene I have described in so many lines was performed in a fewseconds. It was some time before we could recover our senses and inquireinto the matter. It appeared, that at the very moment the puma wascrouching to take his leap, the _padre_ awaking, gave the scream; thisterrified the animal, who dashed through the canvas of the tent above mewith the _padre's_ blanket entangled in his claws. 

Poor _padre_! he had fainted, and continued senseless till daylight, when I bled him with my penknife. Fear had produced a terrible effectupon him, and his hair, which the evening before was as black as jet, had now changed to the whiteness of snow. He never recovered, notwithstanding the attention shown to him by the Indians whoaccompanied him to St. Louis. Reason had forsaken its seat, and, as Ilearned some time afterwards, when, being in St. Louis, I went to themission to inquire after him, he died two days after his arrival at theJesuits' college. 

As to the puma, the Indians found it dead at the bottom of the chasm, completely wrapped in the blanket, and with most of its bones broken. ]

The amphibious are the beaver, the fresh-water and sea-otter, themusk-rat, and a species of long lizard, with sharp teeth, very like thecayman as regards the head and tail, but with a very short body. It is avery fierce animal, killing whatever it attacks, dwelling in damp, shadyplaces, in the juncks, upon the borders of some lakes, and is muchdreaded by the Indians; fortunately, it is very scarce. The Shoshoneshave no particular name for it, but would sooner attack a grizzly bearthan this animal, which they have a great dread of, sometimes calling itthe evil spirit, sometimes the scourge, and many other suchappellations. It has never yet been described by any naturalist, and Inever yet saw one dead, although I have heard of their havingbeen killed. 

In Texas, the country presents two different aspects, much at variancewith each other, the eastern borders, and sea-coast being only acontinuation of the cypress swamps, mud creeks, and cane-brakes of southArkansas, and west Louisiana; while, on the contrary, the north and westoffer much the same topography as that of the countries I have justdelineated. The climate in Texas is very healthy two hundred miles fromthe sea, and one hundred west of the Sabine, which forms the easternboundary of Texas; but to the east and south the same diseases andepidemics prevail as in Louisiana, Alabama, and the Floridas. 

The whole of Texas is evidently of recent formation, all the salineprairies east of the Rio Grande being even now covered with shells ofall the species common to the Gulf of Mexico, mixed up with skeletons ofsharks, and now and then with petrified turtle, dolphin, rock fish, andbonitas. A few feet below the surface, and hundreds of miles distantfrom the sea, the sea-sand is found; and although the ground seems torise gradually as it recedes from the shores, the southern plains arebut a very little elevated above the surface of the sea until you arriveat thirty degrees north, when the prairies begin to assume an undulatingform, and continually ascend till, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, they acquire a height of four and five thousand feet above the levelof the sea. 

Texas does not possess any range of mountains with the exception that, one hundred miles north from San Antonio de Bejar, the San Seba hillsrise and extend themselves in a line parallel with the Rocky Mountains, as high as the green peaks in the neighbourhood of Santa Fé. The SanSeba hills contain several mines of silver, and I doubt not that thismetal is very common along the whole range east of the Rio Grande. Goldis also found in great quantities in all the streams tributary to theRio Puerco, but I have never heard of precious stones of any kind. 

Excepting the woody districts which border Louisiana and Arkansas, thegreater proportion of Texas is prairie; a belt of land commences uponone of the bends of the river Brasos, spreads northward to the veryshores of the Red River, and is called by the Americans "The CrossTimbers;" its natural productions, together with those of the prairies, are similar to those of the Shoshone country. Before the year 1836, andI dare say even now, the great western prairies of Texas contained moreanimals and a greater variety of species than any other part of theworld within the same number of square miles; and I believe that theSunderbunds in Bengal do not contain monsters more hideous and terriblethan are to be found in the eastern portion of Texas, over which natureappears to have spread a malediction. The myriads of snakes of allkinds, the unaccountable diversity of venomous reptiles, and even thedeadly tarantula spider or "vampire" of the prairies, are trifles, compared with the awful inhabitants of the eastern bogs swamps, andmuddy rivers. The former are really dangerous only during two or threemonths of the year, and, moreover, a considerable portion of the trailsare free from their presence, owing to the fires which break out in thedry grass almost every fall. There the traveller knows what he has tofear, and, independent of the instinct and knowledge of his horse, hehimself keeps an anxious look-out, watching the undulating motion of thegrass, and ever ready with his rifle or pistols in the event of hisbeing confronted with bears, pumas, or any other ferocious quadruped. Ifhe is attacked, he can fight, and only few accidents have ever happenedin these encounters, as these animals always wander alone with theexception of the wolf, from whom, however, there is but little to fear, as, in the prairies, this animal is always glutted with food and timidat the approach of man. 

As the prairie wolf is entirely different from the European, I willborrow a page of Ross Cox, who, having had an opportunity of meeting it, gives a very good description of its manners and ways of living. Yet asthis traveller does not describe the animal itself, I will add, that thegeneral colour of the prairie wolf is grey mixed with black, the earsare round and straight, it is about forty inches long, and possesses thesagacity and cunning of the fox. 

"The prairie wolves, " says Cox, "are much smaller than those whichinhabit the woods. They generally travel together in numbers, and asolitary one is seldom met with. Two or three of us have often pursuedfrom fifty to one hundred, driving them before us as quickly as ourhorses could charge. 

"Their skins are of no value, and we do not therefore waste much powderand ball in shooting them. The Indians, who are obliged to pay dear fortheir ammunition, are equally careful not to throw it away on objectsthat bring no remunerating value. The natural consequence is, that thewolves are allowed to multiply; and some parts of the country arecompletely overrun by them. The Indians catch numbers of them in traps, which they set in the vicinity of those places where their tame horsesare sent to graze. The traps are merely excavations covered over withslight switches and hay, and baited with meat, &c. , into which thewolves fall, and being unable to extricate themselves, they perish byfamine or the knife of the Indian. These destructive animals annuallydestroy numbers of horses, particularly during the winter season, whenthe latter get entangled in the snow, in which situation they become aneasy prey to their light-footed pursuers, ten or fifteen of which willoften fasten on one animal, and with their long fangs in a few minutesseparate the head from the body. If, however, the horses are notprevented from using their legs, they sometimes punish the enemyseverely; as an instance of this, I saw one morning the bodies of two ofour horses which had been killed the night before, and around were lyingeight dead and maimed wolves; some with their brains scattered about, and others with their limbs and ribs broken by the hoofs of the furiousanimals in their vain attempts to escape from their assailants. "

Although the wolves of America are the most daring of all the beasts ofprey on that continent, they are by no means so courageous or ferociousas those of Europe, particularly in Spain or the south of France, inwhich countries they commit dreadful ravages both on man and beast;whereas a prairie wolf, except forced by desperation, will seldom ornever attack a human being. 

I have said that the danger that attends the traveller in the greatprairies is trifling; but it is very different in the eastern swamps andmud-holes, where the enemy, ever on the watch, is also always invisible, and where the speed of the horse and the arms of the rider are of noavail, for they are then swimming in the deep water, or splashing, breast-deep, in the foul mud. 

Among these monsters of the swamps and lagoons of stagnant waters, thealligator ranks the first in size and voracity; yet man has nothing tofear from him; and though there are many stories among the cottonplanters about negroes being carried away by this immense reptile, I dofirmly believe that few human beings have ever been seized alive by theAmerican alligator. But although harmless to man, the monster is ascourge to all kinds of animals, and principally to dogs and horses. Itoften happens that a rider loses his track through a swamp or a muddycane-brake, and then, if a new comer in East Texas, he is indubitablylost. While his poor steed is vainly struggling in a yielding mass ofmud, he will fall into a hole, and before he can regain his footing, anirresistible force will drag him deeper and deeper, till smothered. Thisforce is the tail of the alligator, with which this animal masters itsprey, no matter how strong or heavy, when once within its reach. M. Audubon has perfectly described its power: I will repeat his words:--

"The power of the alligator is in its great strength, and the chiefmeans of its attack or defence is its large tail, so well contrived bynature to supply his wants, or guard him from danger, that it reaches, when curved into a half-circle, to his enormous mouth. Woe be to him whogoes within the reach of this tremendous thrashing instrument; for, nomatter how strong or muscular, if human, he must suffer greatly, if heescape with life. The monster, as he strikes with this, forces allobjects within the circle towards his jaws, which, as the tail makes amotion, are opened to their full stretch, thrown a little sideways toreceive the object, and, like battering-rams, to bruise it shockingly ina moment. "

Yet, as I have said, the alligator is but little formidable to man. InWestern Louisiana and Eastern Texas, where the animal is much hunted forthe sake of his grease, with which the planters generally oil themachinery of their mills, little negroes are generally sent into thewoods, during the fall, "grease-making, " as at that season the men arebetter employed in cotton-picking or storing the maize. No danger everhappens to the urchins during these expeditions, as, keeping within thesweep of the tail, they contrive to chop it off with an axe. 

M. Audubon says:--

"When autumn has heightened the colouring of the foliage of our woods, and the air feels more rarified during the nights and the early part ofthe day, the alligators leave the lakes to seek for winter-quarters, byburrowing under the roots of trees, or covering themselves simply withearth along their edges. They become then very languid and inactive, and, at this period, to sit or ride on one would not be more difficultthan for a child to mount his wooden rocking-horse. The negroes, who nowkill them, put all danger aside by separating at one blow with an axe, the tail from the body. They are afterwards cut up in large pieces, andboiled whole in a good quantity of water, from the surface of which thefat is collected with large ladles. One single man kills oftentimes adozen or more of large alligators in the evening, prepares his fire inthe woods, where he has erected a camp for the purpose, and by morninghas the oil extracted. "

As soon as the rider feels his horse sinking, the first movement, if aninexperienced traveller, is to throw himself from the saddle, andendeavour to wade or to swim to the cane-brakes, the roots of which giveto the ground a certain degree of stability. In that case, his fate isprobably sealed, as he is in immediate danger of the "cawana. " This is aterrible and hideous monster, with which, strange to say, thenaturalists of Europe are not yet acquainted, though it is too wellknown to all the inhabitants of the streams and lagoons tributary to theRed River. It is an enormous turtle or tortoise, with the head and tailof the alligator, not retractile, as is usual among the differentspecies of this reptile: the shell is one inch and a half thick, and asimpenetrable as steel. It lies in holes in the bottom of muddy rivers orin the swampy cane-brakes, and measures often ten feet in length and sixin breadth over the shell, independent of the head and tail, which mustgive often to this dreadful monster the length of twenty feet. Such anunwieldy mass is not, of course, capable of any rapid motion; but in theswamps I mention they are very numerous, and the unfortunate man orbeast going astray, and leaving for a moment the small patches of solidground, formed by the thicker clusters of the canes, must of a necessitycome within the reach of one of these powerful creature's jaws, alwaysextended and ready for prey. 

Cawanas of a large size have never been taken alive, though often, indraining the lagoons, shells have been found measuring twelve feet inlength. The planters of Upper Western Louisiana have often fished toprocure them for scientific acquaintances, but, although they takehundreds of the smaller ones, they could never succeed to drag on shoreany of the large ones after they have been hooked, as these monstersbury their claws, head, and tail so deep in the mud, that no power shortof steam can make them relinquish their hold. 

Some officers of the United States army and land surveyors, sent on theRed River by the government at Washington for a month, took up theirresidence at Captain Finn's. One day, when the conversation had fallenupon the cawana, it was resolved that a trial should be made toascertain the strength of the animal. A heavy iron hand-pike wastransformed by a blacksmith into a large hook, which was fixed to aniron chain belonging to the anchor of a small-boat, and as thatextraordinary fishing-tackle was not of a sufficient length, they addedto it a hawser, forty fathoms in length and of the size of a woman'swrist. The hook was baited with a lamb a few days old, and thrown into adeep hole ten yards from the shore, where Captain Finn knew that one ofthe monsters was located; the extremity of the hawser was made fast toan old cotton-tree. 

Late in the evening of the second day, and as the rain poured down intorrents, a negro slave ran to the house to announce that the bait hadbeen taken, and every one rushed to the river side. They saw that, infact, the hawser was in a state of tension, but the weather being toobad to do anything that evening, they put it off till the next morning. 

A stout horse was procured, who soon dragged the hawser from the watertill the chain became visible, but all further attempts of the animalwere in vain; after the most strenuous exertion, the horse could notconquer the resistance or gain a single inch. The visitors were puzzled, and Finn then ordered one of the negroes to bring a couple of powerfuloxen, yoked to a gill, employed to drag out the stumps of old trees. Formany minutes the oxen were lashed and goaded in vain; every yarn of thehawser was strained to the utmost, till, at last, the two brutes, uniting all their strength in one vigorous and final pull, it wasdragged from the water, but the monster had escaped. The hook hadstraightened, and to its barb were attached pieces of thick bones andcartilages, which must have belonged to the palate of the monster. 

The unfortunate traveller has but little chance of escaping with life, if, from want of experience, he is foundered in the swampy canebrakes. When the horse sinks and the rider leaves the saddle, the only thing hecan do is to return back upon his track; but let him beware of thesesolitary small patches of briars, generally three or four yards incircumference, which are spread here and there on the edges of thecanebrakes, for there he will meet with deadly reptiles and snakesunknown in the prairies; such as the grey-ringed water mocassin, thebrown viper, the black congo with red head and the copper head, all ofwhom congregate and it may be said make their nests in these little dryoases, and their bite is followed by instantaneous death. 

These are the dangers attending travellers in the swamps, but there aremany others to be undergone in crossing lagoons, rivers, or small lakes. All the streams, tributaries of the Sabine and of the Red River belowthe great bend (which is twenty miles north of the Lost Prairie), haveswampy banks and muddy bottoms, and are impassable when the water is toolow to permit the horses to swim. Some of these streams have ferries, and some lagoons have floating bridges in the neighbourhood of theplantations; but as it is a new country, where government has as yetdone nothing, these conveniences are private property, and the owner ofa ferry, not being bound by a contract, ferries only when he chooses andat the price he wishes to command. 

I will relate a circumstance which will enable the reader to understandthe nature of the country, and the difficulties of overland travellingin Texas. The great Sulphur Fork is a tributary of the Red River, and itis one of the most dangerous. Its approach can only be made on bothsides through belts of swampy canebrakes, ten miles in breadth, and sodifficult to travel over, that the length of the two swamps, short as itis, cannot be passed by a fresh and strong horse in less than fourteenhours. At just half-way of this painful journey the river is to bepassed, and this cannot be done without a ferry, for the moment youleave the canes, the shallow water begins, and the bottom is so soft, that any object touching it must sink to a depth of several fathoms. Till 1834, no white man lived in that district, and the Indians resortedto it only during the shooting season, always on foot and invariablyprovided with half-a-dozen of canoes on each side of the stream fortheir own use or for the benefit of travellers. The Texans are not soprovident nor so hospitable. 

As the white population increased in that part of the country, a man ofthe name of Gibson erected a hut on the southern bank of the stream, constructed a flat-boat, and began ferrying over at the rate of threedollars a head. As the immigration was very extensive, Gibson soon grewindependent, and he entered into a kind of partnership with the freebands which were already organized. One day, about noon, a landspeculator presented himself on the other side of the river, and calledfor the ferry. At that moment the sky was covered with dark and heavyclouds, and flashes of lightning succeeded each other in everydirection; in fact, everything proved that the evening would not passwithout one of those dreadful storms so common in that country duringthe months of April and May. Gibson soon appeared in his boat, butinstead of casting it loose, he entered into a conversation. 

"Where do you come from, eh?"

"From the settlements, " answered the stranger. 

"You've a ticklish, muddish kind of river to pass. "

"Aye, " replied the other, who was fully aware of it. 

"And a blackish, thunderish, damned storm behind you, I say. "

The traveller knew that too, and as he believed that the conversationcould as well be carried on while crossing over, he added:

"Make haste, I pray, my good man; I am in a hurry, and I should not liketo pass the night here in these canes for a hundred dollars. "

"Nor I, for a thousand, " answered Gibson. "Well, stranger, what will yougive me to ferry you over?"

"The usual fare, I suppose--two or three dollars. "

"Why, that may do for a poor man in fine weather, and having plenty oftime to spare, but I be blessed if I take you for ten times that moneynow that you are in so great a hurry and have such a storm behind. "

The traveller knew at once he had to deal with a blackguard, but as hewas himself an Arkansas man of the genuine breed, he resolved to givehim a "Roland for an Oliver. "

"It is a shameful imposition, " he cried; "how much do you want afterall?"

"Why, not a cent less than fifty dollars. "

The stranger turned his horse round, as if he would go back; but, aftera few moments, he returned again. 

"Oh, " he cried, "you are a rogue, and take the opportunity of my beingin so great a hurry. I'll give you what you want, but mind I never willpass this road again, and shall undoubtedly publish your conduct in theArkansas newspapers. "

Gibson chuckled with delight; he had humbugged a stranger, and did notcare a fig for all the newspapers in the world; so he answered, "Welcometo do what you please;" and, untying the boat, he soon crossed thestream. Before allowing the stranger to enter the ferry, Gibson demandedthe money, which was given to him under the shape of five ten-dollarnotes, which he secured in his pocket, and then rowed with allhis might. 

On arriving on the other side, the stranger led his horse out of theboat, and while Gibson was stooping down to fix the chain, he gave him akick on the temple, which sent him reeling and senseless in his boat;then taking back his own money, he sprung upon his saddle, and passingbefore the cabin, he gently advised Gibson's wife to "go and see, forher husband had hurt himself a little in rowing. "

These extortions are so very frequent, and now so well known, that thepoorer classes of emigrants never apply for the ferries, but attempt thepassage just as they can, and when we call to mind that the hundreds ofcases which are known and spoken of must be but a fraction of those whohave disappeared without leaving behind the smallest clue of theirformer existence and unhappy fate, the loss of human life within thelast four or five years must have been awful. 

Besides the alligator and the cawana, there are in these rivers manyother destructive animals of a terrible appearance, such as the deviljack diamond fish, the saw fish, the horn fish, and, above all, the muchdreaded gar. The first of these is often taken in summer in the lakesand bayous, which, deprived of water for a season, are transformed intopastures; these lakes, however, have always a channel or deeper part, and there the devil jack diamond has been caught, weighing four hundredpounds and upwards. 

The saw fish is peculiar to the Mississippi and its tributaries, andvaries in length from four to eight feet. The horn fish is four feetlong, with a bony substance on his upper jaw, strong, curved, and onefoot long, which he employs to attack horses, oxen, and even alligators, when pressed by hunger. But the gar fish is the most terrible among theAmerican ichthyology, and a Louisiana writer describes it in thefollowing manner:--

"Of the gar fish there are numerous varieties. The alligator gar issometimes ten feet long, and is voracious, fierce, and formidable, evento the human species. Its dart in rapidity equals the flight of a bird;its mouth is long, round, and pointed, thick set with sharp teeth; itsbody is covered with scales so hard as to be impenetrable by arifle-bullet, and which, when dry, answers the purposes of a flint instriking fire from steel; its weight is from fifty to four hundredpounds, and its appearance is hideous; it is, in fact, the shark ofrivers, but more terrible than the shark of the sea, and is consideredfar more formidable than the alligator himself. "

It is, in fact, a most terrible animal. I have seen it more than onceseizing its prey, and dragging it down with the rapidity of an arrow. One day while I was residing at Captain Finn's upon the Red River, I sawone of these monsters enter a creek of transparent water. Following himfor curiosity, I soon perceived that he had not left the deep waterwithout an inducement, for just above me there was an alligatordevouring an otter. 

As soon as the alligator perceived his formidable enemy, he thought ofnothing but escape to the shore; he dropped his prey and began to climb, but he was too slow for the gar fish, who, with a single dart, closedupon it with extended jaws, and seized it by the middle of the body. Icould see plainly through the transparent water, and yet I did notperceive that the alligator made the least struggle to escape from thedeadly fangs; there was a hissing noise as that of shells and bonescrushed, and the gar fish left the creek with his victim in his jaws, sonearly severed in two, that the head and tail were towing on eachside of him. 

Besides these, the traveller through rivers and bayous has to fear manyother enemies of less note, and but little, if at all, known tonaturalists. Among these is the mud vampire, a kind of spider leech, with sixteen short paws round a body of the form and size of the commonplate; the centre of the animal (which is black in any other part of thebody) has a dark vermilion round spot, from which dart a quantity ofblack suckers, one inch and a half long, through which they extract theblood of animals: and so rapid is the phlebotomy of this ugly reptile, that though not weighing more than two ounces in its natural state, afew minutes after it is stuck on, it will increase to the size of abeaver hat, and weigh several pounds. 

Thus leeched in a large stream, a horse will often faint before he canreach the opposite shore, and he then becomes a prey to the gar fish; ifthe stream is but small and the animal is not exhausted, he will runmadly to the shore and roll to get rid of his terrible blood-sucker, which, however, will adhere to him, till one or the other of them diesfrom exhaustion, or from repletion. In crossing the Eastern Texasbayous, I used always to descend from my horse to look if the leecheshad stuck; the belly and the breast are the parts generally attacked, and so tenacious are these mud vampires, that the only means of removingthem is to pass the blade of a knife under them and cut them off. 

But let us leave these disgusting animals, and return to the uplandwoods and prairies, where nature seems ever smiling, and where theflowers, the birds, and harmless quadrupeds present to the eye a livelyand diversified spectacle. One of the prettiest _coups-d'oeil_ in theworld is to witness the gambols and amusements of a herd of horses, or aflock of antelopes. No kitten is more playful than these beautifulanimals, when grazing undisturbed in the prairies; and yet those who, like the Indian, have time and opportunity to investigate, will discovervices in gregarious animals hitherto attributed solely to man. 

It would appear that, even among animals, where there is a society, there is a tyrant and paria. On board vessels, in a school, or anywhere, if man is confined in space, there will always be some onelording over the others, either by his mere brutal strength or by hischaracter; and, as a consequence, there is also another, who is spurned, kicked, and beaten by his companions, a poor outcast, whom everybodydelights in insulting and trampling upon; it is the same amonggregarious brutes. Take a flock of buffaloes or horses, or of antelopes;the first glance is always sufficient to detect the two contrasts. Twoof the animals will stand apart from the herd, one proudly lookingabout, the other timid and cast down; and every minute some will leavetheir grazing, go and show submission, and give a caress to the one, anda kick or a bite to the other. 

Such scenes I have often observed, and I have also witnessed theconsequence, which is, that the outcast eventually commits suicide, another crime supposed to be practised only by reasoning creatures likeourselves. I have seen horses, when tired of their prairie life, walkround and round large trees, as if to ascertain the degree of hardnessrequired; they have then measured their distance, and darting withfurious speed against it, fractured their skull, and thus got rid oflife and oppression. 

I remember a particular instance; it was at the settlement. I was yet aboy, and during the hotter hours of the day, I used to take my books andgo with one of the missionaries to study near a torrent, under the coolshade of a magnolia. ¸

All the trees around us were filled with numerous republics ofsquirrels, scampering and jumping from branch to branch, and, forgetfulof everything else, we would sometimes watch their sport for hourstogether. Among them we had remarked one, who kept solitary between thestems of an absynth shrub, not ten yards from our usual station. Therehe would lie motionless for hours basking in the sun, till some othersquirrels would perceive him. Then they would jump upon him, biting andscratching till they were tired, and the poor animal would offer noresistance, and only give way to his grief by plaintive cries. 

At this sight, the good padre did not lose the opportunity to inculcatea lesson, and after he had finished speaking, he would strike his handstogether to terrify the assailants. 

"Yes, " observed I, using his own words, "it is nature. "

"Alas! no, " he would reply; "'tis too horrible to be nature; it is onlyone of the numerous evils generated from society. " The padre was a greatphilosopher, and he was right. 

One day, while we were watching this paria of a squirrel, we detected ayoung one slowly creeping through the adjoining shrubs; he had in hismouth a ripe fruit, a parcimon, if I remember right. At every moment hewould stop and look as if he were watched, just as if he feareddetection. At last he arrived near the paria, and deposited before himhis offering to misery and old age. 

We watched this spectacle with feelings which I could not describe;there was such a show of meek gratitude in the one and happiness in theother, just as if he enjoyed his good action. They were, however, perceived by the other squirrels, who sprang by dozens upon them; theyoung one with two bounds escaped, the other submitted to his fate. Irose, all the squirrels vanished except the victim; but that time, contrary to his habits, he left the shrub and slowly advanced to thebank of the river, and ascended a tree. A minute afterwards we observedhim at the very extremity of a branch projecting over the rapid waters, and we heard his plaintive shriek. It was his farewell to life andmisery; he leaped into the middle of the current, which in a momentcarried him to the shallow water a little below. 

In spite of his old age, the padre waded into the stream and rescuedthe suicide. I took it home with me, fed it well, and in a short timeits hair had grown again thick and glossy. Although left quite free, thepoor animal never attempted to escape to the woods, and he had become sotame, that every time I mounted my horse, he would jump upon me andaccompany me on my distant excursions. Eight or ten months afterwards hewas killed by a rattle-snake, who surprised him sleeping upon myblanket, during one of our encampments. 

THE END.