CHAPTER FOUR.
UNCLE MARK'S GOOD OPINION OF REUBEN--MIKE LAFFAN'S FIDDLE--THE BEAVER--REUBEN'S DESIRE TO TURN TRAPPER--QUAMBO TAKES A PIPE--KEPENAU'S CANOE--ASHATEA PADDLES REUBEN HOME--KEPENAU'S SAGACITY--UNCLE MARK WELCOMESKEPENAU AND HIS DAUGHTER--THE OLD TRAPPER--REUBEN CARRIES SAMSON'SPACK--ASHATEA IS TAUGHT ENGLISH BY LILY AND DORA--MARTIN GODFREY'S VISITTO THE SETTLEMENT--KEPENAU'S AND ASHATEA'S DEPARTURE--SANDY MCCOLL, THEHALF-BREED--A VISIT TO KEPENAU--PORTAGING.
The summer had now come. The trees were all decked with their rich andvaried foliage; the notes of the feathered inhabitants were heard in theforest; and numerous animals which had either gone south during thewinter, or had concealed themselves in sheltered places, were movingabout. There had been too much ploughing and sowing to allow of myindulging in my favourite pursuits. All I could do was to run over andpay my uncle and aunt a visit; but it may be that Lily was the chiefattraction.
I found her friend Dora with her one day. She was certainly a very nicegirl, although not equal to Lily by a long way, in my opinion. Theyinquired whether we had seen anything of Kepenau and his daughterAshatea.
"They have not yet appeared," I answered; "nor have we received anytidings of them."
"Dora wants to make the acquaintance of a real Indian girl, fit to be aheroine," said Lily, laughing. "She has hitherto only seen the wretchedsquaws who appear in the Eastern States. She can scarcely believe thatAshatea is the interesting creature I describe her."
I said that I would try to communicate with Kepenau, if I could learnhis whereabouts from any passing Indians.
"Oh do!" said Lily; "and let him understand how glad we shall be to seehim and his daughter again."
While we were talking Reuben came in, and offered to accompany me backto the hut. He, like me, had been very busy all the spring. Hecertainly did not look well suited for hard labour; but his face wasmore bronzed than heretofore, and he seemed perfectly well. Wishing thegirls good-bye, we shouldered our guns, and commenced the walk to thehut. There was no risk of losing our way at this time, for the dayswere long, and there was a bright moon that evening.
Uncle Mark welcomed Reuben, whom he liked for his straightforwardcharacter and honesty.
"I am glad you have got such a companion as that young fellow," he saidto me. "When two harum-scarum fellows associate, they are sure to getinto trouble; but you two will help each other out of difficulties,should you unexpectedly fall into them."
Mike amused us that evening with a tune on his fiddle; and Quambodiverted us still more by a dance he performed to the music, which madeReuben, who was not addicted to laughing, almost split his sides.
We agreed to have a long ramble into the forest next day, my unclegiving me leave of absence. He could not spare Mike, but he allowedQuambo to accompany us.
"We can cook our dinner without him," I said; "though, to be sure, wecannot expect to dress it as well as he would."
"Ah! Massa Mark, poor black fellow do one t'ing well; you do eberyt'ing well," observed Quambo, with a grimace, by which he intended toshow that he was paying a deserved compliment.
We carried our guns, with provisions in our knapsacks to last us for aday, although we expected to kill more game than we should want. As wewished to make a long excursion, we started at daybreak; that is to say,Reuben, Quambo, and I, with the dogs. Reuben had a great desire to seea beaver settlement which I had once visited when we first came intothat part of the country; and I thought that I could find my way to it.Quambo amused us, as we walked along, with all sorts of tales aboutbeavers, raccoons, opossums, bears, and other animals, with the habitsof which he was well acquainted.
The beaver is a good-sized animal, being two and a half feet longexclusive of the tail, which is one foot more. It is of a deep chestnutcolour; the hair very fine, smooth, and glossy. The Indians use itsincisor teeth, which are very large and hard, to cut the bone or hornwith which they tip their spears. It is a rodent, or gnawing animal.It has a broad, horizontal, flattened tail, nearly of an oval form,which is covered with scales. The hind feet are webbed, and, with theaid of the tail, which acts as a rudder, enable it to swim through thewater with ease and rapidity. Except in one respect, I do not know thatit can be considered a sagacious animal; but it is a marvellousengineer, its faculties being employed in building houses, and informing dams for the protection of its village.
One of its chief characteristics is the power it possesses of producinga substance termed "castor,"--which is contained in two bags, each aboutthe size of a hen's egg. This castor is peculiarly attractive tobeavers. They scent it at a distance, and invariably make their waytowards it. No sooner does the beaver discover the delicious odour thanhe sits upright, sniffs about in every direction, and squeals withexcitement until he can get up to it. The trapper, knowing this, alwayscarries a supply of castor, or bark-stone; and when he reaches a streamor any other water near which he believes beavers may be found, he setshis trap, about six inches under the water. He then chews the end of atwig, dips it in the castor, and sticks it in with the scented enduppermost, just a little above the water. The nearest beaver, ondiscovering the scent, hurries up to the spot; and, if a young animal,is nearly certain to be caught by the trap. The older beavers are moreknowing and cautious, and frequently bite off the end of the twigwithout entangling themselves.
Another curious circumstance connected with this "castoreum" is, that assoon as one beaver has deposited any of it on the ground, the beaversfrom another lodge go to the spot, and after covering it with earth andleaves, deposit their own "castoreum" on it. When they have gone away,others in turn perform the same operation; and thus the process goes ontill a heap four or five feet in height has been raised. No one has asyet been able to ascertain the object of this proceeding. It gives thetrapper, however, the means of catching the poor creatures--means whichthey would undoubtedly withhold, if they had the power. Like humanbeings, they are sufferers from their own acts.
The teeth of the beavers are sharp and powerful, and their jaws possessan extraordinary amount of strength. This enables them to bite throughwood, tear the bark from trees, and chew vegetable substances of allsorts. During summer they regale themselves on fruits and plants ofvarious descriptions; but their winter stock of food consists of thebark of the birch, plane, and other trees--and even of the young wooditself, which they steep in water before devouring it.
Their favourite resort is a stream or a pool near trees. Here they willassemble to the number of some hundreds, living in communities, andworking together. They select, when they can, a stream with a current,because it affords them the means of conveying wood and other materialsfor their habitations. They choose such parts as will afford them depthof water sufficient to resist the frost in winter, and prevent itfreezing to the bottom. When, however, they find that there is notdepth enough for this purpose, they build a dam across the stream, at aconvenient distance below their habitations. If the current is gentle,the dam is made perfectly straight; but if rapid, it is constructed witha considerable curve, the convex side being towards the upper part ofthe stream. The materials employed are drift wood, green willows,birch, and poplar; these are placed horizontally, and kept down by mudand stones. So strong do these dams become, that they are capable ofresisting a considerable force both of water and ice; for generally thewood, taking root, shoots upwards, and forms ultimately a thick hedge.In some cases even trees sprout up, in the branches of which the birdsform their nests.
Beavers build their houses of the same materials as their dams, and ofvarious sizes, according to the number of the inmates. These, however,do not often exceed four or eight old ones, and from six to fourteenyoung ones. The houses are of a circular form, elevated some feet abovethe surface of the water; but the entrance is always low down beneathit. They are more rudely constructed than the dams, too. The wood islaid nearly horizontally, and crosswise; the branches, which projectinwards, they cut off with their teeth. First there is a layer of wood
,and then one of mud and stones; and so they work on till a sufficientheight is gained, when the roof, of rough branches, is placed on thetop, and plastered down with mud and stones.
Such was the interesting account which Quambo gave us as we walkedalong.
No event worthy of description occurred during our walk, though it tookus some hours to reach the spot for which I was directing our course.
I was not disappointed. As we approached it cautiously, we caught sightof several beavers running about on the banks of the stream, somenibbling away at the trunks of saplings and small trees which they wereengaged in felling. Had we fired, we might have killed two or three;but the rest would have disappeared, and we should then have lost theopportunity of observing them. We therefore crept on, concealingourselves among the thick underwood.
At length I was afraid, should we get closer, that we might make somenoise and alarm the animals. I therefore made a sign to my companionsto stop; and looking down, we could discern one of the dams I havespoken of carried across the stream from one side to the other, andapparently not quite finished. Though several beavers were runningabout it, they were not at work; indeed, all their operations arecarried on during darkness. Nature, of course, has given them theinstinct to work at this time, which saves them the destruction thatwould otherwise probably overtake them, both from men and beasts.
After watching them for some time, I wished to retire and let them amusethemselves undisturbed; but Quambo took it into his head to give a loudshout, when in an instant the startled creatures scampered off, anddived under the water. Our chance of seeing more of them was gone; theywere evidently on the watch for us, for now and then I saw a snoutpopping up above the surface, to ascertain if we had taken ourdeparture.
We made our way along the banks of the stream for some distance, till wesaw before us a broad expanse of water; and we discovered that it was ashallow lake or pond, bordered by reeds, and with numerous dead treesrising up out of the water near its shores. It struck me that this lakehad been produced by the beaver-dams; and on our proceeding downwardstowards what appeared to be its outlet, we found what had the appearanceof being a long bank, of a convex form, stretched directly across thestream. This, on further examination, I had no doubt was the work ofbeavers. Alders and willows, and other water-loving trees ofconsiderable size, were growing out of it; and digging down to a slightdepth, we found that it consisted of lengths of the trunks of youngtrees, now rapidly decaying and turning into a vegetable mould, thusaffording nourishment to all sorts of plants.
Above the surface of the lake were numerous beaver-houses, and after wehad concealed ourselves for some time we caught sight of the inhabitantscoming forth and swimming about; while one or two knowing old fellowsclimbed to the roof of their houses, to keep a look-out, as we supposed,and give notice of approaching danger. We might have shot several, butwithout the dogs we should not have been able to recover them. Indeed,their skins would have been of much less value than those caught intraps. After watching them for some time, then, we agreed that we oughtto be on our homeward way, or we should certainly be benighted. Thoughwe had found the path easily enough in daylight, it would be a hardmatter to do so in the dark.
"I should very much like to turn trapper," said Reuben to me as wewalked along. "I once heard a good deal about the lives the trapperslead, from a fine old man who stopped at our house one night, on his wayto dispose of his packs of skins at one of the fur-traders' posts."
"I suspect that it must be a very hard life, and you would soon gettired of it, Reuben," I answered.
"As to that, I fancy that when I got accustomed to the hardships Ishould like it more and more; but I would be a trapper on my own hook--have my own animals and traps, hunt where I chose, and sell my peltriesto whom I pleased. Our old friend had a horse and two mules. He rodethe horse, and the mules served to carry his packs. He had six traps,which he carried in a leathern bag called his trap-sack. I wasparticularly struck by his appearance as he rode up to our cottage. Hiscostume was a hunting-shirt of dressed buckskin, ornamented with longfringes; pantaloons of the same material, decorated withporcupine-quills hanging down the outside of the leg. He wore moccasinson his feet, and a flexible felt hat upon his head. Under his rightarm, and suspended from his left shoulder, hung his powder-horn andbullet-pouch, in which he carried balls, flint, and steel His longknife, in a sheath of buffalo, hung from a belt round his waist--madefast to it by a steel chain. Also, he carried a tomahawk; and slungover his shoulder was his long heavy rifle; while from his neck hung hispipe-holder, garnished with beads and porcupine-quills.
"He had come many hundreds of miles from the west, having trapped as faroff as the Rocky Mountains, and had met with all sorts of adventuresamong the Indians, from whom he had often narrowly escaped with hislife. He said that he would take me with him, as he much wanted acompanion, and would answer for my life with his own; though I shouldrun no more risk than he did, if I only followed his directions. But myfather would not hear of it, and was quite angry with the old man forputting the idea into my head; so, of course, I had to give it up.
"`Well, Reuben, my boy,' he said as he rode away, `should your fatherchange his mind, and you hold fast to yours, when I come back I willtake you with me.'
"But he never has come back since."
I laughed at Reuben's notion; for, knowing him as I did, I saw that hewas utterly unfit for the sort of life he proposed to lead, and would beheartily sick of it before long. He had a fertile imagination, and hadpictured a trapper's life as something very delightful, although I wassure he would in reality hate it. And I believe that is the case withmany other boys,--especially with those who take it into their head togo to sea, and who have never been on board a ship, and know nothingwhatever of sea-life.
We had now performed the greater part of our journey home, and hadreached the bank of the larger river, where it extended into lake-likedimensions, narrowing again shortly to its former width. Here severalrocks were seen rising out of it--the waters rushing between them withgreat force, and forming a cataract, down which I should have thought itimpossible for the strongest boat to make its way without being dashedto pieces.
At this point we sat down on the bank to rest and take some refreshment,when Quambo pulled out his pipe.
"You no smoke, young gen'lemen; but ole neegur, he fond of baccy, andyou no object," said Quambo.
Quambo was always a pattern of politeness. We begged him to smoke asmuch as he liked, although we had not taken to it ourselves.
When Quambo was enjoying his pipe, he was never in a hurry to move, sowe sat on longer than we should otherwise have done. I considered, atlength, that it was time to move; when, looking up the stream, acrossthe broad expanse I have mentioned, I caught sight of a light canoeskimming rapidly over the surface. It was approaching us; so, promptedby curiosity, we agreed to wait its arrival at the shore--for it did notoccur to us it could possibly descend the rapids. It kept, however, inthe middle of the current, and before we had got far from where we hadbeen sitting I saw that it was about to make its way amid the tumblingwaters.
"These people must be strangers, and cannot be aware of the danger theyare running," I observed. "Their canoe will be destroyed, and we mustdo our best to save them."
We accordingly hurried back. As the canoe approached, I saw that therewere four people in her: one in the stern, and two in the bows paddling;the other, who appeared to be a female, sitting near the after end, wasalso dexterously using a paddle, now on one side and now on the other.On looking again, I felt nearly sure that the Indian in the stern wasour friend Kepenau, and that the female was his daughter Ashatea.
I shouted, but it was too late to warn him to turn back; indeed, fromthe calm way in which he sat, I was convinced that he well knew where hewas going: and almost before I had time to think much about the dangermy friends were running, they had passed it, and their canoe wasfloating in the calm water at the foot of the rapids.
My shout attracted the notice of Kepenau, who at once recognised me, andsteered his canoe for the bank. He and Ashatea stepped on shore, andseemed much pleased at seeing me. I introduced Reuben, who made aspolite a bow to the Indian girl as he would have done to a princess.She put out her hand, and in her broken language inquired if he had asister. On his replying that such was the case, Ashatea expressed ahope that she would become a friend to her, as Lily was.
Kepenau told me that they were on their way to visit our settlement,according to his promise. "I thought it wisest," he said "to keep mypeople at a distance, so we have fixed our camp on the banks of a streamsome miles to the westward; and as the rivers are now open, we caneasily hold communication with you. At the same time, as there areseveral intervening rapids and waterfalls, the white men are not likelyto find their way often to us, or to bring the `fire water' which I somuch dread."
On hearing that we were on our way home, he offered to accompany us;observing that Ashatea could steer the canoe as well as he could, andthough the distance by the river was greater, she would not be longafter us. "There are no more rapids or waterfalls to be passed, so thatthe remainder of the voyage can be performed without danger," heobserved.
Reuben, on hearing this, asked leave to take his place, saying that heshould much like the trip by the river.
"But you cannot use a paddle," said Kepenau.
"Not very well," answered Reuben.
"Then don't make the attempt, or you may upset the canoe, or lose yourpaddle. If you go, you must sit perfectly quiet," said Kepenau.
Reuben promised to obey orders. Ashatea smiled, and appeared to behighly amused at the idea of having a white man as her passenger.
As we had no time to lose, Ashatea resumed her seat in the stern of thecanoe.
"Now, take care," she said, laughing, as she saw Reuben about to stepin, "else you will tumble over on the other side, or make a hole in thecanoe and go through it."
Reuben looked somewhat alarmed, and in his eagerness was very nearlydoing both the things against which he was being warned. Kepenau,however taking his arm, helped him in.
"Now, don't move till you reach the end of your voyage," said theIndian. "Perhaps we shall be there to help you out."
Ashatea gave a flourish with her paddle as a farewell signal, andstriking the water, away the canoe shot down the stream. We meanwhiletook the path homewards, and as we were anxious to arrive before thecanoe we hurried forward.
Kepenau told me that his daughter had so much wished to see Lily,--or mysister, as he called her,--that he had consented to bring her, and toleave her for two or three days, if my friends would allow it.
I said that I was sure they would.
He desired, he told me, to make some trade arrangements for disposing ofthe peltries which he and his people obtained; his object, at the sametime, being to keep them away from the white men, for fear of the "firewater." This subject was continually on his mind. He had seen it provethe destruction of so many of his countrymen, that he dreaded itsintroduction among his own tribe, who had hitherto been kept free fromit. However, as my uncles and Mr Claxton were men who never touchedliquor, he was not afraid of dealing with them.
I remarked, as we walked along, that his eyes were constantly turning inevery direction,--now on the ground, now on the trees and hushes oneither side,--as if he was on the look-out for game, or fancied that anenemy was lurking near. I at last inquired why he did this.
"It is the habit of my people," he answered. "We never can tell whetherour foes may be before us or tracking our footsteps. I noticed thatsome one besides you and your young friend and the black has passed thisway lately. He wore moccasins, and may therefore be a red man and anenemy; but I have just discovered that he is one of your people, and hasa load on his shoulders. Observe that soft ground; his feet sank deeperinto it than would have been the case had he been unencumbered. He iseither an old man, or overcome with fatigue. He cannot be very farbefore us, and is going in the direction of your hut." Kepenau pointedas he spoke to some mossy ground, where I could just distinguish a faintoutline of the footsteps of a man; but I should have been unable to readanything beyond that fact from the marks left behind.
Quambo, who saw them, thought that they might have been, after all, onlythe footsteps of Uncle Mark or Mike, who might have come out thus far insearch of game; but Kepenau laughed when this was said.
"No, no," he answered; "these are moccasins. You will see that I amright."
We hurried on, for the sun was getting low, and already the gloom hadsettled down in the recesses of the forest.
As we emerged into more open ground near the banks of the river, therays of the sun glancing along it sparkled on the flakes of foam, as thestream hurried rippling along the banks. Nearing the hut, we caughtsight of three figures standing in front of it.
"I told you so," observed Kepenau. "Yonder is the man whose trail Idiscovered. A trapper, who has come east with his peltries. He is anold man, too, as I thought, and carried a heavy load."
Before even our friends saw us, the canoe shot into view down thestream; and after helping Ashatea and Reuben to land--or rather thelatter, for the Indian girl sprang lightly on shore without assistance--we proceeded to the hut.
Uncle Mark advanced to meet us. "All friends are welcome," he said,taking Kepenau's hand, and then greeting the young girl in his kind,friendly way. "You will, however, have to submit to pretty closestowage, if, as I hope you intend to do, you will remain the night withus."
"We can quickly put up sufficient shelter for this time of the year forourselves, so that we need not crowd you, my friend," answered theIndian. "And our aged brother there, I doubt not, is as well accustomedto the open air as we are."
"Many days and nights have passed since I slept under a roof," observedthe old hunter, who, hearing himself mentioned, now came forward. "Wehave met before, brother," he added, looking at the Indian; "ay, andfought and hunted together! Don't you recollect me?"
"Ay, that I do. You saved my life when the Apaches were about to takemy scalp, and enabled me to reach my horse and escape," answeredKepenau.
"Ah! I have a faint recollection of that; but I remember more clearlyhow, when I was hunted by a party of Araphoes, you and your people camesweeping down to my assistance, and put them to flight," replied the oldtrapper.
"I recollect the event," observed Kepenau; "but I have long since buriedthe war-hatchet, and now strive to live at peace with my neighbours, ifthey will let me."
While the Indian and the old trapper had been speaking, I had beenlooking at the latter. I had no doubt, from the description Reuben hadgiven of the visitor to his father's house, that this was the sameperson; and I was therefore not surprised to see him and Reuben shakinghands as old acquaintances.
Quambo, knowing that food would be required for our guests, lost notime, with the assistance of Mike, in lighting a fire, and immediatelyset about cooking whatever his larder supplied. Though we had killedbut little game on our excursion, Uncle Mark and Mike had been morefortunate during our absence, and there was no lack of food.
In the meantime Kepenau had called up his people from the canoe, andthey set to work to collect materials for two small wigwams, which,though they were more rudely constructed than usual, served the purposeintended. One was for the accommodation of Ashatea, and the other forthe chief--his men contenting themselves with a rough lean-to.
The whole party joined us in the hut at supper, which, thanks to thediligence of Mike and Quambo, was quickly prepared. The old trapper hadmany anecdotes to tell, and many a wild adventure to recount, which, Isaw, was greatly interesting to Reuben. Ashatea spoke but little,though I could see, by her quick glance, that she understood much, ifnot all, that was said.
At night the chief and his daughter retired to their wigwams, while theold trapper accepted a shakedown in the corner of our hut. He smiledwhen Uncle Mark offered him a bed. "For many a long year I have notslept in
one," he answered; "and I possibly may never again put my headon a pillow softer than my saddle or a pack of skins."
Without taking off his clothes, and merely unbuckling his belt, he laydown, and was soon fast asleep. Reuben and I, after a few minutes'talk, did the same. Before I closed my eyes, however, I saw that UncleMark was sitting at the table, resting his head upon his hands,apparently lost in thought.
At break of day the next morning our Indian friends were on foot, and weturned out to receive them. As our hut was close, we had our breakfastspread on a grassy spot beneath the trees, where we could enjoy freshair, which was certainly more suited to their taste.
Ashatea looked handsomer than ever. She was eager to set out to seeLily. Reuben offered to accompany her, and show the way: at whichKepenau laughed, observing that an Indian never required a guide throughhis own country; but, for all that, he should be happy to have the whitestranger's society.
Kepenau had brought several packages of skins, which it was his objectto dispose of.
"My friend," said the old trapper, touching him on the shoulder, "let mesell them for you. I know how the white men will treat you if theythink that they are yours: they will offer a third of the value, andthen insist on your taking articles you do not require."
"I wish to open a fair trade with the white men," answered Kepenau. "Iwill let them understand that I have more skins to bring."
"The greater reason they will have for putting a small value on them,"observed the old trapper.
"I would advise you to accept Samson Micklan's offer," said Uncle Mark,turning to the Indian.
Kepenau considered the matter for some time. "I will do as you advise,"he said at length. "I know that I can trust you. When you have fixed aprice, I will not consent to sell under it. I intend, nevertheless, togo to the settlement."
The old trapper, whose name I now for the first time heard, appeared tobe in no hurry to continue his journey. When at length he declared thathe was ready to start, Reuben offered to carry his pack.
Old Samson smiled. "It may make your young shoulders ache more than yousuppose," he observed.
"Let me try," answered Reuben; and I helped him to place it on hisshoulders. In doing so I was able to judge of its weight.
"If my uncle can spare me, I will assist you," I said; "for I doubt verymuch whether you will be able to carry it all the way."
Reuben, however, had made up his mind to fulfil his promise. I saw atwinkle in the old man's eyes when he trudged off trying to look as ifhe did not feel the weight. My uncle told me I might go too, so we setoff. Kepenau and Samson led the way, talking together. Reuben, as Iexpected, dropped alongside Ashatea; and I followed. The other Indiansbrought up the rear, carrying Kepenau's packs.
Before long, I saw that Reuben was walking with difficulty, and puttinghis hands behind his back to try and lift the pack off his shoulders. Iranged up to him.
"You had better let me carry that a little way for you," I said. "Orsuppose we sling it on our sticks! we shall then get along more easily,and neither of us will feel the weight too much."
Still Reuben declared that he could carry it.
Ashatea looked at him, evidently understanding the matter as well as Idid. "You better let your friend do as he says," she observed.
At length Reuben, who was getting very hot, and had stumbled more thanonce, said, "Well, I do think it will be the best way. I am muchobliged to you, Roger."
We soon had the pack slung to the sticks, and poor Reuben stepped alongmuch more easily than before.
We soon reached Uncle Stephen's house, when the old trapper turned roundto Reuben. "You are a brave lad," he said; "I like your pluck. In afew years, when you get more muscle in your limbs, you will laugh at apack twice the weight of that."
Lily was delighted to see Ashatea, and we left them together while wewent on to Mr Claxton's, where old Samson intended to stay. He hadarranged with Kepenau to sell his peltries, and the next day they wereall disposed of at a price which greatly astonished and delighted ourIndian friend. He made an arrangement with Uncle Stephen to sell allthe produce of the chase which he might bring, and to purchase for himsuch articles as he required.
Reuben brought his sister Dora over to see Ashatea, and the three girlsseemed very happy together. The Indian girl was as eager to learnEnglish as Lily and Dora were to instruct her; and she got on rapidly.
Old Samson had suffered more from his long tramp on foot than he was atfirst willing to confess, and a fit of illness was the consequence. Hewas well cared for, however, by the Claxtons, who treated him as kindlyas if he had been a relation. He was grateful in his way; but it struckme that there was something hard and unsympathising in his character.He spoke of his fights with the Indians, of the scalps he had taken, ofhis hairbreadth escapes; but he never uttered a word which showed thathe had any religious feeling. Indeed, he seemed to me to be as much ofa heathen as the Indians among whom he had lived so long. It appearedstrange to me that an old man should be so hardened. I was not aware,at the time, that when people once begin to give up trusting God they gofurther and further from him; and thus, of course, as they advance inyears they think less and less of their souls, and, in fact, become moredead with regard to all spiritual matters.
I had been accustomed to see Uncle Stephen read the Bible to his family,and offer up prayers morning and night; while he never did any work,except such as necessity demanded, on the Sabbath. Uncle Mark had beenless exact in these respects, although even he was accustomed to readthe Bible on the Sabbath, and to refrain from work; and occasionally wewent over to Uncle Stephen's on that day and joined his family atworship. Most of the people of the settlement, however, paid but littleattention to the day, though they ceased from all rough work, and made asort of holiday of it. There was no church or chapel of any descriptionin the neighbourhood, and few paid any attention to what are calledreligious duties.
The day after I went to stay with Uncle Stephen, some little time beforesunset I saw a horseman approaching the house from the eastward. He wasa middle-aged man, dressed in a suit of dark grey, with his legs encasedin strong leather gaiters, and a broad-brimmed hat on his head; a pairof huge saddle-bags, too, were thrown across the hardy-looking mustanghe bestrode. He had neither gun over his shoulder nor sword by hisside; but he carried a thick staff of considerable length in his hand.
"Canst tell me, young friend, if yonder house is the abode of StephenTregellis?" he asked as I advanced towards him.
"Yes, sir. He is my uncle," I answered, offering to hold his nag's headwhile he dismounted.
He threw himself from the saddle with the activity of a young man.
"I hope, then, that I shall not intrude, for I have come far, and shouldlike to spend a few days with one who, if I am not wrongly informed,will receive me as a brother Christian," he said.
"Uncle Stephen will be glad to see you, sir," I answered, feeling surethat I was only saying what was the case.
"Well, then, young man, go in and tell him that Martin Godfrey has cometo claim his hospitality."
As my uncle had just reached home, I hurried in and gave him themessage. He immediately came out and welcomed the stranger, with whomhe had a short conversation, which I did not hear, as I was holding thepony at a little distance. I only caught the words, uttered by myuncle, "We will make ready a small upper room, and to that you shall bewelcome as long as you remain in these parts."
He then told me to take the mustang round to the stable, to rub himdown, and feed him well, and to bring the minister's saddle-bags intothe house. When I returned, after having obeyed these orders, I foundthe stranger seated at table--on which Aunt Hannah and Lily had spreadsupper--talking cheerfully; and from what he said I gathered that he hadvisited a number of outlying settlements, accompanied by several youngministers, one of whom he had left at each.
"I had no one to bring on here, and was unwilling to leave you withoutthe `bread of life,' so I was fain to come on
myself," he observed.
I wondered what he could mean. Aunt Hannah explained, after he andUncle Mark had gone out, that he was one of those energetic Gospellerswho had done so much for the back settlements of America; that he was anoverseer among them--his duty being to move from place to place to formnew congregations where none existed, and to strengthen and encouragethe older ones.
He had much conversation with Kepenau and Ashatea, with whom he couldconverse in their own language. They were evidently deeply interestedin what he said, and I saw him frequently produce his Bible and refer toit to strengthen what he was saying. Kepenau had, as I have alreadysaid, some knowledge of Christianity, and he and his daughter verygladly received the instruction which the missionary afforded them.
Uncle Stephen went out and succeeded in bringing in three or four of ourneighbours, among whom were Mr Claxton and Reuben, and we had a regularservice in the cottage,--the first of the sort I can recollect. TheBible was read, prayers were offered up, and the missionary gave anaddress; after which some of Wesley's hymns were sung by Lily and Dora--Ashatea occasionally joining in, with a very sweet voice, although shehad never heard them before.
Mr Claxton afterwards begged the missionary to come and visit oldSamson. He gladly complied; but I heard him next day tell Uncle Stephenthat he feared no impression had been made on the old trapper's heart."Still, I do not despair," he added. "It may be as hard as iron, orstone; but iron can be melted by the fire, and stone worn away by theconstant dripping of water. One thing I know,--that nothing is toodifficult for God to accomplish; though we, his instruments, are obligedto confess our own weakness."
I must not, however, dwell further on the various events which tookplace at this time.
Martin Godfrey spent some days with Uncle Stephen, preaching everyevening in the open air, and three times on the Sabbath; and he promisedthe people, if they would put up a chapel, that he would ere long find aminister for them. Having distributed some Bibles and other bookscontained in his saddle-bags, he at length mounted his mustang and wenthis way.
I remember Uncle Stephen asking him if he was not afraid of travellingwithout firearms.
"I trust to One well able to protect me," he answered, smiling."Whenever I have to employ the arm of flesh, I find my trusty sticksufficient to defend myself against hostile Indians or savage beasts;"and as he whisked it round his head with a rapidity which dazzled theeyes, I could easily understand how it would prove a formidable weaponagainst either bears or wolves--a tap of it on their skulls beingsufficient to stun them; while it seemed to me that he might be able toward off either the arrows or the tomahawks of hostile Indians.
Kepenau and Ashatea returned to their settlement; and the old trapper,who had now recovered, began to make preparations for his departure. Hehad again invited Reuben to join him, but Mr Claxton, very wisely,would not hear of his son going away with the old man.
"It is more than likely we shall never see him again," he observed."Whatever his fate may be, you would probably share it; either to bekilled by Indians, or starved, or drowned, or frozen to death, or tornto pieces by bears or wolves."
Reuben was inclined to complain. "Father thinks I cannot take care ofmyself," he said to me. "As old Samson has spent so many years outtrapping by himself, why should not I have as good a chance of escapingfrom danger?"
"There is an old saying, `That the water-pot which goes often to thewell, gets broken at last,'" I observed. "Such may be the case withregard to old Samson; and you know nothing of the country, or of thecunning of the Redskins, and would be very sure to lose your life if helost his."
The old man, who had set his heart on obtaining a companion of somesort, succeeded in persuading a half-breed to accompany him. This was aman named Sandy McColl, whose father was a Scotchman and his mother anIndian, and who had long been accustomed to the wild life of theprairies. He had come to the settlement intending to remain, and hadbuilt a hut and begun to cultivate a garden, with the intention, as wassupposed, of taking unto himself a wife; but the damsel on whom he hadset his affections had refused him. Sandy after this became verydowncast; he neglected his garden, and spent most of his time wanderingabout gun in hand, shooting any game he could come across. He had fewassociates, and was of a morose disposition. People, indeed, whisperedthat he had been guilty of some crime or other, and was forced to leavethe part of the country where he had before resided. Uncle Stephen, whooccasionally exchanged a few words with him, did not believe that thiswas the case, and declared that Sandy, in spite of his taciturnity andlove of solitude, was an honest fellow. Be that as it may, Samson wassatisfied with him, and the two agreed to start together.
Soon after the old man's arrival, he had asked Reuben and me to make ajourney to the place where he had left his other packs of skins hiddenaway; and he described the spot so exactly, that we believed we shouldhave no difficulty in finding it. My uncle said I might go with MikeLaffan. Reuben, too, got leave from his father; and Sandy volunteeredto accompany us. Without him we should, I believe, have lost our way,for he knew the country much better than we did.
We had to proceed cautiously during the latter part of the journey forfear of Indians, as we were far in advance of the territory claimed bythe white men. But I do not give an account of the expedition, because,in reality, we met with no adventure worthy of notice. Thanks to Sandy,we discovered the packs, and succeeded in bringing them back safe totheir owner; for which Samson was very grateful, and rewarded ushandsomely. With the proceeds he purchased two mustangs, sixbeaver-traps, a supply of powder and shot, and other articles. Sandyhad the means of obtaining another mustang, and such supplies as herequired.
After this old Samson quickly recovered. As soon as he was well enoughhe and Sandy mounted their ponies, reserving a third animal to carrytheir goods; and having bidden us all good-bye, they set off into thewilderness--going to the westward, intending to push forward to thespurs of the Rocky Mountains, where, they said, game in abundance was tobe found. Reuben, who was really a very good fellow, soon gotreconciled to remaining at home and attending to his duty.
Kepenau had made me promise to come and visit him, and had agreed tosend one of his people with a canoe to take me to his lodges; and atlast the Indian arrived at our hut.
Kepenau, he said, had sent but a small canoe, as we might thus moreeasily make our way up the stream, and pass the several portages weshould have to go over.
I knew that Reuben would take delight in the excursion, so I hurried tothe settlement to see if he could come. His father was very willing togive him leave, as it might turn his thoughts from the wilder and moredangerous adventures on which he was set. He had, some time beforethis, obtained a birch-bark canoe, which Kepenau, and sometimes Ashatea,had taught him how to use; and as he was constantly practising, he wasby this time well able to employ his paddle. We obtained leave to takeMike Laffan with us, too; and thus, with the Indian, we made a party offour in the two canoes.
We carried our guns and axes and the usual woodmen's knives, a pot andpan for cooking our meals, some tin cups, and a few small bales ofcloths and coloured calicoes with which to pay the Indians for anypeltries they might have to sell--for our expedition was on business aswell as pleasure. We enjoyed the thoughts of it all the more on thataccount. We expected also to get some hunting, and to come back with asupply of dried venison, as well as some skins.
The Indian told us that his name was Kakaik, or the "Small Hawk;" he letus understand that he was a great hunter, but as he could speak noEnglish, and as we understood but a few words of his language, we couldnot carry on much conversation with him. However, we managed tounderstand each other very well by means of signs.
The first part of the voyage was along the main river, with which wewere well acquainted. We afterwards struck off up one of itstributaries, which varied greatly in width; sometimes it expanded into alake-like form, and at other parts it contracted into narrow dimensions,where the current ran with great force
, and we had hard work to stem it.
At length we reached a waterfall of nearly thirty feet in height, wherethe river rushed over the rocks and fell down perpendicularly in massesof foam. Kakaik made signs to us that we must land and carry our canoesfor some distance through the wood. This is what is called making a"portage." Accordingly we unloaded them, and piled up our goods at thefoot of the fall. We then lifted the canoes out of the water; Kakaiktaking one bottom upwards on his shoulders and walking off with it.Mike imitated his example, as one man could get between the trees betterthan two, and the canoes were so light that they could be carried withease. Reuben, shouldering a portion of the goods, followed the Indian;and I, with another bale on my shoulders and the paddles and gun undermy arm, kept close after Mike--leaving the remainder of the things for asecond trip.
The ground was rough in the extreme, and it was some way up a steep bankamong rocks. My fear was lest Mike should knock the canoe against thebranches of the overhanging trees and make a hole in her bottom, so Isang out to him to be cautious.
"Faix! Masther Roger, it's that same I intind to be," he answered. "Ihave no fancy to walk all the way back again, or forward either, if thisis the sort of ground we should have to pass over."
We had to traverse a quarter of a mile or more till we saw the streamahead of us, running placid as before. Kakaik, going down into thewater, placed his canoe gently on the surface, and then helped to takeMike's off his shoulders. The goods we had brought were next placed inthem, and the Indian sat down on the bank to watch them while we wentback for the remainder.
"Suppose some hostile Indians or prowling bear should have paid a visitto the landing-place, and carried off our property," said Reuben.
"We will hope for the best," I answered, laughing; "but I will take mygun, in case of accidents."