CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
HEALTH AND HAPPINESS RETURN--INCIDENTS OF THE JOURNEY--A BUFFALO SHOT--AWILD HORSE "CREASED"--DICK'S BATTLE WITH A MUSTANG.
Dick Varley's fears and troubles, in the meantime, were ended. On theday following he awoke refreshed and happy--so happy and light at heart,as he felt the glow of returning health coursing through his veins, thathe fancied he must have dreamed it all. In fact, he was so certain thathis muscles were strong that he endeavoured to leap up, but waspowerfully convinced of his true condition by the miserable stagger thatresulted from the effort.
However, he knew he was recovering, so he rose, and thanking God for hisrecovery and for the new hope that was raised in his heart, he went downto the pool and drank deeply of its water. Then he returned, and,sitting down beside his dog, opened the Bible and read long--and, forthe first time, _earnestly_--the story of Christ's love for sinful man.He at last fell asleep over the book, and when he awakened felt so muchrefreshed in body and mind that he determined to attempt to pursue hisjourney.
He had not proceeded far when he came upon a colony of prairie-dogs.Upon this occasion he was little inclined to take a humorous view of thevagaries of these curious little creatures, but he shot one, and, asbefore, ate part of it raw. These creatures are so active that they aredifficult to shoot, and even when killed generally fall into their holesand disappear. Crusoe, however, soon unearthed the dead animal on thisoccasion. That night the travellers came to a stream of fresh water,and Dick killed a turkey, so that he determined to spend a couple ofdays there to recruit. At the end of that time he again set out, butwas able only to advance five miles when he broke down. In fact, itbecame evident to him that he must have a longer period of absoluterepose ere he could hope to continue his journey, but to do so withoutfood was impossible. Fortunately there was plenty of water, as hiscourse lay along the margin of a small stream, and, as the arid piece ofprairie was now behind him, he hoped to fall in with birds, or perhapsdeer, soon.
While he was plodding heavily and wearily along, pondering these things,he came to the brow of a wave from which he beheld a most magnificentview of green grassy plains, decked with flowers, and rolling out to thehorizon, with a stream meandering through it, and clumps of treesscattered everywhere far and wide. It was a glorious sight; but themost glorious object in it to Dick, at that time, was a fat buffalowhich stood grazing not a hundred yards off. The wind was blowingtowards him, so that the animal did not scent him, and, as he came upvery slowly, and it was turned away, it did not see him.
Crusoe would have sprung forward in an instant, but his master's fingerimposed silence and caution. Trembling with eagerness Dick sank flatdown in the grass, cocked both barrels of his piece, and, resting it onhis left hand with his left elbow on the ground, he waited until theanimal should present its side. In a few seconds it moved; Dick's eyeglanced along the barrel, but it trembled--his wonted steadiness of aimwas gone. He fired, and the buffalo sprang off in terror. With a groanof despair he fired again,--almost recklessly,--and the buffalo fell!It rose once or twice and stumbled forward a few paces, then it fellagain. Meanwhile Dick re-loaded with trembling hand, and advanced togive it another shot, but it was not needful, the buffalo was alreadydead.
"Now, Crusoe," said Dick, sitting down on the buffalo's shoulder andpatting his favourite on the head, "we're all right at last. You and Ishall have a jolly time o't, pup, from this time for'ard."
Dick paused for breath, and Crusoe wagged his tail and looked as if tosay--pshaw! "_as if_!"
We tell ye what it is, reader, it's of no use at all to go on writing"as if," when we tell you what Crusoe said. If there is any language ineyes whatever,--if there is language in a tail; in a cocked ear; in amobile eyebrow; in the point of a canine nose;--if there is language inany terrestrial thing at all, apart from that which flows from thetongue--then Crusoe _spoke_! Do we not speak at this moment to _you_?and if so, then tell me, wherein lies the difference between a written_letter_ and a given _sign_?
Yes, Crusoe spoke. He said to Dick as plain as dog could say it, slowlyand emphatically, "That's my opinion precisely, Dick. You're thedearest, most beloved, jolliest fellow that ever walked on two legs, youare; and whatever's your opinion is mine, no matter _how_ absurd it maybe."
Dick evidently understood him perfectly, for he laughed as he looked athim and patted him on the head, and called him a "funny dog." Then hecontinued his discourse--"Yes, pup, we'll make our camp here for a longbit, old dog, in this beautiful plain. We'll make a willow wigwam tosleep in, you and me, jist in yon clump o' trees, not a stone's throw toour right, where we'll have a run o' pure water beside us, and be nearour buffalo at the same time. For, ye see, we'll need to watch him lestthe wolves take a notion to eat him--that'll be _your_ duty, pup. ThenI'll skin him when I get strong enough, which'll be in a day or two Ihope, and we'll put one half of the skin below us and t'other half aboveus i' the camp, an' sleep, an' eat, an' take it easy for a week or two--won't we, pup?"
"Hoora-a-a-y!" shouted Crusoe, with a jovial wag of his tail, that nohuman arm with hat, or cap, or kerchief ever equalled.
Poor Dick Varley! He smiled to think how earnestly he had been talkingto the dog, but he did not cease to do it, for, although he entered intodiscourses, the drift of which Crusoe's limited education did not permithim to follow, he found comfort in hearing the sound of his own voice,and in knowing that it fell pleasantly on another ear in that lonelywilderness.
Our hero now set about his preparations as vigorously as he could. Hecut out the buffalo's tongue--a matter of great difficulty to one in hisweak state--and carried it to a pleasant spot near to the stream wherethe turf was level and green, and decked with wild flowers. Here heresolved to make his camp.
His first care was to select a bush whose branches were long enough toform a canopy over his head when bent, and the ends thrust into theground. The completing of this exhausted him greatly, but after a resthe resumed his labours. The next thing was to light a fire--a comfortwhich he had not enjoyed for many weary days. Not that he required itfor warmth, for the weather was extremely warm, but he required it tocook with, and the mere _sight_ of a blaze in a dark place is a mostheart-cheering thing as every one knows.
When the fire was lighted he filled his pannikin at the brook and put iton to boil, and, cutting several slices of buffalo tongue, he thrustshort stakes through them and set them up before the fire to roast. Bythis time the water was boiling, so he took it off with difficulty,nearly burning his fingers and singeing the tail of his coat in sodoing. Into the pannikin he put a lump of maple sugar and stirred itabout with a stick, and tasted it. It seemed to him even better thantea or coffee. It was absolutely delicious!
Really one has no notion what he can do if he makes believe _very hard_.The human mind is a nicely balanced and extremely complex machine, andwhen thrown a little off the balance can be made to believe almostanything, as we see in the case of some poor monomaniacs, who havefancied that they were made of all sorts of things--glass and porcelain,and suchlike. No wonder then that poor Dick Varley, after so muchsuffering and hardship, came to regard that pannikin of hot syrup as themost delicious beverage he ever drank.
During all these operations Crusoe sat on his haunches beside him andlooked. And you haven't--no, you haven't--got the most distant notionof the way in which that dog manoeuvred with his head and face! Heopened his eyes wide, and cocked his ears, and turned his head first alittle to one side, then a little to the other. After that he turned ita _good deal_ to one side and then a good deal more to the other. Thenhe brought it straight and raised one eyebrow a little, and then theother a little, and then both together very much. Then, when Dickpaused to rest and did nothing, Crusoe looked mild for a moment, andyawned vociferously. Presently Dick moved--up went the ears again andCrusoe came--in military parlance--"to the position of attention!" Atlast supper was ready and they began.
Dick had purposely kept the dog's supper
back from him, in order thatthey might eat it in company. And between every bite and sup that Dicktook, he gave a bite--but not a sup--to Crusoe. Thus lovingly they atetogether; and, when Dick lay that night under the willow brancheslooking up through them at the stars, with his feet to the fire, andCrusoe close along his side, he thought it the best and sweetest supperhe ever ate, and the happiest evening he ever spent--so wonderfully docircumstances modify our notions of felicity!
Two weeks after this "Richard was himself again." The muscles werespringy, and the blood coursed fast and free, as was its wont. Only aslight, and, perhaps, salutary feeling of weakness remained, to remindhim that young muscles might again become more helpless than those of anaged man or a child.
Dick had left his encampment a week ago, and was now advancing by rapidstages towards the Rocky Mountains, closely following the trail of hislost comrades, which he had no difficulty in finding and keeping, nowthat Crusoe was with him. The skin of the buffalo that he had killedwas now strapped to his shoulders, and the skin of another animal thathe had shot a few days after was cut up into a long line and slung in acoil round his neck. Crusoe was also laden. He had a little bundle ofmeat slung on each side of him.
For some time past numerous herds of mustangs or wild horses, hadcrossed their path, and Dick was now on the look out for a chance to_crease_ one of those magnificent creatures.
On one occasion a band of mustangs galloped close up to him before theywere aware of his presence, and stopped short with a wild snort ofsurprise on beholding him; then, wheeling round, they dashed away atfull gallop, their long tails and manes flying wildly in the air, andtheir hoofs thundering on the plain. Dick did not attempt to crease oneupon this occasion, fearing that his recent illness might have renderedhis hand too unsteady for so extremely delicate an operation.
In order to crease a wild horse the hunter requires to be a perfectshot, and it is not every man of the west who carries a rifle that cando it successfully. Creasing consists in sending a bullet through thegristle of the mustang's neck, just above the bone, so as to stun theanimal. If the ball enters a hair's-breadth too low, the horse fallsdead instantly. If it hits the exact spot the horse falls asinstantaneously, and dead to all appearance; but, in reality, he is onlystunned, and if left for a few minutes will rise and gallop away nearlyas well as ever. When hunters crease a horse successfully they put arope, or halter, round his under jaw, and hobbles round his feet, sothat when he rises he is secured, and, after considerable trouble,reduced to obedience.
The mustangs which roam in wild freedom on the prairies of the far west,are descended from the noble Spanish steeds that were brought over bythe wealthy cavaliers who accompanied Fernando Cortez, the conqueror ofMexico, in his expedition to the new world in 1518. These bold, and, wemay add, lawless cavaliers, were mounted on the finest horses that couldbe procured from Barbary and the deserts of the Old World. The poorIndians of the New World were struck with amazement and terror at theseawful beings, for, never having seen horses before, they believed thathorse and rider were one animal. During the wars that followed many ofthe Spaniards were killed and their steeds bounded into the wilds of thenew country to enjoy a life of unrestrained freedom. These were theforefathers of the present race of magnificent creatures which are foundin immense droves all over the western wilderness, from the Gulf ofMexico to the confines of the snowy regions of the far north.
At first the Indians beheld these horses with awe and terror, butgradually they became accustomed to them, and finally succeeded incapturing great numbers and reducing them to a state of servitude. Not,however, to the service of the cultivated field, but to the service ofthe chase and war. The savages soon acquired the method of capturingwild horses by means of the lasso--as the noose at that end of a longline of raw hide is termed--which they adroitly threw over the heads ofthe animals and secured them, having previously run them down. At thepresent day many of the savage tribes of the west almost live uponhorseback, and without these useful creatures they could scarcelysubsist, as they are almost indispensable in the chase of the buffalo.
Mustangs are regularly taken by the Indians to the settlements of thewhite men for trade, but very poor specimens are these of the breed ofwild horses. This arises from two causes. First, the Indian cannotovertake the finest of a drove of wild mustangs, because his own steedis inferior to the best among the wild ones, besides being weighted witha rider, so that only the weak and inferior animals are captured. And,secondly, when the Indian does succeed in lassoing a first-rate horse hekeeps it for his own use. Thus, those who have not visited the far-offprairies and seen the mustang in all the glory of untrammelled freedom,can form no adequate idea of its beauty, fleetness, and strength.
The horse, however, was not the only creature imported by Cortez. Therewere priests in his army who rode upon asses, and, although we cannotimagine that the "fathers" charged with the cavaliers and were unhorsed,or, rather, un-assed in battle, yet, somehow, the asses got rid of theirriders and joined the Spanish chargers in their joyous bound into a newlife of freedom. Hence wild asses also are found in the westernprairies. But think not, reader, of those poor miserable wretches wesee at home, which seem little better than rough door-mats sewed up andstuffed; with head, tail, and legs attached, and just enough of lifeinfused to make them move! No, the wild ass of the prairie is a large,powerful, swift creature. He has the same long ears, it is true, andthe same hideous, exasperating bray, and the same tendency to flourishhis heels; but, for all that he is a very fine animal, and often wages_successful_ warfare with the wild horse!
But to return. The next drove of mustangs that Dick and Crusoe saw werefeeding quietly and unsuspectingly in a rich green hollow in the plain.Dick's heart leaped up as his eyes suddenly fell on them, for he hadalmost discovered himself before he was aware of their presence.
"Down, pup!" he whispered, as he sank and disappeared among the grasswhich was just long enough to cover him when lying quite flat.
Crusoe crouched immediately, and his master made his observations of thedrove, and the dispositions of the ground that might favour hisapproach, for they were not within rifle range. Having done so he creptslowly back until the undulation of the prairie hid him from view; thenhe sprang to his feet, and ran a considerable distance along the bottomuntil he gained the extreme end of a belt of low bushes, which wouldeffectually conceal him while he approached to within a hundred yards orless of the troop.
Here he made his arrangements. Throwing down his buffalo robe, he tookthe coil of line and cut off a piece of about three yards in length. Onthis he made a running noose. The longer line he also prepared with arunning noose. These he threw in a coil over his arm.
He also made a pair of hobbles and placed them in the breast of hiscoat, and then, taking up his rifle, advanced cautiously through thebushes--Crusoe following close behind him. In a few minutes he wasgazing in admiration at the mustangs which were now within easy shot,and utterly ignorant of the presence of man, for Dick had taken care toapproach in such a way that the wind did not carry the scent of him intheir direction.
And well might he admire them. The wild horse of these regions is notvery large, but it is exceedingly powerful, with prominent eye, sharpnose, distended nostril, small feet, and a delicate leg. Theirbeautiful manes hung at great length down their arched necks, and theirthick tails swept the ground. One magnificent fellow in particularattracted Dick's attention. It was of a rich dark brown colour, withblack mane and tail, and seemed to be the leader of the drove.
Although not the nearest to him, he resolved to crease this horse. Itis said that creasing generally destroys or damages the spirit of thehorse, so Dick determined to try whether his powers of close shootingwould not serve him on this occasion. Going down on one knee he aimedat the creature's neck, just a hair-breadth above the spot where he hadbeen told that hunters usually hit them, and fired. The effect upon thegroup was absolutely tremendous. With wild cries and snorting t
errorthey tossed their proud heads in the air, uncertain for one moment inwhich direction to fly; then there was a rush as if a hurricane sweptover the place, and they were gone.
But the brown horse was down. Dick did not wait until the others hadfled. He dropped his rifle, and with the speed of a deer, sprangtowards the fallen horse, and affixed the hobbles to his legs. His aimhad been true. Although scarcely half a minute elapsed between the shotand the fixing of the hobbles the animal recovered, and with a franticexertion rose on his haunches, just as Dick had fastened the noose ofthe short line in his under jaw. But this was not enough. If the horsehad gained his feet before the longer line was placed round his neck, hewould have escaped. As the mustang made the second violent plunge thatplaced it on its legs, Dick flung the noose hastily; it caught on oneear, and would have fallen off, had not the horse suddenly shaken itshead, and unwittingly sealed its own fate by bringing the noose roundits neck.
And now the struggle began. Dick knew well enough, from hearsay, themethod of "breaking down" a wild horse. He knew that the Indians chokethem with the noose round the neck until they fall down exhausted andcovered with foam, when they creep up, fix the hobbles and the line inthe lower jaw, and then loosen the lasso to let the horse breathe, andresume its plungings till it is almost subdued, when they gradually drawnear and breathe into its nostrils. But the violence and strength ofthis animal rendered this an apparently hopeless task. We have alreadyseen that the hobbles and noose in the lower jaw had been fixed, so thatDick had nothing now to do but to choke his captive, and tire him out,while Crusoe remained a quiet, though excited spectator of the scene.
But there seemed to be no possibility of choking this horse. Either themuscles of his neck were too strong, or there was something wrong withthe noose which prevented it from acting, for the furious creaturedashed and bounded backwards and sidewise in its terror for nearly anhour, dragging Dick after it, till he was almost exhausted, and yet, atthe end of that time, although flecked with foam and panting withterror, it seemed as strong as ever. Dick held both lines, for theshort one attached to its lower jaw gave him great power over it. Atlast he thought of seeking assistance from his dog.
"Crusoe," he cried, "lay hold, pup."
The dog seized the long line in his teeth, and pulled with all hismight. At the some moment Dick let go the short line and threw all hisweight upon the long one. The noose tightened suddenly under thisstrain, and the mustang, with a gasp, fell choking to the ground.
Dick had often heard of the manner in which the Mexicans "break" theirhorses, so he determined to abandon the method which had already almostworn him out, and adopt the other, as far as the means in his powerrendered it possible. Instead, therefore, of loosening the lasso andre-commencing the struggle, he tore a branch from a neighbouring bush,cut the hobbles, strode with his legs across the fallen steed, seizedthe end of the short line or bridle, and then, ordering Crusoe to quithis hold, he loosened the noose which compressed the horse's neck, andhad already well-nigh terminated its existence.
One or two deep sobs restored it, and in a moment it leaped to its feetwith Dick firmly on its back! To say that the animal leaped and kickedin its frantic efforts to throw this intolerable burden would be a tamemanner of expressing what took place. Words cannot adequately describethe scene. It reared, plunged, shrieked, vaulted into the air, stoodstraight up on its hind-legs, and then almost as straight upon its foreones, but its rider held on like a burr. Then the mustang raced wildlyforwards a few paces, then as wildly back, and then stood still andtrembled violently. But this was only a brief lull in the storm, soDick saw that the time was now come to assert the superiority of hisrace.
"Stay back, Crusoe, and watch my rifle, pup," he cried, and, raising hisheavy switch he brought it down with a sharp cut across the horse'sflank, at the same time loosening the rein which hitherto he had heldtight.
The wild horse uttered a passionate cry, and sprang forward like thebolt from a cross-bow.
And now commenced a race, which, if not as prolonged, was at least asfurious as that of the far-famed Mazeppa. Dick was a splendid rider,however,--at least as far as "sticking on" goes. He might not have comeup to the precise pitch desiderated by a riding-master in regard tocarriage, etcetera, but he rode that wild horse of the prairie with asmuch ease as he had formerly ridden his own good steed, whose bones hadbeen picked by the wolves not long ago.
The pace was tremendous, for the youth's weight was nothing to thatmuscular frame which bounded with cat-like agility from wave to wave ofthe undulating plain in ungovernable terror. In a few minutes the clumpof willows where Crusoe and his rifle lay were out of sight behind, butit mattered not, for Dick had looked up at the sky and noted theposition of the sun at the moment of starting. Away they went on thewings of the wind, mile after mile over the ocean-like waste--curvingslightly aside now and then to avoid the bluffs that occasionallyappeared on the scene for a few minutes and then swept out of sightbehind them. Then they came to a little rivulet; it was a mere brook ofa few feet wide, and two or three yards, perhaps, from bank to bank.Over this they flew, so easily that the spring was scarcely felt, andcontinued the headlong course. And now a more barren country was aroundthem. Sandy ridges and scrubby grass appeared everywhere, remindingDick of the place where he had been so ill. Rocks, too were scatteredabout, and at one place the horse dashed with clattering hoofs between acouple of rocky sand-hills which, for a few seconds, hid the prairiefrom view. Here the mustang suddenly shied with such violence that hisrider was nearly thrown, while a rattlesnake darted from the path. Soonthey emerged from this pass, and again the plains became green andverdant. Presently a distant line of trees showed that they wereapproaching water, and in a few minutes they were close on it. For thefirst time Dick felt alarm; he sought to check his steed, but no forcehe could exert had the smallest influence on it.
Trees and bushes flew past in bewildering confusion; the river wasbefore him; what width, he could not tell, but he was reckless now, likehis charger, which he struck with the willow rod with all his force asthey came up. One tremendous bound, and they were across, but Dick hadto lie flat on the mustang's back as it crashed through the bushes toavoid being scraped off by the trees. Again they were on the openplain, and the wild horse began to show signs of exhaustion.
Now was its rider's opportunity to assert his dominion. He plied thewillow rod and urged the panting horse on, until it was white with foamand laboured a little in its gait. Then Dick gently drew the halter,and it broke into a trot; still tighter--and it walked--and in anotherminute stood still, trembling in every limb. Dick now quietly rubbedits neck, and spoke to it in soothing tones, then he wheeled it gentlyround and urged it forward. It was quite subdued and docile. In alittle time they came to the river and forded it, after which they wentthrough the belt of woodland at a walk. By the time they reached theopen prairie, the mustang was recovered sufficiently to feel its spiritreturning, so Dick gave it a gentle touch with the switch, and away theywent on their return journey.
But it amazed Dick not a little to find how long that journey was. Verydifferent was the pace, too, from the previous mad gallop, and oftenwould the poor horse have stopped had Dick allowed him. But this mightnot be. The shades of night were approaching, and the camp lay a longway ahead.
At last it was reached, and Crusoe came out with great demonstrations ofjoy, but was sent back lest he should alarm the horse. Then Dick jumpedoff his back, stroked his head, put his cheek close to his mouth, andwhispered softly to him, after which he fastened him to a tree andrubbed him down slightly with a bunch of grass. Having done this, heleft him to graze as far as his tether would permit, and, after suppingwith Crusoe, lay down to rest, not a little elated with his success inthis first attempt at "creasing" and "breaking" a mustang.