CHAPTER XI
ON THE BANK OF THE OHIO
"COME with me, Bob!" said the younger boy, unable to undertake themission alone.
"Courage!" cried the other in his ear; "I am sure all is well, andthat I heard Kate's voice in the song of hallelujah that arose fromthe women when it was known the Indians had fled. All must be well,brother!"
Yes, all was well; and in another moment the boys were encircled inthe loving arms of their anxious mother, while David, bleeding from aslight wound where an arrow had struck him, stood by with thanksgivingwritten on his bearded face.
If the boys had felt worried about the mother and Kate, fancy herfeelings, knowing as she did that her loved ones were on the firingline and taking a thousand risks!
But it was all over now. Pat O'Mara declared that the red men hadreceived a lesson they would not soon forget. Doubtless the valiantlittle company of home-seekers would not be troubled again while onthe way to the Ohio.
They had not come out of the battle entirely unscathed. True, Heavenhad been kind, and no one had been mortally hurt; but there wereseveral suffering grievous wounds, who would have to be tenderly nursedfor a time.
"It's lucky for us," declared the redoubtable Irish trapper, after theextent of the damage had been discovered, "thot the Shawanees niverpoison their war arrows. Troth, but it would be a sorry day for theloike av us if thot same were thrue, as I've knowed some Injuns to do."And every poor fellow who had received a more or less painful woundechoed his words.
When the pioneers came to look around in the early morning light,expecting to find many dead Indians, for those guns had poured a hailof bullets directly into the midst of the onrushing foe, to their greatsurprise they failed to discover a single one. Their dusky comradesmust have crept up in the darkness and removed both dead and wounded,fearing lest they fall into the hands of the whites.
It was high noon before the expedition could get started that day,there were so many things to be done toward repairing damages,attending the wounded, and waiting to hear the report of scouts sentout to learn whether the Indians had really left the vicinity.
Satisfied at length that it would be safe to travel, they made astart. But it might be noticed that from now on there would be nolong straggling line of burdened horses, strung out along the buffalotrail. They huddled together in a bunch, and every man clung to his gunconstantly, while eyes were kept on the alert for the slightest sign ofthe cunning enemy.
Several times there were alarms that sent a quiver throughout theentire line. Once a woman discovered a branch moving in a tree, and wassure that their relentless foes must have secreted themselves among thesprouting foliage of the oaks, or amid the dense pines, ready to dropdown upon the little caravan as it passed.
Forming in a compact mass, with the horses and women in the centre, andthe armed men circling the whole, they waited until Pat O'Mara himselfcrept forward to investigate. Then it was found that a wildcat hadjumped from one branch to another, causing the swaying movement thatbrought about the alarm.
Altogether it was a day never to be forgotten. When night drew near,the leader, after conferring with the trapper, selected a place forcamping which could readily be defended. Half an hour's work among theloose rocks, and the pioneers had constructed quite a fort.
Bob and his brother worked with the rest; but both of them keenly feltthis new necessity for being shut up with the others, for they loveddearly to roam.
"To-morrow, if all is well, we must get out ahead again," said Sandy,as they watched the night shades gather around the new camp.
"Pat says there is little danger," added Bob, reflectively. "He knowsthese Indians like a book, and declares that they will not recover fromtheir licking in a hurry. Besides, we need not go far away in order tostrike game in this country where it is so plentiful."
"It looks as if they meant to keep the fires going to-night."
"Yes, that is to show the enemy that we do not fear them. Pat says youcan cow Indians by appearing to have a contempt for them. Once letthem believe you are _afraid_ and they will be very brave. Besides, youknow we have men out yonder watching. No danger of a surprise to-night.Every trail is guarded."
"Well, it looks more cheerful, I must say," declared Sandy; "and thereis surely something in what Pat says. Who knows the ways of theseredskins better than he? Twice has he been with Colonel Boone, fardown in the regions of the Kentucky River. I would trust his word inanything."
"He seems to be everywhere, and hardly sleeps. But," and Bob sighedas he spoke, "I know I shall be glad, for one, when we reach the spotwhere we mean to make our new home, and can build a cabin to cover theheads of mother and Kate."
"Just what I was thinking," echoed the younger lad. "After all,there is nothing like home, no matter if it be in Virginia or in thewilderness, so long as _she_ is there. But, oh! listen! Is that not thesignal agreed upon with the sentinels out in the timber? Can the enemybe coming down on us now?"
"Impossible," said Bob, after listening intently. "According to all wehave ever heard about their ways they do not make an attack beforelate in the night, and never at dusk. It must mean something else."
"But there it goes again, and closer. One of the men is coming in.Perhaps he does not wish to take chances of being fired upon by somehasty fellow."
"Now I hear voices," declared Bob, raising his hand, "and some of themdo not sound familiar, though they speak good English. Oh! I wonderif it can be--look at Pat hurrying forward, and see how his face iscovered with a broad grin! Brother, it must be he recognized a familiarsound in--Look, several men are coming, and they are hunters, too!"
"That one in front, Bob, with the bold air--I have not forgotten thatPat told us how one man he knew seemed born to command. Did you eversee a face like that? It is,--it must be Colonel Boone himself!"
All was now excitement in the emigrant camp. Dogs barked, horsesneighed, men shouted, and women laughed; while children added theirshrill cries to the general clamor. Just the coming of five men clad inbuckskin had caused this uproar; but such men!
"Come!" cried Sandy, seizing hold of his brother by the sleeve. "Letus go forward and meet them. See, there is father shaking hands withColonel Boone, just as if he had known him before. And look at Patdancing around like a crazy man! Did you ever know him to be so happy?Now we shall surely reach the Ohio without being set upon again by thered men."
It was a period of great rejoicing. Daniel Boone (Note 5) and hisfellow hunters were once more on their way to the region where thegreat pioneer had determined to locate his future home, in the heart ofthe country below the Ohio, and to be known later on as Kentucky.
As the hunters had not supped, the women were soon employed gettingthem a good meal. Meanwhile the story of the recent fight was told.
But there was little that was new to these readers of Indian signs; forthey had passed over the scene of the fight just a few hours back, and,not finding any signs of fresh graves, knew that death could not havevisited the pioneers.
Both Bob and Sandy felt proud to shake the hand of the man of whom theyhad heard so much from the Irish trapper; and, when they looked intohis bold face, with its wonderfully magnetic eyes, they understood howit was that Colonel Boone had such a strange influence with the Indiansalong the Ohio.
"He has promised to stay wid us until we reach the river," said PatO'Mara, as he joined the Armstrong family a little later, as they werecomparing notes.
"And the others also?" asked David. "Daviess, Hardin, Harlan and theyoung man, Simon Kenton (Note 6), of whom Boone seems to be so fond,will they also remain in our company that long?"
"Sure they will," replied the trapper, quickly, "an' only too glad avthe chanct. It isn't often they happens to run acrost white paple inthis blissed wilderness. The sight av a lady must be a plisure till menas are exiled from home. Sure they mane to stay by us. And by the sametoken 'tis little we nade fear from the pesky rid varmints after this."
It seemed to Sandy that he could
not sleep, much as he was in need ofrest after the wakefulness of the previous night. He hovered aroundwherever Colonel Boone chanced to be, listening to his musical voice,and hanging upon his words.
The forest rangers were all dressed pretty much alike, after the customin vogue at that day. The outside garment was a hunting shirt, or looseopen frock, made of tanned deerskins. Leggins of the same materialcovered the lower limbs, fancifully fringed along the outside seam; thecollar, or cape, of the shirt was also fringed. The feet were clad inbeaded moccasins, no doubt made in some Indian wigwam.
Each man carried a hatchet or tomahawk suspended from his belt, whilea keen-edged hunting knife reposed in a leather sheath. Besides, therewere a powder-horn, bullet-pouch, and a little bag containing tinder,flint and steel, and such indispensables as a nomad, wandering day byday through unknown forests, would need for his comfort.
Sandy, even after he was induced to lie under a blanket, kept watchingthe imposing figure of Boone, as he moved about the camp. It was aplain case of hero worship on the boy's part. He had heard so muchabout this wonderful man, and now that he had seen him there was notthe least disappointment connected with the reality.
Finally Sandy fell asleep, his last thought being a sincere wish thatsome day he too might possess a portion of the power over men that wasgiven to Daniel Boone.
It was morning when the boy awoke. There had been no alarm during thenight, and Pat O'Mara's prediction concerning the Indians seemed comingtrue. The defeat they had received at the hands of the whites had cowedthem for the time being, though of course no one was so simple as tobelieve that this state of affairs, however pleasant it might seem,would last long.
An early start was made, for they had high hopes that they might arriveat the bank of the mighty Ohio River before another night.
"If you put your best foot forward," Boone had told them the previousnight, as he conferred with Pat and the leading spirits in the camp,"it may be possible to look upon the Ohio before dark sets in again. JoDaviess here, who has a better knowledge of distances than the rest ofus, since he has been a surveyor, tells me it can be done. And I havenever known him to make a mistake."
That day marked a vast difference in the attitude of the pioneers.No longer did they huddle together like a hunch of scared quail,anticipating trouble from every quarter. The very presence of thosefive experienced hunters and Indian fighters seemed a tower of strengthto them.
Sandy and his brother took advantage of the opportunity to resume theirusual hunting expedition, and managed to bring down a fine five-prongedbuck that was a welcome addition to the larder.
It was about four in the afternoon, as told by the sun in the westernheavens, for none of them had any other means of ascertaining theflight of time, when, passing through an unusually dense patch oftimber, the pioneers came out upon a high bank, and saw a sight thattingled their blood.
Before them flowed a majestic stream, wooded down to the edge of thewater, and with the westering sun gilding the little wavelets untilthey seemed tipped with gold. It was the sublime Ohio, at that time themost beautiful of streams, for its hilly shores were covered with thevirgin forest.
Loud rang the cheers from that little band of pioneers.
The Armstrongs' long and arduous journey was at an end. Somewhere alongthe river they would select the spot upon which to erect their cabin.The surrounding country fairly teemed with game; and, if the Indianswould only leave them in peace, they had reason to believe that in thiswilderness they might find the haven for which they sighed when leavingtheir Virginia home.