CHAPTER III
THE TERROR OF THE MOUNTAINS
"MAKE sure work of him, Dick!" Roger said, in trembling tones, as hesaw the other draw back the flint-capped hammer of his gun, showingthat it was ready for business.
The grizzly was still displaying all the signs of furious anger, andthere seemed some danger that he might manage to gain lodgment amongthe lower limbs of the tree.
"No hurry, Roger! And, another thing, I've concluded that, since youbrought this trouble on our heads by that unlucky shot, you should bethe one to finish our enemy, not me!"
"Oh, Dick, do you really mean it?" cried Roger, filled with delight."I've been saying over and over again that some day I hoped to be ableto kill one of these monsters that the Indians fear so much. Do youintend to lend me your gun, and let me finish him?"
"If you'll promise to keep cool, and watch for your chance to make thebullet tell. We haven't so many of them along with us that we canafford to waste even a single one."
"HIS TREMBLING FINGER SUDDENLY PRESSED THE TRIGGER"]
"I give that promise willingly," said the other, as he stretched outhis hand for the gun.
Having it in his possession, Roger's first move was to lower himself alittle. He meant to further excite the beast, and cause him to remainupright until the gun, being brought to bear on his head, within a footor so of the small, gleaming eyes, could be fired with full effect.
"Careful not to go too far, Roger; he is waiting to make another tryfor you!" warned the watchful Dick.
So the young marksman paused, and, settling himself firmly in a crotchof the tree, bent forward. The gun was held at an acute angle, and thetiny sight near the terminus of the long, shining barrel could be seenagainst the dark fur of the bear.
When the beast opened his mouth to give utterance to another roar,Roger knew his time had come. His trembling finger suddenly pressedthe trigger, there was a loud report, a still louder roar, and then ascuffling sound.
"He's down!" yelled Roger, in anticipated triumph.
"Give me the gun, so that I may reload it!" the other boy called,meanwhile observing the significant actions of the grizzly with mingledcuriosity and satisfaction.
The animal had fallen over, and seemed to be struggling desperatelyto get up again on all fours. But that last leaden missile must havereached a vital part, for, as the seconds passed, these efforts becamemore and more feeble until, just as Dick primed his weapon again, therewas a last spasmodic movement. Then the huge animal remained motionless.
Roger sprang down from his perch, in his usual reckless fashion; butthere was no longer any danger, for the bear was dead. The boy placedhis right foot on the huge bulk, and waved his hat in triumph; for,after all is said and done, he was but a lad, and this marked thehighest point in his career as a hunter of big game.
"They'll never believe it, Dick," he exclaimed, "unless we carry backsomething to prove our story. And that means we've got to slice offthese claws to show. After this we can have necklaces made of them, andthe Indians will look on us as mighty hunters."
"Just as you say, Roger, and, if you start with that one, I'll attendto the other fore paw. They are enough to give you a cold shiver. Howour mothers would turn pale if they saw them, and knew what a narrowescape we had."
"Yes, but our fathers would pat us on the back, Dick, and say that wewere 'chips of the old block,' because they many times took their livesin their hands the same way, when founding their homes on the frontier,and know what it is to face the perils of the hunting trail."
Dick kept on the alert while engaged in his task of severing the clawsof the dead bear. After having seen those strange Indians passing, notso very long ago, he realized that there was always more or less dangerof others being in the neighborhood. And those three loud reports, asthe guns were fired, would carry a long distance, telling the nativesthat white men were around.
Nothing occurred, however, to give them further alarm, and presently,the claws having been obtained, the two boys continued on their waytoward the distant camp.
It was at least two hours later that they sighted the Mandan village,near which the camp of the exploring expedition had been pitched.
Knowing that, any day now, winter, while somewhat delayed, might breakupon them, Captains Lewis and Clark were preparing for a long stayhere, and their hunters were laying in a supply of fresh venison to bemade into pemmican. (Note 2.)
When the two boys reached the camp, bearing the terrible claws of agrizzly, their arrival caused a great sensation. Roger did not sparehimself in relating the story, for he knew his own failings; but, sinceit had come out well, he received nothing but congratulations.
The old forest ranger, Jasper Williams, lingered after the others hadgone, and Dick saw that he had some sort of communication to make. Theboys had managed to save Jasper's life when they were all prisonersof the warlike Sioux, and, ever since, the trapper had felt a greatinterest in the cousins.[4]
"I'm going off with two companions on a short trip," he now told theboys. "We may be gone a week, or even two, for we wish to investigatethe truth concerning some stories that have come to us concerninga wonderful valley among the mountains, where all sorts of strangeanimals abound, even to goats that leap off the loftiest crags, andstriking on their curved horns, rebound safely. It is even possiblethat, if we find the stories true, we may spend most of the winterthere trapping and hunting."
The boys were sorry to learn this, for they were fond of Jasper and hadhoped to see much of him during the long winter.
"We start in an hour, so as to get to a certain point by sundown," theranger told them further. "You see, the winter has been holding back solong now that it is apt to start in any time with a furious storm, andthe sooner we get to where we are going the better. The snow falls verydeep in the mountains, and there are avalanches that bury everythingunder them forty feet deep."
It was in the heart of Roger to hint that they would be delighted toaccompany the ranger; but a look from Dick caused him to bite histongue and refrain. Afterwards, when they had seen the three men startforth, and cheered them on their way, Dick consented to explain hisreasons for motioning to his cousin to say nothing about going along.
"We can't expect to be in everything, you see, Roger," he said. "Afterall, we are only boys, and some of the men here still look on us asinferior to them in ability to accomplish things, because they are somuch stouter and stronger. We can find plenty to occupy our minds andhands while they are gone. Perhaps, who knows? should they come back,one of the men may not want to return with Jasper, and that would beour chance to try for an invitation."
"I suppose you're right, Dick," grumbled Roger. "You nearly always hitthe nail on the head. But it would have been a fine trip for us. And,now that I've met with and killed one of these terrible grizzly bearswe've heard such tales about, I'm burning with eagerness to shoot oneof the strange mountain goats Jasper was telling about, that have suchimmense, curved horns."
"Plenty of time for all that, Roger," the other told him. "The wholewinter is before us, and when spring comes, as we head further intothe West we will have to cross many mountain chains before we see theocean. Among them we will surely come across numbers of these queergoats, as well as elk, buffalo and antelope."
So Roger finally became reconciled to what could not be changed. Therewas really no occasion for his feeling that way long, because Dickbusied himself in mapping out new ventures every night, as they satbefore the campfire, with hands twined about their knees, and talkedof home, and what wonderful sights they had looked upon since leavingthe settlement of St. Louis.
Two days thus passed, and the boys were looking forward to doingfurther roaming, if the weather permitted, on the following morning.The afternoon was drawing to a close, and in the west the sun sanktoward his bed among the far distant mountain peaks, while the heavensbegan to take on a glorious hue.
The camp of the explorers was a bustling scene at such an hour, forpreparations were under w
ay for the evening meal, the fires burnedcheerily, and it was almost time for the guard to be changed.
Being under strict military rule, the members of the expedition day andnight pursued their vocations with the same care as though they reallyanticipated an attack from some unseen enemy. Guards were posted atnight, and no one was allowed to enter or leave the camp without givingthe countersign.
This was done partly because Captain Lewis and Captain Clark believedin discipline, one of them having been brought up in the little army ofthe new republic. There was also another reason for keeping a constantwatch. There had been a number of French half-breeds in this regionbefore their arrival, and these men, who had been reaping a rich rewardtrading with the various tribes of Indians, viewed the coming of theAmericans with great disfavor, believing it might bring their harvestto an untimely end.
Rumors had reached the ears of the commanders of the little force thatsome of these men were trying to excite the Sioux to take up the buriedhatchet, and proceed in force against the Mandans and their new whiteallies.
On this account, then, it was necessary that the camp be guardedagainst a sudden surprise. At least, if trouble came the explorers didnot mean to be caught napping by the cunning redmen.
"You don't think it feels much like snow, do you, Dick?" Roger asked,as they stood looking around them, with the sun commencing to drop downbehind the horizon.
"The signs do not show it," the other told him; "but you know theysometimes tell us wrong. The season is so late, now, that we're liableto get a heavy storm any day and, as it's growing colder all the time,it will come as snow and not rain. Once it falls, the Indians say wewill not see the bare ground soon again. But what are the men runningto the other side of the camp for, do you suppose?"
"Listen, one of them just shouted that a man was coming, mounted on ahorse," said Roger.
"That sounds as though it might be a white man," added Dick, as theyhastened through the camp toward the other side where they might seefor themselves what all the commotion meant. "Horses are not commonin this country. We are running short ourselves, since we've had somestolen by prowling Indians, two died, and the three men who starteddown the river took as many more with them."
By this time they had arrived at a point where they could look towardthe southeast, for it was to that quarter the attention of the membersof the expedition seemed to be directed.
Dick uttered an exclamation that was echoed by his cousin. Their facesexpressed the utmost dismay and alarm and there was good reason forthis, as the cry that broke from Roger's lips indicated.
"Oh! Dick, what can it mean? There is the messenger who carried awayour precious paper, coming back to camp on a worn-out horse. Somethingterrible must have happened!"
FOOTNOTE:
[4] See "The Pioneer Boys of the Missouri."