CHAPTER IV
BOY AND GIRL LIFE AT ERROLSTRATH RANCHE--THEIR PETS--THE GIRLS ENCOUNTER A BIG PRAIRIE WOLF--JOE TO THE RESCUE--DEATH OF THE FEROCIOUS BEAST
AS the months rolled on, the family, particularly the children, grewmore and more delighted with their new home in the wilderness. The boysand girls had an abundance of leisure; for though their father exactedthe most prompt obedience, he was not a hard task-master. He allowed hischildren every indulgence compatible with reason, and only certainportions of the day were devoted to work. They all studied under theirfather's personal supervision, for no schools had yet been establishedin the settlement.
For the boys, there were the cows to be driven to and from theirpasture, morning and night, and it was their duty to milk them, too.Then the horses were to be fed, and in season they worked in the largegarden, on which their father prided himself. The girls helped theirmother in every household duty, and relieved her of many cares as shegrew older. So the children of Errolstrath Ranche had a good time--amuch better time than generally falls to the lot of those families inonly moderate circumstances, as were the Thompsons.
Before they had resided on the ranche a year, the boys and girls hadbecome possessed of a variety of pets. Gertrude had a coon; Kate, anantelope; Rob, a prairie dog; and Joe, an elk.
The antelope was caught when young by Joe, and the hounds, Bluey andBrutus, under the following circumstances: Although one of the mosttimid and swift of all the ruminants on the great plains, it is also oneof the most inquisitive. Whenever it sees something with which it is notfamiliar, its curiosity overpowers its usual fear, and it will approachvery near to the object that has excited its attention. Now Joe hadlearned from old Tucker, the trapper, just how the Indians act, when outhunting the antelope, to draw the herd within range of their arrows. Hesaid that sometimes one or two of the savages would stand on their headsand shake their legs in the air; then again, they would hold up ablanket, no matter what color, and wave it slowly, when the herd, or atleast a number from it, would gradually walk toward the Indians who werelying flat on the ground, and thus become easy victims to their swift,unerring arrows.
It was this knowledge of the antelope's prominent characteristic thatenabled Joe to secure one for his favorite sister. He was out very earlyone morning when he noticed a large herd with many kids among it, abouthalf a mile distant. He was well aware that his dogs, swift as theywere, would be no match for the beautiful creatures in a trial of speed,so he resolved to resort to the Indian method. Ordering his hounds tolie close, he tied his white handkerchief round his head, and taking offhis overalls, he began to move his body slowly backward and forward, atthe same time vigorously waving the overalls in the air. In a fewmoments, just as he expected they would, he had the satisfaction ofseeing first one, then another, look up and gaze steadily at thestrange object. Presently, about half a dozen of the does with theirlittle ones by their sides, commenced to move cautiously towards him.When they had approached sufficiently near, he started the hounds afterthem, and after a short, lively chase they caught a fine kid, which, ofcourse, could not keep up with its mother. They captured it withoutinjury, for they had been trained not to mouth their game. As there werea dozen cows on the ranch, there was an abundance of milk, with whichKate used to feed her little pet from a bottle. The pretty creaturethrove rapidly, and soon became as affectionate as a kitten, followingits mistress everywhere like a dog.
The big gray wolf, that ghoul of the great plains, understands full wellthe inordinate curiosity of the antelope, and knowing that it isimpossible for him to catch one of the fleet animals by the employmentof his legs alone, he effects by cunning what he could never accomplishby the best efforts of his endurance. The wicked old fellow, when hediscovers a bunch of antelopes in the distance, rolls himself into aball, like a badger, and tumbles about on the grass until some of thedeluded animals come near enough for him to spring on them.
Gertrude's coon was caught by both the boys, assisted by Bluey andBrutus. They dug him out of his nest under the roots of a huge elm treenear the cabin, one day in the early springtime, when the warm sun hadjust begun to thaw him after his winter's hibernation. He was "'cute"and mischievous as he could be, stealing anything on which he could gethis tiny paws. Whenever Gertrude called him,--his name was Tom,--hewould run to her as fast as he could, jump on her back, and sit on hershoulders for an hour at a time, when she was sewing or doing somethingwhich did not require her to move about. He lived on any scraps from thetable, always rolling his food in his paws before he ate it.
The prairie dog, the property of Rob, was accidentally captured byGertrude one morning when she and Kate were out gathering wild flowers.She actually stumbled on him as she stooped to pick a sensitive rose.The little creature had somehow become entangled in the convolutions ofthe vine, and thus became an easy prey. It fought like a tiger atfirst, and tried to bite with its sharp teeth everything that came nearit. It was soon tamed, however, and became a regular nuisance at times,for it would run under your feet in spite of the many pinches it got bybeing stepped upon. It tripped up the boys and girls a dozen times aday, as it was allowed the freedom of the house and the dooryard.Gertrude gave it to Rob, who had often expressed a desire to own one,and had failed a hundred times, perhaps, to capture one by drowning itout of its hole.
The elk was given to Joe by old Tucker, and in a short time grew to beas big as a young mule. Joe broke him to harness, and used to drive himhitched to a little cart which his father, with the boy's help,improvised out of an odd pair of wheels and a dry-goods box. He was keptin the corral with the cows and horses, and became very tame, butsometimes attempted to use his sharp front hoofs too freely. He wasforbidden the precincts of the dooryard and the house, for he came nearcutting Kate in two once, all in play, but too rough a kind of affectionfor a repetition of it to be allowed.
The wild raspberries grew in great profusion near every ledge of rock inthe vicinity of the ranche. About a mile and a half from the house,however, there was a specially favored spot for them, where the vineswere more dense and the berries of large size and delicious flavor. Inthe second week of June, the second year of their residence on thecreek, Rob, who had been up the valley herding the cows, reported thatevening, upon his return, that the berries were ripe and that there werebushels of them.
The next morning, immediately after breakfast, Gertrude and Kate leftthe house with a tin bucket each, intending to go up to the ledge andgather raspberries. They were dressed lightly,--Kate in a white muslinskirt, and her sister in a lawn. As the nearest way to the place wherethe berries were to be found lay by a trail on the other side of theOxhide the girls crossed it near the cabin, and as there was neither logbridge nor stepping-stones, they took off their shoes and stockings andwaded it. After reaching the other side and putting on their shoes andstockings, they wandered slowly through a little flower-bedeckedprairie, beyond the margin of timber which fringed the creek, to make ashort cut to where the raspberries grew, for the Oxhide made a sweepingcurve to the northeast, nearly in the shape of half a circle.
Both loving flowers, they gathered great bunches of the sensitive roses,anemones, and white daisies, growing everywhere in such profusion. Thisoccupation consumed a great deal of time, for they naturally loitered,charmed by so much floral beauty around them. It was fortunate they did,as the sequel will show, and they did not arrive at the ledge of rocksuntil nearly ten o'clock--more than two hours after they had left home.It was intensely hot, and after gathering their buckets full of thedelicious fruit, they sat down on a shelf of the ledge which projectedover the creek. They dabbled their bare feet in the stream as it flowedin murmuring rhythm over the rounded white pebbles, while they ate theirlunch of cake brought from the ranche, and the red berries so sweet inthe wildness of their flavor.
Having satisfied their hunger, Kate said to her sister: "Gert, we oughtto fill up our buckets again. If we go home empty-handed, mother willthink we have been making pigs of ourselves."
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br /> "There's time enough for that yet," replied Gertrude. "This cool waterfeels so delightful to my feet that I believe I could sit here anddabble in it until dark. Don't you think it's delicious, Kate?"
"Yes," answered Kate, "but I want to get home before dinner, because Joesaid that he would go with me down to the village this evening. I amgoing to ride his pony, and he will ride Rob's."
"Well," said Gertrude, "if we must, we must. Mother loves raspberriesso; they are her favorite fruit, you know; and if we did not take her abucketful back with us, I should never forgive myself, though perhapsshe would not say a word."
"Let us commence right now," imploringly said Kate. "I want to get backas soon as I can."
Both girls rose languidly to do as they proposed, but there did not seemto be much energy in their motions. Just as Gertrude had taken her pailfrom its place in the rocks, their ears were greeted by a low growl,which seemed to come directly from underneath the shelf on which theyhad been sitting. They looked at each other, and their faces blanched asanother snarl and a howl, nearer than before, came to their ears, andboth recognized the familiar sound they had so often heard when lying inbed at night, as that of a wolf. Those predatory brutes frequently madetheir nightly rounds in the vicinity of the corral, trying to get at theyoung calves, and they might be heard in the timber, watching for achance to secure some of the fowls shut up in their house of stone nearthe barn.
Gertrude, who was really very brave under ordinary circumstances,immediately stood still, and looking all around her, she suddenly metthe gaze of a large, gaunt she-wolf at whose side were standing sixlittle ones! Generally the wolf, like nearly all other wild animals,will run instantly at the sight of a human being; but the maternalinstinct is so wonderful that, when they have young, they will die indefending their offspring from any supposed danger. This instinct wasshown in this instance. The fierce animal had crept out of her den atthe sound of voices, and believing that her cubs were in jeopardy, shemade a frantic dash toward the now thoroughly frightened girls, whohastily scrambled to the summit of the ledge.
Fortunately for them, the wolf is a poor climber, but with a savagebound toward the base of the flat rock on which the girls had a momentbefore been sitting, she arrived at it the same instant they hadsucceeded in reaching an elevation of about twelve feet above the levelof the water.
Just as Kate, who was not as collected as her sister, was being draggedup by Gertrude, the wolf made a desperate leap and snapped at her withhis terrible teeth, but failed. It succeeded, however, in catching herskirt in its ponderous jaws, and tore it completely from her waist, andshe, almost feeling the hot breath of the infuriated brute, uttered aloud scream and fell fainting in her sister's arms.
Less than three hundred yards above the ledge of rocks, in a beautifulpiece of prairie, Joe was herding the cattle, and Kate's cry, so full offear, fell piercingly on his ears. He was aware that his sisters were togo berrying that morning, and he also knew that the sound could onlycome from one of them. He was lying on the grass under the shade of abig elm with the bridle-rein of his pony in his hand. Grasping hisrifle, which was at his side, in an instant he had mounted his animal,and digging his heels into its flanks, fairly flew down the creek towhere his sisters were held at bay by the wolf. He arrived there in lessthan three minutes after he heard the scream of alarm, and saw the wolfstill persisting in its vain efforts to reach the girls on the summit ofthe ledge. Gertrude was almost paralyzed with fear, and Kate lay at herfeet in the swoon into which the action of the wolf had thrown her.
The enraged beast was too much occupied with the girls to notice thatits would-be victims had assistance so near at hand, and Joe, asGertrude saw her brother's approach, put his finger to his lips,indicating that she must remain perfectly silent. He dismounted in asecond, and putting the loop of the reins over his left arm, dropped onone knee, and taking careful aim, sent a ball crashing right through thebrain of the wolf, which instantly fell dead in its tracks.
Joe then rushed down to the creek and filled his hat with water. He thenclimbed hurriedly up to the rocky steep again and threw the water intoKate's face as she still lay prone on the ledge at her sister's feet.Kate soon revived, and after staring around her for a few seconds in adazed way, she smiled and said:--
"Oh, Joe, you have saved us!" and rising to her feet, forgetful of herwet face, she kissed him half a dozen times.
While his sisters were adjusting their dresses and recovering from theirterrible fright, Joe killed the young wolves with the butt of his rifle,and then taking his knife from his belt commenced to skin the old one.It did not require much time to perform the operation, for he had longsince become an adept at such work. He then threw the beautiful hideover the withers of his pony, and walked home with his sisters.
Arriving at the cabin, the girls had much to tell about their wonderfulexperience and lucky escape from the jaws of the wolf, which wouldcertainly have torn them to pieces if it had not been for Joe's timelyarrival.
The hide, which was an immense one, was first tacked to the side of thestable, and when dried, Joe smoke-tanned it until it was as soft as apiece of silk. He gave it to Kate as a memento of her awful experiencewith its former owner. She used it as a rug at the side of her bed, andoften said that for a long time whenever she stepped on it, the scene inwhich it played such an important part was brought vividly to her mind.