第67章 Irving’s Bonneville - Chapter 24(1)

Adventures of the party of ten--The Balaamite mule-- A dead point--The mysteriouselks--A night attack-- A retreat--Travelling under an alarm--A joyfulmeeting--Adventures of the other party--A decoy elk--Retreat to an island--A savagedance of triumph--Arrival at Wind River THE ADVENTURES of the detachment of ten are the first in order. These trappers,when they separated from Captain Bonneville at the place where the furs wereembarked, proceeded to the foot of the Bighorn Mountain, and having encamped, oneof them mounted his mule and went out to set his trap in a neighboring stream. He hadnot proceeded far when his steed came to a full stop. The trapper kicked and cudgelled,but to every blow and kick the mule snorted and kicked up, but still refused to budge aninch. The rider now cast his eyes warily around in search of some cause for this demur,when, to his dismay, he discovered an Indian fort within gunshot distance, loweringthrough the twilight. In a twinkling he wheeled about; his mule now seemed as eager toget on as himself, and in a few moments brought him, clattering with his traps, amonghis comrades. He was jeered at for his alacrity in retreating; his report was treated as afalse alarm; his brother trappers contented themselves with reconnoitring the fort at adistance, and pronounced that it was deserted.

As night set in, the usual precaution, enjoined by Captain Bonneville on his men, wasobserved. The horses were brought in and tied, and a guard stationed over them. Thisdone, the men wrapped themselves in their blankets, stretched themselves before thefire, and being fatigued with a long day's march, and gorged with a hearty supper, weresoon in a profound sleep.

The camp fires gradually died away; all was dark and silent; the sentinel stationed towatch the horses had marched as far, and supped as heartily as any of hiscompanions, and while they snored, he began to nod at his post. After a time, a lowtrampling noise reached his ear. He half opened his closing eyes, and beheld two orthree elks moving about the lodges, picking, and smelling, and grazing here and there.

The sight of elk within the purlieus of the camp caused some little surprise; but havinghad his supper, he cared not for elk meat, and, suffering them to graze aboutunmolested, soon relapsed into a doze.

Suddenly, before daybreak, a discharge of firearms, and a struggle and tramp ofhorses, made every one start to his feet. The first move was to secure the horses.

Some were gone; others were struggling, and kicking, and trembling, for there was ahorrible uproar of whoops, and yells, and firearms. Several trappers stole quietly fromthe camp, and succeeded in driving in the horses which had broken away; the rest weretethered still more strongly. A breastwork was thrown up of saddles, baggage, andcamp furniture, and all hands waited anxiously for daylight. The Indians, in themeantime, collected on a neighboring height, kept up the most horrible clamor, in hopesof striking a panic into the camp, or frightening off the horses. When the day dawned,the trappers attacked them briskly and drove them to some distance. A desultory firewas kept up for an hour, when the Indians, seeing nothing was to be gained, gave upthe contest and retired. They proved to be a war party of Blackfeet, who, while in searchof the Crow tribe, had fallen upon the trail of Captain Bonneville on the Popo Agie, anddogged him to the Bighorn; but had been completely baffled by his vigilance. They hadthen waylaid the present detachment, and were actually housed in perfect silence withintheir fort, when the mule of the trapper made such a dead point.

The savages went off uttering the wildest denunciations of hostility, mingled withopprobrious terms in broken English, and gesticulations of the most insulting kind.

In this melee, one white man was wounded, and two horses were killed. On preparingthe morning's meal, however, a number of cups, knives, and other articles weremissing, which had, doubtless, been carried off by the fictitious elk, during the slumberof the very sagacious sentinel.