Snow Shoes and Canoes Part 9

"Though they might attack small parties of travellers," he said, "or such forts as ours in advanced positions. However, if they do come, we shall be able to defend ourselves, and teach them that they would have been wiser to keep to their hunting-grounds. On the chance of their coming I have made every preparation for defence, and they will not capture Fort Black with as much ease as they may suppose."

CHAPTER FOUR.

HURRAH! PAT IS FOUND--SANDY MCTAVISH'S YARN--HIS DISCOVERY OF ROBIN GREY--TOBOGGANING--THE DOG-TRAIN--OUR SORROW AT THE DEPARTURE OF ROSE AND LETTY--WE START ON SNOW-SHOES--WOLVES OUT FORAGING--A RACE FOR LIFE--THE FORT IN SIGHT--SAFE AT LAST--ROBIN'S STORY--HIS CAPTURE BY THE INDIANS--WAMEGON--HIS POOR FEET--HIS IMPRISONMENT IN THE LOG--"NETNOKWA," HIS INDIAN MOTHER--THE INDIAN DANCE--WAMEGON PERSECUTES HIM--ROBIN'S NOVEL METHOD OF KILLING A DEER--WAMEGON PERSEVERES IN HIS CRUELTY.

I had been two whole days at the fort, and no news had been received of Sandy and his party, who had gone in search of poor Pat and me.

I was rapidly recovering my strength, and Rose and Letty by their kind attentions greatly contributed to raise my spirits. They had not been told of the danger Mr Crisp apprehended, and Rose only supposed that she was going to Fort Ross for the sake of being a companion to Letty.

They were therefore perfectly happy, and laughed and joked as their natural tempers inclined them to do.

We were, of course, rather anxious about Sandy and poor Pat. The latter I scarcely expected to see again, for ill as he was when he went away from me, I feared that if not at once found he would have been starved to death.

I have not yet described our fort. It consisted of strong palisades, surrounding nearly half an acre of ground, with wooden towers at the four corners, projecting so as to enfilade each of the sides. The whole was surrounded by a trench, which would make it difficult for an enemy to approach the walls, if they were well defended with musketry. The interior was occupied by dwelling-houses and stores, and huts and wigwams for the accommodation of the hunters and canoe-men who might be detained during the winter.

Though small, our fort was thus of considerable strength, and we had no fear, should it be attacked, of being able to defeat any number of Indians who might come against it.

Evening was approaching when the lookout, who was always stationed at the top of the highest tower which faced the open country, gave notice that he saw several persons on horseback approaching.

We hurried up the tower with our spy-gla.s.ses, and before long, greatly to our satisfaction, we distinguished Sandy at the head of the party.

"Hurrah!" I exclaimed, "and there's Pat. I'm sure it must be him, and Pierre is riding alongside him, and supporting him on his horse."

"I see a boy too," exclaimed Martin. "He looks to me very like an Indian, and yet I fancy he's got a white face. Who can he be?"

As the party drew nearer, we were satisfied that we were right in our conjectures. We all hurried out to meet them.

Sandy, as soon as he saw me, jumped off his horse, and nearly shook my hand off in his delight at finding I was safe.

"I thought it was all right," he exclaimed, "as I'll tell you by-and-by.

We found your last resting-place, and traced you to the canoe; and as I discovered that Bouncer had made his way to you, I felt sure that you had gone down the stream, though I was not so sure how you would have shot the rapids."

"How do you know that I came down in a canoe?" I asked.

"I have not been so long in the country, and accustomed to Indian ways, not to have seen that you had launched a canoe from the bank; besides which I had another proof, if any had been wanting, but I'll tell you all about it presently," he answered.

"And how did you find Pat?" asked Alick.

"And who is that boy in the Indian dress?" inquired Martin.

"If you put one question at a time, young gentlemen, I'll tell you how it all happened," said Sandy. "But if you have no objection, we'll go into the fort and have some supper first; for as we have pushed on to get here before nightfall, we have had no opportunity of satisfying our hunger since noon."

The horses of the party being taken by the other men, we entered the fort together, Martin regarding the young stranger with a look of curiosity. He appeared to be somewhat abashed at finding himself among so many white people, though it was very evident from his features and complexion that he was himself a white. Martin, who was always kind-hearted, seeing the unwillingness of the boy to advance, went towards him, and taking his hand said, "Come along; we want to hear all about you."

The boy opened his large blue eyes, but made no answer, though he understood Martin's signs, and accompanied him willingly. Martin then led him up to Rose and Letty.

"Perhaps he can understand you, but he makes no reply to anything I say to him," said Martin.

Rose spoke to him first, and then Letty exclaimed, "Surely you can speak English?"

The boy shook his head, though he tried to say something, but was unable to p.r.o.nounce the words.

"You understand what we say, though," remarked Letty; "I am sure you do by your looks!"

The boy nodded, and a smile for a moment irradiated his features, though they quickly again a.s.sumed their former startled look.

"He has spoken English, and I am very sure will be able to speak it again," said Martin. "He has evidently been living a long time among Indians, and it's my belief he has made his escape from them.--Is that the case, boy?"

The young stranger considered for a moment, endeavouring to understand what Martin had said, and then he again nodded.

"I knew it was so," exclaimed Martin. "We shall soon find out all about him, and in a few days he will be able to speak English as well as any of us.--Come along, boy; you are hungry, I'm sure, after your long ride, and we are all going in to supper."

Martin taking possession of the young stranger, I did not interfere, but followed Pat, who had been led into the house. Though the poor fellow had apparently lost his senses, he certainly had not lost his appet.i.te, and as soon as the food was placed before him he began to devour it eagerly.

"Let him take his meat," observed Sandy. "It'll do the chiel gude. He hasna had muckle to put intil his inside, though we spared him all we could from our store."

We asked Sandy no further questions till supper was over, when he gave us an account of his adventures.

Pus.h.i.+ng directly southward, he had come across the trail Pat and I had made in our wanderings several days before; when, following this up, he had reached our last camp a short time after I had quitted it. At first, misled by the trail I had formed when going in search of Pat, he had continued to follow that; but convinced at last that I had returned, he was on the point of coming back, when one of the men saw an object, which he was sure was a human being, lying on the ground under a tree.

They soon discovered it to be Pat, who had fallen to the ground exhausted, and would very soon have died. By pouring some spirits-and-water down his throat he revived, and still further recovered when he had taken some food. Though able to speak, he could give no account of himself or me.

Sandy, who had come across the trail I had formed when returning to the camp, now pursued it, and discovered that I had pa.s.sed through the wood, towards the river. He had gone about half way, when he caught sight of a person endeavouring to conceal himself among the bushes. He at first supposed that an Indian was lying in ambush for some sinister object, and keeping his gun ready to fire he made his way towards the spot. His surprise was great when he discovered the young white stranger whom he had brought with him.

The lad was much alarmed at first, but his confidence returned when he found that he had fallen into the hands of people of his own colour. He could speak but a few words of the dialect of the Plain Crees, though sufficient briefly to explain that he was making his escape from a tribe who had kept him in slavery, and that his intention was to descend the river, which he fancied fell into the ocean; and he said that he there hoped to meet with friends who would be glad to have him back.

Sandy, on hearing this, accompanied him to the bank of the river, where, not finding his canoe, he expressed the most bitter disappointment.

Sandy at length comforted him with the a.s.surance that he would take him by a safer route to some white people, who would endeavour to discover the friends of whom he was in search.

"More than this I was unable to learn," observed Sandy; "but it's vera clear that the boy was kidnapped by the redskins sometime or other, though not long enough ago to make him forget his relatives and friends.

At the same time, not having spoken a word of English for three or four years, or perhaps more, he finds it almost impossible to express what he wishes to say."

We all agreed that it would be better to let the young stranger become accustomed to us before we questioned him about his history. If then he had ever, as Sandy suspected, spoken English, he would probably recollect it. At present we had great difficulty in communicating with him, as he was chiefly accustomed to speak the language of the Sioux, with which we were unacquainted.

Rose and Letty volunteered to take him in hand. "We shall soon find out all about him, if he has got a tongue in his head," said Rose, laughing; "he will trust us more readily than he will you boys, and I am very sure that we shall soon become friends."

No event of importance occurred for some time at the fort. Our hunters went out, and were successful in killing several buffalo, which gave us an ample supply of meat for the winter.

The frost had now set in, not to break up for several months, and snow covered the face of nature. When not engaged in our duties, we boys and girls amused ourselves by tobogganing, the sloping bank of the river affording us a capital place for sliding down. We each of us had manufactured a toboggan, which is a small sleigh composed of a long thin slip of willow wood turned up in front. Several of ours were large enough to carry two, and we each of us were eager to obtain the company of one of the young ladies, I especially that of Letty.

I sat at the extreme after-end of the toboggan to steer it with my feet, while Letty sat just in front of me. The snow, which lay thickly on the sloping bank, was soon hardened. Placing the toboggan on the top, we took our seats, when a very slight shove was sufficient to send it off, and down we slid at a rapid rate, increasing our speed every instant, till we had gained sufficient impetus to glide right across the frozen surface of the river to the opposite bank, which also sloped at a convenient angle.

Steps were cut upon one side of the slides, by which we ascended to the summit. Thus we were able to pa.s.s backwards and forwards, the rapidity of the motion and the risk of upsetting giving excitement to the amus.e.m.e.nt.

Alick generally took charge of Rose, who was not at all unwilling to have him as her charioteer. The other boys had smaller toboggans, each having one to himself.

Up and down the icy hills we went, and across the bright gla.s.sy river, laughing and shouting for hours together; indeed, I confess that we were never tired of the sport.