Chapter Twenty Four.
Congratulations—Other Incidents of Lost Children—Long Excursion by the Boys—Indian Legend—“Why is the Bear Tailless?”—Oxford Lake—Black Bears as Fishermen—The Lookout from the Trees—Fish-Stealing Bears—The Conflict—Bears versus Boys and Indians—Sam’s Successful Thrust—Plenty of Bear Meat.
The thrilling adventures and escape of Wenonah and Roderick were, of course, the great sensations that were most talked about for many a day. Children have wonderful recuperative powers, and so the two little ones recovered from the effects of their strange mishaps long before Mr and Mrs Ross or even Minnehaha did. But time is a great healer, and soon all were well and in good spirits again.
The event produced a deep impression upon Frank, Sam, and Alec, and drew out from the older servants at the home and some of the Indians some very interesting stories. It is simply amazing what a difference there is in people in respect to their ability to find their way out of a forest when once the trail is lost. Some people invariably get lost in as small an area as a hundred-acre forest, and are almost sure to come out on the opposite side to the one desired. Indians, perhaps on account of their living so much in the woods, are not so liable to get bewildered and lost as white people. Still some of them are as easily perplexed as other people.
One of this class went out hunting and lost himself so completely that his friends became alarmed and went searching for him. When they fortunately found him, one, chaffing him, said:
“Hello, are you lost?”
To this he indignantly replied:
“No, Indian not lost, Indian here; but Indian’s wigwam lost!”
It would never do for him to admit that such a thing could possibly happen as his being lost.
So popular and beloved were Mr Ross and his family that not only did the congratulations on the recovery of the children come from the Hudson Bay Company officials and other white people from far and wide, but Indians of other tribes, who had known Mr Ross in the years gone by, when he was in the company’s service, came from great distances, and in their quiet but expressive way indicated their great pleasure at the restoration of the little ones to their parents. Mustagan was, of course, the hero of the hour, and as usual he received the congratulations with his usual modesty and gave great credit to Big Tom. He also had nothing but kind words for the brave white lads, who had so coolly and unflinchingly played their part in the closing scene of the rescue. His only regret was that he had not had them take their guns with them when they went to the front with the berries, so that they might have had a share in the grand fusillade that stopped so suddenly the rush of the furious bears. The actions of the bears in thus sparing the children’s lives brought out from the Indians several remarkable stories of similar conduct known to have occurred elsewhere.
One Indian told of an old mother bear that boldly attacked an Indian woman who, with her young babe, had gone out into the forest to gather wood. The mother fought for her child until unconscious. When she came to herself both the bear and the papoose were gone. She returned to her wigwam and gave the alarm, but as the men were away hunting several days passed ere they could begin the search.
When at length they discovered the bear’s den they found the child was there alive. In killing the bear they had to take the greatest care lest they hurt the child, as the bear seemed in its ferocity to think more of defending the child from them than of saving its own life. The child when rescued was perfectly naked, yet was fat and healthy, and cried bitterly when taken away from the warm den and the body of the dead bear that it had suckled with evident satisfaction.
To this and other wonderful stories the boys listened with the greatest delight. The fact is, while the children were lost they were as miserable a trio as could be found, and now the reaction had come, and they were just bubbling over with delight and ready for any story that had, even in the remotest degree, anything similar to what had so excited them.
Indians love good companions, and they found them in the boys; so it was not long before some of those who had come from Oxford Lake invited them to return with them, and they promised them some rare sport. At first Mr Ross was a bit fearful about letting them go so far, but as Big Tom and Martin Papanekis offered to go in charge of the two canoes he at length yielded. So, in company with the Indians from that place, they started off in great spirits, well supplied with guns and ammunition, and all the necessary camping outfit for a ten days’ or two weeks’ excursion.
It was with very great delight that the boys set off with their fresh, dusky, red companions on this trip. It was principally down the rapid lakes and rivers up which the boatmen gallantly rowed on their journey from York Factory. The running of the rapids, especially a wild, dangerous one through Hell’s Gate, very much excited the boys.
On one of the beautiful islands in Oxford Lake they pitched their tents, and had some capital sport in fishing for the gamy trout which there abound. The only drawback to the fishing in such a land as this, where the fish are so abundant, is that the sportsmen soon get weary with drawing up the fish so rapidly. The finest whitefish in the world are to be found in Oxford Lake. They, however, will not take the hook, and so are caught only in gill nets.
Black bears are quite numerous in this part of the country. They are very fond of fishing, and so it was proposed to try and get a shot at one or two, as the Indians well knew their favourite resorts. Indeed, the Indian tradition of why the bear has such a short tail is the result of his preference for fish diet. They say that originally the bear had a beautiful tail, so long that with it he could easily whisk the flies off his ears. One winter a greedy bear, not content to stay in his den and sleep as bears ought to do, wandered out on a great frozen lake. There he met a fox hurrying along with a fine fish in his mouth. The bear being the larger and stronger animal, he rushed at him to capture the fish. The fox, seeing him coming, quietly dropped it on the ice, and, putting his forepaw upon it, said to the bear:
“Why bother yourself with such an insignificant fish as this, when, if you hurry, you can get any number of fine large ones.”
“Where are they to be found?” asked the bear.
“Why,” said the fox, “did you not hear the thunder of the cracking ice on the lake?”
“Yes, I heard it, and trembled,” said the bear.
“Well, you need not fear,” said the fox, “for it was only the Frost King splitting the ice, and there is a great crack, and the fish are there in great numbers. All you have to do is to go and sit across the crack and drop your long, splendid tail in the water, and you will be delighted to see with what pleasure the fish will seize hold of it. Then all you will have to do will be to just whisk them out on the ice, and then you will have them.”
The silly bear swallowed this story, and away he rushed to a crack in the ice. These cracks are very frequently found in these northern lakes in bitter cold weather. They are caused by the ice contracting and thus bursting.
Down squatted the bear on his haunches, and, dropping his beautiful tail in the water, he patiently waited for the bite. But the water in these cracks soon freezes again, especially when it is fifty or sixty degrees below zero, and so it was not long before in this crack it was solid again. And so when the bear got tired waiting for a bite, or even a nibble, he tried to leave the place, but found it was impossible without leaving his tail behind him. This he had to do, or freeze or starve to death, and so he broke loose, and ever after has been tailless.
This is one of the many traditions that abound among the Indians. They have traditions to account for almost everything in nature. Some of them are interesting, ingenious; others are ridiculous and senseless. It is well-known, however, no matter how the bear lost his beautiful tail, if he ever had one, he is still very fond of fish, and often displays a great deal of ingenuity in capturing them.
So it was decided that, if possible, the boys should have a chance to see him at his work, and, if possible, get a shot or two, as this was the favourable time of the year, as certain kinds of fish were spawning in the shallows of the streams, and for them he would be on the lookout. As these regions were the hunting grounds of the Oxford Indians, whom they had accompanied from Mr Ross’s, they knew every place likely to be frequented by the bears; and so three canoes were fitted out, with one of our boys in each, and away they started, full of pleasurable anticipation, not so much just now to shoot or kill, as to find the place where they could see bruin at what was at this season his favourite occupation, namely, that of catching fish.
Oxford Lake, when no storms are howling over it, is one of the most beautiful in the world. As the weather was now simply perfect, the boys enjoyed very much the canoe excursions, and, in addition, a fair amount of shooting. Ducks, partridges and other birds were shot on the wing, or at the points where they stopped to rest and eat.
They were rewarded in their search by finding several places where the bears had undoubtedly been at work at their favourite pastime. The shrewd Indians were also able to tell as to the success or ill luck of the bears in their fishing efforts.
At places where only a few bones or fins were to be seen scattered about, the Indians said:
“Poor fishing here; only catch a few, eat them all up.”
However, they found other places where only part of the fish had been eaten, and here the Indians said:
“This looks better. When fish plenty, bear eat only the best part.”
At length, however, they reached a place that made even the eyes of the generally imperturbable Indians flash with excitement. It was on the north-eastern part of the lake, where the river that flows from Rat Lake enters into Oxford Lake. Here, not far from the mouth of the stream, were some gravelly shallows which were evidently favourite resorts for the fish during the spawning season. Just a little way out from the shore were several broad, flat granite rocks that rose but a little above the surface of the water. Between these rocks and the shore was quite a current of water that ran over a gravelly bed.
On the mainland opposite this flat ridge of granite rocks were to be seen a large number of fish, each ranging in weight from eight to ten pounds. What most excited and pleased the Indians was that while the numerous tracks indicated that several bears had been there fishing only the night before, yet each fish had only had one piece bitten out of it, and that was on the back just a little behind the head. Bears are very dainty when they have abundance to choose from, and so, when fish are very plentiful, especially the whitefish, they are content with only biting out that portion containing some dainty fat, which is, as we have said, on the swell of the back just behind the head.
When this discovery was made the men in the other canoes were notified, and quietly and quickly, plans were made to not only see the bears at work that night, when they would return, but to have some shots at them; for the Indians said:
“Bears not such fools as to leave such a place while food so plenty.”
The impression among those who knew their habits was that even now the bears were sleeping not very far away in the dense forests. So the place was carefully looked over, and the best spots for observation were selected. An important consideration was to form some idea as to the direction from which the bears would come, if they returned that night to this spot. Indian cleverness, sharpened by experience in such matters, enabled them to solve this very important question by studying the trail along which they had been cautiously coming and going very recently. This they found to be almost a straight line running directly back into the depths of the dense forest.
To climb trees as points of observation from which to view bears is, as a general thing, a dangerous experiment, as bears themselves are such capital climbers. But there are times when it is the only possible course available for those who would observe their action, on account of the flatness of the country thereabout. So, speedily as possible, the trees were selected that were considered most suitable. These were situated a little north and south of the spot where the bears had thrown their fish on the shore. They were a little distant from the trail along which it was likely the bears would come. Three trees were thus selected, and it was decided that Sam, Alec, and Frank should each have one Indian in his tree with him in case of attack. The other Indians were to remain out from the shore in their canoes, sheltered from view by some rocks that were not far distant. They were not so far away as to be beyond call, if they should be needed.
All these matters having been decided upon, they entered their canoes again and quietly paddled out to one of the rocky isles, not far distant, and on the side opposite to the mainland they gathered some dry wood and had a good dinner, for which they had capital appetites. Then the Indians lit their pipes and curled down on the rocks for a smoke and rest, and urged the boys also to try and get some sleep. They at first thought they were too excited, in view of the coming night’s adventures, to sleep, but as the Indians so desired they lay down near the shore, and the rippling waves were such a soothing lullaby that, strange to say, they were soon in dreamless slumber.
A couple of hours was all that could be allowed them, for, as the Indians said:
“Sometimes bears move around early, and we must be all there in the trees before they come.”
All the preparations were soon made. The guns were freshly loaded with ball, and some extra ammunition was taken in the pockets of each one. Their hunting knives were given a few rubs on the stones to see that they were keen and sharp. In addition, much to the boys’ surprise, there was given to each one of them a good solid birch club, about eighteen inches in length and an inch and a half thick. As an extra precaution against their being dropped, the Indians, who had prepared them while the boys slept, had bored a hole through one end, and inserted a deerskin thong to slip over the wrist. How they were to be used, and the wisdom of preparing them, we shall see later on. The Indians were similarly armed, but, in addition, they stuck their hunting hatchets in their belts.
A few final instructions were given and the signals decided upon, and then the boys and their Indian comrades were noiselessly paddled to the shore. They were landed as closely as possible to the trees into which they were to be ensconced, so as to leave but little scent of their footsteps on the ground.
In the two trees selected on the north side were Frank and Alec, each with an Indian hunter, while Sam and his comrade took up their assigned station in a fine large tree on the south side. It was about an hour before sundown ere they were all quietly stowed away in these peculiar resting places. The other Indians quietly paddled back to the places designated beyond the rocks.
For a couple of hours they had to sit there in silence, broken only by the singing of some birds around them, or the call or cry of some wild animal in the forest. They were first aroused by hearing the crunching of bones where they had noticed the fish lying. On peering out from their hiding places they saw an old black fox, with a litter of half-grown ones, making a hasty meal out of the fish. The Indians would have loved to have captured them, as the skin of the black fox is very valuable. However, it was not foxes they were now after, but bears; and, besides this, the skin of the fox is only prime in the cold, wintry months. So they had to be content with watching them as there they greedily devoured the fish. Suddenly they were disturbed in their repast, and dashed away, each with a piece of fish in its mouth, and the watchers observed that what had caused their sudden retreat was a large wolverine that had quite unexpectedly appeared upon the scene. He, too, seemed to be fond of fish, and at once began to feast upon them.
Not long, however, was he permitted to thus enjoy himself, for out in the beautiful gloaming a great black bear was seen emerging from the now dark forest upon the shore. At his coming the thievish wolverine at once slunk away. The bear did not attempt to eat any of the fish that were still remaining; but, after a short survey of the coast up and down to see that all was clear, he boldly plunged into the water and crossed over to one of the shallow rocks only a few yards away. Hardly had he reached it ere another, and then another, bear came out from the forest along the central trail which the men had earlier in the day discovered.
They were not long in joining their comrade on the smooth, wide rocks which we have described. After they had spent a little time in inspection they lay down on the rocks facing the shore, as close to the water as they could without really touching it. These movements could be distinctly seen by the boys, as they were looking out toward the west, where the sky was still bright and the few clouds golden.
For a few minutes the bears were very still, then there was a quick movement on the part of one of them as he shot out one of his handlike paws into the water under a passing fish, and threw it from him across the stream, high and dry, up on the shore. Soon the other bears were similarly employed, and the fish were rapidly being captured. The boys excitedly watched these sturdy fishermen, and were astonished at the cleverness and quickness with which they were able to throw out the fish upon the shore. Although they had to throw them quite a number of yards, they very seldom miscalculated and allowed any to fall short and thus drop back into the water.
But before the pile of fish had become very large there happened something else to divert the attention of the spectators from the three four-footed fishermen out on the flat rocks. Suddenly they heard the sounds of tearing flesh and breaking bones. On looking down to see who were these new intruders, they were able to see not many yards below them a couple of other bears that, in their prowling around and looking for their supper, had found their way to this capital supply of fish. As the watchers peered down at them it was evident by the greedy way in which they attacked the fish that they were so hungry as not to be at all particular.
Their sudden appearance and attack on the fish were not at all appreciated by the industrious trio that had been so skillfully catching these fish for their own supper. They had no disposition to be fishermen for others, and so with growls of rage they suddenly dashed into and across the water, and sprang upon the intruders. It was a fierce battle, and but little of it could be distinctly seen, especially when under the shadows of the trees. When, however, in their struggles they came out on the bright, sandy shore, there was still enough of the western twilight in which to witness a good deal of terrific fighting. Bears have thick fur and tough hides, and so their battles are generally carried on until one side is shaken into exhaustion or knocked into submission. But so stubborn was the fight here that it continued with but few intermissions until the moon, which was nearly full, had so risen up that everything was made about as bright as in the daytime.
It was evident that the two intruding bears were so hungry that, although they had been well shaken, they were loath to consider themselves beaten or to leave so sumptuous a supper, and so they again returned to the conflict. The battle was renewed in all its fury, and when the three were again victorious the vanquished ones, instead of again retreating into the forest, each shaking off his opponent rushed to the nearest tree and began its ascent, one followed by two bears and the other by one.
These two trees, up which the five bears were now climbing, happened to be the ones in which Frank and Alec and their two Indian companions were hid.
Bears are capital climbers, and these two fellows, stimulated by the cuffs and bites of their antagonists behind them, made good time in the ascent. Now, for the first time, the boys saw for what purpose they had been armed with those handy birch clubs. A bear’s tenderest spot is his nose. This the Indians well know, and so, when they are chased by a bear, always defend themselves by there striking him. A bear that will stand heavy blows with a club on his skull, or shoulders, or even paws, gives up the fight at once when rapped over the nose.
Secrecy was now no longer possible, and so the quiet command of the Indians to the boys was:
“Hit them on the nose whenever you can.”
The two angry bears were so taken up with the attack of their own species behind them that they little imagined that there were enemies above, and so about the first suspicions they had of the presence of the boys and Indians were the smart raps they received on their noses.
Whack! whack! whack! fell the blows upon their snouts, and down they dropped suddenly to the ground, each of them carrying with him an assailant that happened to be just below him. The sudden discomfiture of the bears brought a cheer from the boys. This, of course, startled and excited the other bears, that were in a very pugnacious mood.
The two were additionally angry at the ugly blows that had met them, and the other three fishermen seemed to imagine that fresh assailants were there in the trees ready to come down and rob them of their supper of fish. This they resolved to resist, and so the fight was on in good earnest.
The Indians declare the bears know how to talk with each other; anyway, these five seemed for the present to proclaim a truce among themselves, that together they might attack their common foes, who were ensconced up there above them in the trees.
Fortunate was it for our friends that the moon was now so high in the heavens that they could see every movement of the bears as distinctly as though it had been daylight. For a time the bears moved about excitedly below them, and occasionally made a feint, as though they were about to climb the trees and again attack them. They hesitated, however, and kept moving angrily about from tree to tree. Sam and his comrade in the third tree were soon discovered, and two or three of the bears made a pretence of climbing it, but soon desisted and dropped back to the ground.
In the meantime the rest of the Indians out in the canoes had heard the growlings and fightings among the bears, and had paddled in much nearer to the shore. By their expressive calls the Indians in the trees had given to those in the canoes some idea of how the conflict stood, and that they were still able to defend themselves.
The bears at length seemed to have come to some arrangement among themselves, for they so divided that they began attacking the three trees at once. The two that had come last attacked the tree in which Sam and his comrade were ensconced; two of the other three began climbing the tree in which were Alec and his comrade; while Frank and his companion had only to face the remaining one.
“Strike them on the nose,” was still the cry of the Indians. And although the bears made the most desperate efforts to defend their tender nostrils while they still advanced, they eventually had to give up the attempt, one after another, and drop back to the ground fairly howling with rage and pain. Angry bears have a great deal of perseverance, and so this phase of the fight was not over until each bear had tried every one of the three trees in succession ere he seemed discouraged. After moving round and round, and growling out their indignation, they tried the plan of as many as possible of them climbing up the same tree together. However, as the trees were not very large this scheme did not succeed any better, and they were again repelled.
“What trick will they try next, I wonder?” said Frank.
“Get your guns handy,” was the answer, “for you may soon need them.”
And sure enough the bears, after talking in their whining, growling way to each other again, rushed to the attack; and while three of them began each to climb one of the trees in which were our friends; the other two began climbing a couple of other trees, whose great branches interlaced with those of the trees in which were two of the boys.
The Indians were quick to notice this ruse, and said:
“The bears must never be allowed to get up those trees above us, for if they do it may go hard with us.”
Very cunning were the bears, for they tried as much as possible to climb up the trees on the sides opposite the places where were hidden Frank and Alec and their Indians. However, they could not keep entirely hid, and so, at the command of one of the Indians, there rang out the simultaneous discharge of the four guns. One of the bears suddenly dropped to the ground, but the other one continued his climbing until he reached a position quite close to Frank on the branch of the tree in which he had ascended. The boys and men had not time to load their guns, as they were single-barrelled muzzle-loaders. In addition to watching this attack on the two bears, they had to vigorously use their clubs on the noses of those attacking three. As before, these three were speedily defeated, and now the excitement was to see how Frank and his comrade would deal with the big fellow that had succeeded in reaching a position on a branch that was in a line with them. They could observe him cautiously working his way on a great branch of the tree which he had ascended, and was endeavouring to get into the branches of the tree in which they were located.
After some clever balancing he managed to get hold of a long branch that reached out horizontally toward him, and steadying himself on it, and holding on to a much smaller one above, he gradually began making his way toward them. The Indian at once saw his opportunity, and told Frank, who was on this upper branch to which the bear with his forepaws was clinging, to bravely crawl out on it as far as he safely could, and keep up a vigorous attack with his club on the bear’s nose. This Frank gallantly did, and while thus employed the Indian drew his axe and began vigorously chopping the large limb of the tree on which the bear was standing. Assailed by Frank’s blows he made but little headway, and so, before he knew what was up, the branch suddenly gave way under him and he fell to the ground, a badly stunned and discouraged bear. This gave time for the guns to be carefully reloaded, and then the besieged, thinking they had had excitement enough for one night, became the assailants, and so began firing down upon the bears below them.
Sam, in his excitement, had put too much powder in his gun, and when he fired the kick of the weapon caused him to lose his balance and he tumbled to the ground. It was fortunate for him that he fell in a soft place, and was not in the least hurt or stunned, for the only unwounded bear soon made a rush for him, but was not quick enough to find him unprepared.
Sam now knew more about bears than he did when he rushed into the camp with one not far behind him. So here there was no desire to even try and regain his position in the tree, from the branches of which he had so suddenly descended. Springing up from the spot where he had fallen, he drew his keen-bladed knife, and placing his back against the tree he awaited the attack. He had not long to wait. The bear, maddened by the battle that had been going on, and doubly excited by the smell of blood from his wounded comrades, rushed at him with the intention of making short work of him by hugging him to death. But he little knew what was before him. With all the nerve and coolness of an old Indian hunter, Sam waited until the big fore paws, like great, sinewy arms, were almost around him. Then with a sudden lunge he drove the knife firm and true into the very heart of the fierce brute. There was one great convulsive shiver, and then the bear fell over dead.
The next instant there was a great shout from those who had landed from the canoes in time to witness this brave act. The shout was caught up by the others, who, when they saw Sam’s unceremonious descent from the tree, began to descend more slowly, and were in good time to see him give the deadly thrust.
Sam had indeed redeemed himself, and was the hero for many a day. Alec and Frank were very proud of him, and hearty indeed were their congratulations. Sam cheerfully accepted their congratulations, but had his own opinion of himself, first, for putting too much powder into his gun, and secondly, for so ignominiously tumbling out of the tree.
On looking over the ground they found four dead bears. One, badly wounded, had managed to crawl away into the forest.
They had had enough excitement for that night, so they gathered up some dry wood, made a fire, and cooked some fine whitefish in thorough Indian style. They had good appetites for a good supper, and after it were soon sound asleep. As usual the boys were the last to wake up the next morning, and found that the Indians had already tracked and killed the wounded bear that had escaped in the night.
Some time was spent in skinning them, and then, loaded with the robes and meat, they returned in high spirits where they had left Big Tom and Martin Papanekis and the other Indians.
There were great rejoicings at their success, and even quiet Big Tom had some cheery congratulatory words to say to Sam, which Sam prized very much indeed.