The Backwoodsman; Or, Life on the Indian Frontier

by Unknown

It was now the busiest time in the fields. The storms had blown down a great number of huge dried trunks standing in the fields, which had to be cut up and rolled away, which business was one of our hardest jobs. Moreover, I had the field enlarged, fenced in a very large extent of land, part prairie part forest, where I could turn my mares and colts out, and on rainy days had wood felled to let it dry, and afterwards employ it for building purposes. Axe and plough were equally active on the Mustang, and on many smaller streams in the vicinity, where civilization had set its foot. Thus whole patches of forest disappeared before man's busy hand, and the soil was robbed of its natural protection: the roots were turned up to be burnt or rot, and the earth was thus forced to receive and generate seeds foreign to it. The prairies, which a few years back had only been traversed by the desert animals, were now inhabited by herds of tame domestic creatures attached to a home, and the traveller's ear in these regions was no longer startled by hearing the unexpected sound of a cattle bell.

But nature will not allow laws to be prescribed to her without taking vengeance, or have changes made in her domestic arrangements forcibly by human hands. With the felling of forests and the turning up of the soil she sends diseases which check her insulter in the work he has begun, and punish him for his audacious inroads. It usually takes half a century ere nature is appeased and ceases to contend in this way with the mortals who trouble her; at least in Continental North America the diseases produced in this way usually increase for thirty years, and decrease for so long a period, until they entirely cease. This is the case with the interior, but not in the cities, where other relations occur in proportion with their expansion. At my settlement there had been for many years no malady, save those caused by external injuries; but now one or the other frequently complained of ague, bilious fever, flux, &c., and we often cursed the time when we saw the first white face settle amid our solitudes. At Lasar's matters were proportionately worse, for a hundred negroes would be down at the same time. For my part I had as yet been spared, while all my companions had been ill.

It was a very hot day when I rode to the nearest town, as usual only provided with a blanket, and during the nights lay by my fire in the open air with it pulled over me. I remained several days in town, and during the period felt a never-before-known ailing, and a reduction of my strength. My business being ended, I rode off about noon to reach the next house, whose inhabitants were friends of mine. I arrived there about an hour before sundown, but found the family in a great state of disorder, as the head of it had just died of a violent attack of fever. Although I felt very unwell, I did not like to be troublesome to the family, and rode on after a short halt. My illness increased with every quarter of an hour; at one moment I shook with cold, at another I felt as if I were being burned alive, and my head ached as if it would burst. I rode on, although I could hardly sit my horse, and at last tottered in the saddle, quite incapable of thinking; at the same time an indescribable burning thirst tortured me, and my tongue seemed to cleave to my roof, while I had a singing in my ears, as if there were thousands of grasshoppers inside my head.

It was nearly dark when I reached the middle of a very wide plain, that was covered with fine, very white sand, and in which the horse at every step sank above the hocks. I could no longer remain in the saddle; dismounted; sat down on the red-hot sand, fell back, and became perfectly unconscious: presently I fell into a profound sleep, from which I did not wake till the next morning. I looked around in surprise, and it was some time ere I could remember what had brought me here. I jumped up, and Trusty the faithful leapt barking around me, but I did not see Czar. My feet would hardly carry me, and my head was as heavy as if I had lead inside it. I looked for my horse's track, dragged myself along it, and to my great consolation saw the faithful creature in a hollow, nibbling some cactuses, and saddled and bridled as I had left him on the previous evening. I got on to his back with difficulty, and turned him in the direction of home. Thirst now began to grow unendurable. The sun burst forth, and poured its burning beams upon me with such fury, that I fancied I should never be able to reach a pool, about five-and-twenty miles distant, which contained the only water in the neighbourhood. This pond was at last the only thought of which I was capable; at the same time my head threatened to burst, and the fever shook me mercilessly. My horse walked along the familiar path through the heat, and bore me, when the sun was vertical, down a sand-hill to the edge of the pond, where I sank powerless, and crawled to the water in order to moisten my burning lips. But it was no water, but a thick, dark red mud, which was nearly boiling, and in which buffaloes had been wallowing very shortly before. No matter, I lay with my mouth over the thick fluid, and swallowed as much of it as I could. It was really a comfort, for the dryness of my throat was removed; but my helplessness was so great that I could not resolve to leave the spot, though I lay exposed to the burning sun on the hot sand, and was only a short distance from shady trees.

I lay as I was, and had but one thought that the sun must kill me here, but still I could not muster up the courage to go away. At length, toward evening, when the sun was lower, the terrible fever gave way a little. I crept slowly into the shade, and soon was asleep under the tree. It was quite dark when I awoke, and though very faint, my head was clearer. I went up to Czar, who had been grazing by my side all this time, got into the saddle, and continued my journey, on which the pleasant light of the new moon lit me, and the cool evening breeze refreshed me. I rode till ten o'clock, when I reached the Lynx Spring, which I had christened after one of those animals that I had found dead here many years ago, and whose water was the best for miles around. I was quickly off Czar's back among the roots of the magnolia, beneath which the spring bubbled up, and I drank as if I should never be satisfied. I had a biscuit and a paper of coarse sugar about me. This was my supper and I washed it down with the pure fluid. I felt much refreshed, drew many a deep breath in the powerful breeze, and gazed at the patches of light around me which were thrown by the moon through the dense foliage, and through the violent motion of the leaves trembled and continually altered their shape. It was a very dangerous spot, as this water was the only spring for miles round, and wandering Indians often select it as their destination after travelling for a day through the desolate, waterless sand-plains; but I would not have ridden away even if I had been compelled to defend myself against a whole tribe. I had a few good cigars about me and lit one, which I smoked leaning against a tree, and, as I fancied, inhaling fresh strength at every breath.

It was about midnight when I set out to reach a camping-place at which I should not be so threatened as at the present one, and after filling my gourd with water I rode away, faintly lighted by the waning moon. I knew the road thoroughly, and the outline of the trees was sufficient to enable me to keep my course. I could, if my horse went at any pace, reach within an hour a well-known camping-place at which I had passed many a night, and which lay but a little way off my route. It certainly had no water, but excellent grass for my horse, and hence various sorts of game could generally be found there. The main point was, that it lay some distance from the principal Indian path and was tolerably concealed, so that a fire could be lighted there without any great risk of being seen from a distance. It soon became very dark after the moon had sunk behind the hills in front of me, and I was obliged to yield the reins to Czar, and leave it to him to find the road, while I sent Trusty on a little way ahead to make certain there was no danger. Every now and then, however, I saw by familiar clumps of trees or knolls that I was still on the right track, and I approached my destination rather quickly, considering the circumstances. The country through which I rode consisted more or less of sandy hills, covered with isolated black oaks, without any scrub, under which grew a very tall grass, disliked by cattle, which had now entirely decayed. So far as I could judge in the darkness, I was no longer any great distance from my camping-place, for I saw in a hollow on my left a wood running along my route, and which I knew to be a swampy patch, in which all the rain-water of the neighbourhood collected. On my saddle hung several new tin cups and a coffee-pot of the same material, which rattled at every movement of my horse and thus produced a ringing sound which could be heard for some distance. I dismounted and twined dry grass between them to keep them quiet.

I had just remounted my horse and was riding up a hill, when suddenly bright flames sprang up not far behind the latter and illumined the whole country around. In terror I stopped my horse, and saw in a few minutes that not only on the right of the hill the flames rose to the branches of the surrounding oaks, but that the fire was spreading with extraordinary fury on my right and in my rear. There was only one opening in this circle of fire on my right, near the swamp. I turned Czar round and galloped through the low oaks and tall grass toward the valley, in which I was obliged to trust to the safe foothold of my horse, as I could not see a sign of a path. The wind luckily was not very violent, or else I could not have escaped; as it was, I reached the wood before the fire darted down into the bottom behind me. I stood here on moist ground, between green bushes which the flames could not reach, and saw that they had fired the oaks and converted each of them into a fiery pyramid. The whole country ahead of me was now a mass of fire, whose tongues rose over fifty feet, in which the flames of the trees could be recognised by their dark red hue, while above them the ruddy clouds of smoke rose to the sky. Ere long, however, the burning oaks stood alone like pillars of fire on the denuded knolls, and the sparks flew out of them with a terrible roaring and crackling. I stood before this fire till day broke and showed me the black skeletons of the still burning trees, and the dark smoke-clouds rising above them. Ere long, only small flames crept round the bare trunks. I mounted my horse to get away from this scene of conflagration and rode up the wood, being obliged frequently to draw nearer to the burning trees to escape the swampy ground, until at last I was compelled to pass through the fire, owing to the impassable nature of the ground. The smoke, the black ash, and the heat were almost unendurable, and frequently heavy branches fell close to me. I rode as sharply as I could, and in an hour reached an open burnt clearing, where I was once more able to draw fresh breath. The fire had undoubtedly been lit simultaneously at different points for the purpose of burning me by the Indians, but none of them had ventured on to the prairie leading down to the bottom, as I could see over it, and if a fire had been lit there, I could have detected the culprits.

I hurried along in the refreshing morning breeze, and arrived about noon at a stream, on whose bank I turned into the adjoining wood, and granted my horse and myself a rest. On the road I had shot a turkey, which pacified my hunger and Trusty's, and I strengthened myself by a sound sleep, from which I did not awake till evening. During the whole day I had felt tolerably well, but looked with terror for the next, as I must expect that my fever would return every second day, so I rode till a rather late hour in order to reach a camp where I was tolerably certain I could pass the day without disturbance. Before I rode off, I dug up some roots of the tulip-tree and chewed them, swallowing the juice, till I reached camp. These roots are one of the best remedies against fever which nature offers in these regions. I slept till the sun disturbed me, and woke with aching head and weary limbs. I took Czar to graze, and then lay down on my blankets, after placing my gourd full of fresh water by my side. The attack of fever was not very violent: about 2 P.M. I was able to continue my journey, and slept that night on an affluent of the Mustang. The next morning I mounted at an early hour, in order to reach the Fort as soon as possible, and made Czar step out, as I felt very well.