TORTURE. [[p. 422.]
One evening we found ourselves in the middle of an open prairie, on which only isolated mosquito trees could be seen, and camped at a spot where there were several ponds, and an old fallen mosquito-tree lay, which, judging from the fire marks, had offered burning materials to earlier travellers across this plain. The nearest woods to the south lay on the remotest horizon on the San Saba Mountains, and we did not calculate on reaching them till the next day. We lay in a hollow of the prairie, between two small elevations, and fastened our riding-horses and the leading mare to lassos driven into the ground, while the captured horses grazed on the bottom. The evening was splendid, and as Mac was all right again, we were in the best spirits. After supper the conversation turned on the captured horses, and we resolved to throw dice for them. The mare was allotted to me without throwing, as I gave up my chance of all the rest. Ere long all the horses had owners. Antonio and Lambert resolved to try theirs the next morning, as they were not very well mounted, and everybody praised the good qualities of his horse, and expounded how the animals must be treated and ridden to make first-raters of them. Thus the night arrived, during which we again posted sentries on the nearest mounds, but it passed without any alarm. Day dawned; we blew up our fire and got breakfast ready, while the horses were grazing around us. The sun rose while we were lying carelessly on our buffalo robes round the fire and drinking coffee, when suddenly a fearful yell reached our ears over the next height, and a band of thirty horse Indians thundered down the hill-side towards us, waving in one hand their buffalo-robes over their heads, shaking in the other tin pots, gourds, and buffalo-bladders filled with pebbles, and uttering the strangest and most awful yells. In an instant the troop passed us, and dashed right through our fire and camp. They went over us like a tornado, and our terrified horses, which had torn themselves loose, dashed over the prairie in front of them, trailing the broken lassos after them. Before we had seized our rifles, the Indians were so far off that the bullets we sent after them produced no effect, and we silently stared after them till they disappeared from sight over the last rising ground on the prairie. We asked each other, with our eyes, what was to be done, but no one was yet able to speak, the fright and the heavy loss had fallen upon us too unexpectedly, and it was long ere we could think of the immediate future: at length all eyes were turned to me, as if I could help them. This confidence restored my power of speech, and I told my companions in misfortune that I was able to lead them home without horses, and that
MacDonnell's life was worth more than our animals.
I had hardly spoken to this effect, when Königstein shouted to me, and pointed in the direction where the horses had disappeared; and though it was so far off, I recognised Czar and the cream colour flying over the prairie, pursued by five Indians. I ran towards them as fast as my legs would carry me, and fired a bullet at the Indians long out of range, but which they must have heard "pinging," for they gave up their pursuit and merely fired a few harmless arrows after the horses, which now dashed up to me and stopped panting and snorting. Czar came up to me and laid his head on my shoulders while looking round in wild terror after his pursuers. I led him into camp, where both the horses were greeted with loud shouts of joy. We now held a grand council, and soon agreed to cache our baggage in a hollow near at hand, cover it with turf, and then start for home on foot, in which, of course, we could only cover short distances; at the same time we arranged that Mr. Lasar should ride the cream colour, and Mac Czar, while we also packed our food on the animals.
The whole day passed before we had cached our baggage, so that we slept another night at this inhospitable spot. The next morning we saddled and packed, and after carefully taking the direction of the nearest tree with the compass, we began our wearisome journey. On reaching the tree we blazed it with a knife, and then started for another, and so on, carefully marking each, so that we might be able to find our way back to our traps from tree to tree. The road to the San Saba Mountains through the tall prairie grass was one of the unpleasantest I ever followed. There, however, the ground, though hilly and stony, was still adapted for human feet, and we soon grew accustomed to walking. Tiger had not a word to say for himself, he was revolving vengeance on the Lepans, who had stolen his faithful piebald, and swore that the Delawares should take many of their scalps in return.
After several weeks of unspeakable fatigue and privation, we at length arrived one evening at Widow White's, who received us with great cordiality and delight. We at once sent her son to the Fort to fetch riding horses for all of us, as we had had quite enough walking, and stopped the while with our kind hostess. Late the next evening the long-looked-for horses arrived from the Leone; we let them rest for the night, and on the next morning said good-bye to the widow, and started for home, which we reached at an early hour and found horses there for Lasar and his companions to carry them at once to Mustang River. The loss of Lasar's handsome horse and of John's mare again caused fresh sorrow in the family, with whom they had been favourites; but I willingly put up with the loss of my two horses and mules, and considered myself remarkably fortunate in recovering Czar and the cream colour. The last lesson which we gave the Mescaleros seemed to have had an intimidating effect on the Indians generally, as we neither saw nor heard anything of them for several months.
Tiger, during this period, rode a splendid black horse of mine, which I had been always obliged to leave at home, as it was too timid and impetuous for hunting purposes. Now that it was ridden daily, it became a first-rate horse, and Tiger often said that it was better than his piebald. Great was my surprise when Tiger knocked me up early one morning, and on going out of my house I saw the piebald quietly grazing: on waking Tiger had found it tied up in front of his tent, and told me that the Lepans were frightened, because his tribe would come in the autumn and learn their hostile behaviour. With a sad look he remarked that he would now be obliged to give me back the black horse, he supposed, and was quite beside himself with joy when I told him that I made him a present of it.