CHAPTER XII.
I KILL THE DEER—MORE WONDERS—MEET MANLEY AND SERGEANT CUSTIS AT LAST—A PLEASANT EVENING—PARCHED WITH THIRST AMIDST SPARKLING STREAMS—OUR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY OVER THE MOUNTAINS—SAFE ARRIVAL AT FORT HARWOOD—WELCOMED BY THE COMMANDANT—AN EXPEDITION ORGANIZED TO DRIVE THE INDIANS FROM THE COUNTRY—MANLEY COMMANDS IT—I ACCOMPANY HIM—MEET BARNEY AND KLITZ, STILL BOUND FOR CALIFORNIA—BARNEY GIVES AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR ESCAPE—THEIR JOURNEY STOPPED—THEY RETURN WITH US—WE MEET PIOMINGO AND HIS SQUAW—TELLS US THAT HE HAS BURIED THE WAR-HATCHET—HEAR AN ALARMING ACCOUNT OF BARTLE—ASCEND THE MOUNTAIN TO WHERE WE LEFT UNCLE JEFF—FIND HIM AND CLARICE WELL—HE HAS OBTAINED A LARGE SUPPLY OF PELTRIES—OUR RETURN TO WINNEMAK'S CAMP—MAYSOTTA ACCOMPANIES CLARICE TO ROARING WATER.
LTHOUGH I had not forgotten the friends I hoped soon to see, my instinct as a hunter made me anxious to secure the deer, as it might possibly get up again, and be lost to us by springing into the river. Acting on this impulse, therefore, I ran up to the wounded animal. The poor brute was endeavouring to rise on its knees, so, hamstringing it with my knife, I effectually prevented it from escaping. I had, however, to approach it cautiously, for a blow from its antlers, even in its present state, might prove dangerous. I managed at length to reach its throat, when its struggles speedily ceased.
I now looked round for my friends, in the expectation of seeing them at any moment, for I was sure they would follow the deer; but they did not come. Still I could not have been mistaken. The animal had been shot by a rifle bullet; it was a rifle I had heard fired. Had Indian hunters shot the deer, they would certainly have followed more closely at its heels; and besides, they were not likely to have rifles.
After having secured the deer, I hastened in the direction from whence it had come, expecting that every moment would solve the mystery. Yet, eager as I was, my eyes could not avoid remarking the wonderful objects around me. On one side was a basin, its projecting rim carved with marvellously intricate tracery, while the waters within were tinted with all the colours of the rainbow. On the other side appeared a mass greatly resembling an ancient castle. It rose more than forty feet above the plain, while in its midst was a turret of still greater dimensions. A succession of steps, formed by the substances in the water which had become hardened, led up to it, ornamented with bead and shell work; while large masses, shaped like cauliflowers or spongy-formed corals, projected from the walls. Out of this curious structure, as I was passing it, shot a column of water sixty feet or more in height, vast volumes of steam escaping at the same time.
A JOYFUL MEETING.