With his axe he quickly cut off a huge piece of the flesh. The morsel I had thrown to the wolves, had delayed them longer than I might have supposed. The brutes having stopped to quarrel over it, had furiously attacked each other, so that we were already a considerable distance beyond the buffalo before they reached it. So completely did it occupy their attention, that they no longer thought of us, and at length, when we from a distance looked back, we could see a tossing, moving mass of animals, their barks and yelps sounding faintly in our ears. Hungry as we were, I thought it prudent not to stop until we could reach some sheltered place where we could light a fire, and at the same time, defend ourselves, should any of the pack follow us. We had been saved from one danger, we might hope to escape others. The wind had fallen, though it still blew from the north, and the cold was severe. The exercise, however, kept us warm. We were again in open ground, but we could see the wood ahead, bordering the stream, an angle of which we had cut off. Continuing on, we once more gained the wood, and soon fixed on a spot for camping. Near it was a tree, the branches of which we could reach, so that should the wolves again come near us, we might climb up out of their reach. Collecting sticks, we soon had a fire lighted, and a part of our meat spitted and roasting before it. As we had lost our buffalo robes, it was absolutely necessary to form some sort of shelter, and while our supper was cooking, we began to collect materials for forming it. Well accustomed to such work, we did not take long about it. The necessary stakes were cut, the branches and pieces of bark collected, and by the time Dio pronounced the meat “done,” we had our hut up, resting against the trunk of a tree. Had we not been so busily employed, we could not have waited so long without food. Tough as was the meat, it greatly restored our strength, while we quenched our thirst with handfuls of snow. I had not before felt sleepy, but scarcely had I swallowed the food, than I became almost overpowered by drowsiness, and had just sense enough to crawl into the hut, when I dropped off to sleep.
Chapter Fifteen.
Sufferings from cold—Kindness of Dio—A weary march—Trails of buffalo and deer—More snow—We reach a wood where we camp—Indians—Dio scouts—Possibility of being separated—I charge the Black with my father’s message—We steal near the Indians’ camp—Recover our horses—The flight and pursuit—Dio and I part company—Jack put on his mettle—On the edge of a precipice—My horse fails me—A last effort to escape—Rescued—The mysterious hunter—A blank in my existence—I recognise my preserver—A strange discovery—Lily’s father found—Uncle Michael—Regaining health and strength—Spring—Return to Smiling Valley—Meeting of the brothers—Conclusion.
Accustomed as I was to a life in the wilds, to endure the extremes of heat and cold, and what most persons look upon as hardships; I am sure that I should have perished with cold had it not been for my faithful companions Dio and Boxer. The dog, I will not say from instinct, because I believe, that he was influenced by a higher power, stretched himself upon me, giving me the warmth, of his body, while Dio chafed my feet, and then wrapped them up in a part of his own blanket, while he sat up, having raked the fire as near as he could venture to bring it. During the whole night I am convinced that he did not once drop asleep, at all events for more than a few minutes at a time. After several hours I awoke, feeling thoroughly warm. I was somewhat astonished at the heavy weight above me, and it was not until I put out my hand and felt Boxer, that I was aware how I had been cared for. By the light of the fire, which was still burning brightly, I saw Dio seated at the entrance of the hut. I told him how much refreshed I felt, but I had great difficulty in persuading him to crawl in and take the rest he so much required. Having put on my boots, I sat up and took his place, I was thus able to judge of the suffering he had endured for my sake, for even with my blanket round me, and a fire near my feet, I could scarcely bear it: I was very thankful when in less than an hour I saw daylight appear. Without delay I made up the fire and spitted some more of our buffalo meat to roast, that we might take breakfast before starting. I waited until the meat was cooked before arousing Dio.
“Go on, massa,” he exclaimed, starting up, “I wonder whether we get to the fort ’fore night.”
“I am afraid not,” I answered; “on horseback, in fine weather, we might have reached it in five days, but we have performed scarcely half the distance. Never mind, we have got meat for one day more, and we may trap an opossum or beaver, or perhaps Boxer may catch us something.”
As soon as we had breakfasted, and bestowed a small portion of our meat on Boxer, Dio shouldering his spear, and I my club, we began our march. As the sun rose, the clouds cleared away, and we knew that we were proceeding more or less in the direction of the fort. Still I could not tell how much out of our proper course we had gone during the last two days, and we might possibly pass the fort, either to the north or south, without seeing it. Had the ground been free from snow, I should have hoped, without much difficulty, to have struck the trail running east and west, followed by emigrants; but none were likely to have passed since the snow had fallen, and the country was generally so level that there were no land-marks to steer for; all we could do, therefore, was to push on, and keep up our spirits. Had I not been anxious about my mother, I should have cared much less for the delay; but as it was, I determined that no difficulties or dangers should stop us. As we went on, I looked out eagerly for marks of footsteps; of either men or horses, but the same uniform sheet of white appeared on every side, though our own feet left their impression more clearly than we desired on the snow, showing that two men and a dog had passed that way. Should any Indians come across our trail, knowing that they could obtain an easy victory, they would too probably follow us up. At length I saw the snow disturbed by a long line running at right angles to our course. On reaching it, I at once saw that the trail was that of a herd of buffalo moving southward, but none of the animals were in sight, though from the marks I calculated that they could only just before have passed. Soon after we met with the tracks of several deer, but they too had disappeared. The country ahead had a more hilly aspect, and I observed that the snow had melted from the southern sides of the slopes. It was of the greatest importance that we should reach another wood before nightfall, and hoping to find one on the other side of the range, we hurried on. I became conscious of my decrease of strength by finding a greater difficulty than usual in climbing the slopes, and on looking at Dio, I found that he too was toiling on with less activity than was his wont. We had only enough meat for one more meal for ourselves and dog, and I saw that it would be necessary, for the sake of our future progress, to bring our day’s journey to an end as soon as possible. There was another reason for this. As we looked northward, we saw the clouds again gathering in the sky; and the wind, shifting round to that quarter, quickly drove them towards us, blowing as keenly as before. Once more the snow began to fall. When I turned round I observed how quickly it obliterated over footsteps. I had carefully noted the direction of the wood which commenced at the foot of the hill, and we therefore reached it without difficulty. Making our way onwards, we soon selected a spot for camping, and although it was still early in the afternoon, I resolved to remain there, at all events, until the next morning. While looking about for fire-wood we discovered a large hollow tree, and as we had plenty of time, we cleaned it out, so that it would serve as a comfortable abode for the night. We collected also a quantity of dry leaves, with which we could cover ourselves up, should the cold become as intense as on the previous night. We also searched about for some slabs of bark, to line the rougher parts and to close up the aperture. While I was arranging our intended abode for the night, Dio, followed by Boxer, went off to catch, if he could, some small animal or bird which he might kill for our supper; I had lost sight of him, but felt very sure that he and his companion could find their way back. Having made up the fire, I was on the point of lighting it, when Dio appeared running towards me.
“Oh! Massa Mike!” he exclaimed, almost breathless, “I see de Indians on top ob de hill!”