With Axe and Rifle

by William Henry Giles Kingston

We still kept, however, a vigilant watch on the cliff side, lest the cunning savages, fancying that we should be off our guard, might again attempt to surprise us. As may be supposed none of us turned in. Some of the men were employed in examining the wounds the cattle had received. Fortunately two of the people only had been slightly hurt by the arrows, several of which, however, were found sticking in the waggons, or had gone through the tilts.

Mr Tidey, Dio, and I continued pacing up and down above the cliff, over which we constantly looked, our eyes endeavouring to detect any movement in the bushes, which might indicate the presence of Indians.

As far as we could see through the gloom, all was perfectly quiet. At length some bright streaks appeared in the eastern sky. Slowly the light increased, and we could see and hear the water as it flowed far down below us, the cliffs on the opposite side of the river coming into view; still a part of the trees across the gully were shrouded in gloom, and might, for what we could tell, conceal our foes.

It was with a feeling of thankfulness that I at length saw the sun himself rising above the prairie, over which we had passed on the previous day, and soon the whole country was lighted up by his bright rays. From the elevated position of our camp, we could obtain an extensive view to the eastward and south, though the rising ground across the river to the north prevented us from seeing far in that direction, while the wood which clothed the side of the ravine continued on some way to the westward, and shut out the prospect.

“We must manage to ascertain whether any of the red-skins are lurking in that wood,” observed Mr Tidey; “they are very likely to have stowed themselves away, ready to rush out upon us, while they fancy that most of the men are engaged with the cattle outside, or have gone down to the river to draw water. It won’t do to trust those fellows, notwithstanding the defeat they have received.”

I agreed with him, and arranged, if my father did not object, to make an excursion into the wood as soon as we had had breakfast, taking care not to be surprised ourselves by those whose presence it was our object to discover. As soon as I was off my watch, I went to ascertain how it fared with my mother and her young charges. She had remained in her tent, under the shelter of the waggons, during the whole time, and had been less alarmed, she assured me, than I had expected. “I knew that your father had taken all possible means to defend the camp, and that the men would do their duty; and I trusted that God in His mercy would protect us,” she said. Kathleen and Lily, who were awakened by the firing, threw their arms round my neck. Kathleen asked when the redskins would be driven away, but poor Lily was naturally far more frightened, believing that the savages would kill us all as they had lately killed her friends. Rose was almost as much alarmed, but Biddy was ready to stand up and fight with the men, had her services been required.

My father, I found, had determined to remain a couple of days in our present camp, for the purpose of resting the cattle, and in the hopes that the Indians, finding that we were well prepared to resist their attacks, would move to a distance, so that we might proceed without further molestation to Fort Hamilton. My father, calling the men together, praised them for their conduct.

“If you all are as watchful as heretofore, and behave with the same cool courage, I feel very sure that we shall make our way through and defeat the redskins, should any come near us,” he observed: “we must now find out whether any savages are lurking in yonder wood, that we may not run the risk of being attacked while we are taking our cattle down to the river.”

On hearing this remark, I told him what Mr Tidey proposed, and begged leave to accompany the Dominie.

“I cannot forbid my own son to perform a duty which I would impose on others,” he answered. “You may go, Mike, and I must charge you as I should anybody else, to be cautious; you have a wily foe to deal with, and you must take care not to let any of the Indians get between you and the camp.”