Edward Sylvester Ellis

“ Terror for an instant held me dumb when I realized this awful danger. My first resolve was to rush forth and warn Nat and Biddon; but I reflected that they must have been awakened, ere this, and that I could do nothing to ward off the peril which threatened all alike. Springing to my feet, I paused a second to collect my tumultuous thoughts. Could I reach the timber, I could ascend a tree and be beyond danger; but I knew not what direction to take, and there was no time to spare. To remain still was to be trampled to death ”

“ A strong wind arose, and a melancholy, desolate moaning, like the precursor of winter, could be heard at intervals in the forest. Darkness came on earlier than usual, and, as I passed into the trapper’s home, the storm burst upon me. No one who has not witnessed a storm in the wilderness, can appreciate its awful grandeur. As I cowered within the heart of the old forest king, its power was subdued to my ears ”

“ In a few moments they reached a bend in the river—Biddon made a signal to me, and the next minute they had all vanished.
As the brigade vanished down the river, and the song of the voyageurs grew fainter and fainter, until it died away in the distant windings of the Yellowstone, I awoke from the mournful reverie into which I had fallen, and turned to the work before me. There was a dozen Indians around, all busy with their new possessions. ”

“ On a clear summer morning, we sallied out upon the broad, open prairie again. The trapper now struck a direction nearly due northwest toward the Black Hills, and we proceeded with greater speed than before. The face of the country began to change materially. Vast groves of timber met the eye, and the soil became rich and productive. At noon we encountered the most immense drove of buffaloes that I ever witnessed. They were to the west of us, and proceeding in a southern direction, cropping the grass clean as they went. ”

“ The caravan which I had joined at Independence, had been attacked, a few days subsequent to my separation from it, by an overwhelming body of Apache Indians. Rumors reached the States that all had fallen in the massacre, and my reappearance was like the dead returning to life. The reader, I trust, can imagine the few remaining incidents. After inducing Imogene to return to the States, I do not think I should have ever forgiven myself had I not offered her all the protection within my power. She was like an exotic at first, taken from a distant clime; but love works wonders. ”

“ I am not frightened at all. For Biddon’s sake, but more especially for yours, I am anxious. If you are desirous of remaining hereabouts, and will take all the consequences, I will make no objections.”
“Of course, if I run into danger of my own accord, I expect that I alone will suffer the penalty.”
“Then we needn’t say anything more about it; you know we pledged ourselves to remain true to each other, and I won’t desert you.”
“That’s well spoken, Nat. The minute I am satisfied that our lives are imperiled, I shall not be the means of prolonging that peril a moment. ”

“ I pictured the happiness that would be hers in a civilized country, and the utter misery that must follow her life among the savages. She informed me that she was a captive, not of the tribe near at hand, but of one further north, which had held her ever since the massacre of her parents; and that she had been told, in case she attempted to leave them, instant death would be the result. I saw she wished—she longed to flee, and the objections she offered were only suggested by her fears.
“Hist!” she whispered, “there is some one.”
I turned on the defensive. In an instant Jim stood beside me. ”

“ We were now proceeding in a northward direction, intending to strike the Platte at the nearest point. South, east, and west the small waving hills of the prairie stretched, unrelieved by the slightest object, except in the west the far-off outline of some mountain-peak was just visible, resembling a slight pointed cloud against the blue sky. This disappeared at noon, and we were again like wanderers upon the illimitable sea. A short time after, Nat’s keen vision detected a number of black, moving specks far to the westward. ”

“ Jim said he had more than once cooked his moccasins and eaten them.
The tribe was driven to no such extremity as this while I was with them, and I saw no want myself. Jim was one of their best hunters and he supplied his own lodge before that of others. Yet, there were others who were not so fortunate, and who were often compelled to endure the pangs of hunger for days at a time. When food was secured, they gorged themselves nearly to bursting, and were the happiest of mortals, until the wants of nature again made themselves felt. ”

“ I watched them, it seemed for an hour, shivering with cold all the time, although my captors had not deprived me of my blanket.
At last, as I looked up, I saw that day was breaking. There was a faint light in the east, heralding the approach of the sun. Shortly after, it burst above the forest line, lighting up the interminable prairie and wilderness with its golden glory. The savages sprang to their feet, seized their weapons and started away. ”

“ There were two Indian warriors seated each with a paddle in his hand, but not using them, except to keep the canoe in the channel, and in the stern, with a guiding oar, sat a young female. I supposed her a squaw, belonging to the same tribe with her companions, and scrutinized her as closely as my position would permit. She wore a beautiful head-dress, gayly ornamented with stained porcupine quills and beads, and a brilliant crimson shawl enveloped her slight form. The savages maintained their places as motionless as statues, their gaze apparently resting upon the stream behind them ”

“ In the bewilderment and excitement of the chase, I might wander miles away, and be gone many hours, without exciting suspicion. My captors, I suppose, had no thoughts of my attempting a flight, as I had permitted so many opportunities to pass, and I felt there would be no suspicious eyes watching my motions. The prairie stretched hundreds of miles to the southward, and it seemed my animal longed to bound away upon it. At any rate, I felt the time had come, and resolved that I should never return to the Indian village a captive. ”

“ Lying half asleep on the buffalo robe, listlessly gazing at the savage, his features all at once struck me. I had seen them before, but where I could not recollect. Let me see—ah! it was plain now. He was one of the occupants of the mysterious canoe!
It soon became known throughout the Indian village that a white man was a captive among them, and the next morning the entrance to Jim’s lodge was thronged with hundreds anxious to get a peep at me. ”

“ The line of march was again taken up, and continued until nightfall. They traveled in Indian file, my dusky friend bringing up the rear, and myself directly in front of him. This plan was adopted, not through any fear of pursuit, as they were in their own country, but because caution and watchfulness are habitual to the North American Indian. Every now and then the click of the revolver was audible behind, but I felt no apprehension as I knew the savage was only examining it for his own pleasure.
Just before dusk we reached a large and rapidly flowing stream. ”

“ Imogene joined her entreaties with mine, but he could not be made to change his resolution. Not wishing to detain our friends, I extended my hand.
“If you are determined to remain, I must now bid you good-by, Nat. Your determination is so new to me that I can hardly realize it. It is a hopeless search upon which you are going, I fear. May the One who has so mercifully watched over all of us, still protect you. If you ever see Biddon, don’t forget me to him. ”

“ I have always regarded my capture by this tribe of Indians as a fortunate circumstance. I cannot imagine how else I could have maintained life through the unusually severe winter which followed. No mortal hand could have saved me from perishing from cold, while it would have been utterly impossible to have procured food, when the snow lay six feet upon the ground, and the rivers were sealed by great depths of ice. Although frequent occasions presented themselves, I determined to make no effort to leave my captors until the spring had arrived. ”

“ It is only this great desire to solve and understand the singular occurrences that are transpiring around us, that leads me to still remain. I have determined that to-day we shall all be satisfied.”
“My curiosity is extraordinarily high; but I guess that gal has as much to do with it as anything else. I’m determined to get a glimpse of her face, and, if possible, whisper in her ear that Nat Todd, from Maine, is about. I flatter myself that the minute she knows that, she will jump overboard and make for shore without saying a word to the chaps with her.” ”

“ The brigade included men in it, who had trapped and hunted the shores of the Frozen Sea to the plains of the Kansas, and from Labrador to the mouth of the Columbia, beyond the Rocky Mountains. They had encountered every imaginable foe: the intense cold and the polar bear of the far North, and the innumerable hordes of savages of the more temperate regions; and now they recounted their thrilling reminiscences to each other, and speculated upon the fate still in store for them. ”

“ Biddon looked at me a moment; then one side of his mouth expanded into a broad grin, and he quietly remarked:
“Times are different from what they used to war.”
“Biddon,” said I, after a moment’s silence, “before we saw you we camped upon one side of a stream while you were upon the other. Now, I do not suppose you would willfully harm a stranger; but since I have met you, I have a great desire to know why you fired that shot at Nat. You supposed we were Indians, I presume?” ”

“ This smell attracts the beavers in the vicinity, who immediately swim to the shore to learn more of it. The trap is so arranged that one is sure to place his foot directly upon it for support in ascending the bank, and the natural consequence follows. He is caught and falls into his mortal enemy’s hands.
“Ef one don’t have a dinner on beaver tails tomorrow, then I’m a beaver,” remarked Biddon, after he had set all his traps, and headed his canoe down stream.
“A dinner on beaver tails!” exclaimed Nat, in astonishment. “That must be a fine dinner, I swow.” ”

“ The trapper stepped forward and looked at it.
“That’s the blood of a Blackfoot, or I’m a skinned beaver!” he remarked, with a glow of relief at having those strange apprehensions of his removed.
“Yes, I’m convinced that’s Injin blood,” added Nat, rubbing it between the tip of his finger and thumb. “The blood of a Blackfoot Injin, too—a man’s about thirty-two years old. Probably a brother to the one I frightened.”
“What do you know about that?” I asked.
“Oh! it’s only a supposition of mine.”
“Biddon, I believe, as I just said, that we will find the body of that savage near at hand. ”

“ The country here was of a slightly different character from the rolling prairie over which we had journeyed thus far. There were hills quite elevated, and, now and then, groves of timber. In the river bottoms were numerous cottonwoods and elder; these natural causes so obstructed our view, that we might approach our unknown enemy very nigh without knowing it. Nat was quite nervous, and invariably sheered off from the forbidding groves of timber, striking the trail upon the opposite side at a safe distance. ”

“ I swow there are ten thousand Injins just waiting outside to pounce upon us.”
“You are talking nonsense, and you know it.”
“Well, there’s one Injin, for I seen him. Come now,” he affirmed, as if the matter was now settled beyond a question.
“Ah! that alters the case considerably. I shouldn’t wonder at all if there is one or a half-dozen savages in the forest.”
“If you see one savage haven’t you a right to suppose there’s a hundred more about, I should like to know?”
“Not always, Nat; I have seen three myself, yet I do not believe there is another one in the neighborhood. ”

“ I continued wandering aimlessly onward, until I descended a large valley, filled with trees of enormous growth. As I entered, I heard a crackling in the bushes above me. I looked carefully about, but could detect nothing, although the crackling was still heard. Creeping cautiously and stealthily up the bank, I came upon the cause of this apprehension. There was a species of fruit, called the “buffalo berry,” quite numerous here, and in among them, seated on his haunches, and contentedly devouring, was a grizzly bear. ”