Edwin L. Sabin

“ Lieutenant Pike, in his old clothes, swung off.
“Dismount!” he called. “We are to enter here, lads. Bear yourselves boldly. We are American soldiers, and have nothing to fear.”
He strode on, firm and erect, following the guidance of Lieutenant Bartholomew.
“Keep together,” Freegift cautioned; and the men pushed after, trying not to limp, and to carry their army muskets easily. Stub brought up the tail of the little procession. He, too, was an American, and proud of it, no matter how they all looked, without hats, in rags and moccasins, the hair of heads and faces long. ”

“ Stub’s yellow pony sprang to the fore; he was nimble and he carried light. No—another horse and rider forged alongside him. They were the medicine-man and his black; a good rider and a good horse.
Stub hammered and yelled. “Hi! Hi! Hi!” The doctor lashed and yelled. Already they had gained the heels of the flying herd. The clods of earth thrown by the rapid hoofs bombarded them lustily. Baroney and soldier Sparks and soldier Stout, and even the lieutenant had been dropped behind. ”

“ Why should he be white, or American, when the Pawnee were a great people who could fight even the Padoucah—the Comanches or Ietans as they were called. And if one were white instead of red, it would be better to be Spanish, for the Spanish were rich and powerful, and their king owned the country.
Yet—yet, Scar Head could not help but admit that these Americans bore themselves like warriors; this Pike must be a bold young chief, to come so far with so few men; and after all, perhaps the Americans might prove strong in medicine. ”

“ The Spanish had sent six hundred soldiers, with over two thousand horses and mules, to look for him. He would certainly have fought them all, with his twenty men, had they tried to stop him anywhere outside of New Mexico.
No braver soldiers ever marched than Lieutenant Pike and his little platoon. They lost their way; they struggled with cold below zero and snow to their waists, in the bleak high mountains. ”

“ The young war chief laughed, showing white teeth.
“They cannot fight the soldiers of the great king. We are many and brave; the Americans are small. We can punish or reward. The Americans are weak and poor. Should there be war, we will eat them up. If they do not keep out of the country, there will be war. We shall warn them. The Indians would do very foolishly to help the Americans who have nothing, and are only greedy, seeking to steal the Indians’ hunting grounds. First a few will come, as spies; then more will come by the same trail, and with their guns kill all the buffalo.” ”

“ He moved fast but silently, darting from spot to spot, stepping with care and listening for alarm sounds; and stealing more gently as he arrived at the bottom, where the ravine ended in a cedar and a shoulder of rock.
The upper edge of the basin was just around that corner. He planned to step out, into sight. The buffalo would run in the other direction, and the doctor or Baroney might be able to head them, and kill one at least; then follow and maybe kill more.
But first he drew his big pistol, on the slim chance of a sure shot, himself. ”

“ The Grand Peak flashed white in its beams, and assuredly was near. The foothills at its base were dark green: trees.
And there they stayed, the peak and the foothills, all day! Stub’s eyes ached with gazing. Soldier Brown grumbled a little.
“It’s a wild-goose chase. I’ve said that no man will ever climb yon peak. We’ll wear out ourselves and our hosses for nothin’. Even if we ever reach the foot of it, look what’s ahead of us.”
“You may be sure the cap’n’ll climb it, whether or no,” retorted soldier Miller. “He’s set out to do it, and do it he will.” ”

“ The tracks of the doctor and John Brown had vanished; being free of foot, they might clamber as they thought best. But the sledges made a different proposition. Sometimes, in the more difficult spots amidst ice, rocks and water, two men and a boy scarcely could budge one.
Higher and higher towered the cliffs, reddish where bare, and streaked with motionless waterfalls. The sky was only a seam. Far aloft, there was sunshine, and the snow even dripped ”

“ The thought of defeat is unworthy of brave men. It is far better to die with honor, in the knowledge that we have done our utmost, than to live as cowards and weaklings. Fortune has been trying us out, but she will not find us lacking. We have explored to the north, and we know that the Red River does not lie there. That much has been accomplished, and not in vain, for we have made important discoveries and greatly extended the Government’s knowledge of the sources of the Platte and the Arkansaw Rivers. It will be impossible to travel onward with the horses. ”

“ The American chief has sent a present, for the horse. Everybody is satisfied. But you did a wrong thing, when you interfered in men’s affairs. Why did you do that?”
“I like the Americans,” Scar Head stammered.
“Yes,” replied White Wolf. “What Skidi said is true. You are not red, you are white, and they all know it. You can never be an Indian. Now you have lost friends. The Pawnee will always look at [79] you sideways, and Skidi is likely to harm you. So I give you to the American chief, to be rid of you before you are hurt. ”

“ You and Brown have no stockings, we none of us have proper clothing—no blankets, no provisions, and there’s little prospect of game. We’ve come so far, and taxed our strength to the limit. Comparing the height of that mountain with this, I believe that no human being can climb the Grand Peak and survive. It is a region of eternal snow, barred to all vestige of life. ”

“ Stub went to the barracks with his father and Solomon Colly, to watch the men off. They were about to go. He shook hands with them, too: with Freegift, and Alex Roy, and John Brown, and Hugh Menaugh, and William Gordon, and Jake Carter—that brave six, still limping from frozen feet.
“Good luck to you, boy.”
“Good luck.”
“An’ never forget you’ve been a Pike man, on one o’ the toughest marches in history,” added Freegift. “Stick up for your country. You’ve l’arned never to say die—an’ that’s the American of it.” ”

“ SEEKING THE LOST RIVER
“It’s no use to march farther on this line, doctor.”
Doctor Robinson answered promptly.
“I think you’re right, lieutenant. We’re getting nowhere, only deeper into the mountains. Men and horses are about at the end of their strength. There seems to be nothing ahead, except more cold, hunger and blind scrambling.”
“The men are brave fellows,” said the lieutenant. “That human beings, half fed and near naked, should be called upon to endure such marches and camps, amidst snow and zero weather, is almost more than can be expected from even soldiers. ”

“ Far in the east and the southeast the mountains seemed to form a line with every gap stopped.
“Isn’t that our Grand Peak, away yonder?” asked the doctor, pointing. “If so, I judge it’s a hundred miles, as the bird flies.”
“And unreachable from here, except by a bird, sir. We’re shut off from it, completely. Besides, our road does not lie in that direction. Our duty as explorers demand that we do not give up so easily.” And the lieutenant turned his glasses, so as to sweep the north and the northwest. ”

“ The camp was spread out in a circle over a wide area. Several chiefs’ lodges had been set up, countless fires were smoking, horses whinnied, mules brayed, medicine pipes (horns) tooted, and a myriad of figures moved busily, getting water, going on herd, arranging the packs, marching to and fro as if in a dance, or clustering around the fires.
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These were the Spanish, were they, from the south? Scar Head had not supposed that so many could come so far, all together. The nation of the Spanish must be a great and powerful nation.
A guard saw the Iskatappe file approaching. ”

“ You have no right to give the horse away until you find out why it was left at your lodge. You should wait and find out. People do not leave horses at lodges without expecting something in return. I may have left the horse, myself; and I might look for a present. Where is the present?”
Thus Skidi cunningly argued.
“Yes, where is the present?” they all demanded. “You need not make it, yourself. You can ask it from the Americans. Or tell the soldier to go; and if he doesn’t like to go alone, we will help him on his way.”
Scar Head suddenly spoke up.
“The American can have the horse, White Wolf. ”

“ The Spanish flocked forward, into the prairie in front of the stockade. Freegift and several of the other men, and Stub, did sally out, curious to inspect their new friends. The Spanish soldiers were regular dragoons, fifty; and mounted militia, fifty—a mixture, these, of Spaniards and Mexicans and Indians.
And they were kind and friendly, indeed. They brought food and blankets and insisted that the Americans accept. Freegift himself finally admitted:
“Well, I’d still prefer a little dust, for the honor of the army an’ a proof that a half-froze American is as good a man as a dozen foreigners ”