University of Virginia Library

9. CHAPTER IX.
THE SKIRMISH.

It was now about eleven o'clock in
the morning, and not a vestige of cloud
was to be discovered in the clear blue
firmament, nor a fleece of vaporous mist
over any portion of the fair wide landscape.
Everything was distinctly visible
for miles in all directions — the smallest
outlines of the most minute objects being
as sharp and definite as in a Dutch picture.

And the picture was, in truth, both
beautiful and striking in itself, as it was
full of interest to the observers.

At the moment when Gordon reached
his post of observation, the troop of lancers,
whom he had driven off by his
well devised stratagem, and whom he
had last seen arrayed with their front
toward his own station, at some three or
four hundred yards distance, had
changed their face, and taken up a
new position, some forty or fifty yards
farther off, on a line oblique to that on
which they had previously been drawn
up.

Their right flank was now opposed to
the hill, on which he stood, their front
flank facing to the west, so that their
rear was in some sort covered by the
main body of cavalry, which had now
come up to within a couple of miles,
and was still advancing at a trot, with
colors displayed and bugles sounding.

The cause of this change in their disposition
was evident at a glance, for
directly in front of the advanced troop,
coming down upon them at the full
speed of their wild horses, filling the
air with their savage whoops and yells,
was a band of savages, in full war array,
and evidently bent on an immediate attack.

The numbers of the two parties were
nearly equal, although the Mexicans
were, if anything, rather the stronger;
and although the advantage of arms was
in favor of the troopers, the Camanches
carrying no firelocks, it was still more
than doubtful whether the extraordinary
skill of the latter, with the bow and arrow,
would not more than counterbalance
the mere superiority of weapons.

The Mexican lancers, indeed, stood
their ground firmly, and reserved their
fire steadily enough, until the savages
were within perhaps a hundred yards of
their front; but, notwithstanding the
good face they showed, it was very
evident to the young dragoon, that, had
it not been for the vicinity of their reinforcements,
they would not have abided
the brunt of the Indian onset.

At this moment, the bugle of the
Mexicans gave the signal to commence
firing; and a bright flash of flame ran
rapidly along the front of the lancers,
who, under the cover of the smoke, opened
from the centre, as before, and
wheeled off, right and left, to the rear,
in order to reload.

The effect of the volley was, however,
less than insignificant, for not only,
not a single saddle of the Camanches
was emptied; but not a sign of wavering
or flinching was visible among the
wild warriors.

On the contrary they urged their horses
to yet fiercer speed, brandishing their
long spears in the air, and notching their
arrows to the string, as they rode at full
gallop.

Suddenly, with a fearful and appalling
yell they launched a cloud of long barbed
cloth-yard shafts into the centre of the
Mexicans. In the instant all was confusion
and disarray. A dozen men
went down—some transfixed by three
or four several arrows, shrieking and
writhing in intolerable anguish; many
others were wounded more or less severely,
and half a score of horses,
pierced by the keen barbed points, and
goaded into madness, bolted and plunged,
and yerked out their armed heels
against their fallen masters, against
their own companions, all frantic and
ungovernable.

Still, however, the semblance of discipline
was maintained: the front rank
closed up shoulder to shoulder, as they
best might, over the dead and dying,
and steadily reserved their fire, obedient
to the command of their officers, who,
to do them justice, did their duty, at
this crisis, soldierly and well.

Disappointed, as it would seem, by
this unexpected coolness on the part of
their enemies, the savages wheeled off
and dispersed like a flock of wild fowl,
each warrior acting as it were independently,
whirling around the troopers at
full speed, yelling and howling hideously,
and evidently waiting only for a
moment of unsteadiness to break in bodily
upon the troop, and bring it to a
hand to hand encounter.

At this juncture the main body of
horse, which, had it continued to advance,
as was its evident duty, would,
ere this have been in action, slackened
its pace and finally came to a halt,
pushing forward a party of a dozen
men as if to reconnoitre, and throwing
out small detachments on all sides to
beat the neighboring coverts, as if they
were afraid of being drawn into an ambush.

This strange and inexplicable piece
of cowardice, while it palpably depressed
and chilled the spirits of the lancers,
gave new courage to the savages, who
once more collected themselves into a
single squad, and appeared to be on the
point of charging. Before it came to
this, however, the captain of the lancers
called out one, probably, of his best
men, and sent him off, from his rear,
toward the main body, with the intention
evidently of calling for immediate
succor. No sooner did the savages
perceive this manœvre, than half a
dozen of them dashed forth at full speed,
and whirling round the right flank of
the troopers, between them and the
wooded hillocks, under a smart running
fire, to which they did not give the
slightest heed, lashed their wild mustangs
furiously along in pursuit of the
headlong messenger.

So nearly did they pass to Arthur
Gordon's hiding place, that he could
distinguish the colors of their war paint,
the wavings of the eagle feathers which
adorned their scalp locks, and the very
features of the individual savages.

It was a strangely thrilling sight to
mark the incidents of that tremendous
race. The Mexican, knowing that he
was pursued, and well aware that to be
overtaken was to die, spurred on for
life—for life—while, hot for blood, and
a thirst for plunder, the furious savages
yelled frantically, and shot their arrows
after him, as they rode at full speed.

For a while the soldier appeared to
gain on the Indians; and it appeared
probable that he would succeed in making
good his escape to his countrymen,
the advanced squad of whom were hurrying
forward to meet him. But just
as he had looked behind him measuring
his distance from the enemy, with a
watchful and anxious eye, and satisfied
of his safety, had set up a shout of exultation,
an arrow, drawn to the head,
was shot after him, by a practised hand,
from a tough bow. It whistled through
the air with an ominous and fearful
sound, and took effect on the lancer's
horse in the hollow behind the ribs, entering
the animal's vitals to the very
feather.

With that piercing and dreadful
shriek, which the horse never utters
but in moments of the most excruciating
anguish, the tortured beast plunged high
into the air, and fell headlong to the
earth.

The rider extricated himself actively
from the fallen animal, and set off
as hard as he could run, shouting for
aid in tones of deathful agony. But it
was all too late; for ere he had run
twenty paces, and while the lancers
who were now coming on at a charge,
were still two hundred yards distant, a
tall gaunt savage gallopped up to him
and drove his long spear through his
body, the keen point entering at his
shoulders, and coming out below his
breast-bone.

Checking his fierce steed instantly,
the savage sprung down to the ground,
and uttering a tremendous howl, the
well-known death halloo, which was
taken up and repeated in dread cadence
by his tribesmen, gashed the head of the
fallen man with his long keen knife,
regardless of his screams and struggles,
and tore the scalp from his gory skull,
while he was still alive, and sensible of
the cruel agony.

The lancers immediately discharged
their escopetas, the balls of which fell
thick around him, one of them even
took effect on the Indian, piercing the
fleshy part of his bridle arm, but he
seemed scarcely to perceive that he
was hit: so lightly did he spring to the
saddle, wheel his unbroken horse, and
dart backward to rejoin his horde, insulting
the Mexican soldiers with
strange cries and obscene gestures.

Again the main body of the lancers
halted, partly, as it would appear, to
comfort their wounded comrade, and
partly in terror at the scene which
was enacting at the same moment on
their advanced squadron.

For excited by the sight of their
countryman's success, the Camanches
charged down lance in hand, to within
sixty or eighty paces of the troopers,
who received them with a swift running
fire, which emptied two or three of
their saddles. This did not, however,
check their onset, and the second rank
in its turn delivered a close volley, killing
four more of the Indians, and instantly
wheeled off to the rear of their
third rank to re-load.

At this moment, the great war-chief
of the Camanches, who was mounted
on a magnificent roan horse, and distinguished
by a necklace of the claws
of the grisly bear, the greatest trophy of
an Indian warrior's prowess, dashed to
the front of his tribe, and gallopped along
the whole line of the Mexican lancers,
brandishing his long feathered lance
over his head, and uttering loud yells
of defiance.

So rapidly had all this passed, that
none of the troopers who had previously
discharged their pieces, had as yet reloaded;
and now the third rank emptied
their carabines one by one, firing with
deliberate aim at the dauntless chief,
who took no more heed of their bullets,
as they rattled one by one against the
tough shield of bull's hide which covered
his whole body, than he would have
done of so many hailstones.

When the last piece was discharged,
and he was still unwounded, he uttered

a long yell of peculiar import to his
wild followers, and putting his horse's
head straight at the front of the troops,
rode at them, lance in rest, at full gallop.

No sooner did the savages hear that
fierce cry, and perceive the success of
their chieftain's manœuvre, than they
followed his example, and burst like a
torrent upon the astonished regulars,
before they had time to draw a sword
or couch a lance, much less to spur
their chargers to their speed to meet
their onset at a charge.

The shock was fierce and irresistible;
and in less than a minute the ranks of
the Mexicans were thoroughly broken,
and the conflict was converted into a
series of single combats.

The lance, the tomahawk, the sabre,
and the knife all did their work of
slaughtering; it was a blind and bloody
melee, in which each man, civilized or
savage, fought desperately and to the
last, for the dear life. The yells of the
savages, the shouts of the Spanish soldiery,
the screams of the wounded
horses, and the groans of the dying
were blended into a dreadful diapason,
above which shrill and limpid rose the
clear blast of the Mexican bugle, and
the shivering clash of steed.

No quarter was given or asked on
either side, and there was neither flight
nor flinching, for the two parties were
so equally balanced in point of numbers,
that they were actually fighting
from the first, almost man to man, and
in truth it was almost a death grapple.

By degrees, however, as the Mexicans
went down one by one before the
untamed energies and desperate fierceness
of the Indians, the numbers engaged
became more and more unequal;
and when the strife had lasted about
twenty minutes, the main body of the
Mexican horse making no real demonstration
of assisting their advanced
guard, the few survivors of the lancers
breke away as they best might from the
horrible scene of havoc, and spurred
their jaded horses in mad terror across
the plain, pursued by their ruthless enemies,
who rode them down, and speared
or tomahawked them singly almost
without resistance, until there was not
literally a single soldier left alive, unless
he were mortally wounded, and
rolling on the gory and trampled turf
in his death agony.

Not above a dozen of the Camanches
had fallen altogether, although
many more were wounded, and some
three or four dismounted. Still so bold
were they, and so much inspirited by
the ease of their recent victory, that after
dismounting almost within carabine shot
of the cavalry force, to scalp and plunder
their vanquished enemies, they actually
galloped forward, shouting and
yelling most discordantly, if to charge
the whole regiment, which stood idly
facing them.

And in truth, they did ride up so close
as to discharge a few arrow shots among
the lancers; this last insult, however,
was more than they could endure, and
perhaps it was rather the extremity of
apprehension which excited them at last
to act, as if in desperation of safety
should they continue inactive, than
anything of chivalry or courage.

Whatever might have been the cause,
after standing coolly to observe the rout
and massacre of their countrymen,
which they might undoubtedly have
prevented by a bold onslaught, they advanced
in line at a sharp trot, which
gradually increased into a hard gallop,
and then into a gallant running charge,
with bugle-note and battle-cry, and all
the pomp and splendor of a well ordered
cavalry attack.

Their gay uniforms shone gorgeously
under the bright autumnal sunbeams,
their long crimson plumes and the
blood-red banderols of their couched
lances flashed and fluttered in the wind,
and the very earth seemed to shake beneath
the stormy clatter of their horse
hoofs.

The heart of the young soldier
throbbed as if it would burst his bosom,
at the gallant sights and sounds that
accompanied the hurricane of charging
horse; and he muttered to himself,
with a doubtful smile, that were they
but one half as disciplined and trusty as
they were gorgeously equipped, and
brave in outward show they would be
dangerous opponents to encounter in
the field.

And, as it was, the savages, who probably
had never intended more than an
empty demonstration broke away into
separate parties, although they rode in

one direction, and fled before the charge
of the regular horse; which, indeed,
they were wholly incapable of resisting,
not standing in the ratio of more than
one to fifteen or twenty Mexicans.

Still though they might, as Gordon
perceived at a glance, have easily ridden
clear away from their pursuers,
had they chosen to do so, being better
mounted, and riding much lighter than
the troopers, besides that acting independently
they might have dispersed
and so defied pursuit, they did not attempt
any thing of the kind. On the contrary,
they merely cantered their horses
along, barely keeping out of range of
the troopers' carabines, and at times
even halted, and shot an arrow or two
at the soldiers, one of whom was actually
slain, and several wounded by their
unerring missiles.

Provoked by their manœuvres, goaded
by the insults of the savages, and
their obscene and irritating gestures
the regiment still pressed forward, as
fast as they could without blowing their
horses, or disordering their ranks and
in something less than an hour from the
commencement of the skirmish had
passed the side of the hill from which
the young dragoon was observing them,
and were nearly a mile distant to the
south-westward of his encampment,
still hotly following the flying Camanches.

“Now if those savages be not drawing
the cavalry into an ambush,” said
Gordon quietly to the old soldier, who
stood at his elbow observing all that passed,
“then I am no judge of Indian artifice,
or Camanche warfare.”

“That is as sure as death, sir,” replied
the soldier, touching his cap;
“and if you'd be pleased to take a squint
through the glass, at that deep gulley,
to which they will expose their left
flank, if they advance two miles farther,
I guess you'll see what will make you
certain of it. Leastways I've conceited
more than once, as I've seen a man
on horseback rise up against the sky
above the verge of it.”

“Ha! is it so?” asked the young officer
quickly, in reply, catching the
telescope from the hand of the subordinate,
and adjusting it to his eye. “Aye!
by the Lord that lives!” he added, as
he gazed towards the spot indicated by
the trooper, “there are a hundred or
more of the red skins gathering there,
for a flight of arrows and a charge.—
There will be more sharp work anon.”

As he ceased speaking, while his eyes
were yet fixed on the distant ravine, a
sharp long whistle rose on the air behind
him, and made him turn his head suddenly,
when to his inexpressible delight
he saw the well known form of the Partisan,
mounted on his famous brown
horse, trotting as leisurely across the
scene of the late skirmish towards the
outlet of the little amphitheatre, from a
belt of forest land a short distance to the
northward of that where the savages
had issued, as if there was not an enemy
in sight.

And, in truth, although there were
five hundred at the smallest computation
in full view, within a couple of miles,
on the open champaign, there was no
real risk in what he did. For the Mexicans
were so earnestly engaged in the
pursuit of the savages, and so eager
were the Camanches on the success of
their stratagem, that not an eye or
thought was directed towards the solitary
horseman, who wended his way
calm, self-possessed, and slow, over the
corpses of the slaughtered soldiery, to
join his comrades in their hiding place.

Gordon responded instantly to the
signal of the Partisan by an answering
whistle; and, without pause or hesitation,
Pierre set spur to Emperor, cantered
briskly forward, and entering the
bed of the rivulet, rode into the small
amphitheatre at the very moment when
Arthur descended the hill to join him.