University of Virginia Library

17. CHAPTER XVII.

Our march for a part of the day, lay a little
to the south of west, through straggling forests of
the kind of low scrubbed trees already mentioned,
called “post-oaks,” and “black-jacks.” The
soil of these “oak barrens” is loose and unsound;
being little better at times than a mere quicksand,
in which, in rainy weather, the horse's hoof slips
from side to side, and now and then sinks in a
rotten, spongy turf, to the fetlock. Such was
the case at present in consequence of successive
thunder showers, through which we draggled
along in dogged silence. Several deer were
roused by our approach, and scudded across the
forest glades; but no one, as formerly, broke
the line of march to pursue them. At one time,
we passed the bones and horns of a buffalo, and
at another time a buffalo track, not above three
days old. These signs of the vicinity of this
grand game of the prairies, had a reviving effect
on the spirits of our huntsmen; but it was
of transient duration.

In crossing a prairie of moderate extent, rendered
little better than a slippery bog by the recent
showers, we were overtaken by a violent
thunder-gust. The rain came rattling upon us
in torrents, and spattered up like steam along
the ground; the whole landscape was suddenly
wrapped in gloom that gave a vivid effect to the
intense sheets of lightning, while the thunder
seemed to burst over our very heads, and was
reverberated by the groves and forests that
checquered and skirted the prairie. Man and
beast were so pelted, drenched, and confounded,
that the line was thrown in complete confusion;
some of the horses were so frightened as to be
almost unmanageable, and our scattered cavalcade
looked like a tempest-tossed fleet, driving
hither and thither, at the mercy of wind and
wave.

At length, at half past two o'clock, we came
to a halt, and, gathering together our forces,
encamped in an open and lofty grove, with a
prairie on one side and a stream on the other.
The forest immediately rung with the sound of
the axe, and the crash of falling trees. Huge
fires were soon blazing; blankets were stretched
before them, by way of tents; booths were
hastily reared of bark and skins; every fire
had its group drawn close round it, drying and
warming themselves, or preparing a comforting

meal. Some of the rangers were discharging and
cleaning their rifles, which had been exposed to
the rain; while the horses, relieved from their
saddles and burthens, rolled in the wet grass.

The showers continued from time to time,
until late in the evening. Before dark, our
horses were gathered in and tethered about the
skirts of the camp, within the outposts, through
fear of Indian prowlers, who are apt to take
advantage of stormy nights for their depredations
and assaults. As the night thickened, the
huge fires became more and more luminous;
lighting up masses of the overhanging foliage,
and leaving other parts of the grove in deep
gloom. Every fire had its goblin group around
it, while the tethered horses were dimly seen,
like spectres, among the thickets; excepting
that here and there a grey one stood out in
bright relief.

The grove thus fitfully lighted up by the ruddy
glare of the fires, resembled a vast leafy dome,
walled in by opaque darkness; but every now
and then two or three quivering flashes of lightning
in quick succession, would suddenly reveal
a vast champaign country, where fields and
forests, and running streams, would start, as it
were, into existence for a few brief seconds,
and, before the eye could ascertain them, vanish
again into gloom.

A thunder storm on a prairie, as upon the
ocean, derives grandeur and sublimity from the
wild and boundless waste over which it rages
and bellows. It is not surprising that these awful
phenomena of nature should be objects of superstitious
reverence to the poor savages, and that
they should consider the thunder the angry voice
of the Great Spirit. As our half-breeds sat
gossiping round the fire, I drew from them some
of the notions entertained on the subject by
their Indian friends. The latter declare that
extinguished thunderbolts are sometimes picked
up by hunters on the prairies, who use them for
the heads of arrows and lances, and that any
warrior thus armed is invincible. Should a
thunder storm occur, however, during battle, he
is liable to be carried away by the thunder, and
never heard of more.

A warrior of the Konza tribe, hunting on a
prairie, was overtaken by a storm, and struck
down senseless by the thunder. On recovering,
he beheld the thunderbolt lying on the ground,
and a horse standing beside it. Snatching up
the bolt, he sprang upon the horse, but found,
too late, that he was astride of the lightning. In
an instant he was whisked away over prairies,
and forests, and streams, and deserts, until he
was flung senseless at the foot of the Rocky
Mountains; from whence, on recovering, it

took him several months to return to his own
people.

This story reminded me of an Indian tradition,
related by a traveller, of the fate of a warrior
who saw the thunder lying upon the ground,
with a beautifully wrought moccason on each
side of it. Thinking he had found a prize, he
put on the moccasons; but they bore him away
to the land of spirits, from whence he never returned.

These are simple and artless tales, but they
had a wild and romantic interest heard from the
lips of half-savage narrators, round a hunter's
fire, in a stormy night, with a forest on one side,
and a howling waste on the other; and where,
peradventure, savage foes might be lurking in
the outer darkness.

Our conversation was interrupted by a loud
clap of thunder, followed immediately by the
sound of a horse galloping off madly into the
waste. Every one listened in mute silence.
The hoofs resounded vigorously for a time, but
grew fainter and fainter, until they died away
in remote distance.

When the sound was no longer to be heard,
the listeners turned to conjecture what could
have caused this sudden scamper. Some thought
the horse had been startled by the thunder;
others, that some lurking Indian had galloped

off with him. To this it was objected, that the
usual mode with the Indians is to steal quietly
upon the horse, take off his fetters, mount him
gently, and walk him off as silently as possible,
leading off others, without any unusual stir or
noise to disturb the camp.

On the other hand, it was stated as a common
practice with the Indians, to creep among a
troop of horses when grazing at night, mount
one quietly, and then start off suddenly, like
mad. Nothing is so contagious among horses
as a panic: one sudden break away of this
kind, will sometimes alarm the whole troop, and
they will set off, helter skelter, after the leader.

Every one who had a horse grazing on the
skirts of the camp was uneasy, lest his should
be the fugitive; but it was impossible to ascertain
the fact until morning. Those who had
tethered their horses felt more secure; though
horses thus tied up, and limited to a short range
at night, are apt to fall off in flesh and strength,
during a long march; and many of the horses
of the troop already gave signs of being way-worn.

After a gloomy and unruly night, the morning
dawned bright and clear, and a glorious sunrise
transformed the whole landscape, as if by magic.
The late dreary wilderness brightened into
a fine open country, with stately groves, and

clumps of oaks of a gigantic size, some of which
stood singly, as if planted for ornament and
shade, in the midst of rich meadows; while our
horses, scattered about, and grazing under them,
gave to the whole the air of a noble park. It
was difficult to realize the fact that we were so
far in the wilds beyond the residence of man.
Our encampment, alone, had a savage appearance;
with its rude tents of skins and blankets,
and its columns of blue smoke rising among the
trees.

The first care in the morning, was to look after
our horses. Some of them had wandered to a
distance, but all were fortunately found; even
the one whose clattering hoofs had caused such
uneasiness in the night. He had come to a
halt about a mile from the camp, and was found
quietly grazing near a brook.

The bugle sounded for departure about half
past eight. As we were in greater risk of Indian
molestation the farther we advanced, our
line was formed with more precision than heretofore.
Every one had his station assigned him,
and was forbidden to leave it in pursuit of game,
without special permission. The pack-horses
were placed in the centre of the line, and a strong
guard in the rear.