Dick Onslow | Page 7

grapple. As it was, it very nearly squeezed
the breath out of my body. Then he rolled over and lay motionless. I
did not roll after him, but lest he should only be shamming 'coon, I
dragged myself as far-off as I could to reload my weapons.

"No fear, Dick, he's dead," cried Obed joyfully. "Well, you're a friend
at a pinch, as I always thought you."
It would not have been in his way to express his thanks by more than
this, still I knew by his looks that he was grateful to me. In reality I had
only fought in self-defence, so I do not know that he had anything to
thank me for.
"Old Bruin will afford us many a good dinner, at all events, I hope,"
said I. "And do you know, Obed, you and the bear saved my life just
now between you." And then I told him how his shouts had, I believed,
scared away the rattlesnake. "So you see, old fellow, we are quits."
Obed having ascertained by a hearty kick that Bruin was really dead, I
attached my rope to his waist and then to the bear, and by its means we
dragged the carcass a little way from our camping-ground. He then
came back and helped me along that I might cut some steaks for our
supper. We cooked them in the same way we had done the racoon.
While the operation was going forward he gave me an account of his
adventures. He had found a number of things which had fallen from the
wagon, and, wonderful to relate, they were untouched. There was the
skin tent which we had not put into the wagon, and a cask of flour and
one of beef, and, what we thought of still more value, a bag of bullets
and some small shot, and a keg of powder, besides another rifle and an
axe; while farther on, he said that there were several other smaller
articles along the road the wagon had gone. It was close to the cask of
flour he had encountered Bruin, who had undoubtedly been attracted to
the spot with the hope of appropriating it. One prize Obed brought in
his mouth; it was a tin saucepan, and very valuable we found it. Our
difficulty was now to collect all these things. Obed offered to try and
drag them together to one spot, if he could but manage to hook himself
on to them. That day we could do nothing; so that after he had collected
a large supply of firewood, we placed our backs to a tree and
commended ourselves to the care of that great God who had so
mercifully preserved our lives. We agreed that one should watch while
the other slept, and most faithfully did we keep our pledge to each other.
Several days passed without any great variation in our mode of

proceeding. We cut the bear up into thin slices, and dried them in the
sun. Obed also went round about the wood and drove in the wild
turkeys, racoons, squirrels, and other small game, which I shot. We
were thus supplied with meat. There were also plenty of herbs, the
nature of which both he and I knew, and which, though not of delicate
flavour, were wholesome, and helped to keep us in health. The weather
also was very fine, and thus several days passed away. At last I
bethought me that if I could make a pair of crutches, I might, with
Obed's help, get over the ground. Two young saplings, towards which I
dragged myself, were soon cut down, and in a couple of days I was
once more upright. I could only at first move very slowly, and with
great dread of falling; but by constant practice, in the course of a week I
thought I might venture out of the wood. Obed's arms were also gaining
strength, and one of them he could already use a little, and was thus
enabled to help me. I slung the rifles over his back, and, sticking the
revolvers in my belt, off we set together. We moved slowly, but still we
went ahead. At last we reached the tent. It struck us at once that it
would be well to pitch it where it lay on our old camping-ground.
Wherever we might be Indians would find us out, so that it would make
no difference whether we were in or out of the wood, and we might see
either emigrants to California moving west, or the post to one of the
forts, and thus obtain assistance. Obed and I soon got up the tent. I sat
down, and he made his shoulders serve as a prop while I stuck in the
pole, and