Dick Onslow | Page 9

FOR THEIR RECEPTION--I KILL ONE OF THEM--A
FEARFUL STRUGGLE--I ENDEAVOUR TO OBLITERATE THE
SIGNS OF THIS VISIT--MY TERRIBLE SOLITUDE--MORE
WOLVES AND MORE INDIANS--I PREPARE A BANQUET FOR
THEM-- THE SUSPICIONS OF MY GUESTS AROUSED--THE
UNPLEASANT TERMINATION TO OUR FEAST.
Obed and I were not easily taken by surprise. Our hands instinctively
clutched our rifles, and in a moment the breast of the Indian was
covered by their muzzles. The eye of the red-skin did not quail--not a
limb trembled. He gazed on us calmly, and his hand continued to hold

aside the skin which formed the door of our tent, while he spoke a few
words in a low, quiet voice. I did not understand them, but Obed did.
"Don't fire, Dick," said Obed; "he is a Delaware, a friend to the white
men. Come in, friend Delaware, take your seat by our fire, and tell us
what has brought you here," continued Obed, addressing the Indian.
The Delaware, letting drop the skin door, came in, and, stirring up the
embers of our almost extinguished fire, sat himself down on a log of
wood placed before it. He spoke a jargon which he thought was English,
and which both Obed and I understood, but which I cannot now repeat,
any more than I could convey an idea of the deep guttural tones of his
voice. They seemed to come from the very depths of his inside.
"I travel alone," said the red-skin. "I have a long journey to perform, to
carry a letter I have undertaken to deliver at Fort Grattan. I was
beginning to despair of accomplishing it, for my powder has been
destroyed, and thus food was difficult to obtain. When I first saw the
smoke of your fire, I thought it might come from the wigwams of some
Pawnees, and my heart bounded when I saw from its appearance that
your tent must belong to white men." From this hint given, Obed at
once placed a supply of food before the Indian, who did ample justice
to it. We then lighted our pipes, and all three sat smoking over the fire.
The Delaware urgently advised us not to attempt to spend the
approaching winter in that place, but to accompany him to the fort. I
saw the soundness of his council, but assured him that I could not
attempt to walk half a dozen miles, much less could I hope to make so
long a journey.
"Then it is better that one should come and bring back succour to the
other than that both should perish," urged the Delaware. To this I
agreed, and told Obed he must go. He had been ready to go alone when
the risk was greater; but now he did not like to leave me. I met all his
arguments, and telling him that if he wished to save my life, as well as
his own, he must go. I ultimately made him consent to accompany the
Indians. Before starting, they took every means to increase my
comforts. They filled the water-casks, collected a quantity of herbs, and
a supply of firewood, and shot as much game as I could consume while

it was fresh. The Delaware lay down to sleep that night in our tent. I
was convinced from his manner and mode of speaking that he was
honest. I never saw a man sleep more soundly--not a limb stirred the
whole night through; he looked more like a dead person, or a lay figure,
than a being with life. Suddenly, as the morning light broke through the
tent, he sprang up, and, shaking himself, in a moment was all energy
and activity. "Ugh! I have not slept so soundly for many a night, and
may not sleep so soundly for many a night more!" he exclaimed, in his
peculiar dialect. We lighted our fire, boiled our kettle, and then all three
sat down to a hearty breakfast. It was the last I should probably take in
company for many a weary day; still I resolved not to be down-hearted,
and especially to preserve a serene and contented countenance.
The Delaware replenished his powder-flask, and taking a small supply
of provisions, he and Obed bade me farewell. I could only wring the
latter's hand; I don't think we exchanged a word at parting. I watched
them as their figures grew less and less, and finally disappeared in the
distance, and then indeed I felt very lonely. Perhaps there was not a
human being within a hundred miles of me except the two who had just
gone away; or should there be, he was very likely to prove an enemy.
The idea of being thus alone in a wilderness was grand, but it was
somewhat appalling and trying to the nerves. How long would