The Boy Hunters | Page 8

tribe one day, and on the next, or even within the next hour, you may
fall in with a band of savages who will scalp you on sight.
Now, the father of our three boy hunters knew all this, as well as I
know it. How then are we to account for his apparently unnatural
conduct, in permitting them to risk their lives in such an enterprise? It
would be quite unaccountable indeed were it not that there was a
mystery connected with it, which I shall explain to you hereafter. All I
can tell you now is, that when the three were mounted and about to
start, the Colonel hobbled up; and, drawing from his pocket a small
leathern bag or case ornamented with stained porcupine quills, he
handed it to Basil, saying as he did so: "Take good care of it, Basil--you
know its use--never let it part from you--your lives may depend upon it.
God be with you, my brave boys. Adieu!" Basil took the case, passed
the string over his shoulders, pushed the bag under the breast of his
hunting-shirt, pressed his father's hand, and putting the spur to his horse
rode briskly off. Lucien saluted his father with a kiss, waved his hand
gracefully to Hugot, and followed. Francois remained a moment behind
the rest--rode up to Hugot--caught hold of his great moustache, gave it
a twitch that caused the ex-chasseur to grin again; and then, with a loud
yell of laughter, wheeled his pony, and galloped after his brothers.

The Colonel and Hugot stood for some moments watching them. When
the boy hunters had reached the edge of the woods, all three reined up,
turned in their saddles, and, taking off their hats, uttered a parting cheer.
The Colonel and Hugot cheered in return. When the noise had subsided,
the voice of Francois was heard shouting back,--
"Fear not, papa! we'll bring you the white buffalo!"
CHAPTER FIVE.
THE CAMP OF THE BOY HUNTERS.
Our young adventurers turned their faces westward, and were soon
riding under the shadows of majestic woods. At this time there were
few white settlements west of the Mississippi river. The small towns
upon its banks, with here and there a settler's "clearing" or a squatter's
cabin, were the only signs of civilisation to be met with. A single day's
ride in a westerly direction would carry the traveller clear of all these,
and launch him at once into the labyrinth of swamps and woods, that
stretched away for hundreds of miles before him. It is true, there were
some scattered settlements upon the bayous farther west, but most of
the country between them was a wilderness.
In an hour or so our travellers had ridden clear of the settlements that
surrounded Point Coupee, and were following the forest "trails," rarely
travelled except by roving Indians, or the white hunters of the border
country. The boys knew them well. They had often passed that way on
former hunting expeditions.
I shall not detail too minutely the events that occurred along their line
of march. This would tire you, and take up too much space. I shall take
you at once to their first encampment, where they had halted for the
night.
It was in a small glade or opening, such as are often met with in the
forests west of the Mississippi. There was about an acre of clear ground,
covered with grass and flowers, among which helianthus and blue
lupines were conspicuous. Tall trees grew all around; and you could tell

from their leaves that these trees were of different kinds. You might
have told that from their trunks as well, for these were unlike each
other. Some were smooth, while upon others the bark was cracked, and
crisped outward in large scales a foot or more in length. The beautiful
tulip-tree (liriodendron) was easily distinguished by its straight
column-like trunks, out of which are sawed those great planks of white
poplar you may have seen, for that is the name by which it is known
among carpenters and builders. The name of tulip-tree comes from its
flowers, which in size and shape very much resemble tulips, and are of
a greenish-yellow colour tinged with orange. It was the characteristic
tree around the glade. There were many others, though; and most
conspicuous, with its large wax-like leaves and blossoms, was the
magnolia grandiflora. The lofty sugar-maple (acer saccharinum) was
seen, and lower down the leafy buck-eye (aesculus flava) with its pretty
orange-flowers, and the shell-bark hickory--the juglans alba of the
botanists. Huge creeping plants stretched from tree to tree, or ran
slanting upward; and on one side of the glade you might observe the
thick cane-reeds (arundo gigantea), growing like tall grass. The forest
on the other side was more open;