Forest and Frontiers; Or, Adventures Among the Indians
History
Forest and Frontiers; Or, Adventures Among the Indians
Hunting; Indians of North America
The pursuit was renewed with additional ardor, and in twenty minutes
the enemy was within view. They had taken possession of a steep narrow
ridge and seemed desirous of magnifying their numbers in the eyes of
the whites, as they ran rapidly from tree to tree, and maintained a
steady yell in their most appalling tones. The pursuers, however, were
too experienced to be deceived by so common an artifice, and being
satisfied that the number of the enemy must be inferior to their own,
they dismounted, tied their horses, and flanking out in such a manner
as to enclose the enemy, ascended the ridge as rapidly as was
consistent with a due regard to the shelter of their persons. The
firing quickly commenced, and now for the first time they discovered
that only two Indians were opposed to them. They had voluntarily
sacrificed themselves for the safety of the main body, and had
succeeded in delaying pursuit until their friends had reached the
mountains. One of them was shot dead, and the other was badly wounded,
as was evident from the blood upon his blanket, as well as that which
filled his tracks in the snow for a considerable distance. The pursuit
was recommenced, and urged keenly until night, when the trail entered
a running stream and was lost. On the following morning the snow had
melted, and every trace of the enemy was obliterated.
Fearful Adventure with a man-eating lion.
The following is Mr. Cumming's account of a fearful adventure, in
which he lost one of his most valuable servants:
On the 29th we arrived at a small village of Bakalahari. These natives
told me that elephants were abundant on the opposite side of the
river. I accordingly resolved to halt here and hunt, and drew my
wagons up on the river's bank, within thirty yards of the water, and
about one hundred yards from the native village. Having outspanned, we
at once set about making for the cattle a kraal of the worst
description of thorn trees. Of this I had now become very particular,
since my severe loss by lions on the first of this month; and my
cattle were, at night, secured by a strong kraal, which enclosed my
two wagons, the horses being made fast to a trektow, stretched to the
two hind-wheels of the wagons. I had yet, however, a fearful lesson to
learn as to the nature and character of the lion, of which I had at
one time entertained so little fear; and on this night a horrible
tragedy was to be acted in my little lonely camp of so very awful and
appalling a nature as to make the blood curdle in our veins. I worked
till near sun down at one side of the kraal with Hendrick, my first
wagon driver--I cutting down the trees with my axe, and he dragging
them to the kraal. When the kraal for the cattle was finished, I
turned my attention to making a pot of barley broth, and lighted a
fire between the wagons and the water, close on the river's bank,
under a dense grove of shady trees, making a sort of kraal around our
sitting place for the evening.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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