Originally Published: 1870
Genres: Western
Dime Novel Bibliography: https://dimenovels.org/Item/16104/Show
Gutenberg link: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56175
Chapters: 15
Warning: This may include outdated and derogatory language and attitudes.
CHAPTER I
A MIDNIGHT ATTACK
“Hurrah for Oregon! says I. That’s the place for Denny, and mesilf is the boy who is bound to have a good shlice av the fine lands, and who has a better right?”
“What’s the fool talkin’ about? Thar’s no sech place as Oregon, greeny. That kentry thar is called Oregon, and it’s an Injun name, I reckon.”
“An Injun name! The ignorance av yez! It was named for Michael O’Regan, who first diskivered it, as ye might read in the histories if ye could read at all. He was an Irishman, from the county Donegal, and was me grandfather’s first cousin on the mother’s side. We dhropped the O’ whin we kim across the say, but that don’t hindher me from claimin’ a shlice av the fine lands that once belonged to me grandfather’s cousin.”
“I don’t believe a word of it, Denny Regan. Of all the liars that were ever turned loose in this yere kentry, I reckon you are about the infarnalest.”
“Is it a liar ye are callin’ me, Misther Pap Byers? Ye’ve got it to take back, or feel the edge av me knife.”
“You had better shut up, both of you. Captain Benning gave orders that there should be no talkin’ around the camp tonight, and he’ll give you a proper good blowin’ up if he ketches you at it. Here he is, by thunder!”
The first speaker was Dennis Regan, a young Irishman, who, although he had turned trapper, had not discarded his brogue with his brogans, or his natural character with his corduroys. The second was John Byers, commonly called Pap Byers, a middle-aged free trapper, of long experience on the plains and in the mountains. In person, he was tall, gaunt, sinewy, and solemn, while the Irishman was short and stout, with fat cheeks and a merry face. The third speaker was Sam Glass, a hired trapper, in the employ of Mr. Robinette, the fur trader to whose company all were attached.
Captain Benning, who came up just as Sam Glass mentioned his name, was a tall young man, well built and fine looking, with an appearance of activity, nerve, and daring. He was one of the leaders of the party under Mr. Robinette, and was regarded as an excellent “partisan.”
“What is the meaning of this noise?” asked the captain, frowning upon the group. “Don’t you know that orders were given to keep the camp quiet tonight?”
“It was Denny Regan here,” replied Pap Byers. “The durned fool was tryin’ to make us believe that Oregon was diskivered by an Irishman, and named arter him.”
“And this ould sinner called me a liar, capt’in dear, and that’s what ye wouldn’t like to be called yersilf.”
“No matter who began it, or what it was about; it must be stopped. There are Indians all around us, and they may be down upon us at any moment. I have been obliged to leave my patrol to come and put a stop to your noise, and there is no telling what may happen during my absence. Hark! I believe something is already the matter with the horses.”
In an instant, the attitude and air of the four men were changed. With countenances expressive of anxiety, they leaned forward, listening intently to catch the slightest sound that might indicate an alarm.
“You’re right thar, cap’n!” exclaimed Byers, seizing his rifle and jumping up; “the red-skins are among the hosses.”
All rushed toward the camp, to give the alarm, and to search for the wily enemy; but they were too late.
The horses were already stampeded and came bursting through the camp like an avalanche, overthrowing everything before them. After them, with terrific yells and whoops, poured a crowd of half-naked savages, splendidly mounted, galloping like mad after the frightened herd.
Captain Benning and his companions fired at the Indians, and a few straggling shots from the camp showed that some attempt at defense was made there, but the furious rush of the animals prevented anything like an organized resistance. It is probable that the assailants had not intended, at first, anything more than a stampede; but the route taken by the horses had thrown the camp into such confusion, that the massacre and plunder of the party of white men seemed to follow as a matter of course.
The voices of the leaders were heard, far above the din, directing the movements of their followers. A few of the warriors rode on after the herd, to keep the animals together and guide their course; while the others turned and dashed upon the scattered and bewildered whites, hoping to slay them before they could recover from their confusion.
But a party of more than thirty mountain men was not to be so easily discomfited. The hardy trappers and hunters, accustomed to savage combats, availing themselves of the shelter of the wagons and packs, stood gallantly on the defensive, loading and firing their rifles with a rapidity and precision that soon checked the fury of the onset. The savages, who fought at a disadvantage on horseback, were in their turn thrown into confusion and forced back.
Again the voices of the leaders rang out, and a portion of the warriors dismounted, to renew the combat on foot, while others circled around the wagons, for the purpose of driving the trappers from their defenses.
The white men were quickly outflanked and were gradually forced back, until they were compelled to take refuge in a thicket, leaving the camp in the possession of their assailants.
Having accomplished this much, the savages, as has sometimes happened to more civilized warriors, made a poor use of their victory. Instead of pursuing their advantage, part of them fell to plundering the camp and securing the scalps of the slain.
It was at this juncture that Benning and his companions, who had been compelled to make a circuit in order to find their friends, reached the camp, and poured in a volley upon the flank of the savages. The trappers in the thicket, profiting by this diversion in their favor, rushed out and charged boldly upon the enemy. A few volleys from their terrible rifles changed the face of affairs, and the savages were soon flying from the camp as swiftly as they had entered it. Being unable to pursue them, from lack of horses, the trappers collected in the midst of the ruins, vowing vengeance against the midnight marauders.
Out of thirty-five men, six had been killed outright, including Mr. Robinette, the head of the expedition. It was impossible to say how many lives had been lost on the side of the Indians, as they had carried off all their dead and wounded, besides a large amount of plunder. A few of the remaining white men were wounded, but none severely.
After a hurried survey of the field, the question arose by what means the savages had been enabled to creep upon the camp without being observed. Angry recriminations ensued, and hard words seemed likely to lead to hard blows.
“Perhaps you can tell us who was at fault, Captain Benning?” said Mr. Laurie, the principal agent of Mr. Robinette. “You should know if any man knows.”
“What good will it do to argue that matter now?” tartly replied Benning. “Somebody was careless, of course, and perhaps I might put my finger on the man; but of what use would that be now? The mischief has been done, and no one knows the extent of it yet. Has anybody seen Miss Flora?”
The faces of all changed, and greater consternation than they had yet shown was now visible among the rough trappers.
Flora Robinette was the only child of her father, a beautiful dark-haired and dark-eyed girl of nineteen. Since the death of her mother, the trader had been so strongly attached to her, that it had seemed almost impossible for him to separate himself from her. As it was part of the object of this expedition to establish a post west of the Rocky Mountains, at which he expected to spend the greater part of his time, he had at last yielded to her entreaties, and permitted her to accompany him and share his home in the wilds. He believed that his party was strong enough to furnish a safe escort and that she could be in no danger when the post was established. Her only hardships, as he supposed, would be such as would result from traveling over the plains, and from deprivation of the comforts and luxuries of civilization; but these she had professed herself able and willing to endure.
She had endured them, so far, without grumbling, and with all apparent cheerfulness. She had manifested, also, a spirit of daring and love of adventure, together with a real delight in the fresh air and free life of the plains, that had charmed the rough men into whose company she was thrown, and rendered her the idol of them all. It was no wonder that their cheeks blanched when they were asked if they had seen her.
No one had seen Flora Robinette since the commencement of the fray. At the usual hour, she had retired to the wagon in which she slept, and was supposed to have been there when the horses were stampeded and broke through the camp, but an examination showed that the wagon was empty.
On the ground, near the wagon, lay the body of her father, his head, from which the gray hair on the top had been stripped, surrounded by a pool of his own blood; but no trace of Flora could be found. A careful search was made by the disheartened trappers, but it disclosed nothing. They could only suppose that she had been awakened by the tumult, had looked out of the wagon, and had thus been espied by the Indians, who would lose no time in taking possession of such a prize. It was certain that she had disappeared, leaving no trace.
When the fruitless search was ended, a great change had come over George Benning. He stood like a statue, silent and motionless, and one would have thought, from the expression of his countenance, that everything that was worth living for in the world had been taken from him. His demeanor was so strange, that Martin Laurie, the agent, took him aside and spoke with him.
Laurie was a Scotchman, whose age might have been anywhere between forty and forty-five. He had the sandy hair, red eyes, and watery complexion peculiar to many of his race; but was not really ill-looking. He was sedate and precise, a shrewd and methodical man of business, and as such had been highly esteemed by Mr. Robinette.
“What is the matter with you, Benning?” he asked. “You act very strangely, and you look as if you had lost all the friends you had in the world. Can it be possible that the death of Mr. Robinette affects you so strongly?”
“No. He was a good man, and I respected him highly, but I have no special reason to grieve for him.”
“It must be, then, that it is the loss of Miss Flora that troubles you.”
“I confess it. If she had been killed, it would have been relief to know it; but she has been carried away, we know not where, and it is terrible to think of the fate that may be reserved for her.”
“You seem to take it harder than any of the rest of us, although you are in no way related to her. I have noticed, during this journey, that you were much interested in Miss Flora, and I intended to tell you, as I now must, that it was her father’s wish that she should become my wife.”
“Indeed! Was she aware of it?”
“I don’t know that she was. She was an only child, as you know, and Mr. Robinette was possessed of considerable property. It was his desire that she should marry a careful and prudent man of business, such as he considered me to be, who would take care that her means were not wasted.”
“Be that as it may, Mr. Laurie—and I do not mean to dispute your word—it is useless to say any more about it now. She is gone, and it is doubtful if either of us will be permitted to see her again in this world. There is a chance, however, that she may still be living. I mean to search for her, and shall never abandon the search while life is left to me. I will not hinder you, of course, from devoting yourself to the same object, if you wish to do so.”
“Now that Mr. Robinette is dead, it is my duty, under his instructions, to take this party on to the rendezvous west of the mountains, and follow the plan that he had formed for this season’s work. If I can do anything to help you, I will gladly do it.”
“I only ask for three men.”
“You may take any three who are willing to follow you. If you succeed, I suppose you will join us at the rendezvous.”
“I hardly dare to hope for success. I can only say that I will do my best.”
When Laurie and Benning returned to the trappers, they found them inquiring what Indians they were that had made the attack.
“They were Blackfeet, I suppose,” said Benning. “How can there be any doubt about it?”
“Easy enough, cap’n,” replied Byers. “Do Blackfeet wear Crow blankets and moccasins?”
“No.”
“We have found a Crow blanket and a Crow moccasin on this yere ground, and that settles the p’int, I reckon.”
“But the Crows are the friends of the white men, and never attack them.”
“Wal—I ain’t so sartin of that as you seem to be. I know that they steal white men’s hosses, and thar’s no end to an Injun’s devilment, nohow.”
Some of the party were of the opinion that the assailants had been Blackfeet; but the majority sided with Byers, convinced by the Crow blanket and moccasin.
The next morning, after the bodies of the dead had been buried, Laurie and his party pushed on with the train toward the west, and Benning set off on the trail of the midnight assailants, accompanied by Pap Byers, Sam Glass, and Dennis Regan. They were on foot, as no horses had been left except such as were absolutely necessary for the train; but they hoped soon to be able to secure a remount.
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