104 
FOREST AND B'l^^^J^. 
"For three days we sat shivering around the fires, now 
and then casting looks of gloomy inquiry around the sky. 
The same dull gray for an answer, mottled with flakes 
slanting earthward, for it still continued to snow. Not 
a bright spot cheered the aching eye. 
"The little platform on which we rested — a piece of two 
or three acres — was still free from the snow-drift, on ac- 
count of its exposure to the wind. Straggling pines, 
stunted and leafless, grew over its surface, in all about 
fifty or sixty trees. From these we obtained our fires; 
but what were fires when we had no meat to cook upon 
them? 
"We were now in the third day without food ! Without 
food, though not absolutely without eating — the men had 
bolted their gun covers, and the cat-skin flaps of their 
bullet pouches, and were now seen — the last shift but one 
—stripping the parAeche from the soles of their moc- 
casins ! 
"The women, wrapped in their tilmas, nestled closely m 
the embrace of father, brother, husband and lover; for 
all these aft'ections Avere present. The last string of 
tasajo, hitherto economized for their sake, had been par- 
celled out to them in the morning. That was gone, and 
whence was their next morsel to come? At long intervals, 
'Ay de mi! Dios de mi alma!' were heard only in low 
murmurs, as some colder blast swept down the canon. 
In the face of those beautiful creatures might be read 
that uncomplaining patience— that high endurance— so 
characteristic of the Hispano-Mexican women. 
"Even the stern men around them bore up with less 
fortitude. Rude oaths were uttered from time to time, 
and teeth ground together, with that strange wild look 
that heralds insanity. Once or twice I fancied that I 
observed a look of still stranger, still wilder expression, 
when the black ring forms around the eye — when the 
muscles twitch and quiver along gaunt famished jaws — 
when men gaze guilty-like at each other. O God ! it was 
fearful! The half-robber discipline, voluntary at the 
best, had vanished under the leveling rod of a common 
suffering, and I trembled to think. 
" Tt clars a leetle, out tharawa !' 
"It was the voice of the trapper, Garey, who had risen 
and stood pointing toward the east. 
"In an instant we were all upon our feet, looking in 
the direction indicated. Sure enough, there was a break 
in the lead-colored sky — a yellowish streak, that widened 
out as we continued gazing — the flakes fell lighter and 
thinner, and in two hours more it had ceased snowing 
altogether. 
"Half a dozen of us, shouldering our rifles, struck 
down the valley. We would make one more attempt to 
trample a road through the drift. It was a vain one. 
The snow was over our heads, and after struggling for 
two hours, we had not gained above two hundred yards. 
Here we caught a glimpse of what lay before us. As far 
as the eye could reach, it rested upon the same, deep, im- 
passable masses. Despair and hunger paralyzed our exer- 
tions, and dropping off one by one, we returned to the 
camp. 
"We fell down around the fires in sullen silence. Garey 
continued pacing back and forth, now glancing up at the 
sky, and at times kneeling down, and running his hand 
over the surface of the snow. At length he approached 
the fire, and in his slow, drawling manner, remarked: 
" 'It's a gwine to friz, I rekin.' 
" 'Well ! and if it does ?' asked one of his comrades, 
without caring for an answer to the question. 
" 'Wal, an iv it does,' repeated the trapper, 'we'll walk 
out o' this hyar jug afore sun-up, an' upon a good hartl 
trail too.' 
"The expression of every face was changed, as if by 
magic. Several leaped to their feet. Gode, the Canadian, 
skilled in snow-craft, ran to a bank, and drawing his hand 
along the combing, shouted back; 
" 'C'est vrai; il gele; il gele !' 
"A cold wind soon after set in, and, cheered by the 
brightening prospect, we began to think of the fires, that 
during our late moments of reckless indifference, had 
been almost suffered to burn out. The Delawares, seiz- 
ing their tomahaAvks, commenced hacking at the pines, 
while others dragged forward the fallen trees, lopping off 
their branches with the keen scalping-lcnife. 
"At this moment a peculiar cry attracted our attention, 
and, looking around, we perceived one of the Indians drop 
suddenly upon his knees, striking the ground with his 
hatchet. 
"'What is it? What is it?' shouted several voices, in 
almost as many languages. 
"'Fam-yaw, yam-yam!" replied the Indian, still dig- 
ging at the frozen ground. 
" 'The Injun's right ; it's man-root !' said Garey, pick- 
ing- up some leaves which the Delaware had chopped off. 
"I recognized a plant well known to the mountain man 
— a rare, but wonderful convolvulus, the Iponea lepto- 
phylla. The name of 'man root' is given to it by the 
hunters from the similarity of its root in shape, and some- 
times in size, to the body of a man. It is esculent, and 
serves to sustain human life. 
"In an instant, half a dozen men were upon their knees, 
chipping and hacking the hard clay, but their hatchets 
glinted off as from the surface of a rock. 
"'Look hyar!' cried Garey; 'ye' re only spoilin' yer 
tools. Cut down a wheen o' these saplins, and make a 
fire over him !' 
"The hint was instantly followed, and in a few min- 
utes a dozen pieces of pine were piled upon the spot, and 
set on fire. 
"We stood around the burning branches with eager 
anticipation. Should the root prove a 'full-grown man,' 
it would make a supper for our whole party ; and with 
the cheering idea of supper, jokes were ventured upon— 
the first we had heard for some time — the hunters, tickled 
with the novelty of unearthing the 'old man' ready 
roasted, and speculating whether he would prove a 'fat 
old boss.' 
"A hollow crack sounded from above, like the breaking 
of a dead tree. We looked up. A large object— an 
animal — ^was whirling outward and downward from a 
ledge that projected half-way up the cliff'. In an instant 
it struck the earth, head foremost, with a loud 'bump,' 
and, bounding to the height of several feet, came back 
with a somersault on its legs, and stood firmly. 
"An involuntary 'hurrah 1' broke from the hunters, who 
all recognized, at a glance, the Camera dmmaron, or 
big-horn. He had cleared the precipice at two leaps, 
lighting each time on liis huge crescent-shaped horns. 
"For a moment, both parties— hunters and game- 
seemed equally taken by surprise, and stood eyeing each 
other in mute wonder. It was but for a moment. The 
men made a rush for their rifles, and the animal, recover- 
ing from his trance of astonishment, tossed back his 
horns, and bounded across the platform. In a dozen 
springs he had reached the selvidge of the snow, and 
plunged into its yielding bank; but, at the same instant, 
several rifles cracked, and the white wreath was crim- 
soned behind him. He still kept on, however, leaping and 
breaking through the drift. 
"We struck into his track, and followed with the eager- 
ness of hungry wolves. We could tell by the numerous 
gouts that he was shedding his life blood, and about fifty 
paces further on we found him dead. 
"A shout apprised our companions of our success, and 
we had commenced dragging back the prize, when wild 
cries reached us from the platform — the yells of the men, 
the screams of women, mingled with oaths and exclama- 
tions of terror! 
"We ran on to the entrance of the track. On reaching 
■ it, a sight was before us that caused the stoutest to 
tremble. Hunters, Indians and women were running to 
and fro in frantic confusion, uttering their varied cries. 
We knew our enemy at a glance— the dreaded monsters of 
the mountains — the grizzly bears I 
"There were five of them — ^five in sight — there might be 
others in the background. Five were enough to destroy 
our whole party, caged as we were, and weakened by 
famine. 
"They had reached the cliff in chase of the cimmaron, 
and hunger and disappointment were visible in their hor- 
rid aspects. Two of them had already crawled close to 
the scarp, and were pawing over ,and snuffing the air, as 
if searching for a place to descend. The other three 
reared themselves up on their hams, and commenced 
maneuvering with their fore paws, in a human-like and 
comical pantomime! 
"We were in no condition to relish this amusement. 
Every man hastened to arm himself; those who had 
emptied their rifles hurriedly reloading them. 
" 'For your life don't !' cried Garey, catching at the gun 
of one of the hunters. 
"The caution came too late; half a dozen bullets were 
already .whistling upward. 
"The effect was just what the traper had anticipated. 
The bears, maddened by the bullets, which had harmed 
them no more than the pricking of as many pins, dropped 
to their all-fours again, and, with fierce growls, com- 
menced descending the cliff. 
"The scene of confusion was now at its height. Sev- 
eral of the men, less brave than their comrades, ran 
off to hide themselves in the snow, while others com- 
menced climbing the low pine trees ! 
" 'Cache the gals !' cried Garey. 'Hyar, yer darned" 
Spanish greasers ! if yer wont fight, hook on to the 
weemen a wheen o' yer, and toat them to the snow. 
Cowardly slinks — wagh !' 
" 'See to them, doctor,' I shouted to the German, who, 
I thought, might be best spared from the fight; and the 
next moment the doctor, assisted by several Mexicans, 
was hurrying the terrified girls toward the spot where we 
had left the cimmaron. 
"Many of us knew that to hide, under the circum- 
stances, would be worse than useless. The fierce but 
sagacious brutes would have discovered us one by one, 
and destroyed us in detail. 'They must be met and 
fought !' that was the word ; and we resolved to carry it 
into execution. 
"There were about a dozen of us who 'stood up to it' — 
all the Delawares and Shawanoes, with Garey and the 
mountain men. 
"We kept firing at the bears as they ran along the 
ledges in their zigzag descent, but our rifles were out of 
order, our fingers were numbed with cold, and our nerves 
weakened with hunger. Our bidlets drew blood from the 
hideous brutes, yet not a shot proved deadly. It only 
stung them into fiercer rage. 
"It was a fearful moment when the last shot was fired, 
and still not an enemy the less. We flung away the guns, 
and, clutching the hatchets and hunting knives, silently 
awaited our grizzly foes. 
"We had taken our stand close to the rock. It was 
our design to have the first blow, as the animals, for the 
most part, came stern-foremost down the cliff. In this we 
were disappointed. On reaching a ledge some ten feet 
from the platform, the foremost bear halted, and seeing 
our position, hesitated to descend. The next moment, his 
companions, maddened with wounds, came tumbling down 
upon the same ledge, and with fierce growls, the five huge 
bodies were precipitated into our midst. 
"Then came the desperate struggle, which I cannot 
describe — ^the shouts of the hunters, the wilder yells of 
our Indian allies, the hoarse worrying of the bears, the 
ringing of tomahawks from skulls like flint, the deep, dull 
'thud' of the stabbing knife, and now and then a groan, 
as the crescent claw tore up the clinging muscle. O God ! 
it was a fearful scene ! 
"Over the platform bears and men went rolling and 
struggling, in the wild battle of life and death. Through 
the trees, and into the deep drift, staining the snow with 
their mingled blood ! Here, two or three men were en- 
gaged with a single foe — there, some brave hunter stood 
battling alone. Several were sprawling upon the ground. 
Every moment, the bears were lessening the number of 
their assailants I 
"I had been struck down at the commencement of the 
struggle. On regaining my feet, I saw the animal that had 
felled me hugging the prostrate body of a man. 
"It was Gode. I leaned over the bear, clutching its 
shaggy skin. I did this to steady myself ; I was weak and 
dizzy; so were we all. I struck with all my force, stab- 
bing the animal on the ribs. 
"Letting go the Frenchman, the bear turned suddenly, 
and reared upon me. I endeavored to avoid the en- 
counter, and ran backward, fending him off with my 
knife. 
"All at once I came against a snow drift .and fell over 
on my back. Next moment, the htavy body was precipi- 
tated upon me, the sharp claws pierced deep into my 
1 
shoulder— I inhaled the monster's fetid bfeathj and strik 
ing wildly with my right arm., still free, we rolled ove 
and over in the snow, 
"I was blinded by the dry drift. I felt myself growinij 
weaker and weaker ; it v/as the loss of blood. I shouted-i 
a despairing shout — but it could not have been heard aii 
ten paces' distance. Then there was a strange hi3sinj|| 
sound in my ears — a bright little flash across my eyes; 
burning object passed over my face, scorching the skin 
there was a smell as of singing hair; I could hear voicc.-^ 
mixed with the roars of my adversary ; and all at once tin 
claws were drawn out of my flesh, the weight was liftei 
from my breast, and I was alone 1 
"I rose to my feet, and rubbing the sriow out of nv 
eyes, looked around. I could see no one. I was in a dee 
hollow made by our struggles, but I was alone! 
■'The snow all around me was dyed to a crimson; bu^ 
what had become of my terrible antagonist? AVho hac 
rescued me from his deadly embrace? 
"I staggered forward to the open ground. Here a new 
scene met my gaze: a strange-looking man was running 
across the platform, with a huge firebrand — the bole of '< 
burning pine tree — which he waved in the air. He wa; 
chasing one of the bears, that, growling with rage ano 
pain, was making every effort to reach the cliffs. Twc 
others were already half-way up, and evidently clamber- 
ing with great difficultj'-, as the blood dripped back from 
their wounded flanks. 
"The bear that was pursued soon took to the rocks 
and, urged by the red brand scorching his shaggy hams 
was soon beyond the reach of his pursuer. The latter 
now made toward a fourth, that was still battling with 
two or three weak antagonists. This one was 'routed' iii; 
a twinkling, and with yells of terror followed his com-' 
rades up the bluff. The strange man looked around for; 
the fifth. It had disappeared. Prostrate, wounded men 
w^ere strewed over the ground, but the bear was nowhere 
to he seen. He had doubtless escaped through the snow. 
"I was still wondering who was the hero of the fire 
brand, and where he had come from. I have said he was 
a strange-looking man. He was so — and like no one of 
our party that I could think of. His head was bald — no, 
not bald, but naked — there was not a hair upon it, crown 
or sides, and it glistened in the clear light like polished 
ivory. I was puzzled beyond expression, when a man- 
Garey — who had been felled upon the platform by a blow 
from one of the bears, suddenly sprang to his feet, ex- 
claiming : 
"'Go it, Doc! Three chyars for the doctor!' 
"To my astonishment, I now recognized the features of 
that individual, the absence of whose brown locks had 
produced such a metamorphosis as, I believe, was never 
effected by means of borrowed hair. 
" 'Here's your scalp, Doc,' cried Garey, running up with 
the wig ; 'by the livin' thunder ! yer saved us all ;' and the 
hunter seized the German in his wild embrace. 
"Wounded men ' were all around, and commenced 
crawling together. But where was the fifth of the bears ? 
Four only had escaped by the cliff. 
" 'Yonder he goes !' cried a voice, as a light spray, rising 
above the snow wreath, showed that some animal was 
struggling through the drift. 
"Several commenced loading their rifles, intending to 
follow, and, if possible, secure him. The Doctor armed 
himself with a fresh pine ; but before these arrangements 
were completed, a strange cry cam.e from the spot, that 
caused our blood to run cold again. The Indians leaped 
to their feet, and, seizing their tomahawks, rushed to the 
gap. They knew the meaning of that cr}^ — it was the 
death yell of their tribe ! 
"They entered the road that we had trampled down in 
the morning, followed by those who had loaded their 
guns. We watched them from the platform with anxious 
expectation, but before they reached the spot, we could 
see that the 'stoor' was slowly settling down. It wud 
plain that the struggle had ended. 
"We still stood waiting in breathless silence, and watch- 
ing the floating spray that noted their progress through 
the drift. At length they had reached the scene of the 
struggle. There was an ominous stillness, that lasted 
for a moment, and then the Indian's fate was announced 
in the sad, wild note that came wailing up the valley. 
It was the dirge of a Shawano warrior! 
"They had found their brave comrade dead, with his 
scalping knife buried in the heart of his terrible antag- 
onist ! 
"It was a costly supper, that bear meat, but, perhaps, 
the sacrifice had saved many lives. We would keep the 
cimmaron fcr to-morrow ; next day, the man root, and tho 
ne.xt — what next? Perhaps — the man! 
"Fortunately, we v/ere not driven to this extremity. 
The frost had again set, and the surface of the snow, 
previously moistened by the sun and rain, soon became 
caked into ice strong enough to bear us, and upon its firm 
crust we escaped out of the perilous pass, and gained the 
warmer region of the plains in safety." 
A West Vifginia Wolf. 
MoRGANTOWN,' W. Va., Jan, 2g,-^Editor Forest and 
Stream: A large gray wolf has recently been killed in 
Randolph county, which is supposed to be the last of its 
species in this State. The mate was killed a year ; 
two ago. A reward of $50 was offered for its scalp ' 
the county in which it was killed, and Webster county, 
adjoining it, offered $100. 
It was estimated that it took at least fifty sheep and 
lambs a year to satisfy its appetite, and the "farmers feel 
relieved that its career is ended. It was killed after 
being chased several days by a numxber of men and a 
dozen dogs. Emerson Carney. 
NAMELESS REMITTERS. 
The Forest and Stream Publishing Co. is holding 
several sums of money which have been sent to it fcr 
subscriptions and books by correspondents who have 
failed to give name and address. If this note comes 
to the eye of any such nameless remitter we trust to 
hear from him. 
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