OCR Text |
Show 64 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF The next day they continued to linger. about. the camp. We had but slight suspicion of therr motives, alth ugh, for security, we kept constant g.uar~ up.on them. From this they proceeded to certain h bertles (which I here strictly caution all emigrants and ~ountaineers against ever permitting), such as handhng our guns, except the arms of the guard, piling them, and then carrying them together. At length. one of ~he Indians shouldered all the guns, and, startmg off With them, ran fifty yards from camp. Mentioning to my mates I did not like the manceuvres of these fellows, I started after the Indian and took my gun from him, Baptiste doing the same, and we brought the:U back to camp. Our companions chided us for d?1ng s?, saying we should anger the Indians by doubtin~ therr friendship. I said I considered my gun as safe In my own hands as in the hands of a strange savage ; if they chose to give up theirs, they were at liberty to do so. When night came on, we all lay down except poor Le Brache, who kept guard, having an Indian with him to replenish the fire. Some of the men ha fallen asleep, lying near by, when we were all suddenly startled by a loud cry from Le Brache and the instant report of a gun, the contents of which passed between_ Baptiste and myself, who both occupied one bed, the powder burning a hole in our upper blankets. We were all up in an instant. An Indian had seized my rifle, but I instantly wrenched it from him, though, I acknowledge, I was too terrified to shoot. When we had in some measure recovered from our sudden fright, I hastened to Le Brache, and discovered that a tomahawk had been sunk in his head, and there remained. I pulled it out, and in examining the ghastly wound,. JAMES P. BECKWOURTH. 6f'> buried all four fingers of my right hand in his brain. We bound up his head, but he was a corpse in a few moments. Not an Indian was then to be seen, but we well knew they were in the bushes close by, and that, in all probability, we should every one share the fate of our murdered comrade. What to do now was the universal inquiry. With the butt of my rifle I scattered the fire, to prevent the Indians making a sure mark of U:s. We then proceeded to pack up with the utmost dispatch, intending to move into the open prairie, where, if they attacked us again, we could at least defend ourselves, notwithstanding our disparity of numbers, we being but five to sixteen. On searching for Le Brache's gun, it was nowhere to be found, the Indian who had killed him having doubtless carried it off. While hastily packing our articles, I very luckily found five quivers well stocked with arrows, the bows attached, together with two Indian · guns. These well supplied our missing rifle, for I had practiced _so much with bow and arrow that I was considered a good shot. When in readiness to leave, our leader inquired in which direction the river lay; his agitation had been so great that his memory had failed him. I dir~cted the way, and desired every man to put the animals upon their utmost speed until we were safely out of the willows, which order was complied with. While thus running the gauntlet, the balls and arrows whizzed around us as fast as our hidden enemies could $end them. Not a man was scratched, however, though two of our horses were wounded, my horse having received an arrow in the neck, and another being wounded near the hip, both slightly. Pursuing our course, |