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 Another Random Document on
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of losing my way; moreover, the temperature was very agreeable, and in
case of necessity, I should not have minded camping out, or sleeping in the
forest. At length I saw a light at some distance through the trees, and the
hopes of a warm bed and cup of hot coffee produced a good effect upon my
European system, as yet unweaned from these luxuries. As I advanced, the
lights became brighter and more numerous, and I did not know what to
think. Was it a town, or an Indian camp before me? To put an end to the
uncertainty I hurried on, particularly as my right road lay in that direction,
and soon I stood before a burning forest, blazing up gloriously in the dark
night, making the background still darker, and giving a ghost-like
appearance to the trees on the right and left. This new scene was too
wonderful and imposing for me to hurry past it; so I sat down on one of the
fallen scorched trunks to enjoy the awfully sublime prospect. I may have
remained sitting looking on for about half an hour, when, about twenty
paces from me, a blazing oak fell with a heavy hollow sound, sending
glowing charcoal, burning branches, and thousands of sparks in all
directions. This was rather too near to be pleasant, so I turned to seek
another road through the forest, which appeared now so much darker than
before, on account of the brilliant light I had just been gazing on.
There seemed to be no end to the forest, and I began to think that the
mill existed only in the good farmer’s imagination, when I heard a sound of
rushing water, and, later, the lowing of a cow. I turned off in the direction of
the sound, first taking the precaution to light a fire, that I might retrace my
steps in case I lost my way. About half a mile brought me within sight of a
dwelling; on coming nearer I discovered a milldam, and several cows
standing about the fence saluted the new comer with a long-drawn friendly
low. I joyfully shook the dust from my feet, and knocked at the low door:
all was as silent as the grave. I knocked again—nothing moved—no voice
called a welcome “come in.” After knocking three times, I was accustomed
to open the door; I pushed this open in rather ill-humor, and found—a
deserted house, with all as still as death. The stars shone through a hole in
the roof, the chimney had fallen in. It causes a shudder to see a place
deserted that you expect to find occupied by an industrious family: I closed
the door, and sprang over the fence, leaving the building to its mournful
solitude.
The fire I had lighted was nearly burnt out, but I found it again, and
followed hastily my former path. After about another hour’s walk, I heard
the bark of a dog, and confiding with a joyful heart in this sure sign of an
approach to a human habitation, I stepped out quickly to the long-sought
mill. Dogs bayed, the wheel clattered, a bright light shone through all the
crevices of the loghouse, and everything showed that I should soon find
shelter for the night;—and in a few minutes I was comfortably seated in the
chimney corner.
My host was a kindly, good-humored man, had lived some years in
Indiana, and was in good circumstances. After a delicious supper, he led me
out of the house, and said, “I will show you a little chap, such as you never
saw before in your life.” He kept his word. Under an inverted tub was a
gray animal, about the size of a cat, but thicker in the body, with short legs,
head and muzzle like a fox, or rather, more like a colossal rat, with ugly
finger-like claws, and a tail about a foot long, devoid of hair. These
creatures are constantly on the look-out for fowls, and make great havoc
amongst the farmers’ poultry. The Americans, and sometimes the immigrant
Germans, eat the flesh and esteem it a delicacy. The miller made no
ceremony with his prisoner, and, after killing it, he cut off its claws and tail,
skinned it, washed it, and prepared it for cooking, telling me it would serve
for a delicate breakfast; but I could not make up my mind to eat an animal
looking so much like a rat.
It rained hard all night, giving me a sorry prospect for my next day’s
journey; nevertheless, I rose early, and took leave of the miller on purpose
to escape his “delicate breakfast.”
The ground was soft and slippery, and it was not without reason that I
had feared the swelling of the mountain streams; yet, trusting in my fortune,
I went on in good spirits. About ten o’clock it began to rain again pretty
sharply, and about noon I came to a rapid, roaring mountain stream, which
rushed towards the Ohio, carrying some large trees along with it. Here it
was necessary to reflect on what was best to be done, for though I could
have swum across, it would have been extremely disagreeable, as I had no
change of clothing, and the water was considerably colder than the air. After
wandering for some miles up and down the river in search of means to cross
it, night came on, and I was obliged to camp in the wood. After kindling a
good fire, I went to sleep, lulled by the sound of the water, but waking up
now and then, thinking I might receive a visit from some wild beast.
 On the following morning I was early on my legs, and examined the
river. Like all these mountain streams, it had risen rapidly, and fallen as
quickly, having considerably abated in the course of the night. I had already
resolved on trying the passage, when I saw two horsemen coming down the
hill towards me. My difficulties were now at an end; one of them took me
up behind, and I was landed all dry on the other side.
I kept on along the somewhat inclined road, sometimes slipping,
sometimes sinking deep in mud, abusing all American roads and American
weather, when, not very far from the little town of Versailles, I saw a man
with a rifle coming down the hill towards me. He did not seem to be
keeping a very steady course, and when we came nearer, I saw clearly that I
had not made a great mistake in supposing him to be very drunk. When he
came up to me, he winked with his glassy eyes, and shook me heartily by
the hand: so far so good: but when he caught sight of a bottle I had slung by
my side, he made a sudden grasp at it; however, I was too quick for him,
and, like a bear defending her cubs, I wrenched it out of his hand, and then,
with the most imperturbable look in the world, I said “That is not for you,”
and placed it in my pocket. He yielded to his fate; but, seeing my double-
barrelled gun, he wanted to examine it closer, and to have a shot with it. By
this time I had had enough of it, and would not trust him, so I turned on my
heel and continued my journey. He called out “Stop!” I took no notice;
again he called out, “Stop!” and I distinctly heard him cock his rifle. I
turned instantly, taking my gun from my shoulder, but too late; his ball went
whistling just over my head, and the echo repeated the sharp crack of his
rifle. I now lost all patience, and snatching the whalebone ramrod out of my
gun, I ran after him, caught him by the collar, pulled him down, and
belabored him with the pliant ramrod, till only a few inches of it were left,
he roaring “Mur—der!” “Mur—der!” all the while with might and main. I
must acknowledge that I felt some satisfaction as I left him lying smarting
in the mud.
Towards evening I passed through Versailles, where I procured a new
ramrod. What a piece of irony to call such a place Versailles! but it is a
custom of the Americans to give high-sounding names to their little
settlements. Already in the State of New York, I had passed through
Syracuse, Babylon, Rome, Venice, Alexandria, London, and Paris—villages
of seven or eight houses.
 I arrived about the 11th December at Friedmann’s farm. The proprietor
was a German in good circumstances in Indiana: his property, though not
large, was very productive, and his cattle were very fine. He was the only
German settler whom I fell in with in my march through Indiana, although
there are several in that state. The sound of my mother tongue fell doubly
sweet on my ear after so long a privation. I remained to dinner, and then set
off in good spirits, on a road which improved as I advanced, towards
Vincennes on the Wabash.
Towards evening on the 12th, I came to a large, clean-looking house, and
when I went in to ask if I could have a bed, I found two German Jews
sitting comfortably by the fire, who looked at me with astonishment, and, as
it seemed to me, with displeasure. The host was an elderly man, whose
grandfather and grandmother had emigrated from Germany; he spoke very
good German, and was uncommonly friendly, and we chatted away together
the whole evening. The two Israelites had in the mean time been whispering
a great deal together; at length one of them brought his chair nearer to mine,
and began asking several questions, which I readily answered; amongst
others, if I should start early in the morning, and which way I intended to
go? why I carried a gun and hunting knife? &c. It struck me that they were
not very courageous, and I resolved to have a joke with them: I first asked if
they carried on a good business? what sort of wares they had in their two
large packs; if they had any articles of gold? if they meant to leave early?
which road they intended to take? if they would have far to go through the
forest, before they came to another farm? The Jew anxiously parried all
these questions, while his companion sat by without speaking a word; but
when I asked if they had made much money, they both called out in a
scream, “We have got no money at all;” so that I was obliged to bite my lip
to prevent a burst of laughter.
I was disturbed several times in the night by the squabbling of the
Israelites about the best place in their common bed. On waking up at early
dawn I saw that the birds were flown. When I descended to my host, the
two large packs and the two Jews had disappeared; on my inquiring after
them, he told me that they had started before daylight with as little noise as
possible. I laughed heartily, and told him the whole history, which tickled
him amazingly.
The road from this house was at first pretty good, but it rained hard.
When I came to the flat country in the neighborhood of Vincennes it was
full of pools, and on arriving on the prairie, about a mile from that town, the
whole space between it and me was one sheet of water. Night coming on, it
would have been impossible for me to find my way but for occasional lights
in the town, towards which I directed my steps, sometimes over my knees
in water, and arrived about seven o’clock in Vincennes, which had not
much to boast of as to dryness. The night was dark as pitch, as I groped my
way along the unlighted streets in search of quarters. A pair of lonely oxen
standing in the street looked at me pathetically, and lowed as I passed close
by them. A short distance from them I found the house I wanted: it belonged
to a Pennsylvanian German, who kept a tavern. I was soon in front of a
warm refreshing fire, which, in my present condition, was what I stood
most in need of. As soon as I was well warmed, I took a survey of the
neighborhood. Around me was a set of regular conventional faces, with
American indifference stamped on the countenances of all the company,
who, having finished their meal, were sitting round the fire, rocking in their
chairs, and picking their teeth. But amongst them I perceived fixed upon me
the glances of a pair of real German looking eyes. I addressed their owner,
and found that I had not been mistaken; he was a German smith and mason,
and a very well educated man for his station. We sat talking together by the
fire till late in the night. In the heat of conversation, he repeated some of his
own poetry, which I listened to patiently, in return for his kind attempts to
amuse me. He had been a long time in America, and had suffered much,
without gaining much experience, being one of those good-natured souls,
who are unwilling to take advantage of others, though often imposed upon
themselves.
It rained in torrents during the night, but cleared up towards morning,
and began to freeze. On going down to the river I met some horsemen, who
had returned from the other side, and declared that it was not possible to
proceed; for not only was the water very deep, but the ice on the surface
was so thick, that it would have cut the horses in breaking through it. For a
moment I was undecided: I could not stay in Vincennes, because my small
supply of money would not admit of great outlay, and I had yet a
considerable distance to travel. I went down to the ferry, but the ferrymen
also strongly advised me to remain at Vincennes, as the road was quite
impassable: however I was obstinate, and crossed the ferry.
The ground was dry close to the river, but I was stopped by the water
further on. I persisted till noon, trying to find a passage, and upon a
tolerably empty stomach, for I had eaten little more for the last twenty-four
hours than a bit of bread and cheese. Yet I made no progress, so I resolved
to dash at it, and wade through the water to some houses about two miles
off, where the ferrymen had told me I should find dry ground. At first it was
only up to my knees, and my water-proof boots kept me dry; but it soon
became deeper and deeper. I was obliged to fasten my gamebag on my
shoulder, and wade along, sometimes up to the waist, and sometimes up to
the chest in the cold element, all the while having to break the ice in front of
me with the butt of my gun. It took four hours to do the two miles, and only
the conviction that I must either break through the ice or drown, gave me
force to carry out my resolution. At length I reached a fence, and stepped on
dry ground. I endeavored to climb over in vain; my lower garments and
limbs were frozen too hard. I was obliged to pull down a part of it to make a
passage, and it was not till I had been more than an hour by the fire that I
was thawed enough to be able to move freely.
The continuation of the road was dry, with one short exception; and the
next house that I came to was quite a harbor of refuge for this night, as I
was much in need of rest and refreshment.
I now for the first time saw the wide prairies which extend through
Illinois, and present a dismal prospect in this cold season. The long waving
yellow grass gives a melancholy tint to the picture; the wide spread straw-
colored surface, fringed by a forest in the distant horizon, depresses the
spirits. The frost had set in again, so that at least I could follow my route
with dry feet, and at a good pace. The first head of large game that I fell in
with was a buck, making long jumps through the high grass, and putting up
large flocks of prairie fowl, which flew to some distance before they settled.
In the house where I passed the night, I gave my gun a thorough cleaning,
and put it in good condition. On the following morning, about eight o’clock,
I came to the Fox river, where I found two houses. To my astonishment, this
also was a town, and called Waterton. A very pretty American woman, who
kept a sort of tavern, set bread and milk with wild honey before me. She
tried hard to persuade me to settle here, and, if possible, induce other
Germans to do so; but my water excursion was still too fresh in my memory
for me to take a fancy to the place, although it appeared to be a land of milk
and honey, for enormous herds of cattle were pasturing in the prairies, and
wild honey was very abundant.
 I was so refreshed by my meal, that I went on my way with the springing
step of a sedan-chairman. I had indulged in the agreeable idea of a dry road,
but found myself wofully deceived, for as the little Wabash had overflowed
its banks, I had about two miles to wade through water. The road lay along
rather high ground, and was clear of ice, but there was plenty of it between
the trees on the lower levels. As I approached the end of the watery path,
and could see dry land in front of me, I heard something rustling through
the water, and crashing the ice: I looked round, and beheld five deer coming
towards me with long bounds. I stood quite still, awaiting their approach
with a beating heart; a noble buck and four does were passing about fifty
paces from me. I aimed at the leader; he made a spring into the air, and fell
dead. I had some trouble to bring my buck to land; for although the
American deer are smaller than the German red deer, yet the one I had shot
weighed at least 140 pounds. I cut him up, skinned him, lopped a branch
from a tree, made a bag of the skin with the hair outwards, put the two legs
and back into it, then hanging the rest on a tree for any new comer, I
trudged away with my burden for a couple of miles to the village of
Maysville. Here I sold my prize, and passed the night, starting on the
following morning across a twelve-mile prairie.
A cutting north-wester blew from the great lakes, so that my quickest
pace hardly sufficed to keep me warm. After passing through a small wood,
and surmounting a hill, I came to another little town, called Salem. On the
21st of December I had another prairie, twenty-two miles wide, before me:
though still very cold, it was good walking over the hard frozen ground. In
the evening I arrived at a farmhouse, where I passed the night. Just as I
came to the house, the farmer was leading his horse by the bridle into the
sitting-room, which I should have taken for the stable, had I not seen smoke
issuing from the chimney. Full of curiosity, I followed my host into his little
dwelling, and here the riddle was explained. He had been hauling wood,
and he had fastened his horse to a log about eight feet long, to draw it into
the house; then he rolled it to the fire-place, which took up nearly one
whole side of the little block-house, and as he could not conveniently turn
the horse on account of tables, chairs, and beds, he had made an opening on
the side opposite the door, in order to lead him out again. I had shot several
prairie birds in the course of the day, and they afforded us a delicate supper.
They are very numerous in these wide plains, and I have seen flocks of
from 600 to 700 of them. They are about the size of our domestic fowls, but
with a longer neck, and have a tail like a partridge; their color is an ashy
gray. I shot only one gray prairie wolf; they are much smaller than the black
wolves, and very shy.
On the 23rd of December I arrived at Lebanon, a little hamlet on a hill
about twenty miles from St. Louis. My thoughts turned involuntarily to the
gigantic cedars; the highest tree on this mountain of Lebanon was the tavern
sign-post. Next day I had a march of thirty-two miles: as the usually soft
ground was now frozen hard, the route was very rough, and hurt my feet;
yet I pushed on, and in the afternoon arrived in the valley of the
Mississippi, or, as they call it opposite St. Louis, the “American bottom;” it
is considered the most productive land in the United States. The vegetable
mould must be from fifty to sixty feet deep; but it is low, and in
consequence wet, and therefore unhealthy.
During my progress through Illinois I heard constant complaints of ague,
particularly from the Germans; it is very prevalent all the summer, and even
in winter they are not always free from it. The pale countenances of all,
especially of the children, bore too strong evidence that the complaint was
well founded.
At length, after sunset, I arrived on the eastern bank of the Mississippi,
and heard to my great vexation that the river was so full of ice, that it was
utterly impossible to get across. At any rate it was not to be thought of for
this evening, so that I was obliged to pass another night in Illinois. Very
tired with my long journey, I went early to bed. I was awakened in the night
by a fresh arrival, who threw himself right upon me. I moved a little to one
side, while he took up the middle of the bed; I should have had room
enough if the stranger had not been very restless. Now as I did not like the
idea of being disturbed all the rest of the night, it was necessary to obtain
peace in some way or other; so, drawing myself up like a hedgehog, and
planting my shoulder against his side, and my feet against the wall, before
he could imagine what I was about, I sent him with a sudden jerk into the
middle of the room, and then coolly told him the conditions on which I
would let him come into bed again. As the night was too cold to admit of
his sleeping on the floor, he agreed to all I required, and remained quiet for
the rest of the night.
I was up early the next morning, and heard that a boat was about to try
the passage. We started at nine o’clock, and were six in the boat—two at
each oar, one in the bows to shove away the ice, and one half dead from
fear. With indescribable trouble we succeeded in reaching the middle of the
stream, where the ice had become fixed round a small island. If we had
attempted to row round it we should have been carried down too far below
the town, so we had to get out, and drag the boat over the rough blocks of
ice, and launch her again on the other side; often we were jammed between
immense masses, so that I thought every moment the boat must be crushed.
About noon we gained the opposite shore, and landed immediately below
St. Louis. The difference of time between Germany and St. Louis is about
seven hours, so that while families at home were enjoying their Christmas
festivities around the brilliantly lighted trees, I was toiling with difficulty
through the waves and large masses of floating ice of the Mississippi. The
church bells were ringing, as, on a bright clear day, I entered this city of a
foreign land. I expected to find letters and money from New York, but to
my no small astonishment I was disappointed. There was now no chance of
any until I arrived at New Orleans; the question was, how was I to get
there? I had not money enough to pay my passage by a steamer, and none of
them would take me as one of the crew; so I resolved to trust to my legs
again. The sale of some game had brought a few dollars, with which I paid
my expenses here, and on the 31st December I set off again alone, with not
very cheering prospects for the commencement of the new year. At night I
lighted a fire, and laid myself under a tree, for I was not in a humor to seek
society; it was past midnight before I fell asleep. Next morning’s sun
brought fresh courage and fresh confidence. In going southwards from St.
Louis, the traveller has no little trouble to find the right direction among the
cross roads that traverse the country, and I made so many mistakes that it
took nearly five days to go fifty miles, yet without having to pass another
night in the forest, as I found a farm-house every evening, whose owners
gave me an hospitable reception.
A great many Germans inhabit this part of the country, particularly
Suabians, living by agriculture, and, when not too far from the town, by
carrying and selling wood, as there is none in the immediate neighborhood
of St. Louis, except some small stunted oaks.
My funds by this time had shrunk down to a single American dollar,
whose superscription, “E pluribus unum,” appeared a bitter sarcasm on my
present circumstances. The third day of my wanderings in Missouri broke
dull and moist through the mist; it began to rain, and the roads became
slippery. About noon I arrived at another cross road, and was deliberating
which to take, when I heard a cock crow not very far off. The sound was
music to my ears at such a moment. I took the path leading towards it, and
soon came to the fence of a little corn-field; upon the fence sat a curious
figure, swinging himself to and fro, and singing in a low melodious voice
some song unknown to me. As he heard my steps he sprang from the fence,
and a poor pale sickly lad stood before me. He offered me his right hand
with a smile, and with his left pushed away the long lank wet hair from his
eyes; he led me quietly to the door and disappeared. His father, an old
farmer, told me that I should find some German settlements about eight or
nine miles further on, and though it was still raining, I resolved on
continuing my journey, and reached the block-houses of my countrymen
before dark.
The weather continuing bad, and I having but little money, I resolved to
accept work if I could find it. Three brothers living here, who seemed good
sort of people, were ready to employ me. We were to agree about the wages
after a week’s trial. The next day saw me sally forth early in the morning,
armed with a heavy hoe, to the unaccustomed work of rooting up bushes. It
made the muscles and sinews of my arms ache and swell, so it happened
very opportunely for me that the following day was the festival of the Three
Kings, and as the honest Germans do no work on that day, I was very much
obliged to the Three Kings for their appearance. But though they would not
work for themselves, we all went, according to the custom here, to help
build a house for a neighbor, who had lately settled, and for which the logs
were already cut and collected.
The week passed by without further incident. I worked very hard, and it
seemed all the harder as it was the first time that I had to work incessantly.
As the brothers offered me no more than eight dollars a month, I thought
that I should find better pay in Little Rock, so took the two dollars that I had
earned, bade them all a hearty farewell, and went on my way in good
spirits.
Next morning I came to the most important lead mines of Missouri, not
far from Farmington, a pretty little town. The lead was laid in great heaps
on both sides of the road, and as it looked very like silver, it was capable of
making a strong impression on any one who possessed a slightly excitable
imagination. As my bullets were getting scarce, I took a couple of pounds
from one of the heaps, in order to cast a few in the next house that I stopped
at. All these mines are private property, and the workmen carry on their
excavations when they please, wherever they expect to find ore, and are
paid according to the quantity they procure; if they find none, they receive
nothing, and many poor fellows have worked for weeks in vain. Their
labors are carried on in the simplest manner. A workman, or generally two
together, come and offer themselves; a certain space is given, and while one
digs, the other clears out the shaft; sometimes they find a vein of pure lead,
in which case they are very well paid. The whole place is so full of holes,
that it is very dangerous to go about at night. The proprietors have erected
smelting furnaces on the ground between the shafts, where the ore is cast
into pigs, and then it is forwarded to the Mississippi.
I passed the following night in the house of an American family. The
owner had a herd of remarkably fine cattle, as well as a fine breed of horses.
Soon after I was seated in the warm chimney corner, I heard the gallop of a
horse. It stopped at the house, the door opened, and in stepped a very pretty
girl, with her little riding-whip in her hand, and her color heightened by the
sharp ride; she was received by all with a warm welcome, and seemed to be
the betrothed of one of the young men, near whom she sat, and began to
joke.
Passing through Frederickstown, I reached Currant river, the boundary of
Missouri, on the 22nd of January; the water was so clear, that although it
was about fifteen feet deep where I passed, the smallest objects could be
distinctly seen at the bottom.
 CHAPTER IV.
ARKANSAS, AND “DOWN RIVER” TO NEW ORLEANS.

Wild turkeys—Spring river—Traces of earlier inhabitants of

North America—An eagle—Quack-doctors in Arkansas—My
unsuccessful hunting-dog—Little Red river—German and
Polish settlers—Hilger and Turoski—Encampment of Indians
—Their love for ardent spirits—Little Rock—Engagement as
stoker on board the “Fox”—Unhealthiness of the stoker’s
avocations—Quarrel with the captain, and conclusion of the
engagement—Night in the woods—A panther—Bear hunt—
Great Red river—Slave plantations—Cruelty of the overseers
towards the negroes—Large herd of deer—Capture of a
panther—Dangerous encounter with a bear—Excursion with
an Indian tribe—Their mode of life—Canoe travelling—The
Mississippi—New Orleans—Its appearance, and unhealthy
situation.
I was now in Arkansas. Game seemed to abound. Flocks of wild turkeys
filled the forests as thick as partridges in Germany, and deer were equally
plentiful; in one day I saw several herds of ten or twelve head each. On the
23rd I came to Spring river, so named from the crystalline clearness of its
waters. I had intended to continue my journey on the following morning,
but my talkative hostess, among other things, spoke of her husband, an old
Pennsylvanian, who understood German, and who could give a great deal of
information about Indian burial-places. The chance of hearing any thing
about the natives was a strong magnet to my curiosity, so I decided to await
his arrival, and, as I did not wish to diminish unnecessarily my small stock
of money, I assisted to gather in the Indian corn, so as to earn my food. As
my host arrived in the evening, I had not long to wait. He informed me that
there were a number of sepulchral monuments on the banks of the Spring
river, or in its neighborhood, and spoke of gigantic bones and skeletons
which had been found there. When in Illinois, I had heard of such remains
of a colossal race of men, and among others of a human lower jaw, whose
owner must have been about nine feet high. He also said that he had found
urns and weapons in the graves; but he had none to show me, for these
people have no regard for any thing that does not offer some immediate
prospect of gain.
On the banks of the neighboring White river, they had found bricks some
feet under the surface in several places, laid as if they had formed a street or
road, and my host, as well as several others, maintained that there must
have been a town there.
There is a strong probability that, before the modern race of Indians, a
stronger and more civilized people must have inhabited North America, as
several ancient and magnificent buildings in Mexico also tend to prove. If
my host had had time to show me any of the mounds, I would have devoted
a day or two to their examination, but he was obliged to take another
journey on the following day, and I could not well await his return. Perhaps
some one else may find time to make excavations.
On the following morning I set off again on my travels, and turned a
little out of my way to climb a rocky height, when an eagle suddenly rose
before me. I fired. For a minute or two he floated motionless in the air, then,
flapping his wings, he mounted higher and higher till I could hardly
distinguish him. I concluded that I must have missed him, and was
reloading, when he turned in the air, and fell dead to the ground. He was a
large bird, measuring seven feet from wing to wing. I was pleased with my
shot, as it was the first eagle I had killed. He was of a dark-brown color,
with white head and tail. In imitation of the Indians, I ornamented my cap
with one of his feathers.
On the evening of the 27th of January, as I was occupied in breaking up
a deer that I had shot, a lad of about thirteen or fourteen, with a fowling-
piece on his shoulder, came to help me, and showed that he was by no
means an unskilled hand. We packed the two legs and the back in the skin,
and bore it between us to the abode of the youth, only a few miles distant,
where I decided on passing the night. I have met, in all parts of America,
with a number of very worthy, amiable people, as also with some very bad
characters: this is to be expected in a country with such a mingled
population; but here, in this solitude, I found a family not to be surpassed in
worth and amiable qualities in any part of the world. An old man, with
trembling hands, sat by the fire, and though many winters had bleached his
locks, his rosy cheeks showed that he was still strong and hearty. Opposite
sat a noble-looking matron, considerably younger than her husband, but still
of great age. By her side was a young and pretty woman of the
neighborhood, whose husband had taken a journey to the north on business.
Three stout, blooming youths came in one after the other from shooting,
bringing four wild turkeys.
I was already far enough advanced in English to be able to take part in
the conversation, the educated American being very indulgent to foreigners
in this respect. We sat talking together till about ten o’clock. The young
wife had just received a letter from her husband, which she read through
and through ten times over. She had been very unfortunate in Arkansas. The
doctors had killed three of her children, and she herself was suffering from
inflamed eyes through their ignorance. The fact is, that there is no sufficient
authority to control their practice in these new States, and every quack who
chooses may call himself doctor. They prescribe calomel for every disorder,
and decayed teeth, inflamed eyes, spongy gums, and shattered health are the
universal consequences.
My next night was passed at a Kentucky-man’s, who had settled here.
He had about a dozen dogs in his house, and he willingly made one over to
me, which, according to his account, was a capital dog for hunting wild
turkeys, running them to a tree, so that they could be more easily shot.
Lounging along the road, I saw, at a good distance in front of me, a buck
quietly feeding right in the path, and, rather distrusting the good education
of my dog, I fastened him to a tree with my pocket-handkerchief and the
string of my powder-horn. The buck continued feeding unsuspiciously, till I
came within about eighty-five paces from him, when, as I had the wind at
my back, he scented my approach, and bounded over a fallen tree to gain
the thicket; my buck shot flew after him, but I must have fired low, for at
about 150 paces he began to limp with his hind leg. By this time my dog
must have thought that he had played the mere spectator long enough, and
having bitten through the powder-horn string, he bounded after the deer
with my handkerchief about his neck, and neither deer, dog, nor
handkerchief have I ever seen since.
About sunset I arrived at a house where I purposed to pass the night, and
had placed my hand on the fence to jump over, when I saw the mistress of
the house sitting before the door, occupied with her children’s heads in a
way that suppressed all inclination to speak on my part. I turned away,
resolving rather to pass the night in the forest than with such a family; yet
this alternative was unnecessary, for before dark I reached the dwelling of a
man who had fought under Washington in the war of independence; of
course he was very old, but he moved about with considerable vigor.
On the following evening I came to the Little Red river. It was growing
dark, but a man was still at work on the other side. I called to him, asking
where I could pass. He answered: “You see that house there?” By his accent
I knew that he was a German, and asked again, in good Saxon: “What
house?” He replied again, in a mixture of German and English, and in a
tone of vexation at having forgotten his pure mother tongue: “Go a little
way down the river, and you will find a canoe.” We were already good
friends, although divided by the river. I found the canoe, paddled over, and
went to the nearest house, before which a number of people were standing,
and amongst them the owner, Von G., formerly an officer in the army, now
an industrious farmer, and zealous sportsman. He possessed two slaves, and
was well contented with his new condition. He kindly offered me a bed in
his house. In the evening the German came in, whose acquaintance I had
made on the banks of the river. He was a very worthy, though rather an
eccentric man. He must have been equally pleased with me, for he insisted
that I must not think of going away so soon, but must come and pass some
days with him in order to see the country. Having nothing to hurry me, I
willingly accepted his kind invitation, and went on the following day to his
house, where he made me quite at home. He had a nice little wife, and five
strong healthy children.
In the afternoon it began to rain. Travelling was not to be thought of;
even had I wished it, these kind people would not have let me go. We
chatted away till deep in the night, and it did me a world of good to be able
to converse again to my heart’s content in my mother tongue. My host was
a Rhenish Bavarian, named Hilger, a builder by trade, and by no means
uneducated.
On the next day we had a visit from a neighbor, a man of about thirty-
five, with a short green shooting jacket, and a German rifle; but his accent
betrayed him to be no German. Hilger addressed him by the name of
Turoski. He was a Polish officer, who sought and found in America security
against the political persecutions that he would have been exposed to in
Europe. He was unmarried, and a little ten-year-old daughter of Hilger’s
minded his house. This child was often alone for days and nights together in
Turoski’s log-house, miles away from other habitations; yet she cared
nothing whether it was the storm or the wolves that howled round the hut.
After a short conversation, Turoski proposed that I should come and stay
with him. I passed some very agreeable days with these estimable men,
sometimes with one, sometimes with the other. To give my reader an idea of
the bachelor-life of an American backwoodsman, I will describe one of the
nights that I passed at Turoski’s. Hilger’s daughter had gone home to visit
her parents, who lived three miles off, and we two were alone. The Pole’s
dwelling was nothing but a simple rough log-house, without any window,
and all the chinks between the logs were left open, probably to admit fresh
air. Two beds, a table, a couple of chairs, one of them with arms, some iron
saucepans, three plates, two tin pots, one saucer, several knives, and a
coffee-mill, formed the whole of his furniture and kitchen utensils. A
smaller building near the house contained the store of meat for the winter.
There was a field of four or five acres close to the house, and another about
a quarter of a mile off on the river. He had some good horses, a great many
pigs, quantities of fowls, and several milch cows.
Being deeply interested in our conversation, we forgot to prepare any
supper, and it was not till the cold made itself felt that we went to bed. It
may have been about half-past twelve, when Turoski woke up, and swore
by all the saints, that he could lie no longer in bed for ravenous hunger, and
that he must have something to eat, even if it were a piece of raw meat. I
laughed, and told him to draw his hunger-belt tighter, but he jumped up and
gave me no more rest. We made up the fire, which was nearly burnt out, and
then held a council as to what we should cook. We had shot nothing, the
bread was all gone, and we had eaten our last bit of pork for dinner. What
was to be done? Turoski decided the point. The Indian corn of last harvest
was in a small building in a field by the river; I was to go and fetch an
armful, while he would prepare something in the mean time. The night was
dark as pitch; I was often obliged to feel with my feet for the path like a
blind man, that I might not lose myself in the forest. When, in the course of
half an hour, I returned with the maize, Turoski had killed one of the fowls
that were roosting on a low tree, plunged it in hot water, and while he
cleaned it I fried the corn; then, while the fowl was being grilled, I ground
the corn in the coffee-mill, which by no means reduced it to the consistence
of flour. I moistened the grist with water, added a little salt, made a cake of
it about three-quarters of an inch thick, and set it in a saucepan cover to
bake. So far so good; but I wanted a couple of eggs. There was a kind of
shed attached to the house, in which leaves of Indian corn, plucked green,
and then dried, were kept as fodder, and here the hens came to lay their
eggs. Turoski crept in, and feeling about, soon came to a nest with five, of
which he brought away only two, having broken the others in his hurry.
Coffee was then made, and we had a very good supper, or rather breakfast,
for it was now past two o’clock. But we were not yet to repose in safety; the
monster log of hickory, that we had laid on the hearth, flared up and set fire
to the chimney: Turoski mounted on the roof, while I handed him some
buckets of water, and the fire was soon extinguished. At last we got to
sleep, and remained so till the sun was high in the heavens.
My unquiet spirit drove me forth again on the morning of the 7th of
February. I took a warm farewell of these kind people, and went in a south-
west direction through the forest, hoping soon to reach the high road. The
sun disappeared behind dark clouds, but thinking I was sure of my way, I
walked quickly on. Who could paint my astonishment at finding myself,
after two hours’ walking, in front of the very house I had started from! This
was vexatious, but I slipped off again into the forest without being
perceived, took out my compass, and made a straight course.
In the evening I shot a deer, but was obliged to leave the greater portion
of it, as it was too heavy to carry. Long after sunset on the 9th I arrived on
the Arkansas river; the lights of Little Rock shone from the opposite bank,
but a strange fantastic scene presented itself on this side of the river, on
which I stared with astonishment. An Indian tribe had pitched their tents
close to the banks of the river. A number of large crackling fires, formed of
whole trunks of dry fallen trees, which lay about in abundance, offering
good shelter against the wind; over the fires were kettles with large pieces
of venison, bear, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, wild-cats, and whatever
else the fortune of the chase had given them. Here young men were
occupied securing the horses to some of the fallen trees, and supplying them
with fodder; there lay others, overcome by the firewater, singing their
national songs with a mournful and heavy tongue. I stood for a long time
watching the animated scene.
A tall powerful Indian, decked out with glass beads and silver
ornaments, came staggering towards me, with an empty bottle in his left
hand and a handsome rifle in his right, and, holding them both towards me,
gave me to understand that he would give me the rifle if I would fill his
bottle. The dealers in spirituous liquors are subject to a heavy fine if they
sell any to soldiers, Indians, or negroes. The poor Indians have fallen so
low, and become so degraded by the base speculations of the pale faces, that
they will give all they most value, to procure the body and soul-destroying
spirits. Though I had but little money left, only twelve cents, I declined the
exchange; he turned sorrowfully away, probably to offer the advantageous
bargain to some one else, in which case I thought it best to indulge the poor
savage, and save him his handsome rifle; I took the bottle out of his hand,
filled it, and gave it back to him. On my refusing to accept his rifle, he laid
hold of me, and dragged me almost forcibly to his fire, obliged me to drink
with him, to smoke out of his pipe, and eat a large slice of venison, while
his wife and three children sat in the tent staring with surprise at the
stranger. He then stood up, and in his harmonious language related a long
history to me and to some sons of the forest who had assembled round us,
and of which I did not understand a word. At last as the noise became
annoying, I stole away quietly to seek a berth for the night.
When I came again to the ferry on the following morning, the
encampment was broken up, and the Indians had embarked on board a
steamer, which was to carry them further west. I crossed by the ferry, and
had now no longer any cause to be anxious about spending too much
money, having paid away my last twelve cents. Rarely has a traveller
entered a strange town with so light a purse. My situation in such a place
was not at all enviable. The soles of my boots had disappeared, and then the
feet of my stockings, so that latterly I had gone barefoot on the frozen
ground. Yet my self-confidence and courage did not fail me. My first object
was to find a house where I could pass the night, my second to get my boots
repaired: I found board and lodging at a German wheelwright’s, named
Spranger, for three dollars a week, and although with all my searching I
could not find three cents in my pockets, I agreed to the bargain, giving my
gun in pawn; then taking my hunting-knife I hastened to a shoemaker’s,
who asked two and a half dollars to re-sole my boots, and accepted my
knife as a pledge, lending me a pair of shoes to wear till the boots should be
finished. When this was all arranged, I looked about for work, and took
many a walk in vain.
On the second day, having nothing else to do, I went with Spranger to
Von Seckendorf’s farm to saw down some trees that S. required for his
business. In Little Rock many had referred me to a Mr. Fisher, who was
well known among the Germans, and who at all events would give me
work. He had just finished a large frame house, and wanted to make some
addition to it. I went to every door in the building to seek some one who
could tell me where to find him, but all was as quiet as the grave. I then
went to a smaller building, and knocked. As no one answered, after
knocking three times, I pushed open the door, and entered. In one corner of
a miserable room I found an empty bedstead, with broken legs; carpenter’s
tools lay on the table and floor, and a coffin stood in another corner. At the
foot of the bed, on the bare earth, lay a man, with his head on one of the
broken legs of the bedstead; his right arm was under his head, the left lay
across his face, so that I could only see the dark hair; the hands were
spotted red and black, I thought from the paint of the coffin. I asked him if
he knew where Mr. Fisher was. He gave no answer: I supposed him to be
asleep, and he appeared to be ill. I went out again quite quietly, and tried
some other doors; but they were all locked, and not a soul to be seen. I went
back again to the sleeper, and although I called loudly, and shook him by
the shoulder, I could get no answer, and came away much vexed. At length,
after a great deal of trouble, I found Mr. Fisher, and had my trouble for my
pains, for he had no work to give me. In the course of conversation, I
inquired about the man in the hut, and was told that he had died the day
before of smallpox: my blood ran cold at the words. The doctor had stated
the nature of his disease, and desired that nobody should go near him; and
as the man was poor, without a cent in the world, he had shut the door, and
never been near him again. The poor fellow had been left to himself for
three days, without even a drink of water, and at last had died miserably on
the floor. Little Rock is a vile, detestable place in this respect, and the
boatmen on the Mississippi have good reason when they sing—

“Little Rock in Arkansaw,

The d——dest place I ever saw.”

Yet several Germans inhabit the town and neighborhood.

As nothing in the way of work was to be found in the town, I went to the
river to try and get something to do on board a steamer. The steamers “Fox”
and “Harp” were moored side by side. I went first on board the “Fox,” and
was engaged as fireman, at thirty dollars a month. In an hour the boat
started. I was quite contented, and had no trouble with my luggage. We ran
down the Arkansas to its mouth, then up the Mississippi to Memphis, and
back again to Little Rock. The work of a fireman is as hard as any in the
world; though he has only four hours in the day and four in the night to
keep up the fires, yet the heat of the boilers, the exposure to the cutting cold
night air when in deep perspiration, the quantity of brandy he drinks to
prevent falling sick, the icy cold water poured into the burning throat, must,
sooner or later, destroy the soundest and strongest constitution. How I,
unaccustomed to such work, managed to stand it, has often surprised me.
In addition, there was the dangerous work of carrying wood, particularly
in dark and wet nights. One has to carry logs of four or five feet in length,
six or seven at a time, down a steep, slippery bank, sometimes fifteen or
twenty feet in height when the water is low, and then to cross a narrow,
tottering plank, frequently covered with ice, when a single false step would
precipitate the unfortunate fireman into the rapid deep stream, an accident
which indeed happened to me another time in the Mississippi. It is
altogether a miserable life, offering, moreover, a prospect of being blown
up, no uncommon misfortune, thanks to the rashness of the American
engineers.
I carried on this work for some time, till the desertion of the cook at
Memphis caused a vacancy in that department. Just as the boat was about to
start, I offered myself for the place, and was accepted, although I knew
nothing more than how to boil a kettle; yet I very soon learned as much as
was necessary.
When I returned to Little Rock I released my gun and hunting-knife. The
next voyage was to the mouth of the Arkansas and back. The rude coarse
life among the lowest class of people soon disgusted me, and, in addition to
this, I had incurred the enmity of the captain, who disliked me, probably
only because I was a German. Yet he could not do without me; but as I
could not find a substitute, I was obliged to make another voyage, and this
time up the river. I already had an idea how my service would terminate,
and having my game-bag packed, and my gun, hunting-knife, and a
tomahawk that I had purchased, all at hand, I was prepared for any thing
that might happen.
Two days after our departure, the captain came down to me as I was in
the act of giving the remains of a meal to a poor old woman, who was on
her way to join her children, but who had not wherewithal to pay her
passage. An old Pennsylvanian had informed me that the captain had been
abusing me. This, and the question, “Who gave me permission to give away
the provisions?” put me in a rage, and I asked him, rudely, in return, “If he
would rather that I should throw them overboard?” The “yes” was hardly
out of his mouth, when plate and food were floating in the Arkansas. He
gave vent to his rage by springing on me, and seizing me by the breast; in
return I sent him sprawling against the opposite side. He was quickly up
again, and snatching up a piece of broken hand-spike, made a desperate
blow at me, which I luckily avoided. My fury now knew no bounds; I
grasped his throat, and was dragging him to the side to throw him
overboard, when his cries brought the engineer and boatswain to the rescue.
One of them pulled the captain away by his legs, while the other took me by
the shoulders, and then both carried the captain, whose head was bleeding
severely, into the cabin. I was ordered to go directly to the book-keeper,
received my pay, the steamer stopped, I was landed on the bank, the boat
returned on board, and I found myself in quite a new and extraordinary
position.
All around me was a solitary wilderness—the river behind me, the
ground frozen hard, and covered with a thin sheet of snow—a cold north
wind blowing through the leafless branches. I felt in my pocket for my fire
apparatus—it was all wet; not a single grain of powder in my powder-horn,
and only one barrel loaded. I thought it would never do to discharge my gun
for the sake of lighting a fire, and remain unarmed in the wilderness. I
cleared away the snow from under a tree, lay down, and tried to sleep; but
the wind was too sharp, the cold insupportable, and I was afraid of being
frozen. Driven to extremity, I discharged my gun against the root of a tree,
lighted a match by the burning wadding, collected dry grass and wood, and
in a minute or two had a glorious fire.
Although I heard the howls of several wolves, I did not mind them, but
enjoyed a sound sleep. Certainly, on the following morning, I trudged on
rather out of spirits, with no powder, and a very hungry stomach.
I followed the direction of the river downwards, in hopes of finding a
house. After I had gone some distance, I saw an old, half-sunken canoe. I
baled out the water with my cap and found that she was still serviceable.
My former intentions of visiting Texas returned in full force; I decided on
crossing to the other side to look for a house, and procure food and powder,
and resolved then to strike off in a south-west direction in search of the
route to Texas.
I had hardly gained the opposite bank when I discovered a large flock of
wild turkeys. I took aim, and pulled the trigger, forgetting that I had not
loaded: they took to the trees on my approach, and I suffered the tortures of
Tantalus at the sight; but there was no help for it, and I was obliged to pass
on. As it always happens in such cases, I saw quantities of game this day.
Cold and cloudy descended the night, bringing with it the dreaded north
wind; I was obliged to lie down without a fire. In order to avoid the bears
and panthers, I had climbed up a tree, but the wind was too sharp to make
such an airy perch endurable. At length I found a hollow tree, crept in,
covered my feet with my game-bag, placed my gun on my left side, and,
with my knife in my right hand, I passed one of the most uncomfortable
nights of my life. I heard the howling of the wolves, and once the roar of a
panther in the distance; but nothing came to disturb me, and the bright
morning sun saw me early on the march, for my couch was not inviting
enough to detain me. At length, what music to my ears! the crow of a cock
and bark of a dog announced the neighborhood of a farm. I soon perceived
the thin, blue smoke of a chimney ascending into the beautiful clear sky,
and, with a quickened pace made towards it, hoping soon to refresh both
body and soul.
The good people gave me such a hospitable reception, and placed so
much on the table, that, notwithstanding my fearful appetite, there was a
great deal more than I could eat. Fortunately, the farmer had a stock of
gunpowder, and filled my powder-horn for a quarter of a dollar.
As I was about to depart, he asked if I would not like to join a shooting
party; several of his neighbors were coming this morning to search a thicket
not far from his house, where they expected to find a bear which had robbed
him of many of his pigs. I did not long hesitate, cleaned my gun, loaded the
left hand barrel with ball and the right with buck-shot, and so was ready for
any thing. We had not long to wait, and all mounted on horseback. We soon
arrived at the spot, and rode round and round it; it was the thickly
overgrown bed of a former spring. Suddenly the dogs gave tongue, and
immediately afterwards the bear started out of his hiding-place. Eager as we
were we could only follow him slowly, on account of the thick underwood;
so we hobbled the horses’ fore-legs, and pressed forward on foot.
 One of the party soon proclaimed that, judging by the bark of the dogs,
the bear must have climbed up a tree. Such proved to be the case, and we
had hardly discovered him, when I and one of the farmers fired: both balls
had taken effect, but a dull cry was the only consequence: two others of the
party coming up, fired. He was mortally wounded, drew himself together,
and hung by one paw from the tree; as I hit him on the paw with my buck-
shot, he fell, and died under the bites of the dogs, who threw themselves
furiously on him. His flesh was savory and tender, but he was not so fat as
was expected. I remained the night with these kind people, and set off again
on the following morning.
Without any thing further worth noticing, I came, on the 15th March, to
the bank of the Great Red river, the boundary between the United States and
Texas. A farmer who had a canoe set me over the river, and, following a
well-trodden path on the other side, I came to a large slave plantation. The
overseer, who directed the labors of the negroes, said at first that he had no
room for me to sleep in; but as there was no other house far and wide where
I could find shelter, he at last agreed, and I found a sumptuous supper and
comfortable bed.
The land near the river was very swampy, and overgrown with thick
canes, but the wood became more open and the ground dryer as I left the
river. On the evening of the third day, I again slept at a plantation, and this
was the last night I passed in a house for some time to come. The overseer
lived in a block-house, and all around stood the smaller huts of the slaves,
one for each family. During the hours of labor, he carried a heavy whip to
keep the blacks in order; yet he did not seem to feel quite safe amongst
these poor, ill-treated people, for he had a pair of pistols in his saddle
holsters.
An overseer once assured me that the whip was the best doctor for the
slaves, and that when any one of them fell sick, he was flogged till he was
well again. It might sometimes happen that a poor negro pretended to be
sick to get a day or two’s rest; but how often must the really sick slave be
most atrociously treated by the inhuman overseer!
From these quarters I marched along fresh and in good spirits into the
forest, which already began to look green. The birds sang so sweetly on the
branches, that my heart was joyful and mournful at the same time; I longed
in vain for a companion, with whom I could exchange thoughts. A shot
echoed from the plantation, and innumerable wild geese rose from the
cotton-fields behind me; with a deafening noise they formed their usual
triangle, and flew all in the same direction.
Luckily for me, I had in my bag a couple of wild ducks that I had killed
and roasted the day before. The forest was mortally dull, and the march
began to grow rather tedious, for my rambles in the north were still fresh in
my memory. I passed the night very pleasantly by a fire, while my hunger
took the second duck into consideration.
Towards noon I came to the little river Sulphurfork, which I was obliged
to wade through, after many vain attempts to find a shallow place, the water
coming up to my chest. I began to despair of getting any thing to eat, and,
being thoroughly wet, I resolved to come soon to a halt, and dry myself by a
fire, when all at once I saw about fifty deer, within shot, all quietly feeding,
and taking no notice of me. For an instant I stood petrified; then every fibre
in my body beat and trembled with delight. The suddenness of the sight had
so excited me that I could not take aim, and I was obliged to wait to collect
myself. It was a glorious sight, such a number of these noble animals
together; I counted fifty-seven, and derived particular pleasure from the
antics of two fawns, which made the most comical bounds, and came very
near me without any suspicion. Regret to kill such a beautiful innocent
creature withheld my hand for some time, but hunger was not to be cajoled,
—I fired, and one of them fell without a cry. The effect of the report upon
the herd was quite ludicrous,—each of the hitherto unsuspicious animals
became an image of attention, then fled with immense bounds towards the
thicket. As I did not move they stopped again, and began to feed, but not
without frequently raising their heads to listen. The impression which the
fall of his playfellow had produced on the other fawn was very different.
Far from flying, he came nearer, smelt the poor animal as if he thought it
was play, setting his fore-foot several times on the body of his comrade as if
to induce him to get up. I had the other barrel still loaded, but thought it
would be like murder to injure a hair of the little creature.
As I stepped out from the bushes, the fawn stared at me with
astonishment in his large clear eyes; probably he had never seen a man
before. He then flew like the wind towards his dam, but stopping now and
then as if he expected his comrade. I quickly made a fire on the spot to roast
my game, putting the greater part of the back and the brisket on sticks
before the fire with hollow bark underneath to catch the dripping for
basting; and a delicious meal was very soon the result of this simple
proceeding.
Next day, as I was going quietly along through forest and prairie,
looking out right and left for game or amusement, I caught sight of
something in a large oak. Fixing my eyes steadily on it, and coming closer, I
recognized the glowing eyes of a panther crouched on a bough, and
seemingly ready to spring. I gave him both barrels, one after the other,
when he fell from the tree, and died with a fearful howl. He was a large
handsome beast, of an ashy gray color, and measuring from seven to eight
feet from the nose to the end of the tail.
It was well that I had venison in my game-bag, for the panther would
have been a tough morsel. I dragged the rather heavy skin with me till the
evening, and slept soundly on it for my trouble. A damp fog came on
towards morning, which soon turned to fine penetrating rain, seeming to
foretell a disagreeable day; but as I had enjoyed beautiful weather in
general, I could not complain. The sky became quite dark, the rain fell
heavier, and I was soon wet through. I left the panther skin where I had
slept, so that I had no heavy burden to carry. I found my stomach beginning
to loathe the quantity of animal food that was put into it, and to long for
bread, but I was obliged to divert my thoughts from the subject, and the last
remains of the venison were discreetly devoured. Meantime I had killed a
turkey, so that at all events I had something in store.
My plan hitherto had been to push on to the nearest eastern settlement;
but the road was too long and tedious, so I turned southwards, in order
afterwards to proceed eastward towards Louisiana and the Red river. The
constant rain made it impossible to light a fire this evening, and I passed a
miserable night, for though I tried to make a shelter of pieces of bark, I
could not manage it; however, the night came at last to an end, and cold,
cross, and hungry as a lion, I went along with only a plucked turkey in my
bag.
About noon my day’s journey was brought to an unexpected end by a
river that had overflowed its banks. The rain had ceased, so that, with better
fortune than yesterday, I succeeded in making a fire, and my turkey, divided
into four quarters, was soon in front of it. Now, comfortably stretched
before my fire, I considered whether I should cross the river; I had no sort
of business on the other side, and it seemed absurd to swim across for
nothing—so I settled on quitting Texas, and returning to the United States.
If I had a friend with me I could have gone on to the shores of the Pacific,
but I had no mind to do it alone. When I had finished my repast, I got up
and made my way in an E. S. E. direction.
As the rain had left off, I made up to-night for the wakefulness of the
last; when I awoke the fire had burnt out, and the sun was shining through
the bursting buds of the trees. I had a good wash in a neighboring spring,
and felt like a giant refreshed.
After taking my frugal breakfast, the remains of yesterday’s meal, I drew
more towards the east, in order the sooner to fall in with human beings, to
eat bread, and taste salt. I had occasionally used gunpowder instead of salt,
but my store of powder was not sufficient for such a luxury, and it was
better to be without salt than without powder.
Gun on shoulder, I trudged slowly and surely on, over hill and dale,
through prairies and forest streams, towards the sun-rising, taking sharp
notice of all around. While thus proceeding, wrapped in my thoughts,
suddenly something rustled in a bush in front of me, and a bear started out
and took to flight. My ball was soon in his interior; on being hit he stopped
and looked round at me in a fury. Expecting nothing less than an attack, I
quietly cocked the other barrel; but his intentions of attacking me seemed to
pass off, and he crept into a thicket instead. I quickly loaded with ball and
followed him: as I approached he retreated slowly, probably suffering from
his wound: as soon as I got a clear view of his head, I fired again, but only
grazed his skull. As I ran towards him his fury increased, and he turned to
meet me; on taking aim with my second barrel at about thirty paces, it
missed fire. With open jaws and ears laid back, he rushed towards me; in
this mortal danger, I preserved my presence of mind. Dropping my gun, and
drawing my knife, I sprang back a couple of paces behind a small tree; at
this moment the bear was only a few feet from me. As he rose on his hind
legs to embrace me, he was almost as tall as I, and his fiery eyes and long
teeth had nothing very attractive; but he was not destined to know the taste
of my flesh.
I was quite collected, feeling sure that one or the other must die. The
moment he tried to grasp me, I thrust my long double-edged hunting knife
into the yawning abyss of his jaws, and boring it into his brain, I brought
him to the ground. I did not then know better, but I ought to have sprung
back after wounding him, and then I should have escaped unhurt. As it was,
he dragged away my coat in falling, and tore my arm slightly. I thanked
God that it was no worse. There I sat on the sweet smelling heath, with my
coat all in rags, and no other to put on. To assuage my sorrow, I cut a large
steak from the bear, which tasted particularly good after my severe
exertions. I carried away the skin. In the evening I fell in with a herd of
deer, but did not fire at them, as I was well provided with meat.
On the following evening I heard a shot. The sound ran through me like
an electric shock. There were, then, other people in this wilderness, and not
very far off, for the shooter must be on the other side of the nearest hill. I
turned rapidly in the direction whence the sound came, and had hardly
gained the crest of the hill, when a romantic and variegated scene spread
itself before my eyes.
It was an Indian camp, and all were occupied in pitching their tents, and
preparing for the night. Here, were some cutting tent-poles with their
tomahawks; there, women collecting firewood for cooking; men securing
the horses by hobbling their fore-legs; another skinning a deer. In short, it
was life in the wilds in highest force. I should never have tired of looking at
these noble muscular figures, their faces marked with various ochres, their
heads adorned with feathers, and their bright-colored dresses.
I was not long allowed to remain a spectator, for the dogs barked and ran
at me. Breaking off a green bough, I went with it to the camp. The Indians
called off the dogs, and all eyes were now directed towards the stranger.
Going up to a group of young men, who were stretching a deer-skin, I asked
if any of them spoke English, and was directed to an elderly man, who was
sitting smoking under a tree and watching me. I told him that I was a
traveller, that I wished to return to the banks of the Red river, and asked if I
could pass the night in his camp. A considerable group of young men had in
the mean time assembled round us. At length the old man asked—“Are
white men so scarce that you come alone into the wilderness?” I replied that
I had only come for the sake of shooting, and now wished to return. Instead
of an answer, he silently gave me his pipe, out of which I took a few whiffs,
and then handed it to one of the Indians standing near me. He did the same,
and returned it to the chief. I now sat down beside him. He asked a great
many questions, amongst others, how I had torn my coat so badly?
Whereupon I related my affair with the bear. He smiled, and translated my
account to the others, who also showed interest in my adventure.
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