Wild Sports In The Far West

“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.

The chief then told me that it was highly dangerous for any one unused to these encounters to risk such a fight, and that it was necessary to spring quickly back after the thrust, the dying bear having sometimes succeeded in killing his enemy. He took particular notice of my double-barrelled gun and hunting-knife, and said that he had never before seen two barrels joined together. He spoke English better than I did, and, what was very agreeable, he spoke slowly.

The Indians belonged to the Choctaw tribe, and were come out of Arkansas in search of game. As night came on, fires were burning all around us, and the women, among whom were some beautiful figures, cooked the suppers, while the men quietly smoked their pipes. Finding the Indian fashion of staring at the fire rather tedious, I made several attempts to engage the chief in conversation, but only received short answers, so that at last there was nothing left for it but to play the Indian, and maintain a dignified silence.

At length we retired to rest. I slept on a bear-skin beside the fire, in front of the chief’s tent. Before sunrise, I was awakened by the noise and songs of the Indians, who were preparing for a shooting excursion. I jumped up, and was getting ready to join them, but soon remembered that, with my ragged coat, I could not venture among the thorns; – I should have been caught every moment. I showed it to one of the young men, he immediately ran off, and soon returned with a sort of coat, or rather hunting-shirt, made out of a blanket. He made signs that he would sell it to me, and was delighted to receive a dollar for it, with the rags of my green coat into the bargain. For a second dollar I obtained his embroidered belt, and was now quite set up again. Resolving to be quite an Indian for the time, I left my game-bag in the camp.

We set off, sixteen in number, all on foot, some of the Indians with firearms, others with bows and arrows, with which they can hit their mark at a great distance. I attached myself to one of the young men with a bow and arrows, and, as we could not understand each other’s language, we proceeded in silence. Each of us had provisions, which we ate as we went along. It may have been about noon when we saw a herd of deer. My companion went round to gain the wind of them, and shot a couple with his unerring arrows. Away flew the others in headlong fright, coming directly towards me, in such blind haste, that the leader of the herd, a fat buck of eleven, was little more than ten paces off, when he discovered me. My ball pierced his heart, and he fell without a cry. The rest fled in all directions.

We were obliged to return to the camp for horses to carry our booty. My companion started off in a straight line for the camp, which I should never have been able to find again. It was only a few miles distant, although I thought it must be at least half a day’s journey behind us. On arriving at the camp, we each mounted on horseback, and rode off at a quick trot to the place where our game lay, which we found without difficulty, the Indian having marked several trees with his tomahawk as we returned. The last prize we came to was my buck, and on him we saw a wild-cat preparing to enjoy itself. The Indian rushed forward, and the cat, which did not perceive him till too late, flew up a tree, whence an arrow from the sure hand of my companion soon brought it to the ground. It was of a gray color, and larger than the domestic cat. When these animals are irritated they will attack men: my comrade carried off the skin.

We rode back with our booty to the camp, and were received with cheers. The party all returned one after the other, most of them with game, one with an immense bear that he had killed, the largest I had yet seen.

While cooking was going on, the young men danced and sang, the women taking no part in their amusements, but quietly continuing their occupations.

On the following morning the chief said that he had set a wolf-trap, and we went to see if any thing had been caught. As there was plenty of food in the camp, we all went together, except three, who, having killed nothing yesterday, set off to try their luck again to-day. We took four large strong dogs with us, and followed the chief. With a triumphant smile he showed me where he had set the trap, and near it a trace of blood; it was shown to the dogs, and they followed it up in full cry.