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24 - Among the Camanches and Apaches- An Autobiography by Edwin Eastman · Among the Camanches and Apaches- An Autobiography

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty four seven and nine Years among the Comanches
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  Speaker 1: and Apaches, an autobiography by Edwin Eastman. This is a
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: My first scalp, I was roused before dawn by the
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  Speaker 1: stir and bustle around me. On rising to my feet,
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  Speaker 1: I found the party preparing to march. Every warrior ran
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  Speaker 1: out for his horse. The pickets were drawn, and the
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  Speaker 1: animals let in and watered. They are bridled. The robes
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  Speaker 1: are thrown over them and girthed. We pluck up our lances,
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  Speaker 1: sling our quivers, seize our shields and bows, and leap
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  Speaker 1: lightly upon horseback. Our line is already formed and wheeling
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  Speaker 1: in our tracks. We ride off in single file to
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  Speaker 1: the northward. From conversation with my companions the night previous,
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  Speaker 1: I had discovered that only the leaders of the party
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  Speaker 1: knew our destination. The rank and file were as ignorant
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  Speaker 1: of the intentions of their commanders, as is usually the
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  Speaker 1: case among the armies of more civilized peoples. The young braves,
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  Speaker 1: who were my chosen companions on the march, and in
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  Speaker 1: the camp neither knew nor cared whither we were bound.
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  Speaker 1: They expected the expedition to result in our return with
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  Speaker 1: an abundance of scalps and plunder, and that was all
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  Speaker 1: they cared about. During the forenoon we passed over a
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  Speaker 1: moat of prairie or park. Its surface was nearly level,
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  Speaker 1: but it was studded here and there with clumps and
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  Speaker 1: copises of cottonwoods and other trees and shrubs. To the north,
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  Speaker 1: the horizon was shut in by a lofty mountain chain
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  Speaker 1: which seemingly barred our pathway, although at a great distance
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  Speaker 1: and between us and this barrier was a range of
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  Speaker 1: much less elevation, such as are called foothills in this region.
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  Speaker 1: About noon we came upon a small stream which crossed
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  Speaker 1: our line of march, running off to the eastward. Upon
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  Speaker 1: its banks, we halted for a short period, watering and
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  Speaker 1: feeding our horses, and satisfying our own appetites from our
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  Speaker 1: supply of dried meat. This done, we resumed march. We
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  Speaker 1: now found the timber islands became less frequent, and in
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  Speaker 1: half an hour's ride we left them all together behind
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  Speaker 1: and rode for several miles over an open plain. We
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  Speaker 1: saw timber ahead of us, and had approached within about
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  Speaker 1: a mile of it, when one of the runners or spies,
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  Speaker 1: about fifty of whom were scouting ahead, came back and
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  Speaker 1: reported to the chief that they had discovered a small
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  Speaker 1: herd of buffalo grazing upon a small prairie or sort
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  Speaker 1: of natural clearing beyond the belt of woods. Although we
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  Speaker 1: were well provided with dry meat, the prospect of fresh
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  Speaker 1: buffalo steak was not unpleasing, and a hunt was at
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  Speaker 1: once determined. Upon halting the party, Stone Howuan directed the
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  Speaker 1: renegade to take his own band and join the scouts ahead. Together,
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  Speaker 1: the bands would constitute a hunting party of about one
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  Speaker 1: hundred warriors, quite large enough for the destruction of the
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  Speaker 1: small herd before us. As I had attached myself to
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  Speaker 1: the band of hissaoud Cha, I found myself destined to
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  Speaker 1: take part in the enterprise and anticipated no little amusement
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  Speaker 1: in sport. Riding forward cautiously until we reached the timber,
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  Speaker 1: which was not very dense chaparral. We rode slowly and
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  Speaker 1: silently through the bushes until we encountered a number of
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  Speaker 1: scouts cachet in the thicket and evidently waiting for us.
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  Speaker 1: What is it? Hanatamu, asked Hissau Deshaw of the leader
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  Speaker 1: of the scouts, as they rode up. The scout replied
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  Speaker 1: that they had found the fresh tracks of a small
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  Speaker 1: herd of buffaloes, and on following them up, had found
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  Speaker 1: the animals feeding upon a small prairie beyond the chapparral
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  Speaker 1: in which we were concealed. The renegade dismounted, and telling
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  Speaker 1: me to accompany him, walked forward with the scout to
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  Speaker 1: the edge of the thicket. Peering cautiously through the leaves,
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  Speaker 1: we had a full view of the open ground. The
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  Speaker 1: buffaloes were upon the plain. It was, as Anatomawa had said,
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  Speaker 1: a small prairie about a mile and a half in width,
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  Speaker 1: closed in on all sides by a thick chaparral. Near
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  Speaker 1: the center was a moat of heavy timber growing up
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  Speaker 1: from a dense underwood. A spur of willows running out
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  Speaker 1: from the timber denoted the presence of water. There's a
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  Speaker 1: spring there, said the renegade, turning to me. I have
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  Speaker 1: been here before and know the ground. How can we
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  Speaker 1: get at them? He continued, turning to the scout, do
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  Speaker 1: you think we can approach them, No, said Hanatamwah. There
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  Speaker 1: is not cover enough, and besides, they are getting further
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  Speaker 1: away from the bushes as they feed. What, then, asked
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  Speaker 1: hisso Deshah. We can't run them. They would be off
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  Speaker 1: through the thicket in a moment and we would lose
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  Speaker 1: them all. Yes, replied the scout. That is certain, but
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  Speaker 1: we can get them for all that. I never saw
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  Speaker 1: a better place for us around, and it will take
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  Speaker 1: but a short time to get our braves in position. True,
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  Speaker 1: said Hissu Dicha. If the wind is right, how is it?
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  Speaker 1: There is none, said the scout, taking a feather from
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  Speaker 1: his headdress and tossing it in the air. You see
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  Speaker 1: it falls direct, I see, said hisso Dicha. Let us
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  Speaker 1: divide the men. We have enough to pen them in completely.
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  Speaker 1: You can guide one half of them to their stands.
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  Speaker 1: I will go with the rest. You ta tech godda hair,
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  Speaker 1: he continued, had better bring up your horse and stay
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  Speaker 1: where you are. It is about as good a stand
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  Speaker 1: as you can get. You will have to wait patiently,
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  Speaker 1: as it may be an hour before all are placed.
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  Speaker 1: When you hear the signal, which will be the hunter's whistle,
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  Speaker 1: you may gallop forward and do your best. If we succeed,
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  Speaker 1: we shall have plenty of sport and a good supper,
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  Speaker 1: and I suppose you are ready for that. By this
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  Speaker 1: time the renegade now left me, followed by the scout,
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  Speaker 1: and went back to the rest of the party. Their
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  Speaker 1: intention was to separate the band into two equal parties,
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  Speaker 1: and each taking an opposite direction, to place men at
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  Speaker 1: regular intervals around the prairie. They would keep in the
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  Speaker 1: chapparal while on the mark, and only discover themselves when
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  Speaker 1: the signal was given. In this way, if the buffaloes
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  Speaker 1: did not take the alarm, we should be almost certain
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  Speaker 1: of securing the entire herd. As soon as Issoudutcha left me,
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  Speaker 1: I selected my hunting arrows, which, unlike those used for war,
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  Speaker 1: are not poisoned. Then I brought up my horse, and,
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  Speaker 1: having nothing else to do, I remain seated upon his back,
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  Speaker 1: watching the animals as they fed on, unaware of their danger.
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  Speaker 1: The screaming of birds who flew up from the thicket
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  Speaker 1: showed that the hunters were proceeding to their stands now
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  Speaker 1: and then an old bull, standing like a sentinel on
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  Speaker 1: the outskirts of the herd would snuff the wind and
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  Speaker 1: strike the ground violently with his hoof, as as though
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  Speaker 1: suspecting that something was wrong. But the others did not
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  Speaker 1: seem to mind him, and kept on cropping the luxuriant grass.
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  Speaker 1: Suddenly an object made its appearance, emerging from the moat
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  Speaker 1: in the center of the prairie. It looked like a
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  Speaker 1: buffalo calf, proceeding to join the others. As usual, a
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  Speaker 1: pack of coyotes were sneaking around the herd, and these,
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  Speaker 1: on perceiving the calf, made an instant attack upon it.
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  Speaker 1: To my surprise, it seemed to fight its way through them,
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  Speaker 1: and soon joined the herd, and was lost a view
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  Speaker 1: among them. I thought no more of it, and was
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  Speaker 1: wondering how much longer I would have to wait for
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  Speaker 1: the signal, when I noticed that the buffaloes were lying
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  Speaker 1: down one after another. In a few minutes, eight or
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  Speaker 1: ten were stretched upon the turf, and I observed that
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  Speaker 1: they fell suddenly as if shot, and some of them
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  Speaker 1: appeared to kick and struggle violently. I had heard of
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  Speaker 1: a curious habit of these animals, known as wallowing, and
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  Speaker 1: concluded this must be it, as I had never witnessed
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  Speaker 1: this maneuver. I watched them as attentively as possible, but
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  Speaker 1: the high grass prevented me from seeing much at all events,
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  Speaker 1: I thought the surround will be complete before they get
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  Speaker 1: ready to move, and I waited patiently for the signal.
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  Speaker 1: The buffaloes still continued to lie down, one after another,
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  Speaker 1: and at length the last one of the herds stretched
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  Speaker 1: himself upon the prairie. At this instant, the shrill notes
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  Speaker 1: of the Indian whistle reached my ears, and a wild
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  Speaker 1: yell arose from all sides of the prairie. I urged
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  Speaker 1: my horse forward. A hundred others had done the same,
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  Speaker 1: all yelling at the top of their voices as they
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  Speaker 1: shot out of the thicket. Filled with the wild excitement
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  Speaker 1: incident to such a scene, I galloped forward with my
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  Speaker 1: bow strung and arrows ready, intent upon having the first shot.
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  Speaker 1: To my surprise, the buffaloes did not stir. The Indians
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  Speaker 1: closed in yelling as they came, and we pulled up
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  Speaker 1: our horses in the very midst of the prostrate herd.
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  Speaker 1: I sat upon my horse as if spellbound, looking about
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  Speaker 1: me in consternation and wonder. Before me lay the bodies
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  Speaker 1: of the buffaloes, and I seized with a superstitious awe
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  Speaker 1: when I perceived that every one of them was dead
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  Speaker 1: or dying. Blood flowed from their mouths and nostrils, and
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  Speaker 1: from wounds in the side of each. The red stream
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  Speaker 1: trickled down the prairie carpet was dyed with it. My
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  Speaker 1: companion seemed at first as much surprised as myself, but
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  Speaker 1: some of the more astute quickly divined the mystery and
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  Speaker 1: commenced looking about with keen scrutiny. Suddenly the renegade urged
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  Speaker 1: his horse forward, and on turning to see what he
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  Speaker 1: had discovered, I saw the buffalo calf, whose existence I
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  Speaker 1: had for a time forgotten. The calf had been concealed
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  Speaker 1: behind the carcass of one of the buffaloes, but now
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  Speaker 1: appeared to be endeavoring to make all into the timber
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  Speaker 1: issouditchaw rode up to it, evidently intending to pierce it
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  Speaker 1: with his lance, when the animal suddenly reared up, uttering
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  Speaker 1: a wild human scream. The shaggy hide was thrown aside,
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  Speaker 1: and a naked savage appeared, holding up his arms as
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  Speaker 1: if pleading for mercy. His appeal was a vain one, however,
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  Speaker 1: for the ruthless renegade pinned him to the earth with
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  Speaker 1: a thrust of his lance, and, springing from his horse,
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  Speaker 1: finished him with his tomahawk. He then scalped him, and,
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  Speaker 1: remounting his horse, directed some of the warriors to scour
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  Speaker 1: the prairie as they might find another calf concealed in
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  Speaker 1: the long grass. With the rest of the party, he
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  Speaker 1: rode up to the moat, and they quickly formed in
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  Speaker 1: a circle around it. Familiar as I had become with
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  Speaker 1: Indian cruelty, I felt a sensation of horror and disgust
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  Speaker 1: at this cool shedding of blood, and I halted irresolutely
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  Speaker 1: by the body of the dead Indian. He lay stretched
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  Speaker 1: upon his back, naked to the breech clout, the red
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  Speaker 1: stream flowing from the lance wound in his side. His
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  Speaker 1: limbs quivered, but it was in the last spasm of
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  Speaker 1: departing life. The hide in which he had been disguised
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  Speaker 1: lay near him, where he had flung it at the
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  Speaker 1: moment he was discovered. Beside him were a bow and
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  Speaker 1: several arrows. The latter were covered with blood. The feathers
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  Speaker 1: steeped in and clinging to the shafts. They had pierced
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  Speaker 1: the bodies of the buffaloes, passing entirely through each arrow,
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  Speaker 1: had taken many lives. I was still contemplating the dead
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  Speaker 1: man when a yell from the moat attracted my attention,
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  Speaker 1: and I rode thither. I reached the spot just in
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  Speaker 1: time to see the body of another Indian dragged out
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  Speaker 1: from the thick undergrowth, and his fortunate slayer, who happened
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  Speaker 1: to be one of the younger braves, took the scalp
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  Speaker 1: with great complacency, as it was his first trophy of
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  Speaker 1: the kind. The Indians evidently believed that another of the
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  Speaker 1: Coyataro's or wolf apaches, for to this tribe the two
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  Speaker 1: dead savages were declared to belong, was concealed in the thicket,
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  Speaker 1: for they were formed in a sort of irregular circle
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  Speaker 1: around the copse, peering into it from every direction. Hisso
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  Speaker 1: Dijah now ordered the warriors to close in from every
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  Speaker 1: direction and search the thicket. In this maneuver, I found
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  Speaker 1: myself compelled to take part, as otherwise I would have
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  Speaker 1: incurred the stigma of cowardice. We dismounted from our horses
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  Speaker 1: and pressed into the thicket from all sides for a
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  Speaker 1: few seconds, nothing could be heard but the cracking of
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  Speaker 1: the undergrowth as we forced our way through it. Suddenly
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  Speaker 1: a yell arose from the side opposite to my position,
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  Speaker 1: and almost instantly a third coyotero sprang from a dense
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  Speaker 1: clump of willows near the spring and made for the opening.
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  Speaker 1: It chanced that I was directly in his path, and
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  Speaker 1: he was rushing upon me with upraised knife. Strong as
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  Speaker 1: might be my repugnance to taking human life, the instinct
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  Speaker 1: of self preservation was still stronger, and before he could
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  Speaker 1: reach me, I had pierced him with an arrow, and
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  Speaker 1: he fell dead, almost at my feet. In an instant
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  Speaker 1: the warriors had gathered around me, and I was being
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  Speaker 1: congratulated upon my bravery and skill. Not feeling particularly proud
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  Speaker 1: of the achievement, I was about to remount my horse
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  Speaker 1: when his so ditchaw reminded me that I had neglected
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  Speaker 1: to scalp the fallen foe. So I was compelled to
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  Speaker 1: perform that operation, which I did rather clumsily. A thorough
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  Speaker 1: search through the thicket and over the prairie. Having satisfied
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  Speaker 1: my savage companions that no more of the Koyataro's had
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  Speaker 1: been present, we returned to the dead buffaloes and began
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  Speaker 1: skinning and cutting them up. Stone Awan soon arrived with
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  Speaker 1: the remainder of the band, and as it was nearly sundown,
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  Speaker 1: we encamped upon the spot, the spring furnishing water and
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  Speaker 1: the grass of the prairie. In abundance of rich food
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  Speaker 1: for the horses as for ourselves, we feasted in true
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  Speaker 1: savage fashion, finding the fresh steaks, tongues, and hump ribs
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  Speaker 1: a decided improvement upon the desail which I'd previously been
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  Speaker 1: our diet. I was compelled to listen to many encomiums
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  Speaker 1: upon my courage and dexterity, and some of the young
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  Speaker 1: braves ventured the opinion that to Teca Daher would soon
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  Speaker 1: be as great a warrior as his So did Yah.
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  Speaker 1: Painfully impressed by the scene of slaughter in which I
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  Speaker 1: had been an unwilling participant, I held myself aloof as
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  Speaker 1: much as possible from the merry groups around the campfires,
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  Speaker 1: and at an early hour wrapped myself in my blanket and,
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  Speaker 1: wearied by the fatigue and excitement of the past two days,
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  Speaker 1: I was soon buried in a heavy and dreamless sleep,
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  Speaker 1: which continued until the dawn of another morning again compelled
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  Speaker 1: me to come forth, and this time it was not
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  Speaker 1: as an inexperienced brave, but as an acknowledged warrior, for
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  Speaker 1: I had slain an enemy and taken my first scalp.
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  Speaker 1: I cannot say, however, that my increase of notoriety was
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  Speaker 1: a source of satisfaction to me, but quite the contrary,
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  Speaker 1: somewhat to my surprise. We remained by the moat spring
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  Speaker 1: for three days. This was necessary in order to convert
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  Speaker 1: the buffalo meat into tsao, as we had not a
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  Speaker 1: sufficient supply for our purpose. On the evening of the
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  Speaker 1: third day, the meat being sufficiently cured, we struck camp
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  Speaker 1: and rode off to the north until we had reached
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  Speaker 1: the chain of mountains which crossed our path. Here we
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  Speaker 1: turned to the eastward and journeyed along their base, intending
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  Speaker 1: to cross at a well known pass about twenty miles above.
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  Speaker 1: Reaching it at nightfall, we again encamped, designing to pass
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  Speaker 1: the mountain range the next morning. End of Chapter twenty
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  Speaker 1: four