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 lelure. 
 
 1 
 
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 32X 
 
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Tt 
 
' 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE 
 
 ! 
 
1 
 
 Taoe 61. 
 
 HE FELL, PIERCED BY A SHOWI.ii OF ARROWS. 
 
 
i 
 
 " <• 
 
 THE RED MAN'S 
 REVENGE 
 
 7^^^fc^> 
 
 BY 
 
 R. M. BALLANTYNE 
 
 Xon&on 
 NISBET & GO. LTD. 
 
 22 BERNERS S TREET , W.l 
 
 BIBLfOTHECA 
 
y' 
 
 ■ r 
 
 ^ 
 
 r 
 
 h 
 
 7 C - 
 
 ^^O 
 
 Printed in Great Britain oy T. nml A. Con.staihk T.td. 
 
 at the University Presa, Kdinbiirgli 
 
 P 1276 
 
TilEFACE 
 
 TiiK small ar.l .ratlcml w-Klcmoiit on Iho Imnks nf 
 R«l Eivcr, of the north, was a sort of oasis i„ the desert 
 of the Hudson's Hay Co.npany's territories at the time 
 of the occurrence of the great Flood which forms the 
 groundwork of this tale. It was nmch the sa.ne when 
 1 sojourned there in 1841-42. It is now, under the new 
 name of Winnipeg, a rising frontier town of the Dominion 
 of Canada, in the province of Manitoba. 
 
 All the details, as well a.s the leading incidents of the 
 floo<l, aic, I believe, in strict accordance with fact. The 
 tale itself is fiction. 
 
 .R. M. B, 
 
{ 
 
 I 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CIlAI-. 
 
 I. OPENS THE BALL, 
 
 It. CONFLICTING KLEMKNT8 AND A CATAbTUOI'HB, . 
 
 III. THE rUUSUlT HEUUN, 
 
 IV. A DISCOVKHV — THE CHASK CONTINnKI) ON FOOT, 
 
 V. TONV JIKCOMKS A UKDSKIN, AND THE I'UU.SL'EltS CHANGE 
 THEIR GAME, 
 
 VI. DESCRIDES A GREAT HUNT, 
 
 VII. SOME OF THE SHADOWS oF A HUFFALu-HUNTER's LIFE, 
 
 VIII. THE CHASE CONTINUED, AND UROUQHT TO A FIEUY 
 TERMINATION, 
 
 IX. METEOROLOGICAL CHANG KS AND CONSKlJUENCES, AND 
 A GRAND OrrORTUNITY Ml.SIMPROVED, 
 
 X. FATE OF THE BUFFALO-HUNTERS, .... 
 
 XI. TO THE RESCUE, 
 
 XII. VICTORY I 
 
 XIII. A CUNNING DEVICE ENDS IN FAILURE FOLLOWED UY 
 
 J<ESTRUCTION, 
 
 XIV. THE FLOOD BEGINS TO DO ITS WORK, .... 
 XV. THE FLOOD CONTINUES TO DO ITS WORK, . 
 
 XVL WINKLKMANN AND OLD LIZ UET INTO TROUBLE, 
 
 FADE 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 20 
 20 
 
 38 
 
 48 
 57 
 
 66 
 
 lit 
 
 84 
 
 93 
 
 102 
 
 111 
 121 
 130 
 140 
 
f 
 
 VUl 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 XVIII. 
 XIX. 
 
 XX. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 XJCII. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 :vxvi. 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 THE WATERS STILL lUSK, AXU MIsS TRIM COMES TO 
 ORIKP-, 
 
 OLD RAVENSUAW GOES EXPLORING AND RKSCUING, 
 
 rUK RED MAN RECEIVKS A VISITOR, COGITATES DEKl'LV, 
 AND ACTS WITH DECISION, 
 
 A TERRIBLE DISASTER AND A JOYFUL MEETING, 
 
 RI TURN OF THE LOST ONE. 
 
 THE 'iMPOSSIRLE' ACCOMPLISHED, 
 
 FOUND AND SAVED, 
 
 A SURPRISING DISCUVEUY-— AND MORE, 
 
 BRINGS THINGS TO A POINT. 
 
 THE LAST, , 
 
 PAGK 
 
 150 
 161 
 
 171 
 
 181 
 IDl 
 200 
 210 
 219 
 228 
 237 
 
1 
 
 PAGK 
 150 
 
 161 
 
 171 
 
 181 
 191 
 
 200 
 210 
 219 
 
 22H 
 237 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 OPENS THE BALL 
 
 TF there ever was a man who possessed a gem in the form 
 -L of a daughter of nineteen, that man was Samuel 
 Ravenshaw ; and if ever there was a girl who owned a 
 Wuff, jovial, fiery, hot-tempe. 3d, irascible old father, that 
 girl was Elsie Ravenshaw. 
 
 Although a gem, Elsie was exceedingly imperfect. 
 Had she been the reverse she would not have been worth 
 writing about. 
 
 Old Ravenshaw, as his familiars styled him, was a 
 settler, if we may use such a term in reference to one who 
 was, perhaps, among the most unsettled of men. He 
 had settled with his family on the banks of the Red 
 River. The colony on that river is now one of the 
 frontier towns of Canada. At the time we write of, it 
 was a mere oasis in the desert, not even an offshoot of 
 civilisation, for it owed its existence chiefly to the fact 
 that retiring servants of the Hudson's Bay Fur Company 
 congregated there to spend the evening of life, far beyond 
 the Canadian boundary, in the heart of that great wilder- 
 ness where they had spent their working days, and on 
 the borders of that grand prairie where the red man and 
 
1 
 
 2 THE RED MAN'S REVEXOE : 
 
 the buffalo roamed at will, and the conventionalities of 
 civilised life troubled them not. 
 
 To this haven of rest Samuel Ravenshaw had retired, 
 after spending an active life in the service of the fur- 
 traders, somewhat stifltened in the joints by age and a 
 rough career, and a good deal soured in disposition because 
 of promotion having, as he thought, been too long deferred. 
 
 Besides Elsie, old Ravenshaw possessed some other 
 gems of inferior lustre. His wife Maggie, a stout, well- 
 favoured lady, with an insufficient intellect and unbounded 
 good-humour, was of considerable intrinsic value, but 
 highly unpolished. His second daughter, Cora, was a thin 
 slip of sixteen years, like her mother in some respects — 
 pretty, attractive, and disposed to take life easily. His 
 eldest son, Victor, a well-grown lad of fourteen, was a 
 rough diamond, if a diamond at all, with a soul centred 
 on sport. His second son, Anthony, between five and six, 
 was large and robust, like his father. Not having been 
 polished at that time, it is hard to say what sort of gem 
 Tony was. When engaged in mischief — his besetting 
 foible — his eyes shone like carbuncles with unholy light. 
 He was the plague of the family. Of course, therefore, 
 he was the beloved of his parents. 
 
 Such were the chief inmates of Willow Creek, as old 
 Ravenshaw styled his house and property. 
 
 It was midwinter. The owner of Willow Creek stood 
 at his parlour window, smoking and gazing. There was 
 not much to look at, for snow had overwhelmed and 
 buried the landscape, fringed every twig of the willows, 
 and obliterated the frozen river. 
 
 Elsie was seated by the stove, embroidering a pair of 
 moccasins. 
 
 ' Victor is bringing down some of the lads to shoot to- 
 day, father,' she said, casting a furtive glance at her sire. 
 
 I 
 
1 
 
 old 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 3 
 
 ' Humph ! that boy docs nothing but shoot,' growled 
 flic old man, who was a giant i» body if not in spirit. 
 ' Who all is he bringing ? ' 
 
 'There's John Flett, and David Mowat, and Sam 
 Hayes, and Herr Winkleniann, and Ian Macdonald, and 
 Louis Lambert— all the best shots, I suppose,* said Elsie, 
 bending over her work. 
 
 ' The best shots ! ' cried Mr. Ravenshaw, turning from 
 the window with a sarcastic laugh. ' Louis Lambert, 
 indeed, and Winklemann are crack shots, and John Flett 
 is not bad, but the others are poor hands. Mowat can 
 only shoot straight with a crooked gun, and as for that 
 aalf-cracked schoolmaster, Ian Macdonald, he would miss 
 a barn door at fifty paces unless he were to shut his 
 eyes and fire at random, in which case he 'd have some 
 chance * 
 
 * Here they is ; the shooters is corain*. Hooray ! ' 
 shouted Master Anthony Ravenshaw, as he burst into the 
 room with a scalping-knife in one hand and a wooden 
 gun in the other. * An' I 's goin' to shoot too, daddy ! ' 
 
 ' So you are, Tony, my boy ! ' cried the old trader, 
 catching up the pride of his heart in his strong arms and 
 tossing him towards the ceiling. * You shall shoot before 
 long with a real gun.' 
 
 Tony knocked the pipe out of his father's mouth, and 
 was proceeding to operate on his half-bald head with the 
 scalping-knife, when Cora, who entered the room at the 
 moment, sprang forward and wrenched the weapon from 
 his grasp. 
 
 * We '11 give them dinner after the shooting is over, 
 shan't we, father ? ' asked Cora. 
 
 * Of course, my dear, of course,' replied the hospitable 
 old gentleman, giving the pride of his heart a sounding 
 kiss as he put him down. ' Set your mother to work on 
 
$ 
 
 4 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 a pic, and get Miss Trim to help you with a lot of those 
 cakes you make so famously.' 
 
 As he spoke there was a sudden clattering in the porch. 
 The young men were taking oU their snow-shoes and 
 stamping the snow from off their leggings and moccasincd 
 feet. 
 
 * Here we are, father ! ' cried a bright, sturdy youth, as 
 he ushered in his followers. ' Of course Elsie has pre- 
 pared you for our sudden invasion. The fact is that we 
 got up the match on the spur of the moment, because I 
 found that Ian had a holiday.* 
 
 * No explanation required, Victor. Glad to see you 
 all, boys. Sit down,' said Mr. Ravenshaw, shaking hands 
 all round. 
 
 The youths who were thus heartily welcomed presented 
 a fine manly appearance. They were clad in the capotes, 
 leggings, fur caps, moccasins, and fingerless mittens usually 
 worn by the men of the settlement in winter. 
 
 That tall, handsome fellow, with the curly black hair 
 and flashing eyes, who bears himself so confidently as he 
 greets the sisters, is Louis Lambert. The thickset youth 
 behind him, with the shock of flaxen hair and impercep- 
 tible moustache, is Herr Winklemann, a German farmer's 
 son, and a famed buffalo-hunter. The ungainly man, of 
 twenty-four apparently — or thereabouts — with the plain 
 but kindly face, and the frame nearly as strong as that of 
 the host himself, is Ian Macdonald. In appearance he is 
 a rugged backwoodsman. In reality he is the school- 
 master of that part of the widely-scattered colony. 
 
 The invitation to sit down was Dot accepted. Daylight 
 was short-lived in those regions at that season of the year. 
 They sallied forth to the work in hand. 
 
 ' You 've had the target put up, Cora ? ' asked Victor, 
 as he went out. 
 

 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 6 
 
 * Yes, in the old place/ 
 
 * Where ia Tony ? ' 
 
 * I don't know/ said Cora, looking round. ' He was here 
 just now, trying to scalp father/ 
 
 ' You '11 find him at the target before you, no doubt,' 
 said Elsie, putting away her moccasins as she rose to aid 
 in the household preparations. 
 
 The target was placed against the bank of the river, so 
 that the bullets might find a safe retreat. The com- 
 petitors stood at about a hundred yards' distance in front 
 of it. The weapons used were single-barrelled smooth-bores, 
 with flint locks. Percussion locks had not at that time come 
 into fashion, and long ranges had not yet been dreamed of. 
 
 * Come, open the ball, Lambert/ said Victor. 
 
 The handsome youth at once stepped forward, and old 
 Mr. Ravenshaw watched him with an approving smile as 
 he took aim. Puff ! went the powder in the pan, but no 
 sound followed save the peal of laughter with which the 
 miss-fire was greeted. The touch-hole was pricked, and 
 next time the ball sped to its mark. It hit the target 
 two inches above the bull's-eye. 
 
 The * well done ' with which the shot was hailed was 
 cut short by an appalling yell, and little Tony was seen 
 to tumble from behind the target. Rolling head over 
 heels, he curled himself round in agony, sprang up with a 
 spasmodic bound, dropped upon his haunches, turned 
 over a complete somersault, fell on his back with a fearful 
 shriek, and lay dead upon the snow ! 
 
 The whole party rushed in consternation towards the 
 boy, but before they had reached him he leaped up and 
 burst into a fit of gleeful laughter, which ended in a cheer 
 and a savage war-whoop as he scampered up the tra'^k 
 which led to the house, and disappeared over the brow of 
 the river's bank. 
 
6 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 * The imp was joking ! ' exclaimed ^Ir. Ravenshaw, as 
 he stopped and wiped the cold perspiration from his 
 brow. 
 
 At that moment a Red Indian appeared on the scene, 
 in his blanket robe, paint, and feathers. Attracted by 
 the shot, he had come to look on. Now, the old fur- 
 trader's nerves had received a tremendous shock, and the 
 practical jest which the pride of his heart had perpetrated 
 had roused the irascibility of his nature, so that an explo- 
 sion became unavoidable. In these circumstances the 
 arrival of the Indian seemed opportune, for the old 
 gentleman knew that this particular savage was a chief, 
 and had visited the colony for the purpose of making 
 inquiries into the new religion reported to be taught by 
 certain white men in black garments ; and Mr. Ravenshaw, 
 besides having very little regard for missionaries, had a 
 very strong contempt for those Indians who became their 
 disciples. He therefore relieved himself on the red man. 
 
 ' What do you want here, Petawanaquat ? ' he demanded 
 sternly, in the language of the Indian. 
 
 * The Little Wolf,* replied the Indian, referring to him- 
 self, for such was the interpretation of his name, ' wishes 
 to see how his white brothers shoot.' 
 
 ' Let the Little Wolf put his tail between his legs and 
 be gone,' cried the angry old man. * He is not wanted here. 
 Come, be ofl ! ' 
 
 The chief looked straight in the eyes of the trader with 
 a dark scowl, then, turning slowly on his heel stalked 
 solemnly away. 
 
 There was an irrepressible laugh at this episode as the 
 group of marksmen returned to their former position. 
 Mr. Ravenshaw, however, soon left them and returned 
 home. Here he found Miss Trim in a state of considerable 
 agitation ; she h id just encountered the redskin ! Miss 
 
the 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED IIIVER FLOOIJ 7 
 
 Trim was a poor relation of Mrs. Ravenshaw. She had 
 been invited by her brother-in-law to leave England and 
 come to Red River to act as governess to Tony and 
 assistant-companion in the family. She had arrived that 
 autumn in company with a piano, on which she was ex- 
 ^ pected to exercise Elsie and Cora. Pctawanaquat, being 
 the first ' really wild and painted savage * she had seen, 
 made a deep impression on her. 
 
 * Oh, Mr. Ravenshaw, I have seen such an object in the 
 garden ! ' she exclaimed, in a gushing torrent — she always 
 spoke in a torrent — ' r.nd it was all I could do to stagger 
 into the house without fainting. Such eyes ! with black 
 cheeks and a red nose — at least, it looked red, but I was 
 in oUch a state that I couldn't make sure whether it was 
 the nose or the chin, and my shoe came off as I ran away, 
 having broken the tie \n the morning. And such a yell 
 
 ,: as it gave ! — the creature, not the shoe-tie — but I escaped, 
 and peeped out of the upper window — the one in the 
 gable, you know, with the green blind, where you can see 
 the garden from end to end, and I found it had disappeared, 
 
 though I can't understand -' 
 
 ' Tut, tut. Miss Trim ; how you do gallop ! Was it a 
 beast ? ' asked the old trader. 
 
 * A beast ? No ; a man — a savage.' 
 
 * Oh ! I understand ; it was that scoundrel Petawana- 
 :.i quat,' said Sam Ravenshaw, with a laugh ; ' he 's Little 
 
 Wolf by name, and a big thief by practice, no doubt. 
 i You needn't fear him, however, he 's not so dangerous as 
 he looks, and I gave him a rebuff just now that will make 
 him shy of Willow Creek. — Ha, Tony, you rascal I Come 
 here, sir.' 
 
 Tony came at once, with such a gleeful visage that his 
 father's intended chastisement for the recent practical 
 joke ended in a parental caress. 
 
8 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVEXOE : 
 
 Bitterly did Ian Macdonald repent of his agreeing to 
 join the shooting party that day. Owing to some defect 
 in his vision or nervous system, he was a remarkably bad 
 shot, though in everything else he was an expert and 
 stalwart backwoodsman, as well as a good scholar. But 
 when his friend Victor invited him he could not refuse, 
 because it offered him an opportunity of spending some 
 time in the society of Elsie Ravenshaw, and that to him 
 was heaven upon earth ! Little of her society, however, 
 did the unfortunate teacher enjoy that day, for handsome 
 Louis Lambert engrossed not only Elsie, but the mother 
 and father as well. He had beaten all his competitors 
 at the target, but, to do him justice, did not boast of that ; 
 neither did he make any reference to the fact that Ian 
 had twice missed the target, though he did not spare the 
 bad shooting of some of the other youths ; this, no doubt, 
 because he and Ian had been fast friends for many years. 
 Jealousy — at least on the part of Ian — now seemed about 
 to interfere with the old friendship. Moreover, Lambert 
 had brought to Mrs. ."^.avenshaw a gift of a collar made 
 of the claws of a grizzly bear, shot by himself in the 
 Rocky Mountains. Elsie admired the collar with genuine 
 interest, and said she would give anything to possess one 
 like it. Cora, with the coquettishness of sixteen, said, 
 with a laugh and a blush, that she would not accept 
 such a ridiculous thing if it were offered to her. Ian 
 Macdonald groaned in spirit, for, with his incapacity to 
 shoot, he knew that Elsie's wish could never be gratified 
 by him. 
 
 Seeing that Lambert was bent on keeping Elsie as 
 much as possible to himself, Ian devoted himself to Cora, 
 but Cora was cross. Feeling it up-hill work, he soon 
 rose to say good-bye, and left Wi:!ow Creek before the 
 others. 
 
 1 ^ 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 9 
 
 jeing to 
 e defect 
 ,bly bad 
 ■ert and 
 If. But 
 b refuse, 
 ng some 
 b to him 
 bowever, 
 andsome 
 e mother 
 npetitors 
 ■j of that ; 
 that Ian 
 spare the 
 no doubt, 
 iny years. 
 led about 
 Lambert 
 liar made 
 slf in the 
 |h genuine 
 ssess one 
 een, said, 
 ot accept 
 her. Ian 
 opacity to 
 gratified 
 
 Elsie as 
 
 If to Cora, 
 
 he soon 
 
 )efore the 
 
 1 
 
 * Don't look so crestfallen, man,' said old ]\Ir. Raven- 
 shaw heartily, as he shook hands ; * it 's nobler work to 
 teach the young idea how to shoot than to be able to hit 
 a bull's-eye.* 
 
 * True, but he who cannot hit a bull's-cvc,' returned 
 Ian, with a smile, * can scarcely be expected to touch a 
 maiden's — I mean a grizzly's heart.' 
 
 A shout of laughter from Lambert greeted him as ho 
 left the house. His way home lay over the frozen 
 bod of the river. Victor accompanied him part of 
 the way. 
 
 * That was a strange slip for an unromantic fellow like 
 you to make about a maiden's heart, Ian,' said Victor, 
 looking up at the rugged countenance of his friend. 
 
 * " Unromantic," eh ? Well, I suppose I am.' 
 
 ' Of course you are,' said Victor, with the overweening 
 assurance of youth. ' Come, let 's sit down here for a 
 few minutes and discuss the point.' 
 
 He sat down on a snowdrift ; Ian kicked ojff his snow- 
 bhocs and leaned against the bank. 
 
 ' You 're the most grave, sensible, good-natured, matter- 
 of-fact, unsentimental, unselfish fellow I ever met with,' 
 resumed Victor. * If you were a romantic goose I 
 wouldn't like you half as much as I do.' 
 
 ' Men are sometimes romantic without being geese,' 
 returned Ian ; ' but I have not time to discuss that point 
 just now. Tell me, for I am anxious about it, have you 
 Bpoken to your father about selling the field with the 
 knoll to my father ? ' 
 
 1* Yes, and he flatly refused to sell it. I 'm really sorry, 
 an, but you know how determined my father is. Once 
 ^e says a thing he sticks to it, even though it should be 
 |o his own disadvantage.' 
 ' That 's bad, Victor, very bad. It will raise ill-blood 
 
 B 
 
10 
 
 THE KED MAx\'8 RE\ E.NGE : 
 
 between them, and estrange our families. You think 
 there *s no chance ? ' 
 
 ' None whatever.' 
 
 ' One more word before we part. Do you know much 
 about that redskin whom your father called Petawana- 
 quat ? ' 
 
 * Not much, except that he has come from a consider- 
 able distance to make inquiries, he says, about the 
 Christian religion. He has been prowling about our 
 place for a few days, and father, who has no great love 
 to missionaries, and has strong suspicions of converted 
 Indians, has twice treated him rather roughly.' 
 
 * I 'm sorry to hear that, Victor. These fellows are 
 eometimes very revengeful. If you '11 be advised by mc 
 you '11 keep a sharp eye upon Petawanaquat. There, I '11 
 say no more. You know I 'm not an alarmist. Good-bye.' 
 
 ' Good-bye, old boy.' 
 ' I say.' 
 ' Well ? ' 
 
 ' It was an av fully bad shot, that last of mine/ 
 ' It was,' admitted Victor, with a laugh, ' to miss a 
 thing as big as a door at a hundred yards is only so-so.' 
 
 * No chance of improvement, I fear,' said Ian, with a 
 sigh. 
 
 * Oh, don't say that,' replied Victor. * Practice, perse- 
 verance, and patience, you know, overcome every ' 
 
 ' Yes, yes. I know that well. Good-bye.' 
 They shook bauds again, and were soon striding over 
 the snow to their respectiw homes. 
 
 8< 
 
 b 
 
ou 
 
 think 
 
 
 A TALE OF THE KED RIVEll FLOOD 
 
 11 
 
 tiow much 
 Pctawana- 
 
 i consider- 
 about the 
 about our 
 great love 
 converted 
 
 fellows are 
 sed by mc 
 There, I '11 
 Good-bye.' 
 
 e.' 
 
 ' to miss a 
 so-so.' 
 [an, with a 
 
 3tice, perse- 
 briding over 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 CONFLICTING ELEMENTS AND A CATASTROPHE 
 
 HOARY winter passed away, and genial spring 
 returned to rejoice the land. 
 
 In a particularly amiable frame of mind, old Raven- 
 shaw wenc out one morning to smoke. 
 
 Everything had gone well that morning. Breakfast 
 had been punctual ; appetite good ; rheumatics in abey- 
 ance ; the girls lively ; and Miss Trim less of a torrent 
 than was her wont. Mrs. Ravenshaw's intellect had 
 more than once almost risen to the ordinary human 
 average, and Master Tony had been better — perhaps it 
 were more correct to say less wicked — than usual. 
 
 Old Ravenshaw was what his friends styled a heavy 
 smoker, so was his kitchen chimney ; but then the chimney 
 had the excuse of being compelled to smoke, whereas its 
 owner's insane act was voluntary. 
 
 Be not afraid, reader. We have no intention of entering: 
 into an argument with smokers. They are a pig-headed 
 generation. We address those who have not yet become 
 monomaniacs as regards tobacco. 
 
 In order to the full enjoyment of his pipe, the old 
 gentleman had built on a knoll what Elsie styled a 
 summer-house. Regardless of seasons, however— as he 
 was of most things— her father used this temple at all 
 seasons of the year, and preferred to call it a smoking- 
 box. Now, as this smoking-box, with its surroundings. 
 
12 
 
 THE RED ^UN^S REVENGE : 
 
 had mucn to do with the issues of our story, we bring it 
 under particular notice. It resembled a large sentry-box, 
 and the willow-clad knoll on which it stood was close to 
 the river. Being elevated slightly above the rest of the 
 country, a somewhat extended view of river and plain 
 was obtainable therefrom. Samuel Ravenshaw loved to 
 contemplate this view through the medium of smoke. 
 Thus seen it was hazy and in accord with his own idea of 
 most things. The sun shone warmly into the smoking- 
 box. It sparkled on the myriad dew-drops that hung on 
 the willows, and swept in golden glory over the rolling 
 plains. The old gentleman sat down, puffed, and was 
 happy. The narcotic influence operated, and the irascible 
 demon in his breast fell sound asleep. 
 
 How often do bright sunshine and profound calm pre- 
 cede a storm ? Is not that a truism — if not a newism ? 
 The old gentleman had barely reduced himself to qui- 
 escence, and the demon had only just begun to snore, when 
 a cloud, no bigger than a man's body, arose on the 
 horizon. Gradually it drew near, partially obscured the 
 sky, and overshadowed the smoking-box in the form of 
 Angus Macdonald, the father of Ian. (The demon ceased 
 snoring !) 
 
 * Coot tay to you, sir,' said Angus. ' You will pe 
 enchoyin* your pipe this fine mornin'.' 
 
 * Yes, Angus, I am,' replied Ravenshaw, with as much 
 urbanity as he could assume — and it wasn't much, for he 
 suspected the cause of his neighbour's visit — * you 'd 
 better sit dowu and light your own.* 
 
 Angus accepted the invitation, and proceeded to load 
 with much deliberation. 
 
 Now it must be known that the Highlander loved the 
 view from that knoll as much as did his neighbour. It 
 reminded him of the old country where he had been 
 
 •f 
 
I 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 13 
 
 bring it 
 itry-box, 
 
 close to 
 st of the 
 ,nd plain 
 loved to 
 f smoke, 
 n idea of 
 smoking- 
 ; hung on 
 lie rolling 
 
 and was 
 e irascible 
 
 calm pre- 
 newism ? 
 If to qui- 
 lore, when 
 ae on the 
 icured the 
 e form of 
 ion ceased 
 
 II will pe 
 
 1 as much 
 Lch, for he 
 — ' you 'd 
 
 [d to load 
 
 loved the 
 ibour. It 
 had been 
 
 born and bred on a hill-top. He coveted that willcjv 
 knoll intensely, desiring to build a house on it, and, 
 being prosperous, was wiUing to give for it more than its 
 value, for his present dwelHng lay somewhat awkwardly 
 in the creek, a little higher up the river, so that the 
 willows on the knoll interfered vexatiously with his view. 
 
 ' It *s a peavitiful spote this ! ' observed Angus, after 
 a few preliminary puffs. 
 
 ' It is,' answered the old trader curtly (and the demon 
 awoke). 
 
 AnguB made no rejoinder for a few minutes, but con- 
 tinued to puff great clouds with considerable emphasis 
 from his compressed lips. Mr. Ravenshaw returned the 
 fire with interest. 
 
 ' It '11 no pe for sellin* the knowl, ye are ? * said Angus. 
 
 The demon was fairly roused now. 
 
 ' No, Angus Macdonald,' said the trader sternly, ' I '11 
 7iot sell it. I Ve told you already more than once, and it 
 is worse than ill-judged, it is impertinent of you to come 
 bothering me to part with my land.' 
 
 * Ho ! inteed ! ' exclaimed Angus, rising in wrath, and 
 cramming his pipe into his vest pocket ; * it is herself 
 that will pe pothering you no more apout vour dirty land, 
 Samyool Ruvnshaw.' 
 
 He strode from the spot with a look of ineffable scorn, 
 and the air of an offended chieftain. 
 
 Old Ravenshaw tried to resume his tranquillity, but the 
 demon was self-willed, and tobacco had lost its power. 
 There were more clouds, however, in store for him that 
 morning. 
 
 It so fell out that Ian Macdonald, unable to bear the 
 suspense of uncertainty any longer, and all ignorant of his 
 father's visit to the old trader, had made up his mind to 
 bring things to a point that very morning by formally 
 
14 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVENGE 
 
 asking permission to pay his addresses to Elsie Raven- 
 shaw. Knowing the old man's habits, he went straight to 
 the smoking-box. If he had set out half an hour sooner 
 he would have met his own father and saved himself 
 trouble. As it was, they missed each other. 
 
 Mr. Ravenshaw had only begun to feel slightly calmed 
 when Ian presented himself, with a humble, propitiatory 
 air. The old man hated humility in every form, even its 
 name. He regarded it as a synonym for hypocrisy. The 
 demon actually leaped within him, but the old man had a 
 powerful will. He seized his spiritual enemy, throttled, 
 and held him down. 
 
 * Good-morning, Mr. Ravenshaw.' 
 
 * Good-morning.' 
 
 Nothing more was said by either for a few minutes, 
 Ian was embarrassed. He had got up a set speech and 
 forgotten it. He was shy, but he was also resolute. 
 Drawing himself up suddenly he said, with an earnest, 
 honest look : 
 
 * Mr. Ravenshaw, I love your daughter * (there was 
 only one daughter in lan's estimation !), * and I come 
 to ask leave to woo her. If, by earnest devotion 
 and ' 
 
 * Ian Macdonald,' interrupted the old gentleman, in a 
 voice of suppressed anger, ' you may save yourself and 
 me the trouble of more talk on this subject. Your father 
 has just been here wanting me to sell him this knoll. 
 Now, look here ' (he rose, and stepping out of the 
 smoking-box, pointed to Angus Macdonald's house, which 
 was full in view), ' you see that house, young man. 
 Mark what I say. I will sell this knoll to your father, 
 and give my daughter to you, when you take that house, 
 and with your own unaided hands place it on the top of 
 this knoll ! ' 
 
 ,.,»* 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 15 
 
 s Raven- 
 raiglit to 
 ir sooner 
 [ himself 
 
 Y calmed 
 pitiatory 
 even its 
 sy. The 
 an had a 
 throttled, 
 
 minutes, 
 eech and 
 
 resolute. 
 , earnest, 
 
 here was 
 
 I I come 
 
 devotion 
 
 nan, in a 
 irself and 
 )ur father 
 his knoll. 
 b of the 
 Lse, which 
 mg man. 
 ur father, 
 lat house, 
 ;he top of 
 
 This was meant by the old trader as a bitterly facetious 
 way of indicating the absolute hopelessness of the case. 
 Ian accepted it in that light, for he was well aware that 
 Samuel Ravcnshaw'a firmness— or obstinacy— was insur- 
 mountable. He did not despair, however ; true love never 
 does that ; but he felt tremendously cast down. Without 
 a word or look of reproach he turned and walked slowly 
 
 away. 
 
 Once again the old trader sought comfort in his pipe, 
 but found none. Besides feeling extremely indignant 
 with the Macdonp'ds, father and son, for what he styled 
 their presumption, he was now conscious of having treated 
 both with undue severity. Dashing his pipe on the 
 ground, he thrust both hands into his coat pockets, and 
 returned towards his dwelling. On the way he unfor- 
 tunately met Petawanaquat in one of his fields, leaning 
 composedly over a gate. That intelligent redskin had 
 not yet finished his inquiries at the missionary village. 
 He had appeared more than once at Willow Creek, and 
 seemed to hover round the old trader like a moth round a 
 candle. The man was innocei-)t of any evil intent on this 
 occasion, but Ravenshaw would have quarrelled with an 
 angel just then. 
 
 ' What are you doing here ? Be off 1 ' he said sternly. 
 
 The Indian either did not or would not understand, 
 and the old man, seizing him by the arm, thrust him 
 violently through the gateway. 
 
 All the hot blood of the Petawanaquats, from Adam 
 downwards, seemed to leap through the red man's veins 
 and concentrate in his right hand as he turned fiercely 
 on the trader and drew his scalping-knife. Quick as 
 lightning Ravenshaw hit out with his fist, and knocked 
 the Indian down, then, turning on his heel, walked 
 away. 
 
l!liiMI.II!l.il.,..4. ,. „« 
 
 16 
 
 THE RED UMAX'S REVENGE 
 
 For ft momeiit Petawanaquat lay stunned. Rorovering, 
 he arose, and his dark glittering eyes told of a purpose 
 of deadly revenge. The trader was still in sight. The 
 Indian picked up his gun, glided swiftly behind a tree, 
 and took a long steady aim. Just then little Tony rushed 
 from the house and leaped into his father's arms, where 
 he received an unusually warm embrace, for the trader 
 wanted some sort of relief for his feelings. The Indian's 
 finger was pressing the trigger at the moment. Death 
 was very near Samuel Ravenshaw just then, but the 
 finger relaxed and the gun was lowered. A more terrible 
 form of revenge had flashed into the mind of the savage. 
 Gliding quietly from his position, he entered the willows 
 and disappeared. 
 
 Meanwhile Angus Macdonald returned in no very 
 amiable mood to his own house. It was a small house ; 
 had been built by its owner, and was, like most of the 
 other houses of the colony at that time, a good solid log 
 structure — a sort of Noah's ark on a small scale. It 
 stood on a flat piece of mother earth, without any special 
 foundation except a massive oblong wooden frame to 
 which all the superstructure was attached You might, if 
 strong enough, have grasped it by the ridge-pole and 
 carried it bodily away without tearing up any foundation or 
 deranging the fabric. It was kept in order and managed 
 by an elderly sister of Angus, named Martha, for Angus 
 was a widower. His only son Ian dwelt in the school- 
 house, a mile farther up the river. 
 
 Martha's strong point was fowls. We are too ignorant 
 of that subject to go into particulars. We can only say 
 that she was an adept at fowls. Martha's chickens were 
 always tender and fat, and their eggs were the largest and 
 freshest in Red River We introduce these fowls solely 
 because one of them acted a very important part on a 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 17 
 
 )vering, 
 purpose 
 t. The 
 
 a tree, 
 ' rushed 
 I, where 
 } trader 
 Indian's 
 Death 
 but the 
 
 terrible 
 
 savage. 
 
 willows 
 
 10 very 
 I house ; 
 t of the 
 solid log 
 pale. It 
 f special 
 rame to 
 alight, if 
 lole and 
 lation or 
 iianaged 
 r Angus 
 I school- 
 ignorant 
 Duly say 
 ms were 
 est and 
 8 solely 
 rt on a 
 
 very critical occasion. As well might the gcoae who saved 
 Rome be omitted from history as Martha Macdonald'a 
 Cochin-China hen which — well, we won't say what just 
 yet. That hen was frightfully plain. Why Cochin-China 
 hens should have such long legs and wear feather trousers 
 are questions which naturalists must settle among them- 
 selves. Being a humorous man, Angus had named her 
 Beaut} . She was a very cross hen, and her feather un- 
 mentionables fitted badly. Moreover, she was utterly 
 useless, and never laid an egg, which was fortunate, for if 
 she had laid one it would have been an eg-regious mon- 
 strosity. She was obviously tough. If they had slain 
 her for the table they would have had to cut her up with 
 a hand-saw, or grind her into meal to fit her for use. 
 Besides all this. Beauty was a widow. When her husband 
 died — probably of disgust — she took to crowing on her 
 own account. She received Angus with a crow when he 
 entered the house after his interview with Ravenshaw, 
 and appeared to listen intently as he poured his sorrows 
 into his sister's ear. 
 
 ' It 's up at the knowl I 've peen, Martha, an' I left 
 Samyool Ruvnshaw there in a fery pad temper — fery pad 
 intced. He '11 come oot of it, whatere/*.* 
 
 ' An' he '11 not be for sellin' you the knowl ? ' asked 
 Martha. 
 
 ' No, he won't,' replied Angus. 
 
 From this point they went ofi into a very long-winded 
 discussion of the pros and cons of the case, which, how- 
 ever, we will spare the reader, and return to Willow 
 Creek. The bed of the creek, near to the point where it 
 joined the Red River, was a favourite resort of Master 
 Tony. Thither he went that same afternoon to play. 
 Having observed the child's habits, Petawanaquat paddled 
 his canoe to the same point and hid it and himself among 
 
18 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE 
 
 the overhanging bushes of the creek. In the course of his 
 gambols Tony approached the place. One stroke of the 
 paddle sent the light birch bark canoe like an arrow across 
 the stream. The Indian sprang on shore. Tony gave him 
 one scared look and was about to utter an appalling yell, 
 when a red hand covered his mouth and another red 
 hand half throttled him. 
 
 Petawanaquat bundled the poor child into the bottom 
 of his canoe, wrapped a leather coat round his head, spread 
 a buffalo robe over him, gave him a smart rap on the 
 head to keep him quiet, and paddled easily out into the 
 stream. Steadily, but not too swiftly, he went down 
 the river, down the rapids, and past the Indian settle- 
 ment without attracting particular notice. Once the 
 buffalo robe moved ; the paddle descended on it with a 
 sounding whack, and it did not move again. Before 
 night closed, the Indian was paddling over the broad 
 bosom of Lake Winnipeg. 
 
 Of course, Tony was soon missed ; his haunts were well 
 known ; Miss Trim traced his footprints to the place where 
 he had been seized, saw evidences of the struggle, the 
 nature of which she correctly guessed, and came shrieking 
 back to the house, where she went off into hysterics, and 
 was unable to tell anything about the matter. 
 
 Fortunately, Victor was there ; he also traced the foot- 
 steps. Instead of returning home he ran straight to the 
 school-house, which he reached out of breath. 
 
 * Come, Ian, come ! ' he gasped. * Tony 's been carried 
 off — Petawanaquat ! Bring your canoe and gun ; all the 
 ammunition you can lay hands on ! ' 
 
 Ian asked for no explanations ; he ran into the house, 
 shouldered a small bag of pemmican, gave his gun and 
 ammunition to Victor, told his assistant to keep the 
 school going till his return, and ran with his friend 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RTVEr; FLOOD 
 
 19 
 
 ^ of his 
 
 of tlie 
 
 ' across 
 
 ,ve him 
 
 ig yell 
 
 ler red 
 
 bottom 
 
 spread 
 
 on the 
 
 nto the 
 
 i down 
 
 settle- 
 
 ice the 
 
 with a 
 
 Before 
 
 ! broad 
 
 ere well 
 e where 
 ^le, the 
 irieking 
 ics, and 
 
 he foot- 
 i to the 
 
 carried 
 all the 
 
 down to the river, where his own birch canoe lay on the 
 bank. 
 
 A few minutes sufficed to launch it Both Tan and 
 N'ictor were expert canoe-men. Straining their powers 
 to the utmost, they were soon far down the Red River, in 
 hot pursuit of the fugitive. 
 
 e house, 
 ;un and 
 eep the 
 3 friend 
 
 H 
 
20 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVENGE 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE PURSUIT BEGUN 
 
 THERE is something delightfully exhilarating in a 
 chase, whether it be after man or beast. How 
 the blood careers ! How the nerves tingle ! But you 
 know all about it, reader. We have said sufficient. 
 
 There was enough of righteous indignation in Victor's 
 bosom to have consumed Petawanaquat, and gioind 
 enough to justify the fiercest resolves. Was not the kid- 
 napper a redskin — a low, mean, contemptible savage ? 
 Was not the kidnapped one his brother — his * own ' 
 brother ? And such a brother ! One of a thousand, with 
 mischief enough in him, if rightly directed, to make half- 
 a-dozen ordinary men ! The nature of the spirit which 
 animated Victor was obvious on his compressed lips, his 
 frowning brows, his gleaming eyes. The strength of 
 his muscles was indicated by the foam that fled from 
 his paddle. 
 
 Ian Macdonald was not less excited, but more under 
 self-control than his friend. There was a fixed look in 
 his plain but pleasant face, and a tremendous sweep in 
 his long arms as he plied the paddle, that told of un- 
 fathomed energy. The canoe being a mere egg-shell, 
 leaped forward at each quick stroke ' like a thing of life.* 
 
 There was no time to lose. They knew that, for the 
 Indian had probably got a good start of them, and, being 
 a powerful man, animated by the certainty of pursuit 
 
 I 
 
 1'^ 
 I 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 21 
 
 his 
 
 Fooncr or later, would not only put his strength but his 
 endurance to the test. If they were to overtake him it 
 must be by superhuman exertion. Lake Winnipeg was 
 twenty miles off. They must catch up the Indian before 
 he reached it, as otherwise it would be impossible to tell 
 ill which direction ho had gone. 
 
 They did not pause to make inquiries of the settlers on 
 the banks by the way, but they hailed several canoes, 
 whose occupants said they had seen the Indian going 
 quietly down stream some hours before — alone in his 
 
 canoe 
 
 f 
 
 ' Never mind, Vic, push on,' said Ian ; * of course he 
 would make Tony lie flat down.' 
 
 The end of the settlement was passed, and they swept 
 on into the wilderness beyond. Warming to their work, 
 they continued to paddle hour after hour — steadily, per- 
 sistently, with clockwork regularity of stroke, but never 
 decreasing force. To save time they, as it were, cut off 
 corners at the river-bends, and just shaved the points as 
 thoy went by. 
 
 ' Have a care, Ian ! ' exclaimed Victor, at one of these 
 places, as his paddle touched the bottom. ' We don't 
 draw much water, to be sure, but a big stone might — hah ! ' 
 
 A roar of dismay burst from the youth and his com- 
 panion as the canoe rasped over a stone. 
 
 We have said that the birch canoe was an egg-shell. 
 The word is scarcely figurative. The slightest touch 
 over a stone has a tendency to rip the bark of such a 
 slender craft, or break off the resinous gum with which 
 the seams are pitched. Water began to pour in. 
 
 ' Too bad ! ' exclaimed Victor, flinging his paddle 
 ashore, as he stepped over the side into the water not much 
 above his ankles, and pulled the canoe slowly to land. 
 
 * An illustration of the proverb, " The more haste the 
 
 
I't 
 
 mh 
 
 ^i^ 
 
 1 
 
 22 
 
 THE RED MAN'8 REVENGE : 
 
 less speed/' ' sighed Ian, as he stepped into the water and 
 assisted in lifting the canoe tenderly to dry ground. 
 
 ' Oh, it 's all very well for you to take it philosophically, 
 \mt you know our chance is gone. If it was your brother 
 we were after you wouldn't be so cool.' 
 
 ' He is Elsie's brother,' replied Ian, ' and that makes 
 me quite as keen as if he wore my own, besides keeping 
 me cool. Come, Vic, don't be cross, but light the fire and 
 get out the gum.' 
 
 While he spoke Ian was actively untying a bundle 
 which contained awls and wattape, a small pliable root, 
 with which to repair the injury. The gum had to be 
 melted, so that Victor found some relief to his feelings in 
 kindling a fire. The break was not a bad one. With 
 nimble fingers Ian sewed a patch of bark over it. While 
 that was being done, Victor struck a light with flint and 
 steel, and soon had a blazing firebrand ready. 
 
 ' Hand it here, Vic,' said Ian. 
 
 He covered the stitches with melted gum, blew the 
 charcoal red-hot, passed it here and there over the old 
 scams where they exhibited signs of leakage, and in little 
 more than half an hour had the canoe as tight as a bottle. 
 Once more they embarked and drove her like an arrow 
 down stream. 
 
 But precious time had been lost, and it was dark when 
 they passed from the river and rested on the bosom of the 
 mighty fresh- water sea. 
 
 ' It 's of no use going on without knowing which .shore 
 the redskin has followed,' said Ian, as he suddenly ceased 
 work and rested his paddle on the gunwale. 
 
 ' It 's of no use to remain where we are,' replied the 
 impatient Victor, looking back at his comrade. 
 
 * Yes, it is,' returned Ian, * the moon will rise in an 
 hour or so and enable us to make observations ; mean- 
 
 ■r 
 
! 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED KlN'EIl FLOOD 
 
 23 
 
 cr 
 
 and 
 
 lically, 
 nother 
 
 makes 
 :eeping 
 .le and 
 
 bundle 
 
 e root, 
 to be 
 
 ings in 
 
 With 
 
 While 
 
 int aud 
 
 ew the 
 
 the old 
 
 little 
 
 bottle. 
 
 arrow 
 
 m 
 
 k when 
 1 of the 
 
 1 shorn 
 ceased 
 
 ied the 
 
 in an 
 mean- 
 
 ■I 
 
 while we can rest. Sooner or later we shall be compelled 
 to rest. It will be a wise economy of time to do so now 
 when nothing else can be done.* 
 
 Victor was so tired and sleepy by that time that he 
 could scarcely reply. Ian laughed quietly, and shoved 
 the canoe among some reeds, where it lay on a soft bed. 
 At the same time he advised his companion to go to sleep 
 without delay. 
 
 More than half asleep already, he obeyed in silence, 
 waded to the shore, and sat down on a bank to take off 
 his moccasins. In this position and act he fell asleep. 
 
 * Hallo ! ' exclaimed Ian, coming up with the paddles 
 and pemmican bag ; ' too soon, Vic, too soon, lad ' (he 
 tiunblcd him over on the bank) ; * come, one mouthful of 
 grub first, then off with the moccasins, and down we go.' 
 
 Victor picked himself up with a yawn. On ordinary 
 occasions a backwoodsman pays some little attention to 
 the comforts of his encampment, but our heroes were in 
 no condition to mind such trifles. They pulled off their 
 wet moccasins, indeed, and put on dry ones, but having 
 done that they merely groped in the dark for the flattest 
 [)iece of ground in the neighbourhood, then each rolled 
 himself in his blanket and lav, or rather fell, down. 
 
 ' Hah ! ' gasped Victor. 
 
 ' Wa 's wrong ? ' sighed Ian faintly. 
 
 ' Put m' shoulder 'n a puddle, 'at 's all,' lisped Victor. 
 
 ' T'ke 't out o' the purl, then — oh ! ' groaned Ian. 
 
 ' Wa 's 'e marrer now, ch ? ' sighed Victor. 
 
 ' On'y a big stone i' m' ribs.' 
 
 ' Shove 't out o' y'rribs 'en an' 'old y'rtonguc.' 
 
 Profound slumber stopped the conversation at this 
 j)oint, and the frogs that croaked and whistled in the 
 swamps had it all to themselves. 
 
 Deep tranquillity reigned on the shores of Lake Winni- 
 
24 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REV^ENGE : 
 
 peg during the midnight hours, for the voices of the frogs 
 served rather to accent than to disturb the calm. Stars 
 twinkled at their reflections in the water, which extended 
 like a black mirror to the horizon. They gave out little 
 light, however, and it was not until the upper edge of the 
 full moon arose that surrounding objects became dimly- 
 visible. The pale light edged the canoe, silvered the 
 rocks, tipped the rushes, and at last, touching the point 
 of lan's upturned nose, awoke him. 
 
 He leaped up with a start instantly, conscious of his 
 situation, and afraid lest he had slept too long. 
 
 * Hi ! leve ! leve ! awake ! up ! ' he exclaimed in a 
 vigorous undertone. 
 
 Victor growled, turned on his other side with a deep 
 sigh, wanted to be let alone, became suddenly conscious, 
 and sprang up in alarm. 
 
 ' We 're too late ! ' 
 
 ' No, we 're not, Vic. The moon is just rising, but we 
 must be stirring. Time 's precious.' 
 
 Victor required no urging. He was fully alive to the 
 situation. A few minutes sufficed to get the canoe ready 
 and roll up their blankets, during the performance of 
 which operations they each ate several substantial mouth- 
 fuls of pemmican. 
 
 Looking carefully round before pushing off the canoe 
 to see that nothing was forgotten, Ian observed some chips 
 of wood on the beach close at hand. 
 
 ' See, Vic ! ' he said eagerly ; ' some one has been here 
 — perhaps the Indian.' 
 
 They examined the chips, which had been recently cut. 
 
 * It 's not easy to make out footprints here,' said Ian, 
 going down on his knees the better to observe the ground ; 
 * and so many settlers and Indians pass from time to time, 
 having little boys with them too, that I say, look 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 25 
 
 frogs 
 Stars 
 ended 
 
 little 
 of the 
 dimly 
 d the 
 
 point 
 
 of his 
 
 I in a 
 
 a deep 
 Lscious, 
 
 but we 
 
 to the 
 ready 
 
 ince of 
 Louth- 
 
 canoe 
 |e chips 
 
 b here 
 
 lly cut. 
 )d Ian, 
 
 round ; 
 time, 
 
 ^ look 
 
 here, Vic, tliia little footmark might or might not be Tony's, 
 but moccasins are so much alike that ' 
 
 ' Out o' the light, man ; if you were made o' glass the 
 moon miijJd get through you. Why, yes, it is Tony's 
 moccasin ! ' cried Victor, in eager excitement. * I know 
 it by the patch, for I saw Elsie putting it on this very 
 morning. Look, speak, man ! don't you see it ? A square 
 patch on the ball of the right foot ! ' 
 
 ' Yes, yes ; I see it,' said Ian, going down on his knees 
 in a spirit of semi-worship, and putting his nose close to 
 the ground. 
 
 He would fain have kissed the spot that had been 
 pressed by a patch put on by Elsie, but he was * un- 
 romantic,' and refrained. 
 
 ' Now,' he said, springing up with alacrity, * that 
 settles the question. At least it shows that there is 
 strong probability of their having taken the left shore of 
 the lake.' 
 
 * Come along, then, let 's after them,' cried Victor 
 impatiently, pushing off the canoe. 
 
 The moment she floated — which she did in about four 
 inches of water — they stepped swiftly yet gently into her ; 
 for bark canoes require tender treatment at all times, 
 even when urgent speed is needful. Gliding into deep 
 water, they once more dipped their paddles, deep and 
 fast, and danced merrily over the moonlit sea — for a sea 
 Lake Winnipeg certainly is, being upwards of three hundred 
 miles long, and a gathering together of many waters 
 from all parts of the vast wilderness of Rupert's Land. 
 
 After two hours of steady work they paused to rest. 
 
 ' Now, Ian,' said Victor, leaning against the wooden 
 bar at his back, and resting his paddle across the canoe, 
 * Venus tells me that the sun is about to bestir himself, 
 and something within me tells me that empty space is a 
 
 1* 
 
 n. 
 
2G 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVENGE : 
 
 bad stomachic ; so, out with the pemmican bag, and hand 
 over a junk.' 
 
 Ian drew his hunting-knife, struck it into the mass of 
 meat, and chipped of! a piece the size of his fist, wh^ch 
 he handed to his comrade. 
 
 Probably our readers are aware that pemmican is made 
 of dried buffalo meat pounded to shreds and mixed with 
 melted fat. Being thus half-cooked in the making, it 
 can be used with or without further cookery. Sewed up 
 in its bag, it will keep good for months, or even years, and 
 is magnificent eating, but requires a strong digestion. 
 Ian and Victor were gifted with that requisite. They fed 
 luxuriously. A draught from the crystal lake went down 
 their unsophisticated throats like nectar, and they resumed 
 their paddles like gaints refreshed. 
 
 Venus mounted like a miniature moon into the glorious 
 blue. Her perfect image went ofE in the opposite direc- 
 tion, for there was not the ghost of a zephyr to ruffle the 
 deep. Presently the sun followed in her wake, and 
 scattered the battalions of cloudland with artillery of 
 molten gold. Little white gulls, with red legs and beaks, 
 came dipping over the water, solemnly wondering at the 
 intruders. The morning mists rolling along before the 
 resistless monarch of day confused the visible world for 
 a time, so that between refraction and reflection and 
 buoyant spirits Victor Ravenshaw felt that at last he had 
 found the realms of fairyland, and a feeling of certainty 
 that he should soon rescue his brother filled him with 
 exultation. 
 
 But the exultation was premature. Noon found them 
 toiling on, and still no trace of the fugitives was to be 
 seen. 
 
 * What if we have overshot them ? * said Victor. 
 
 * Impossible,' answered Ian, * the shore is too open for 
 
 li 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 hand 
 
 as9 of 
 wh.cb 
 
 made 
 1 with 
 ng, it 
 red up 
 :s, and 
 estion. 
 Ley fed 
 b down 
 jsumed 
 
 florious 
 J direc- 
 ffle the 
 e, and 
 lery of 
 beaks, 
 at the 
 ore the 
 )rld for 
 on and 
 he had 
 jrtainty 
 m with 
 
 d them 
 to be 
 
 ,s 
 
 li 
 
 
 )pen for 
 
 that, and I have been keeping a sharp look-out at every 
 bend and bay/ 
 
 ' That may be true, yet Petawanaquat may have kept 
 a sharper look-out, and concealed himself when he saw us 
 coming. See, here is a creek. He may have gone up 
 that. Let us try. Why ! there is a canoe in it. Hup ! 
 drive along, Ian ! * 
 
 The canoe seemed to leap out of the water under the 
 double impulse, and next moment almost ran down 
 another canoe which was half hidden among the reeo^. 
 In it sat an old Indian named Peegwish, and a lively 
 young French half-breed named Michel Rollin. They 
 were both well known to our adventurers ; old PeegwiMli 
 —whose chief characteristic was owlishness — being a 
 frequent and welcome visitor at the house of lan's father. 
 
 * You Spears to be in one grand hurray,' exclaimed 
 Rollin, in his broken English. 
 
 Ian at once told the cause of their appearance there, and 
 asked if they had seen anything of Petawanaquat. 
 
 * Yes, oui, no — dat is to say. Look 'ere ! ' 
 
 RoUin pushed the reeds aside with his paddle, and 
 pointed to a canoe lying bottom up, as if it had been 
 concealed there. 
 
 * Ve *s be come 'ere after duck, an' ve find dat,' said 
 the half-breed. 
 
 An immediate investigation showed that Petawanaquat 
 had forsaken his canoe and taken to the woods. Ian 
 looked troubled. Peegwish opened his owHsh eyes and 
 looked so solemn that Victor could scarce forbear laughing, 
 despite the circumstances. It was immediately resolved 
 to give chase. Peegwish was left in charge of the canoes. 
 The other three soon found the track of the Red Man and 
 followed it up hke bloodhounds. At first they had no 
 difficulty in following the trail, being almost as expert as 
 
 ,1 
 
 I Ml 
 
28 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 Indians in woodcraft, but soon they came to swampy 
 ground, and then to stony places, in which they utterly 
 lost it. Again and again did they go back to pick up tho 
 lost trail, and follow it only to lose it again. 
 
 Thus they spent the remainder of that day until night 
 put a stop to their exertions and crushed their hopes. 
 Then, dispirited and weary, they returned to the canoes 
 and encamped beside them. 
 
 Peegwish was engaged in roasting a duck when they 
 
 arrived. 
 
 ' What a difierence between the evening and the 
 morning,' said Victor, as he flung himself down beside the 
 fire. 
 
 ' Dat is troo, an' vat I has obsarve oftin,' said Rollin, 
 looking earnestly into a kettle which rested on the fire. 
 
 * Never mind, Vic,' said Ian heartily, * we 'W be at it 
 again to-morrow, bright and early. We 're sure to succeed 
 in the long-run. Petawanaquat can't travel at night in 
 the woods any more than we can.* 
 
 Old Peegwish glared at the fire as though he were 
 pondering these sayings deeply. As he understood little 
 or no English, however, it is more probable that his 
 astute mind was concentrated on the roasting duck. 
 
 n 
 
 11 
 
 ; "4 
 ■•i 
 
 j| 
 
'•\ 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 29 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 were 
 little 
 
 A DISCOVERY — THE CHASE CONTINUED ON FOOT 
 
 TO bvound from the depths of despair to the pinnacles 
 of hope is by no Hi cans an uncommon experience to 
 vigorous youth. When Victor Ravenshaw awoke next 
 morning after a profound and refreshinjz sleep, and looked 
 up through the branches at the bright sky, despondency 
 fled, and he felt ready for anything. He was early awake, 
 but Peegwish had evidently been up long before him, for 
 that wrinkled old savage had kindled the fire, and was 
 seated on the other side of it wrapped in his blanket, 
 smoking, and watching the preparation of breakfast. 
 When Victor contemplated his solemn eyes glaring at a 
 roasting duck, which suggested the idea that he had been 
 sitting there and glaring all night, he burst into an 
 uncontrollable fit of laughter. 
 
 ' Come, I say, Vic,' said Ian, roused by this from a com- 
 fortable nap, ' if you were a hyena there might be some 
 excuse for you, but being only a man — forgive me, a boy 
 — you ought to have more sense than to disturb your 
 friends so/ 
 
 ' Oui, yes ; dat is troo. Vraiment, it is too bad,' growled 
 Rollin, sitting up and stretching himself. * Howsome- 
 whatever, it is time to rise. Oui ! ' 
 
 ' I should think it was,' retorted Victor ; * the sun is 
 already up, and you may be sure that Petawanaquat has 
 tramped some miles this morning. Come, Peegwish, 
 
 t !l 
 
 n 
 
 i 
 
 ill 
 
 4 
 
 !5 
 
u 
 
 30 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVENGE : 
 
 1 ?• 
 t 
 
 close your eyes a bit for fear they jump out. WTiat have 
 you got to give us, eh ? Robbiboo, ducks, and — no, is 
 it tea ? Well, we are in luck to have fallen in 
 
 with 
 
 vou. 
 
 He rested his head on his hand, and lay looking at the 
 savage with a pleased expression, while Rollin rose and went 
 off to cut more firewood. 
 
 The robbiboo referred to was a sort of thick soup made 
 of pemmican boiled with flour. Without loss of time the 
 party applied themselves to it. When appetite was par- 
 tially appeased Ian propounded the question, What was 
 to be done ? 
 
 * Follow up the trail as fast as we can,' said Victor 
 promptly. 
 
 * Dat is bon advise,' obser/M "^v-^llin. 'Hand over de 
 duck, Peegvish, an' do try for shut your eyes. If you 
 vould only vink it vould seem more comfortabler.' 
 
 Peegwish did not smile, but with deepened gravity 
 passed the duck. 
 
 ' I 'm not so sure of the goodness of the advice,' said 
 Ian. * To go scampering into the woods on a chase that 
 may lead us we know not where or how long, with only 
 a small quantity of provisions and ammunition, and but 
 one gun, may seem energetic and daring, but it may not, 
 perhaps, be wise.' 
 
 Victor admitted that there was trath in that, and 
 looked perplexed. 
 
 ' Nevertheless, to give up at this point, and return to 
 the settlement for supplies,' he said, ' would bo to lose 
 the advantage of our quick start. How are we to get 
 over the difficulty ? ' 
 
 * Moi, I can you git out of de difficulty,' said Rollin, 
 lighting his pipe with a bu3inGSS air. * Dia be de vay. 
 Peegvish et me is out for long hunt vid much pemmican, 
 
1 1 
 
 mmm 
 
 A TAT.E OF THE BED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 31 
 
 and 
 
 noodre an' shote. You make von Agreement vid me et 
 Peegvish. You vill engage me ; I vill go vid you. You 
 can take vat you vill of our tinge, and send Peegvish back 
 to de settlement for tell fat ve bees do.' 
 
 This plan, after brief but earnest consideration, was 
 adopted. The old Indian returned to Willow Creek with 
 pencil notes, written on birch bark, to old Samuel Raven- 
 shaw and Angus Macdonald, and the other three of the 
 party set off at once to renew the chase on foot, with 
 blankets and food strapped to their backs and guns on 
 their shoulders — for Rollin carried his own fowling-piece, 
 and Victor had borrowed that of Peegwish. 
 
 As happened the previous day, they failed several 
 times to find the trail of the fugitives, but at last Ian 
 discovered it, and they pushed forward with renewed hope. 
 The faint footmarks at first led them deep into the woods, 
 where it was difficult to force a passage ; then the trail 
 disappeared altogether on the banks of a little stream. 
 But the pursuers were too experienced to be thrown off 
 the scent by such a well-known device as walking up 
 stream in the water. They followed the brook until they 
 came to the place where Petawanaquat had once more 
 betaken himself to dry land. It was a well-chosen spot ; 
 hard and rocky ground, on which only slight impressions 
 could be left, and the wily savage had taken care to step 
 so as to leave as slight a trail as possible ; but the pursuers 
 had sharp and trained eyes. Ian Macdonald, in par- 
 ticular, having spent much of his time as a hunter before 
 setting up his school, had the eyes of a lynx. He 
 could distinguish marks when his companions could see 
 nothing until they were pointed out, and although fre- 
 quently at fault, he never failed to recover the trail sooner 
 or later. 
 
 Of course they lost much time, and they knew that 
 
 I 
 
 
 
■» 
 
 32 
 
 THE JJED MAX'S REVENGE: 
 
 Petawanaquat must be rapidly increasing the distance 
 between them, but they trusted to his travelling more 
 leisurely when he felt secure from pursuit, and to his 
 being delayed somewhat by Tony, whom it was obvious 
 he had carried for long distances at a stretch. 
 
 For several days the pursuers went on with unflagging 
 perseverance and ever-increasing hope, until they at last 
 emerged from the woods, and began to traverse the great 
 prairie. Here the trail diverged for a considerable distance 
 southward, and then turned sharply to the west, in 
 which direction it went in a straight line for many miles, 
 as if Petawanaquat had made up his mind to cross the 
 Rocky Mountains, and throw poor Tony into the Pacific ! 
 
 The travellers saw plenty of game — ducks, geese, plover, 
 prairie-hens, antelopes, etc. — on the march, but they were 
 too eager in the pursuit of the savage to be turned aside 
 by smaller game. They merely shot a few ducks to save 
 their pemmican. At last they came to a point in the 
 prairie which occasioned them great perplexity of mind 
 and depression of spirit. 
 
 It was on the evening of a bright and beautiful day — 
 one of those days in which the air seems fresher and the 
 sky bluer, and the sun more brilliant than usual. They 
 had found, that evening, that the trail led them away to 
 the right towards one of the numerous clumps of woodland 
 which rendered that part of the prairie more like a noble- 
 man's park than a wild wilderness. 
 
 On entering the bushes they perceived that there was 
 a lakelet embosomed like a gem in the surrounding trees. 
 Passing through the belt of woodland they stood on the 
 margin of the little lake. 
 
 * How beautiful ! * exclaimed Ian, with a flush of 
 pleasure on his sunburnt face. * Just like a bit of 
 Paradise.' 
 
 l\ 
 
 ;l 
 
 ii 
 
BM 
 
 ■WT" 
 
 of 
 of 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 33 
 
 * Did you ever see Paradise, that you know so well 
 what it is like ? ' asked Victor of his unromantic friend. 
 
 * Yes, Vic, I Ve seen it many a time — in imagination.' 
 
 * Lideed, and what like was it, and what sort of people 
 were there ? ' 
 
 * It was like— let me see — the most glorious scene ever 
 beheld on earth, but more exquisite, and the sun that 
 light-ed it was more brilliant by far than outs/ 
 
 * Not bad, for an unromantic imagination,* said Victor, 
 with much gravity. ' Were there any ducks and geese 
 there ? ' 
 
 ' Yes, ducks ; plenty of them, but no geese ; and nobler 
 game — even lions were there, so tame that little children 
 could lead ohem.' 
 
 ' Better and better,' said Victor ; * and what of the 
 people ? * 
 
 Ian was on the point of saying that they were all- 
 men, women, and children — the exact counterparts of 
 Elsie Ravenshaw, but he checked himself and said that 
 they were all honest, sincere, kind, gentle, upright, and 
 that there was not a single cynical person there, nor 
 a 
 
 ' Hush ! what sort of a bird is that ? ' interrupted Victor, 
 laying his hand on lan's arm and pointing to a small patch 
 of reeds in the lake. 
 
 There were so many birds of various kinds gambollijig 
 on the surface, that Ian had difficulty in distinguishing 
 the creature referred to. At last he perceived it, a 
 curious fat-bodied little bird with a pair of preposterously 
 long legs, which stood eyeing its companions as if in 
 contemplative pity. 
 
 ' I know it not,' said Ian ; " never saw it before.' 
 
 * We '11 bag it now. Stand back,' said Victor, raising 
 his gun. 
 
 HI 
 
 1^^ 
 
Tap 
 
 
 % ■ 
 
 i. 
 
 
 34 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 The above conversation had been carried on in a low 
 tone, for the friends were still concealed by a bush from 
 the various and numerous birds which disported them- 
 selves on the lake in fancied security and real felicity. 
 
 The crash of Victor's gun sent them screaming over the 
 tree-tops — all save the fat creature with the long legs, 
 which now lay dead on the water. 
 
 ' Go in for it, Rollin, it 's not deep, I think," said 
 Victor. 
 
 ' Troo, but it may be dangeroose for all dat,* replied 
 the half-breed, leaning his gun against a tree. * How- 
 somewhatever I vill try ! * 
 
 The place turned out, as he had suspected, to be some- 
 what treacherous, with a floating bottom. Before he had 
 waded half-way to the dead bird the ground began to 
 sink under him. Presently he threw up his arms, went 
 right down, and disappeared. 
 
 Both Ian and Victor started forward with the inten- 
 tion of plunging into the water, but they had not reached 
 the edge when Rollin reappeared, blowing like a grampus. 
 They soon saw that he could swim, and allowed hnn to 
 scramble ashore. 
 
 This misadventure did not prevent them from making 
 further attempts to secure the bird, which Victor, having 
 some sort of naturalistic propensities, was eager to possess. 
 It was on going round the margin of the laka for this 
 purpose that they came upon the cause of the perplexities 
 before mentioned. On the other side of a point covered 
 with thick bush they came upon the remains of a large 
 Indian camp, which had evidently been occupied very 
 recently. Indeed, the ashes of some of the fires, Rollin 
 declared, were still warm ; but it was probably Rollings 
 imagination which warmed them. It was found, too, that 
 the trail of Petawanaquat entered this camp, and was 
 
 'I 
 
 V. 
 
 I 
 
m 
 
 said 
 
 A TALE OF THE UFA) RIVER FLOOD 
 
 35 
 
 \ 
 
 there utterly lost in the confusion of tracks made e ery- 
 "where by many feet, both large and small. 
 
 Hore, then, was sufficient ground for anxiety. If the 
 savage had joined this band and gone away with it, the 
 pursuers could of course follow him up, but, in the event 
 of their finding him among friends, there seemed little 
 or no probability of their being able to rescue the stolen 
 child. On the other hand, if Petawanaquat had left the 
 Indians and continued his journey alone, the great diffi- 
 culty that lay before them was to find his point of departure 
 from a band which would naturally send out hunters 
 right and left as they marched along. 
 
 * It 's a blue look-out any way you take it,' remarked 
 poor Victor, with an expression worthy of Peegwish on 
 his countenance. 
 
 * I vish it vas blue. It is black,* said Rollin. 
 
 Ian replied to both remarks by saying that, whether 
 black or blue, they must make the best of it, and set 
 about doing that at once. To do his desponding comrades 
 justice, they were quite ready for vigorous action in any 
 form, notwithstanding their despair. 
 
 Accordingly, they followed the broad trail of the 
 Indians into the prairie a short way, and, separating in 
 different directions round its margins, carefully examined 
 and followed up the tracks that diverged from it for con- 
 siderable distances, but without discovering the print of 
 the little moccasin with Elsie's patch, or the larger foot- 
 print of Tony's captor. 
 
 * You see, there are so many footprints, some like and 
 some unlike, and they cross and recross each other to such 
 an extent that it seems to me a hopeless case altogether,' 
 said Victor. 
 
 ' You don't propose to give it up, do you ? ' asked Ian. 
 
 * Give it up ! ' repeated Victor, almost fiercely. ' Give 
 
 ■> li 
 
 'I ■ I 
 
 m 
 
 '•III 
 
 ., m 
 
 H 
 
 »il 
 
 ' I: 
 
pp 
 
 no 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 1 i 
 
 M 
 
 up Tony ? NO ! not as long as I can walk, or even 
 crawl/ 
 
 * Ve vill crawl before long, perhaps,* said Rollin ; ' ve 
 may even stop crawling an' die at last, but ve must not 
 yet give in/ 
 
 In the strength of this resolve they returned to the 
 lakelet when the sun went down, and encamped there. 
 It is needless to say that they supped and slept well not- 
 withstanding — or notwithforstanding, as Rollin put it. 
 Rollin was fond of long words, and possessed a few that 
 were his own private property. Victor had a dream that 
 night. He dreamt that he caught sight of an Indian on 
 the plains with Tony on his rhoulder ; that he gave chase, 
 and almost overtook them, when, to save himself, the 
 Indian dropped his burden ; that he, Victor, seized his 
 rescued brother in a tight embrace, and burst into tears 
 of joy ; that Tony suddenly turned into Pctawanaquat, and 
 that, in the sharp revulsion of feeling, he, Victor, seized 
 the nose of the savage and pulled it out to a length of 
 three yards, twisted it round his neck and choked him, 
 thrust his head down into his chest and tied his arms in 
 a knot over it, and, finally, stuffing him into a mud-puddle, 
 jumped upon him and stamped him down. It was an 
 absurd dream, no doubt, but are not dreams generally 
 absurd ? 
 
 While engaged in the last-mentioned humane opera- 
 tion, Victor was awakened by Ian. 
 
 ' It 's time to be moving,' said his comrade with a 
 laugh. * I would have roused you before, but you seemed 
 to be so busily engaged with some friend that I hadn't 
 the heart to part you sooner.' 
 
 The whole of that day they spent in a fruitless effort 
 to detect the footprints of Pctawanaquat, either among 
 the tracks made by the band of Indians or among those 
 
1 
 
 A TALE OF THE HET) rJTVER FLOOD 
 
 37 
 
 diverging from the main line of march. In so doing they 
 wandered far from the camp at the lakelet, and even lost 
 sight of each other. The only result was that Ian and 
 -' Rollin returned in the evening dispirited and weary, and 
 Victor lost himself. 
 
 The ease with which this is done is scarcely comprehen- 
 sible by those who have not wandered over an unfamiliar 
 and boundless plain, on which the clumps of trees and 
 shrubs have no very distinctive features. 
 
 Victor's comrades, however, W're alive to the danger. 
 Not finding him in camp, they at once went out in different 
 directions, fired shots until they heard his answering 
 reply, and at last brought him safely in. 
 
 That night again they spent on the margin of the little 
 lake, and over the camp-fire discussed their future pi .ns. 
 It was finally assumed that Petawanaquat had joined the 
 Indians, and resolved that they should follow up the trail 
 as fast as they could travel. 
 
 This they did during many days without, however, 
 overtaking the Indians. Then the pemmican began to 
 wax low, for in their anxiety to push on they neglected 
 to hunt. At last, one evening, just as it was growing 
 dark, and while they were looking out for a convenient 
 restirg-place, they came on the spot where the Indians 
 had encamped, evidently the night before, for the embers 
 of their fires were still smoking. 
 
 Here, then, they lay down with the pleasing hope, not 
 unmingled with anxiety, that they should overtake the 
 band on the following day. 
 
!» 
 
 38 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE: 
 
 CHArTER V 
 
 t i 
 
 TONY BECOMES A REDSKIN, AND THE PURSUERS CHANGE 
 
 THEIR GAME 
 
 WHEN Petawanaquat joined the band of Indiana, of 
 whom we left Victor Ravenshaw and his comrades 
 in eager pursuit, he doomed it advisable for various 
 reasons to alter the costume and general appearance of 
 his captive, and for that purpose took him to a sequestered 
 spot in the bushes outside the camp. 
 
 Poor Tony had at first shrunk from his captor with 
 inexpressible horror, but when he found that the Indian 
 did not eat him his mind was calmed. As time advanced, 
 and he perceived that Petawanaquat, although stern and 
 very silent, took much pains to assist him on his long 
 marches, and, above all, fed him with a liberal hand, his 
 feelings changed considerably, and at last he began to 
 regard the taciturn red man with something like fondness. 
 Petawanaquat made no positive effort to gain the child's 
 affections ; he never fondled him, and seldom spoke, save 
 for the purpose of giving a brief command, which Tony 
 always obeyed with miraculous promptitude. The utmost 
 that can be said is that the savage was gentle and sup- 
 plied his Wants. Could a civilised man have done much 
 more ? 
 
 It may be well to remark in passing that Tony, having 
 associated a good deal with Indian boys in Rod River, 
 could speak their language pretty well. The Indian, of 
 
f 
 
 i 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 :j'j 
 
 course, spoke liis own tongue correctly, while Tony spoke 
 it much as he spoke his own — childishly. As the reader 
 probably does not understand the Indian language, we 
 will give its equivalent as spoken by both in English. 
 
 On reaching the sequestered spot above referred to, 
 rcl awanaquat sat down on a fallen tree and made the 
 wondering child stand up before him. 
 
 * The white man's boy must become an Indian,* he 
 said solemnly. 
 
 * How zat poss'ble ? ' demanded the child with equal 
 solemnity. 
 
 * By wearing the red man's clothes and painting his 
 face/ returned his captor. 
 
 * Zat '11 be jolly,' said Tony, with a smile of hearty 
 approval. 
 
 How he expressed the word * jolly ' in the Indian 
 tongue we cannot tell, but he conveyed it somehow, for 
 the Indian's lips expanded in a grim smile, the first he 
 had indulged in since the day of the abduction. 
 
 The process by which Tony was transformed was 
 peculiar. Opening a little bundle, the Indian took there- 
 from a small coat, or capote, of deer-skin ; soft, and of a 
 beautiful yellow, like the skin of the chamois. It was 
 richly ornamented with porcupine-quill work done in 
 various colours, and had fringes of leather and little locks 
 of hair hanging from it in various places. Causing Tony 
 to strip, he put this coat on him, and fastened it round 
 his waist with a worsted belt of bright scarlet. Next he 
 drew on his little legs a pair of blue cloth leggings, which 
 were ornamented with beads, and clothed his feet in new 
 moccasins, embroidered, like the coat, with quill-work. 
 Tony regarded all this with uncon ealed pleasure, but it 
 did not seem to please him so much when the Indian 
 combed his rich curly hair straight down all round, so 
 
 1^* 
 
 
 \.\ 
 
40 
 
 TflE KKD MAN'S REVENGE: 
 
 ■, I 
 
 11 
 
 *. 
 
 
 that his face was quite conceuletl by it. Taking a pair 
 of large scissors from hia bundle, the Indian passed one 
 blade under the hair across the forehead, gave a sharp 
 snip, and the whole mass fell like a curtain to the ground. 
 It was a sublimely simple mode o£ clearing (he way for 
 ihe countcnatuo — much in vogue among North American 
 savjigos, from whom it has recently been intrcjduced 
 among tivilisod nations. The Indian then lifted the 
 clustering curls at the back, and again opened the scissors. 
 For a few moments his ilngera played with the locks as 
 he gazed thought fully at them ; then, apparently changing 
 his mind, he let them drop, and put the scissors away. 
 
 But the toilet was not yet complete. The versatile 
 operator drew from his bundle some bright-red, ycliow 
 ochre, and blue paint, with a piece of charcoal, and set to 
 work on Tony's countenance with all the force of a Van 
 Dyck and the rich colouring oi a Rubens. He began 
 with a streak of scarlet from eyebrows to the end of 
 the nose. Skipping the mou.^, iie continued the streak 
 from the lower lip down the chin, under which it melted 
 into a tender half-tint made by a smudge of yellow ochre 
 and charcoal. This vigorous touch seemed to rouse the 
 painter's spirit in Petawanaquat, for he pushed the 
 boy out at arm's length, drew himself back, frowned, 
 glared, and breathed hard. Three bars of blue from the 
 bridge of the nose over each cheek, with two red circles 
 below, and a black triangle on the forehead, were touched 
 in with consummate skill and breadth. One of the 
 touches was so broad that it covered the whole jaw, and 
 had to be modified. On each closed upper eyelid an 
 intensely black spot was painted, by which simple device 
 Tony, with his azure orbs, was made, as it were, to wink 
 black and gaze blue. The general effect having thus been 
 blocked in, the artist devoted himself to the finishing 
 
 S 
 
 af 
 
^T 
 
 ;i 
 
 leeu 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 41 
 
 touches, and at last turned out a piece of wor,v whi( h old 
 Samuel KaveiiKliaw himself would have failed to recognise 
 as his Bon. 
 
 It should have been remarked that previous to this, 
 Petawanaquat had modified his own costume. His 
 leggings were fringed with scalp-locks ; he had painted 
 his face, and stuck a bunch of feathers in his hair, and a 
 gay firebag and a tomahawk were thrust under his belt 
 behind. 
 
 * Ho ! * he exclaimed, with a look of satisfaction, ' now 
 Tony is Tonyquat, and Petawanaquat is his father ! ' 
 
 * When will zoo take me back to my own fadder ? ' 
 asked Tony, emboldened by the Indian's growing famil- 
 iarity. 
 
 No reply was given to this, but the question seemed to 
 throw the red man into a savage reverie, and a dark frown 
 settled on his painted face, as he muttered, ' The Little 
 Wolf meant to take the white man's life, but he was wise : 
 he spared his life and took his lieart. His revenge is 
 sweeter. Wah ! ' 
 
 Tony failed to catch the meaning of this, but fearing 
 to rouse the anger of his new father, he held his tongue. 
 Meanwhile the Indian put the child on a stump a few 
 yards off in front of him, filled his pipe, lighted it, placed 
 an elbow on each knee, rested his chin on his doubled 
 fists, and glared at his handiwork. Tony was used to 
 glaring by that time, though he did not like it. He sat 
 still for a long time like one fascinated, and returned the 
 stare with interest. 
 
 At last the Indian spoke. 
 
 ' la Tonyquat a Christian ? ' 
 
 Somewhat surprised but not perplexed by the question, 
 Tony answered, * Ho, yis,' promptly. 
 
 The Indian again looked long and earnestly at the 
 
 li 
 
 •fi 
 
42 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVENGE : 
 
 ^•; 
 
 r 
 
 child, as if he were considering how far such a juvenile 
 mind might be capable of going into a theological dis- 
 cussion. 
 
 * What is a Christian ? * asked the Indian abruptly. 
 
 * A Kistn 's a dood boy/ replied Tony ; then, dropping 
 his eyes for a moment in an e3ort to recall past lessons, 
 he suddenly looked up with an intelligent smile, and 
 said, * Oh, yis, I 'memers now. Elsie teach me a Kis'n 
 boy *s one what tries to be like de Lord — dood, kind, 
 gentle, fo'givin', patient, an' heaps more ; zat 's what a 
 Kist'n is.' 
 
 The Indian nodded approvingly. This accorded, as 
 far as it went, with what he had learned from the mission- 
 aries of Red River, but his mind was evidently perplexed. 
 He smoked, meditated a considerable time, and glared 
 at Tony in silence ; then said suddenly : 
 
 ' Tonyquat, your father is not a Christian.* 
 
 * My fadder would knock zoo down if zoo say dat to 
 hims face,' replied the child confidently. 
 
 This seemed so palpable a truth that the Indian nodded 
 several times, and grinned fiendishly. 
 
 * Do Christians swear, and drink, and fight, and get 
 angry till the blood makes the face blue, and strike with 
 the fist ? * asked Petawanaquat. 
 
 * Oh, no — never,* replied Tony, adopting that shocked 
 tone and look which Elsie was in the habit of using when 
 anything wicked was propounded to her ; * dey 's always 
 dood, like Josuf an' Abel an* Sam'l, an' Cain, an' David, 
 an' Saul ' 
 
 Tony stopped short, with an indistinct idea that ho was 
 mixing pattern characters. 
 
 * Ho ! ' muttered the savage, with a gleam of triumph 
 in his eyes, * Petawanaquat has got his heart.' 
 
 * Eh, zoo got 'im by heart a'ready ? Took me long, 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 43 
 
 ^ 
 
 long time to git 'em by heart,' said Tony, with a look 
 of admiration, which was sadly marred by the paint. 
 ' jMe 's not got 'em all off yet. But^you 's clever, an' — 
 an' — big/ 
 
 The Indian's smile became a sad one, and his look was 
 again perplexed, as he rose and returned to the camp, 
 followed by his adopted son. It was obvious that no 
 light was to be thrown on his religious difficulties, whatever 
 they were, by Tonyquat. 
 
 After leaving the lakelet on the plains, the Indian 
 travelled for several days with his friends ; and then 
 parting from them, went towards the west, to rejoin his 
 family. This point of divergence the pursuers had 
 missed, and when they overtook the Indian band, they 
 found, to their intense regret, that the kidnapper had 
 escaped them. 
 
 * We will hold on with the redskins,' said Ian Mac- 
 donald, while sitting in council with his companions after 
 this discovery. ' The chief tells me that buffaloes have 
 been reported in a spot which lies in the direction we 
 must follow to recover the trail. This advantage we now 
 possess, however : we know where Petawanaquat is going 
 — thanks to his so-called friends here, who don't seem 
 to care much about him — and as he believes he has 
 distanced all pursuers, he will now journey slower than 
 before. Besides, we must help to kill a buffalo or two, 
 our meat being nearly done. ^Vhat say you, Vic ? ' 
 
 * I say what you say, of course, though I 'd rather set 
 off ahead of the band, and push on as fast as we 
 can.' 
 
 ' Vich means dat vouth bees impetoous toujours,' said 
 Rollin. 
 
 In pursuance of this plan they journeyed with the 
 Indians for three days, when an event occurred which 
 
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 44 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 modified their plans considerably. This was the discovery 
 one afternoon of a broad trail, made by the passage of 
 numerous carts and horsemen over the prairie. 
 
 * Buffalo-runners ! ' exclaimed Rollin, when they came 
 upon the track. 
 
 ' From Red River ! ' cried Victor. 
 
 ' Even so, boy?,' said Ian. 
 
 The Indian chief, who led the party, held the same 
 opinion, and added that they were evidently journeying 
 in the same direction with themselves. This rendered it 
 necessary that they should make a forced march during the 
 night, it being otherwise impossible for men on foot to 
 overtake a party of horsemen. Towards midnight of the 
 same day they had the satisfaction of seeing their camp- 
 fires in the distance. Soon afterwards they were within 
 the circle of the camp, where men were still smoking and 
 eating round the fires, and women and children were 
 moving busily about. 
 
 * Why, there are John Flett and David Mowat/ ex- 
 claimed Victor, as several of the men came forward to 
 meet the party. 
 
 * An* Hayes, an' Vinklemann,* cried Rollin. 
 
 Another minute and they were shaking hands amid a 
 chorus of surprised and hearty questions and replies. 
 
 ' Is Louis Lambert with you ? * asked Victor, after 
 mutual explanations had been given. 
 
 * No,* said David Mowat, with a laugh, * he *s got other 
 fish to fry at home.' 
 
 Poor Ian winced, for he at once pictured to himself 
 Elsie as the mermaid hinted at. 
 
 * Now, boys, I 'm going to ask some of you to make a 
 sacrifice,* said Ian. * We had intended to follow up this 
 chase on foot, but of course will be able to accomplish 
 our end sooner on horseback. I want three of you to 
 
 ! • 
 
 1 
 
 *! 
 
ke a 
 this 
 >lish 
 I to 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 45 
 
 lend us your horses. You 're sure to be well paid for 
 them by Sam Ravenshaw and my father. I '11 guarantee 
 you that ' 
 
 * We want no guarantee/ interrupted John Flett, 'and 
 we have spare horses enough in the camp to mount you 
 without giving up our own ; so make your mind easy/ 
 
 * Zat is troo/ said Herr Winklemann ; ' ve has goot 
 horse to spare ; buff'lo-runners every von. Bot you mus* 
 stay vid us von day for run ze buff'lo an' git supply of 
 meat.' 
 
 Victor and his friends at once agreed to this, all the 
 more readily that the possession of horses would now 
 enable them easily to overtake the fugitives. Accordingly, 
 they sat down to a splendid supper of robbiboo, and con- 
 tinued to eat, chat; and quaff tea far into ihe following 
 morning, until nature asserted herself by shutting up 
 their eyelids. 
 
 The band with which our adventurers were now 
 associated was composed of a motley crew of Red River 
 half-breeds, out for the great spring buffalo hunt. It 
 consisted of nearly 700 hunters, as many women, more 
 than 400 children, and upwards of 1000 carts, with horses 
 and draught oxen, besides about 700 buf!alo-runners, or 
 trained hunting-horses, and more than 500 dogs. These 
 latter, although useless in the spring hunt, were, neverthe- 
 less, taken with them, fed, and cared for, because of their 
 valuable qualities as draught animals for light sledges in 
 winter. 
 
 Some of the hunters were steady-going and respectable 
 enough ; others were idle, thriftless fellows, who could 
 not settle to farming in the colony, and even in the chase 
 were lazy, bad hunters. The women were there for the 
 purpose of attending to camp duties — cooking, dressing 
 the buflalo skins, making bags from the animals* green 
 
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S'i 
 
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 H\ 
 
 
 
 
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 46 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 hides, with the hair left on the outside, and filling the same 
 with pemmican. 
 
 This substance, as we have elsewhere remarked, is by 
 no means unpalatable ; it is very nutritious, and forms 
 the chief food of the hundreds of voyageurs who traverse 
 Rupert's Land in boats and canoes during the open season 
 of the year. It must be understood, however, that the 
 compost is not attractive in appearance. It is made in 
 the open air by women who are not very particular in 
 their habits. Hence, during windy weather, a modicum 
 of dust is introduced into it. Even stray leaves and twigs 
 may get into it at times, and it is always seasoned more 
 or less profusely with buffalo hairs. But these are trifles 
 to strong and hungry men. 
 
 Two trips to the plains were made annually by these 
 hunters. The proceeds of the spring hunt were always 
 sold to supply them with needed clothing, ammunition, 
 etc., for the year. The * fall or autumn hunt ' furnished 
 them with their winter stock of food, and helped to pay off 
 their debts, most of them being supplied on credit. Some- 
 times the fall hunt failed, in which case starvation stared 
 the improvident among them in the face, and suffering, 
 more or less severe, was the lot of all. 
 
 Little, however, did the reckless, jovial half-breeds care 
 for such considerations on the occasion about which we 
 write. It was the spring hunt. The year was before 
 them. Health rolled in the veins and hope revelled in 
 the breasts of all as they mounted their steeds, and sallied 
 forth to the chase. 
 
 Ah I it was a memorable day for Victor, when, at early 
 dawn, he vaulted into the saddle of the horoe lent to him, 
 and went oft' to hunt the buffalo. 
 
 The said horse began by standing straight up on its 
 hind legs like a man ! Victor held on by the mane. 
 
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 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 47 
 
 Reversing the process, it pointed its tail to the sky. 
 Victor stood in the stirrups. It swerved to the right, it 
 swerved to the left, but Victor swerved with it accommo- 
 datingly. He was a splendid horseman. Finding that 
 out at last, the steed took the bit in its teeth and ran 
 away. Victo^ let it run — nay, he whacked its sides and 
 tnade it run. Dozens of wild fellows were curveting and 
 racing around him. It was his first hunt. Mad with 
 excitement, he finally swept away from his comrades with 
 a series of war-whoops that would have done credit to 
 the fiercest redskin on the North American plains. 
 
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 48 
 
 THE RED 3kIAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 a 
 b 
 
 II 
 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 DESCRIBES A GREAT HUNT 
 
 THE huge bison, or buffalo, of the North American 
 prairie is gregarious ; in other words, it loves 
 society and travels in herds. These herds are sometimes so 
 vast as absolutely to blacken the plains for miles around. 
 
 The half-breed buffalo-hunters of Red River were also 
 gregarious. From the moment of their quitting the 
 settlements they kept together for mutual help and 
 protection. Although a free, wild, and lawless set, they 
 found it absolutely necessary for hunting purposes to 
 organise themselves, and thus by voluntary submission 
 to restraint, unwittingly did homage to Law ! On a 
 level plain at a place called Pembina, three days out from 
 Red River, the whole camp squatted down ; the roll was 
 called, and rules and regulations for the journey were 
 agreed upon and settled. Then ten captains were named, 
 the senior being Baptiste Warder, an English half-breed, 
 a fine bold-looking and discreet man of resolute character, 
 who was thus elected the great war chief of the little 
 army. As commander-in-chief Baptiste had various 
 duties to perform, among others to see that lost property 
 picked up about the camp should be restored to its owner 
 through the medium of a public crier, who went his 
 rounds every evening. Each captain had ten stout 
 fellows under him to act as soldiers or policemen. Ten 
 guides were also appointed, each of whom led the camp 
 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 49 
 
 day about and carried its flag or standard. The hoisting 
 of the flag each morning was the signal for raising the camp. 
 Half an hour was the time allowed to get ready, unless, 
 any one being sick or animals having strayed, delay 
 became necessary. All day the flag remained up ; its 
 being lowered each evening was the signal for encamping. 
 Then the captains and their men arranged the order of 
 the camp. The caita as they arrived moved to their 
 appointed places, side by side, with thto trams outwards, 
 and formed a circle, inside of which, at one end, the tents 
 were pitched in double and triple rows, the horses, etc . 
 being tethered at the other end. Thus they were at all 
 times ready to resist attack from Indians. 
 
 Among other rules laid down on this occasion at start- 
 ing were the following : — No hunting to be allowed on the 
 Sabbath day. No party to fork off, lag behind, or go 
 before, without permission. No hunter or party to run 
 buffalo before the general order, and every captain in turn 
 to mount guard with his men and patrol the camp. The 
 punishments for offenders were, like themselves, rather 
 wild and wasteful. For a first ofience against the laws, 
 a culprit was to have his saddle and bridle cut up ! For 
 the second, his coat to be taken and cut up ; and for the 
 third he was to be flogged. A person convicted of theft 
 was to be brought to the middle of the camp, and have 
 his or her name loudly proclaimed three times, with the 
 word * thief ' added each time. 
 
 It was the third week out from the settlement when the 
 hunters met with Victor Ravenshaw and his friends, yet 
 up to that day they had failed to find the buffalo, and 
 were well-nigh starving. The intelligence, therefore, that 
 scouts had at length discovered game, had filled the camp 
 with joy. 
 
 After having taken a Uttle of the mettle out of hia 
 
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 ■ \'v\ 
 
 I 
 
5 1 
 
 I 
 
 50 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 steed, as related in the last chapter, Victor caused hira to 
 make a wide circuit on the plain, and came up hehind the 
 line of hunters just as they topped a prairie undulation, 
 or wave, and sighted the buffalo. It was a grand array, 
 the sight of which filled the young sportsman to the 
 heart. Full four hundred huntsmen, mounted on fresh 
 and restive steeds, were slowly advancing, waiting eagerly 
 for the word to start. Baptiste Warder, their chief, was 
 in front with his telescope, surveying the game and the 
 ground. Victor pushed in between Ian and Rollin, who 
 rode near the centre of the impatient line. The wild 
 cattle blackened the plain rt the distance of about a mile 
 and a half from them. 
 
 * Surely they must have seen us by this time,' said 
 Victor, in a voice of suppressed agitation. 
 
 * Have you got your powder-horn and bullets handy ? ' 
 asked Ian. 
 
 'Yes; all right.' 
 
 ' Put im in de mout, de mout,' said Rollin quickly. 
 
 The half-breed here referred to a habit of the hunters, 
 who carry several bullets in their mouths to facilitate 
 loading while running at full speed. The method is 
 simple. The himter merely pours powder into his left 
 palm, transfers it to his gun, drops a bullet from his mouth 
 into the muzzle, hits the butt smartly on his pommel, 
 which at once sends the charge home and forces priming 
 into the pan, and thus is ready for another shot. 
 
 Victor, having forgotten all about this, immediately put 
 three bullets into his mouth, his gun being already loaded. 
 
 * Don't swallow them ! ' said Ian. 
 
 * Swallow your own advice,' growled Victor. 
 
 * Start ! ' shouted Captain Warder. 
 
 The welcome signal sent an electric thrill along the line. 
 It was promptly obeyed, first at a slow trot, then at a hard 
 
 g 
 k 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RTVER FLOOD 
 
 51 
 
 gallop. The low rumbling thunder of their tramp was in 
 keeping with the wild eager looks of the half -savage 
 hunters. They had approached to within four or five 
 hundred yards before the buffalo-bulls curved thuir tails 
 into marks of interrogation and began to paw the ground. 
 Another moment, and the mighty herd took to flight. 
 Then the huntsmen let loose their eager steeds. As 
 squadrons of dragoons charge into the thick of battle, 
 these wild fellows bore down with grand momentum on 
 the buffalo bands. The very earth seemed to tremble 
 when they charged, but when the herd sprang away in 
 the frenzy of terror it was as though a shock of earthquake 
 had riven the plains. Right into the careering mass the 
 horsemen rushed. Shots began — here, there, and every- 
 where, until a rattle of musketry filled the air, while 
 smoke, dust, shouts, and bellowing added to the wild 
 confusion. The fattest animals were selected, and in an 
 incredibly short space of time a thousand of their care asses 
 strewed the plain. 
 
 The men who were best mounted of course darted 
 forward in advance and secured the fattest cows. They 
 seldom dropped a mark to identify their property. These 
 hunters possess a power of distinguishing the animals 
 they have slain during a hot and long ride, which amounts 
 almost to an instinct — even though they may have killed 
 from ten to twelve animals. An experienced hunter on 
 a good horse will perform such a feat during one race. 
 Fa seldom fires till within three or four yards of his prey, 
 and never aisses. A well-trained horse, the moment it 
 hears the shot, springs on one side to avoid stumbling 
 over the buffalo. An awkward or shy horse will not 
 approach nearer than ten or fifteen yards. Badly- 
 mounted men think themselves well off if they secure 
 two or three animals during one run. 
 
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 52 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVENGE : 
 
 As the battle continued, the very air was darkened with 
 dust and suioke. Of course such a fight could not rage 
 without casualties. There were, in truth, many hair- 
 breadth and some almost miraculous escapes, for the ground 
 was rocky and full of badger-holes. Twenty-three horses 
 and riders were se&n at one moment all sprawling on the 
 ground. One horse was gored by a bull and killed on the 
 spot : two other horses fell over it and were disabled. 
 One rider broke his shoulder-blade, another burst his gun 
 by careless loading, and lost three fingers, while another 
 was struck on the knee by a spent ball. The wonder 
 was, not that so many, but that so few, were hurt, when it 
 is considered that the riders were dashing about in clouds 
 of dust and smoke, crossing and recrossing each other in 
 all directions, with shots firing right and left, before, be- 
 hind — everywhere — in quick succession. The explanation 
 must be that, every man being a trained marksman, 
 nearly every bullet found its billet in a buffalo's body. 
 
 With his heart in his mouth, as well as his bulle ^, 
 Victor Ravenshaw entered into the wild melee, scarce know- 
 ing what he was about. Although inexperienced, he knew 
 well what to do, for many a time had he listened to the 
 stories of buffalo-hunters in times past, and had put all 
 their operations in practice with a wooden gun in mimic 
 chase. But it was not easy to keep cool. He saw a fat 
 animal just ahead of him, pushed close alongside ; pointed 
 his gun without raising it to his shoulder, and fired. He 
 almost burnt the animal's hair, so near was he. The 
 buffalo fell and his horse leaped to one side. Victor had 
 forgotten this part of the programme. He was nearly un- 
 seated, but held on by the mane and recovered his seat. 
 
 Immediately he poured powder into his palm — spilling 
 a good deal and nearly dropping his gun from under his 
 left arm in the operation — and commenced to reload 
 
 IL_.. 
 
A TALE OF THE KED lUVER FLOOD 
 
 63 
 
 while at full speed. He spat a ball into the muzzle, just 
 missed knocking out some of his front teeth, forgot to 
 strike the butt on the pommel of the saddle (which omis- 
 sion would have infallibly resulted in the bursting of the 
 gun had it exploded), pointed at another animal and drew 
 the trigger. It missed fire, of course, for want of priming. 
 He remembered his error ; corrected it, pointed again, 
 fired, and dropped another cow. 
 
 Elated with success, he was about to reload when a 
 panting bull came up behind him. He seized his bridle, 
 and swerved a little. The bull thundered on, mad with 
 rage ; its tail aloft, and pursued by Michel Rollin, who 
 seemed as angry as the bull. 
 
 * Hah ! I vill stop you ! ' growled the excited half- 
 breed as he dashed along. 
 
 Animals were so numerous and close around them that 
 they seemed in danger, at the moment, of being crushed. 
 Suddenly the bull turned sharp round on its pursuer. To 
 avoid it the horse leaped on one side ; the girths gave 
 way, and the lider, saddle and all, were thrown on the 
 bull's horns. "With a wild toss of its head, the surprised 
 creature sent the man high into the air. In his fall he 
 alighted on the back of another buffalo — it was scarcely 
 possible to avoid this in the crowd — and slipped to the 
 ground. Strange to say, Rollin was not hurt, but he was 
 effectually thrown out of the running for that time, and 
 Victor saw him no more till evening. We relate no 
 fanciful or exaggerated tale, good reader. Our description 
 is in strict accordance with the account of a credible eye- 
 witness. 
 
 For upwards of an hour and a half the wild chase was 
 kept up ; the plain was strewn with the dead and dying, and 
 horsemen as well as buffaloes were scattered far and 
 wide. 
 
 i "f- 
 
 *«<i 
 
 H M 
 
 
 11 
 
 !■ \i 
 
'4 
 
 54 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVEXOE : 
 
 Victor suddenly came upon Ian while in pursuit of an 
 Hninial. 
 
 ' What luck ! ' he shouted. 
 
 ' I 've killed two — by accident, I think/ said Ian, 
 swerving towards his comrade, but not slackening his 
 pace. 
 
 * Capital ! I 've killed three. Who 's that big fellow 
 ahead after the old bull ? ' i 
 
 * It 's Winklcmann. He seems to prefer tough meat.' 
 As Ian spoke the bull in question turned suddenly 
 
 round, just as Rollin's bull had done, and received 
 Winklemann's horse on its hairy forehead. The poor 
 man shot from the saddle as if he had been thrown from 
 a catapult, turned a complete somersault over the buffalo, 
 and fell on his back beyond. Thrusting the horse to one 
 side, the buffalo turned and seemed to gore the prostrate 
 German as it dashed onward. 
 
 Pulling up at once, both Victor and Ian leaped from 
 their horses and hastened to assist their friend. He rose 
 slowly to a sitting posture as they approached, and began 
 to feel his legs with a troubled look. 
 
 * Not much hurt, I hope ? ' said Ian, kneeling beside 
 him. * l\o bones broken ? ' 
 
 * No, I think not ; mine leks are fery veil, but I fear 
 mine lunks are gone,' answered the German, untying his 
 belt. 
 
 It was found, however, on examination, that the lungs 
 were all right, the bull's horn having merely grazed the 
 poor man's ribs. In a few minutes his horse was caught, 
 and he was able to remount, but the trio were now far 
 behind the tide of war, which had swept away by that 
 time to the horizon. They therefore determined to rest 
 content with what they had accomplished and return to 
 camp. 
 
 ! 
 
A TALE OF THE UKD RIVER FLOOD 
 
 55 
 
 * What a gloriouB chase ! ' exclaimed Victor as they 
 rode slowly back ; * I almost wish that white men might 
 have the redskin's heaven and hunt the buffalo for ever.' 
 
 ' Y-ou 'd soon grow tired of your heaven,' said Ian, 
 laughing. * I suspect that the soul requires occupation 
 of a higher kind than the pursuing and slaying of wild 
 animals.' 
 
 * No doubt you are right, you learned philosopher ; but 
 you can't deny that this has been a most enjoyable burst.' 
 
 * I don't deny anything. I merely controvert your 
 idea that it would be pleasant to go on with this sort of 
 thing for ever.' 
 
 * Hah ! de more so, ven your back is almost broke and 
 your lunks are gored.' 
 
 ' But your " lunks " are not " gored," ' said Victor. 
 ' Come, Winklemann, be thankful that you are alive. 
 — By the way, Ian, where are the animals you killed ? ' 
 
 ' We are just coming to one. Here it is. I threw my 
 cap down to mark it, and there is another one, a quarter 
 of a mile behind it. We have plenty of meat, you see, 
 and shall be able to quit the camp to-morrow.' 
 
 While the friends were thus jogging onwards, the hunt 
 came to an end, and the hunters, throwing off their coats 
 and turning up their sleeves, drew their scalping-knives, 
 and began the work of skinning and cutting up the 
 animals. While thus engaged their guns and bridles lay 
 handy beside them, for at such times their Indian enemies 
 are apt to pounce on and scalp some of them, should they 
 chance to be in the neighbourhood. At the same time 
 the carts advanced and began to load with meat and 
 marrow-bones. The utmost expedition was used, for all 
 the meat that they should be obliged to leave on the field 
 when night closed in would be lost to them and become 
 the property of the wolves. We know not what the loss 
 
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 4 
 
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 111" 
 
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56 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 amounted to on this occasion. But the gain was eminently 
 satisfactory, no fewer than 1375 tongues (as tit-bits and 
 trophies) being brought into camp. 
 
 Is it to be wondered at that there were sounds of 
 rejoicing that night round the blazing camp-fires ? Need 
 we remark that the hissing of juicy steaks sounded hke a 
 sweet lullaby far on into the night ; that the contents of 
 marrow-bones oiled the fingers, to say nothing of the 
 mouths, cheeks, and noses, of man, woman, and child ? 
 Is it surprising that people who had been on short allow- 
 ance for a considerable time past took advantage of the 
 occasion and ate till they could hardly stand ? 
 
 Truly they made a night of it. Their Indian visitors, 
 who constituted themselves camp-followers, gorged them- 
 selves to perfect satisfaction, and even the dogs, who had 
 a full allowance, licked their lips that night with inex- 
 pressible felicity. 
 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 57 
 
 Vfi 
 
 ' !; 
 
 CHAPTER VTT 
 
 SOME OF THF SHADOWS OP A BUFFALO-HUNTER S LIFE 
 
 IN order to give the women time to prepare some 
 pemmican for them, Victor Ravenshaw and his 
 companions agreed to spend another day with th? hunters, 
 and again, r « a matter of course, followed them to the 
 chase, 
 
 The same wild pursuit, accompanied by accidents, 
 serious and serio-comic, took place, and success again 
 attended the hunt, but the day did not end 30 happily; 
 owing to an event which filled the camp with great anxiety. 
 It happened at the close of the day. 
 
 The men were dropping into camp by twos and threes, 
 wearied with hard work, more or less covered with dust 
 and blood, and laden with buffalo tongues. Carts, also, 
 were constantly coming in, filled with meat. The women 
 were busy cutting up and drying the meat in the sun, or 
 over a slow fire, melting down fat, pounding the dried 
 meat with stones, and manufacturing bags out of the raw 
 hides. Chatting and merry laughter resounded on all 
 sides, for pemmican and bales of dried meat meant money, 
 and tbey were coining it fast. 
 
 Towards sun .set a band of several hunters appeared on 
 the ridge in front of the camp, and came careering gaily 
 towards it. Baptiste Warder, the mighty captain, led. 
 Victor, Ian, Rollin, Winklemann, Flett, Mowat, and others 
 followed. They dashed into camj^ like a whirlwind, and 
 
 ■in 
 
 m 
 
58 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 sprang from their steeds, evidently well pleased with the 
 success of the day. 
 
 * Had splendid sport,' said Victor, with glittering eyes, 
 to one of the subordinate captains, who addressed him. 
 * I killed ten animals myself, and Ian Macdonald missed 
 fifteen ; Winklemann dropped six, besides dropping him- 
 self ' 
 
 * Vat is dat you zay ? ' demanded the big German, 
 who was divesting himself of some of the accoutrements 
 of the chase. 
 
 ' I say that you tumbled over six buffaloes and then 
 tumbled over yourself,' said Victor, laughing. 
 
 * Zat is not troo. It vas mine horse vat tombled. Of 
 course I could not go on riding upon noting after mine 
 horse vas down.' 
 
 At supper Herr Winklemaim was quieter than usual, 
 and rather cross. His propensity to tumble seemed to 
 be a sore subject with him, both as to body and mind. 
 He made more than one cutting remark to Victor during 
 the meal. After supper pipes were of course lighted, and 
 conversation flowed freelv. The onlv two who did not 
 smoke were Ian Macdonald and, strange to say, Winkle- 
 mann. That worthy German was a brilliant exception 
 to his countrymen in the matter of tobacco. Victor, 
 under the influence of example, was attempting in a quiet 
 way to acquire the art, but with little success. He took 
 to the pipe awkwardly. 
 
 * Vat vor you smok ? ' asked Winklemann, in a tone of 
 contempt to Victor. ' It is clear zat you do not loike it.' 
 
 ' How d' you know that I don't like it ? ' asked Victor, 
 with a blush and a laugh. 
 
 ' Becowse your face do show it. Ve does not make 
 faces at vat ve loikes.' 
 
 * That may be,' retorted Victor, somewhat sharply. 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 59 
 
 the 
 
 * Nevertheless, I have earned a hunter's right to enjoy 
 my pipe as well as the rest of you/ 
 
 * Bon, bon, c'est vrai — true,' cried Rollin, letting a 
 huge cloud escape from his lips. 
 
 ' Bah ! does killing buffalo give you right to do voolish- 
 ness ? Do not try for deceive yourself. You loike it 
 not, bot you tink it makes you look loike a nian. Zat is 
 vat you tink. Nevair vas you more mistooken. I have 
 seen von leetle poy put on a pair of big boots and tink 
 he look very grand, very loike him fadder ; bot de boots 
 only makes him look smaller dan before, an' more foolish. 
 80 it is vid de pipe in de mout of de beardless poy.* 
 
 Having thrown this apple of discord into the midst of 
 the party, Winklemann shut his mouth firmly, as if 
 waiting for a belligerent reply. As for Victor, he flushed 
 again, partly from indignation at this attack on his liberty 
 to do as he pleased, and partly from shame at having the 
 real motive of his heart so ruthlessly exposed. Victor 
 was too honest and manly to deny the fact that he had 
 not yet acquired a liking for tobacco, and admitted to 
 liimself that, in very truth, his object in smoking was to 
 appear, as he imagined, more like a man, forgetful or 
 ignorant of the fact that men (even smokers) regard 
 ^''a^dless consumers of tobacco as poor imitative monkeys. 
 Hr soon came to see the habit in its true light, and gave 
 it up, luckily, before he became its slave. He would 
 have been more than mortal, however, had he given in 
 at once. Continuing, therefore, to puff with obstinate 
 vigour, he returned to the charge. 
 
 ' Smoking is no worse than drinking, Winklemann, 
 and you know that you 're fond of beer.' 
 
 ' Bon ' ' said Rollin, nodding approval, 
 
 ' Vat then ? ' cried the German, who never declined a 
 cjLitllengc of any kind, and who was fond of wordy war ; 
 
 ; 1 I 
 
 ul 
 
 i 
 
* 
 
 i I 
 
 60 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 * doos my sin joostify yours ? Bot you is wrong. If 
 smoking be not worse dan trinking, it is less excusable, 
 for to trink is natural. I may apuse mine power an' 
 trink vat is pad for me, but den I may likewise trink vat 
 is coot for me. Vit smoking, no ; you cannot smok vat 
 is coot ; it is all pad togeder. Von chile is porn ; veil, it 
 do ' rink at vonce, vidout learning. Bot did any von ever 
 hear of a chile vat cry for a pipe ven it vas porn ? ' 
 
 The laugh with which this question was giocted was 
 suddenly arrested by the sound of a galloping steed. 
 Every one sprang up and instinctively seized a weapon, 
 for the clatter of hoofs had that unmistakable character 
 which indicates desperate urgency. It was low and dull 
 at first, but became suddenly and sharply distinct as a 
 rider rose over the ridge to the left and bore madly down 
 on the camp, lashing his horse with furious persistency. 
 
 * It 's young Vallo,' exclaimed Captain Baptiste, hasten- 
 ing to meet him. 
 
 Valle, who was a mere youth, had gone out with his 
 father, Louison Valle, and the rest of the hunters in the 
 morning. With glaring eyes, and scarce able to speak, 
 he now reined in his trembhng steed, and told the terrible 
 news that his father had been killed by Sioux Indians. 
 A party of half-breeds instantly mounted and dashed 
 away over the plains, led by the poor bor on a fresh horse. 
 On the way he told the tale more fully. 
 
 We have already said that when skinning the buffalo 
 late in the evening, or at a distance from camp, the 
 hunters ran a considerable risk from savages, and were more 
 or less wary in consequence. It was drawing towards 
 sunset when Louison Valle perceived that night would 
 descend before he could secure the whole of the animals 
 he had shot, and made up his mind to the sacrifice. While 
 busily engaged on a buffalo, he sent his son, on jis own 
 
 I f 
 
I 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 61 
 
 i ^-1 
 
 If 
 
 horse, to a neighbouring eminence, to watch and guard 
 against surprise. Even while the father was giving 
 directions to the son, a party of Sioux, armed with bows 
 and arrows, were creeping towards him, snake-like, through 
 the long grass. These suddenly rushed upon him, and 
 he had barely time to shout to his son, ' Make for the 
 camp ! ' when he fell, pierced by a shower of arrows. Of 
 course, the savages made off at once, well knowing that 
 pursuit was certain. The murderers were twelve in 
 number. They made for the bush country. Meanwhile, 
 the avengers reached the murdered man. The body was 
 on its back, just as it had fallen. Death mn.st have 
 relieved the unfortunate hunter before the scalp had been 
 torn from his skull. 
 
 It was the first time that Victor Ravenshaw had looked 
 upon a slain man. Many a time and oft had he read, 
 with a thrill of interest, glowing descriptions of fights in 
 which isolated acts of courage, or heroism, or magnanimity 
 on the battlefield, coupled with but slight reference to 
 the killed and wounded, had blinded his perceptions as to 
 the true nature of the game of war. Now his eyes beheld 
 the contorted form of one with whose manly aspect he 
 had been familiar in the settlement, scarcely recognisable 
 in its ghastliness, with blue lips, protruding eyeballs, and 
 a horrid mass of coagulated blood where the once curling 
 hair had been. Victor's ears were still ringing with the 
 deadly shriek that had burst from Valle's wife when she 
 heard the dreadful news — just as he and his party galloped 
 out of the camp. He knew also that the dead hunter 
 left several young children to be pinched by dire poverty 
 in future years for want of their natural bread-winner. 
 These and many similar thoughts crowded on his throbbing 
 brain as he gazed at the new and terrible sight, and his 
 eyes began for the first time to open to truths which ever 
 
 t,^■: 
 
 
 ■" 
 
 !!l:j 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 

 •■' ! 
 
 I i 
 
 62 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 after influenced his opinions while reading of the so-called 
 triumphs of war, 
 
 * Vengeance ! * was now the cry, as the hunters left the 
 place in hot pursuit. 
 
 They knew that the savages could not be far off, and 
 that they were unmounted, but they also knew that 
 if they succeeded in gaining the larger portions of thick 
 bush with which some parts of that region were covered 
 it would be impossible to follow them up. Moreover, it 
 was growing dark, and there was no time to lose. 
 
 In a few minutes Ian and Victor were left alone with 
 two men who had agreed to look after the body of the 
 murdered man. 
 
 Sadly and silently they assisted in laying the corpse in 
 a cavity of the rocks, and covering it over with large stones 
 to protect it from wolves, and then prepared to leave 
 the spot. 
 
 ' Will they succeed, think you, in overtaking the mur- 
 derers ? ' asked Victor of one of the men. 
 
 ' Succeed ? Ay, no fear of that ! ' replied the hunter, 
 with a vindictive scowl. ' It *s not the first time some of 
 them have been out after the Sioux.' 
 
 ' We will ride back to camp, Vic/ said Ian, rousing 
 himself from a reverie ; * it is no part of our duty to 
 assist in executing vengeance. If the camp were assailed 
 we should indeed be bound to help defend it, but there 
 are more than enough men out to hunt down these mur- 
 derers. If a cart is not already on its way for the corpse 
 we will send one. Come.' 
 
 That night the avengers returned ; they had overtaken 
 and shot down eight of the Sioux — the remaining four 
 gained the bushes and escaped. None of themselves were 
 hurt, but one had a narrow escape, an arrow having passed 
 between his shirt and skiu. 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 Next day Victor and his friends prepared to leave the 
 hunters and resume the chase of Petawanaquat, but they 
 were arrested by one of those terrific thunderstorms which 
 occasionally visit the prairies. They were already mounted 
 and on the point of taking leave, when the air darkened 
 suddenly, the sky became overcast, lightning began to 
 flash in vivid gleams, and a crash of thunder seemed to 
 rend the earth and heavens. 
 
 Presently Herr Winklemann, who meant to tide with 
 the parting guests a short way, and was also mounted, 
 uttered a shout, and immediately horse and man rolled 
 upon the plain. The man rose slowly, but the horse lay 
 still — killed by lightning ! By the same flash, appar- 
 ently, another horse was struck dead. 
 
 * Veil, you has tomble very often vid me,* said the 
 German, contemplating the fallen steed, * hot you vill 
 tomble again no mor.* 
 
 * Oui, he is ir.ort,' sighed Rollin, looking down. 
 
 After this first burst there was a considerable lull, but 
 appearances were so gloomy that departure was delayed. 
 
 Soon after, the storm burst with a degree of violence 
 that the oldest hunter said he had never before witnessed. 
 Lightning, wind, rain, thunder, seemed to have selected 
 the spot for a battle-ground. Although the camp was 
 pitched on comparatively high and rocky ground, the 
 deluge was so great that in the course of ten minutes 
 nearly everything was afloat. The camp was literally 
 swimming, and some of the smaller children were with 
 difficulty saved from drowning. So furious was the wind 
 that the tents were either thrown down or blown to 
 ribbons/ During the storm three of the Indian tents, or 
 lodges, were struck by lightning. In one of these a 
 Canadian was killed ; in another all the inmates — an 
 
 ' Thii ifi no j>icture of the fancy, but true in all ita details. 
 
 
 
 M 
 
 : I'll 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 I I 
 
 
^y 
 
 li fi- 
 
 ll 
 
 Ml': 
 
 64 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 Indian, his wife, two children, and two dogs — were killed, 
 and a gun beside them was melted in several parts as 
 though it had been lead. 
 
 Then there fell a shower of hail, the stones of which 
 were solid angular pieces of ice larger than a hen's egg, 
 by which some of the people were severely wounded 
 before they found shelter under the carts and overturned 
 tents. 
 
 It was a terrible display of the power of God, and yet, 
 strange to say, so far is such a scene incapable of influ- 
 encing man's fallen nature for good, that occasions such 
 as these, when the camp is in disorder, are often taken 
 advantage of by Indians to approach and steal the 
 horses. 
 
 Being well aware of this propensity of the red man, 
 Baptiste Warder and his captains kept a sharp look-out. 
 It was well they die', so, for, after the storm, a formidable 
 band of Sioux was discovered within a short distance of 
 the camp. 
 
 Their wily chief was, however, equal to the occasion. 
 He assumed the role of an injured man. He had come to 
 remonstrate with the half-breeds, and charge them with 
 cruelty. 
 
 * My warriors,' said he, * killed only one of your people, 
 and for that one you murdered eight of my braves.' 
 
 The half-breeds spoke the chief fairly, however, and 
 entertained him and his followers hospitably, so that the 
 affair was amicably settled, and they went away in peace. 
 But dark eyes had met in deadly hatred during the 
 conference. 
 
 The party of Indians who had joined the hunters with 
 Victor and his comrades were Saulteaux ^ and the bitter 
 enemies of the Sioux. Some time after the Sioux had 
 
 ^ Pronounced Sotoca. 
 
 
y\h 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 65 
 
 taken their departure, a band of about fifty of these 
 Saulteaux left the camp stealthily, and pursued a detached 
 party of their foes for about ten miles. They overtook 
 them at a small stream. The unsuspecting Sioux pre- 
 pared to swim over to them, mistaking them at first for 
 friends, but a volley which killed three undeceived them. 
 The fire was instantly returned and a smoke raised to 
 alarm the country. The Saulteaux retreated, while the 
 Sioux, gathering force, pursued, and it is probable that 
 the whole of the assailants would have been scalped if 
 night had not favoured them. In this raid seven Sioux 
 were killed and three wounded. Of the Saulteaux three 
 were killed and four wounded. 
 
 Again the camp was visited by enraged and armed 
 Sioux to the number of 300, who challenged the Saulteaux 
 to come forth man to man, and fight it out. The latter 
 declined, and the half-breeds, many of whom were related 
 by marriage to the Saulteaux, managed to patch up a 
 hollow peace between them. 
 
 At last Victor, Ian, and Rollin got away, glad to have 
 done both with bufialo and savages. They nov/ possessed 
 three good horses, a supply of fresh provisions, and plenty 
 of ammunition. Thus provided they galloped off with 
 light hearts over the boundless plains, and soon left the 
 camp of the hunters far behind them. 
 
 
 li 
 
 ::3 
 
 I 
 
 
 ti f 
 
 I 
 
 n 
 
 .1 i 
 
 I 
 
06 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE: 
 
 CTT AFTER VTII 
 
 THE CHASE CONTINUED, AND BROTTJHT TO A FIERY 
 
 TERMINATION 
 
 f ' • 
 
 WITH the unerring certainty <'f bloodhounds, the 
 three friends now settled down to the pursuit 
 of Petnwanaquat. From the Saulteaux Indians they had 
 received an exact description of the ispot where the 
 fugitive had paited from them ; tli"\v had, therefore, 
 little difl' ulty in finding it. >*^(ill less dilliculty had 
 Ihey in iullowing up the trail, for the grass was by 
 that time vt>ry long, and a horse leaves a track in 
 such grass which, if not very obvious to unaccustomed 
 eyes, is as plain as a highway to the vision of a back- 
 woods hunter or a redskin. 
 
 Over the prairie waves they sped, with growing excite- 
 ment as their hopes of success increased ; now thundeiing 
 down into the hollows, anon mounting the gentle slopes 
 at full swing, or rounding tlio clumps of trees that here 
 and there dotted the prairie like islets in an interminable 
 sea of green ; and ever, as they rounded an islet or topped 
 a prairie wave, they strained their eyes in earnest expec- 
 tation of seeing the objects of their pursuit on the horizon, 
 but for several days they raced, and gazed, and hoped in 
 vain. Still they did not lose confidence, but pressed 
 persistently on. 
 
 * Our horses are fresh and good,' said Victor as they 
 reined in to a gentle trot on the brow of a knoll to rest for 
 
 
V 'tt 
 
 A TAIA^ Ol' THE KED U1\EU ELOOD 
 
 07 
 
 a fo\v minufoR, ' and Potawanaquat's horse, whethor gonrl 
 or bad, is double-weighted — although, to be sure, Tony is 
 not heavy/ 
 
 ' Bedsides,' Siiid Ian, ' the redskin does not dream now 
 of pursuit ; so that, pres.sing on as we do, we inx.si over- 
 take him ere l(»n<:^/ 
 
 ' Voila, de bufl'alo ! ' said Rollin, pointing to a grouj) of 
 these largo creatures, in the midst of which two bulls were 
 waging furious war, while the rows stood by and looked 
 on. * Shall ve go an' chase dem ? ' 
 
 ' No, RoUin ; we have more import.'int game to chase,' 
 said Victor, w'losc conscience, now thai he was free from 
 the exciting infhuMices of the camp, had twitiged him 
 more than once for his delay — even although it was partly 
 justifiable — while the image of poor Tony, with out- 
 stretched, apj)oaling hands on a flying horse behind a 
 savage, was ever b' fore him. ' ( 'ome on ! come on ! ' 
 
 He B witched his horse and went skimming down the 
 slope, followed by his comrades. 
 
 jSoou they came to a place where the ground was more 
 broken and rocky. 
 
 * Voila ! a bar ! a bar ! ' shouted the excitable half- 
 breed ; ' com, kill hmi ! ' 
 
 They looked, and there, sure enough, was an object 
 which Rollin declared was a large grizzly bear. It was 
 a long v/ay off, however, and the ground between them 
 seemed very broken and difficult to traverse on horseback. 
 Ian Macdonald thought of the bear's claws, and a collar, 
 and Elsie, and tightened his reins. Then he thought of 
 the risk of breaking a horse's leg if the bear fhould lead 
 them a long chase over such ground, and of the certain 
 loss of time, and of Petawanaquat [)ushing on ahead. It 
 was a tempting opportunity, but his power of self-denial 
 triumphed. 
 
 ^(il 
 ■■'f 
 
 1 If II 
 
 Ik 
 
«s 
 
 rill'; \\K\y ^\\\'i< uvwwdK 
 
 h ■ 
 
 I 1^ 
 
 n 
 
 •I 
 
 No. IJollin. wo ]\;\\o no liino jo lumf.* 
 Hrl»ol«l ' * oNrliiimod l^^llln n«::nn ; ' tnoro lMin.ili>! 
 riio\ h;)il M\\(>j>l H!»sl ll\o 8<onv ^!;roun(l muM lotimhvl ;i 
 rlnnip of jvooM. liolumi \vlii«'h a muitll hcul of ninniiil < 
 hIooJ for a fow Hocotuls. HJMvinjj; jif. i\\om \u iun(o ninn/o 
 luoni rh<^s(^ s)\ort(Ml. .sol up llirir l;iilM. hikI foro wiMlv 
 ;nv!n to i\\o rij^hl. This \v;»m too nwicli. Willi :\ ^Irrfiil 
 yoU. Kollin (iinuMl (o piirsiio. hiil \ iclor nilI<Ml (o liiin 
 .■»ni:nl\ lo lot tho ImiITmIo hi\ 'V\w half ImooiI tiuiHMl hiwk 
 with a si^li. 
 
 Ml. voll ! \»^ nmst forlM\«r.* 
 
 1 sav. \u\' romavlvod Ian. with a .y(;^nilicanf mnilr, 
 ' why won't yon ^o a ft or iho l)nnalo f 
 
 Viofor looKod at his friond in nnrpriso. 
 
 ' Sv.itU.' ]io saici. ' it is nuni^ important as \\o\\ aa 
 f.iorc inttMvsting to nvsino ono's hroth«M" than to chaMO 
 wiUl animals ! 
 
 rrno, bnt how (h>(^s that s<M\lnnont aoroni with vonr 
 wish that yitu nuiihl sptMul (Mornity in hnnlinf:; hulTalo i 
 
 ' Oh. yon know.' rotnrnotl Viifor. with a langh, ' whon 
 1 said that I wasn't thinUinii of of 
 
 Ho switohod his horso into a wihhM' gallop, and ,<ai(l no 
 moro. Uo liad said (]nito ononi^h. Ho was not, tho only 
 vonth in N«>rth .Vmorioa and olsowh(M<* who has ntforod 
 a good doal of nonsonso wilhonl * thinking.* Ihit. thtMi 
 that was long agi\ Youths aro wisor n«nv ! 
 
 On tho ovoning oi that da\ . whon tho snn wont down, 
 anil whon it hooan\o too thirk to hallow the (rail. an*l. 
 tliorof<MO. nnsafo to travol ftn' f(\'\r of .stumbling into 
 hadgor lu>los. tho throo frionds pnliod np boside a olunip 
 of wood on tho margin of a little stream, and prepared 
 their encampment. 
 
 Little did they imagine, while busy with the lire and 
 kettle, how nearly they had gained their end, jet how 
 

 >nly 
 ion 
 
 imp 
 trod 
 
 A TAI.M OK Till'; \\V.\t UHIIM TLOOD 
 
 CM 
 
 iliMnHhouHly IIm'V IumI miMH»Ml il. VVrll for rrittti, HoriM'f iirii-M. 
 (Iitil Im« \h i^lll)n^lh of wliiit itiKnu plncM nroniicl Ihmi. 
 Ilml tlio lliioo piMMUoiM kt)o\vii wlio wiin onriimpcd in ;i 
 rluinp of JrroH not liolf m, nnlf lun'ond IImmm, j hey would nol. 
 liMvw f«MiMl('d lliiil. ni(',lit HO InMirlilv. nor woidd lliry Iimv*- 
 ^Minn lonlrrp Willi HUt li r.MJin jtiiiridily. 
 
 In I ho «'lMni|) of lr«'<M loforrrd fo, Tr(n,w)UiMf|ini.l Inni 
 Mt'lf HiH. HinoKntjj; omt llio d\in^ <M?dM>rH of I lie liro Ilml. 
 Iiiid cooKrd Ihm rnnillv drvoiinMJ Hnp)n'r. iind 'I'ony, full 
 to ri'pli'l ion, jiiv on Ihm Itiirk gii/in^ n\, liini in (piKt, hxIih 
 fjnlion, niin^lcd (ili)',lilly willi wonder; for Tony wjim a 
 pInloMoplirr in a Mnuill wny, and fn.iniliarily willi liiH 
 ImIIum'm pipo Intd fniird lo ml. nl. r«'Kl. a. ipn'Hlion wliirli 
 prrplcxod lii.M mind, jiamrly, why mrn Hhonid drnw Hrnol<«' 
 inlo Ihrir nioiil Iim mtMrly (o piilT il- out. aj/nin ! 
 
 \Vh(»n tlio pipo aiul i,ho rjirnp-fir(^ hfid hiiinl, low, Tony 
 ol»,s(M'v<<d, wil II miirli inlorcMl, Ihiil, llio Indian'.i oyoH Ixutamo 
 MiiddtMily fixed, lli)il< liin iio.MlrilH dihiled, liin lipH cfasod 
 lo movo, lluu'Iond lluil, had jiimI, cMcjiped from IIhtii curled 
 round llio Miipci inrnmhonfc homo and di.s.ippcjirc.d willioiil. 
 hoing followed by anolhor cloud, and Iho entire man ho- 
 (•anu< rigid liko a hrown hIjiIuo. A I Ilml. point Tony <niw(\ 
 lo think, bociiiiMo tirod natiiro aMRortod Ikt clairnH, and 
 ho foil Honnd jiMloop. 
 
 Tho pnuliMcd ojir of I ho Indian hjid detoctod tho Hoiind 
 of hoiMOM* feet on tho prfiirio. 'j'o any ordinary man no 
 .sound at all would havo boon porcoptihio Havo tho Highinj.'; 
 of tho night wind, rotawana'iuat, liowovor, not only 
 hoard the tramp, but could dislinguiflh it from tliat of 
 bufl'alo. llo roMo Hoftly, aHccrtaiiiod that Tony waH asleep, 
 turned aside the bushea, and molted into darknesH among 
 the troo.s. rrcsently bo emerged on tho plain at the 
 other side of the clump, and there stood still. Patience 
 h* one of the red man a characteriatica. He did not move 
 
 'I; 
 
 ,5 
 
 ::1 
 
 
 vi 
 
 
 I 
 
 t 
 
 J 
 
 
 j. 
 
 
 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 1? 
 
 I 
 
 
 ■1 
 
 1 
 
IT 
 
 1 1 
 
 ! 
 
 •I 
 
 70 
 
 tttf: v^v^^ isi.ws i:kvk\(;e 
 
 li;nul oi {oo\ for hall" Mti licuir, during wliicli lime. drMnilo 
 tlio ilis(;iiu*o o{ tlio ncij^lilxuninfi; cliuiii). In* could «Msily 
 inako out (he noiind of nil axo ('l>o|)|)iii|4 wood, and oven 
 l\»\ird human voicoM iti conversation. Then a. ghNun of 
 liiihl. lli('lv<M(Hl anionjj; llio ivcon, antl <ho kindlin^j; canij) 
 tiro of i>ur Ihroo fri.Mids hocanic visihh'. 
 
 '!'!u^ Indian now fell C()inj)aralivcly safe, lie knew 
 (hat, \vhot<ver (In* new arrivals niij^hl he, (hey were 
 unsuspicious of his j>resence in the vicinity, and had 
 oncanijH'd for the nij::ht. lie also knew (hat. when men 
 aro busy wiiii siijiper \\\o\ are nt)l very watchful, especially 
 when ilaui^er is uoi exjHH'ted. lie, (heicfore, ^avo (hem 
 another quarter of an hour io j>r(>|>are supper, and then 
 nioveil steahhily t>ver the |>laiu lowartls (hem. 
 
 On gainmi*' (he shelter of (he (rees. l*etawana((ua( 
 ailvanced with tat like caution, uti(il lu' could clearly see 
 the (ravt'lliMs. lie nu-o^nised (honi ins(an(ly, and a dark 
 frown se(thHl on his feadires. J lis lirs( (hougld was (o 
 steal (heir iiorses, and (lius leave (honi incapable of pur- 
 suing further, but Ian Macdonald was too much of a 
 backwoiHie.in:;n to <j;ive a foe (ho opj)or(uni(y to do (his. 
 Tho hoi'sc"^ were (o(herod close besitlo (he fire. Then (he 
 Indian thouiiht oi shoo(in«i (hem, but his gun boin;^^ a 
 singlo-barrol, such as was sold (o (ho Indians by (ho fur 
 traders, could only dispose of one horse at a time, thi s 
 leaving the other two (o his incensed enemies, who wou'd 
 probably capture him before he could ivload or regain lis 
 own camp. Wi(h a feeling of balllod rage he suddenly 
 tbouglit of murder. He coidtl easily kill Ian Macdonald, 
 could probably reload before RoUin should overtake him, 
 and as for Victor, he was nothing 1 Quick as thought 
 the Indian raised his gun, and took a long steady aim at 
 lan's forehead. 
 
 The contemplative schoolmas(er was looking at the fire, 
 
 I 
 
A 'lALK ov 'VWK 1:1:1) in\'i':r: tlood 
 
 71 
 
 iMi.'.iii;.'; of l''-lMi(^ 111. llir liiin'. lit; Miiiil<Ml mm Iim llionglil 
 (il lirr. IN'ilmps it \v;im I Iio hihiI*! I liat <lir(;l<('(l Uin h>i vjihc ; 
 
 IM'llllipM it. WilH \\in VVu|;|m, ''I'lioli fclllillt ll<»l, Kill,' wllicll 
 
 Ii.'kI Im'cm H(iiiii(l<'<l III liiH r;uM mioim I|i;iii ouco (JiiriM;^ I. Ik; 
 |>iiHl, wiiilcr by lli(? iiii;iMi<iiiaiy. Al- u\\ cvciiIm, IIio fii.()i.l 
 hi;^fjj;rr vv;im ih-I (Iiiiwii. Inn';! coiilciiipliil ioiiH vvcic not, 
 (liMliirlx'd, IIhi jj;iiii \\:\:\ lowcicd, jind lln; f;ii,v;i|.'n iju'llcij 
 oiM'c. nior(^ iii((> (Ji(>. (|ci|) mIi;i(|<' of IIm' lliicKcl. 
 
 Hdiii iiiii;^ lo liiM own <iiiii|» in lli.'. hjiiiic. cjiI Iil<;', ntiuincr 
 JIM Ix'foic, |N't;i\v;iii;i<|ii;ib (|iii«'||y |»iil, (iiiirklv J»;nkr(| IiIm 
 [(rovi; C'iiM, clc, on liin lioisc WIkmi jiJI wmm icndy lie 
 (ii«'(l U) jiAV.ikcn TotiN', l)ul; 'I'oiiy fli-pl, IIk- hN-cj) of infiuicy 
 ;iii(l comiiiUiil ivo innocence. Tlie Indiiin piiMJicd iiirn, 
 kicked liiin, (^ven lifted iiiin iij) jiiid Hlio<)k liitn, before, lie 
 uwoke. 'riien, expi'e.Sisinfj; JiHioniHliinenl, al li;i,vinjjj to reHiinie 
 lli(» journey id, .so rjirly an liour, the child .submit led nilentJy 
 Id onler.M. 
 
 In a few niinutcH llie Indian led lii.s liorne down to tlie 
 rivulet, cloHO at linnd, cios.sed it, wil,h Tony, half aHJeep, 
 ('lingn\g to luH hack, aHcende.d tin^ opposite hunk, and 
 gained the le^ d ])lain. Ileri; ho. mounted, with 'i'ony in 
 front to guard agaitiHt tho riwk of lii.s falling ofT in a Htate 
 of Blumber, and galloped away. 
 
 Fortunately for him, tin; moon had liien, for ic<l men 
 are not a whit better than whit(3 at weeing in the dark. 
 Indeed, we question the proverbial ca[)arity of cats in 
 that way. True, the orb of night was clouded, and only 
 in her first quarter, but she gave light enough to enable 
 the horseman to avoid dangers and proceed at full speed. 
 Thus, while the pursuers snored, the pujsued went scouring 
 over the prairies, farther and farther towards the far 
 west. 
 
 Michel Rollin, being a lively, restless character, used 
 generally to be up before his comrades in the mornings, 
 
 ^^/itl 
 
 m 
 
 1 M 
 
 \: 
 
 «il 
 
 » 
 
 1" 
 
 ^-i 
 
 
 fi 
 
 hi 
 
w 
 
 I' 
 
 • I 
 
 i; 
 
 J ! 
 
 1 > 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 72 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 and gratified an inquisitive propensity by poking about. 
 In his pokings be discovered the trail of the midnight 
 visitor, and thereupon set up a howl of surprise that effec- 
 tually roused Ian and Victor. Thes2, guns in hand, 
 rushed, as they fancied, to the rescue. 
 
 * What a noisy goose you are ! ' said Victor, on learning 
 the cause of the cry. 
 
 * There ia reason for haste, however,^ said Ian, rising 
 from a close inspection of the trail. * Some one has been 
 here in the night watching us. Why he didn't join us if 
 a friend, or kill us if an enemy, puzzlas me. If there 
 were horse-tracks about I should say it must have been 
 Petawanaquat himself. Come, we must mount and away 
 without breakfast.' 
 
 They went off accordingly, and soon traced the Indian's 
 original track to the place where he had encamped. 
 Petawanaquat had taken the precaution to pour water on 
 his fiie, so as to cool the ashes, and thus load to the sup- 
 position that he had been gone a considerable time, but 
 Ian was not to be so easily deceived. The moment he 
 had examined the extinct fire, and made up his mind, he 
 leaped up and followed the trail to the spot where the 
 Indian had mounted. 
 
 ' Now then, mount, boys ! ' he cried, vaulting into the 
 saddle, * no time to lose. The redskin seems to have a 
 good horse, and knows we are at his heels. It will be a 
 straight end-on race now. Hup ! get along ! * 
 
 Their course at first lay over a level part of the plain, 
 which rendered full speed possible ; then they came to a 
 part where the thick grass grew rank and high, rendering 
 the work severe. As the sun rose high, they came to a 
 small pond, or pool. 
 
 ' The rascal has halted here, I see ! ' cried Ian, pulling 
 up, leaping off, and running to the water, which he lifted 
 
 ii 
 
 tii 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 73 
 
 , he 
 
 , lie 
 the 
 
 the 
 
 ain, 
 :o a 
 ring 
 :o a 
 
 to his mouth in both hands, while hia panting horse 
 stooped and drank. ' It was very Hkely more for Tony's 
 sake than for his own. But if he could stop, so can we 
 for a few minutes.' 
 
 * It vill make de horses go more better,' said Rollin, 
 unstrapping the pemmican bag. 
 
 'That's right,' cried Victor, 'give us a junk — a big 
 one — so — thanks, we can eat it as we go.' 
 
 Up and away they went again, urging their horses now 
 to do their utmost, for they began to hope that the day of 
 success had surelv arrived. 
 
 Still far ahead of his pursuers, the Indian rode alone 
 without check or halt, to the alarm of Tony, who felt that 
 something unusual had occurred to make his self-appointed 
 father look so fierce. 
 
 ' What de matter ? ' he ventured to ask. ' Nobodv 
 chase us.' 
 
 * Let Tonyquat shut his mouth,' was the brief reply. 
 And Tony obeyed. He was learning fast ! 
 
 Suddenly the air on the horizon ahead became clouded. 
 The eyes of the savage dilated with an expression that 
 almost amounted to alarm. Could it be fire ? It was — 
 the prairie on fire ! As the wind blew towards him, the 
 consuming flames and smoke approached him at a greater 
 speed than he approached them. They must scon meet. 
 Behind were the pursuei's ; in front the flames. 
 
 There was but one course open. As the fire drew near 
 the Indian stopped, dismounted, and tore up and beat 
 down a portion of the grass around him. Then he struck 
 a light with flint and steel and set fire to the grass to lee- 
 ward of tho cleared space. Tt burned slowly at first, and 
 he looked anxiously back as the roar of the fiery storm 
 swelled upon his ear. Tony loolvcd on in mute alarm 
 and surprise. The horse raised its head wildly and became 
 
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 74 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE 
 
 restive, but the Indian, having now lighted the long grass 
 thoroughly, restrained it. Presently he sprang on its 
 back and drew Tony up beside him. Flames and -noke 
 were now on both sides of him. When the grass was 
 consumed to leeward he rode on to the blackened space — 
 not a moment too soon, however. It was barely large 
 enough to serve as a spot of refuge when the storm rolled 
 down and almost suffocated horse and riders with smoke. 
 Then the fire at that spot went out for want of fuel, and 
 thus the way was opened to the coal-black plain over 
 which it had swept. Away flew the Indian then, diverging 
 sharply to the right, so as to skirt the fire (now on its 
 windward side), and riding frequently into the very fringe 
 of flame, so that his footprints might be burnt up. 
 
 When, some hours later, the pursuers met the fire, they 
 went through the same performance in exactly the same 
 manner, excepting that Victor and Rollin acted with much 
 greater excitement than the savage. But when they had 
 escaped the flames, and rode out upon the burnt prairie 
 to continue the chase, every trace of those of whom they 
 were in pursuit had completely vanished away. 
 
 N> 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER ELOOD 
 
 io 
 
 ^ grass 
 on its 
 -noke 
 ,88 was 
 ipace — 
 y lai-ge 
 1 rolled 
 smoke. 
 Lei, and 
 in over 
 verging 
 ■ on its 
 f fringe 
 
 re, they 
 le same 
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 icy had 
 prairie 
 m they 
 
 I I 
 
 CHARTER IX 
 
 METEOROLOGICAL CHANGES AND CONSEQUENCES, AND A 
 GRAND OPPORTUNITY MLSIMPROVED 
 
 IT must not be supposed that the life of a backwoods- 
 man is all pleasure and excitement. Not wishing to 
 disappoint our readers with it, we have hitherto presenied 
 chiefly its bright phases, but truth requires that we should 
 now portray some of the darker asjxicts of that life. For 
 instance, it was a very sombre aspect indeed of prairie-life 
 when Victor Ravenshaw and his party crossed a stony 
 place where Victor's horse tripped and rolled over, causing 
 the rider to execute a somercjault which laid him flat upon 
 the plain, compelling the pai'ty to encamp there for three 
 days until he was sufficiently recovered to resume the 
 journey. Perhaps we should say the chase, for, although 
 the trail had been lost, hope was strong, and the pursuers 
 continued to advance steadily in what they believed to be 
 the right direction. 
 
 The aspect of things became still more dreary when 
 the fine weather, which was almost uninterrupted as 
 summer advanced, gave way to a period of wind and rain. 
 Still, they pushed on hopefully. Michel RoUin alone 
 was despondent. 
 
 'It is a vild goose chase now/ he remarked sulkily 
 one day, while the wet fuel refused to kindle. 
 
 That same night Victor half awoke and growled, lie 
 seldom awoke of his own accord. Nature had so arranged 
 
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 70 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 rn 
 
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 I 
 
 it that parents, or conij vdos, usually found it necessary to 
 arou.se him with much shouting and shaking — not unfrc- 
 quently with kicks. But there was a more powerful 
 influence than parents, comrades, or kicks at work that 
 nigh^ Being tired and sleepy, the party had carelessly 
 made their beds in a hollow. It was fair when they lay 
 down. Soon afterwards, a small but exc3edingly heavy 
 rain descended like dew upon their unprotooced heads. It 
 soaked their blankets and passed through. It soaked 
 their garments and passed through. It reached their 
 skins, which it could not so easily pass through, but was 
 stopped and warmed before being absorbed. A few 
 uneasy turns and movements, with an occasional growl, 
 was the result — nothing more. But when the density of 
 the rain increased, and the crevices in the soil turned into 
 active water-courses, and their hollow became a pool, 
 Victor bci-ame, as we have said, half-awake. Presently 
 he awoke cornpletely, sat up, and scratched his head. It 
 w.'is the power of a soft and gentle but persistent influence 
 triumphantly asserted. 
 
 * W'ass-'e-marrer ? ' asked Ian, without moving. 
 
 * Why (yawning), Lake Winnipeg is a trifle to this/ 
 said Victor. 
 
 ' 0-gor-o-slecp,' returned Ian. 
 
 ' Niagara have com to de plains ! ' exclaimed Rollin, 
 rising to a sitting posture in desperation. ' It have been 
 rush 'longside of me spine for two hours l)v de cloke. 
 Oui.^ 
 
 This aroused Ian, who also sat up disconsolate and 
 yawned. 
 
 * It 's uncomfortable,' he remarked. 
 
 No one replied to so ridiculously obvious a truth, but 
 each man slowly rose and stumbled towards higher ground. 
 To add to their discomfort the night was intensely dark ; 
 
A TAT:E OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 77 
 
 and 
 
 even if wide awake they could not have seen a yard in 
 front of them. 
 
 * Have you found a tree ? ' asked Victor. 
 
 ' Qui — yes — to be sure/ said Rollin angrily. Any- 
 how von branch of a tree have found me, an' a'most split 
 my head.' 
 
 ' Where is it ? — speak, man ; I can see nothing. Is it 
 — ah ! I Ve found it too.' 
 
 ' Vid yoos head ? ' inquired Rollin, chuckling. 
 
 Victor condescended not to reply, but lay down under 
 the partial shelter of the tree, rolled himself up in his wet 
 blanket, and went to sleep. His companion followed 
 suit. Yes, reader, we can vouch for the truth of this, 
 having more than once slept damp and soundlv in a wet 
 blanket. But they did not like it, and their spirits were 
 down about zero when they mounted at grey dawn and 
 resumed the chase in a dull, dreadful drizzle. 
 
 After a time the aspect of the scenery changed. The roll- 
 ing plain became more irregular and broken than heretofore, 
 and was more studded with patches of woodland, which 
 heie and there almost assumed the dignity of forests. 
 
 One evening the clouds broke ; glimpses of the heavenly 
 blue appeared to gladden our travellers, and ere long the 
 sun beamed forth in all its wonted splendour. Riding out 
 into a wide stretch of open country, they bounded away 
 with that exuberance of feeling which is frequently the 
 result of sunshine after rain. 
 
 * It is like heaven upon earth,' cried Victor, pulling up 
 after a long run. 
 
 * I wonder what heaven is like,' returned Ian musingly. 
 ' It sometimes occurs to me that we think and speak far 
 too little of heaven, which is a strange thing, considering 
 that we all hope to go there in the long-run, and expect 
 to live there for ever.* 
 
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 78 
 
 THE RED M;.N',S REVENOE : 
 
 Ml 
 
 * Ob ! come now, Mr. Wiseman/ said Victor, ' T didn't 
 mean to call torth a sermon/ 
 
 * Your remark, Vic, only brings out one of the curious 
 features of the case. If I had spoken of buffalo-hunting, 
 or riding, or boating, or even of the redskin's happy 
 hunting-grounds — anything under the sun or above it — 
 all would have been well and in order, but directly 1 
 refer to our own heaven I am sermonising ! ' 
 
 * Well, because it 's so like the parsons,' pleaded Victor. 
 
 * What then ? Were not the parsons, as you style 
 them, sent to raise our thoughts to God and heaven by 
 preaching Christ ? I admit that some of them don't raise 
 our thoughts high, and a few of them help rather to drag 
 our thoughts downward. 8till, as a class, they are God's 
 servants ; and for myself I feel that I don't consider 
 sufficiently v/liat thoy have to tell us. I don't wish to 
 sermonise ; I merely wish to ventilate my own thoughts 
 and get light if I can. You are willing to chat with me, 
 Vic, on all other subjects ; why not on this ? ' 
 
 ' Oh ! I 've no objection, Ian ; none whatever, only it 's 
 — it *s — I say, there seems to me to be some sort of brute 
 moving down in the woods there. Hist ! let 's keep round 
 by that rocky knoll, and I '11 run up to see what it is.' 
 
 Victor did not mean this as a violent change of subject, 
 although he was not sorry to make the change. His 
 attention had really been attracted by some animal which 
 he said and hoped was a bear. They soon galloped to the 
 foot of the knoll, v/hich was very rugged — covered with 
 rocks and bushes. Victor ascended on foot, while his 
 comrades remained at the bottom holding his horse. 
 
 The sight that met his eyes thrilled him. In the 
 distance, on a wooded eminence, sat a huge grizzly bear. 
 The size of Victor's eyes when he looked back at his 
 comrades was eloquently suggestive, even if he had not 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 drawn back and descended the slope toward them on tip- 
 toe and with preternatural caution. 
 
 ' A. monstrous grizzly ! ' he exclaimed in a hoarse 
 whisper — though the boar wna at least half a mile oft' on 
 the olliyr side of the knoll. 
 
 The eyes of Ian eurpassed those of Victor in the matter 
 of dilation. 
 
 ' Did he see vou ? ' 
 
 * ISo ; ho was nibbling his paws when I gave him my 
 last look.' 
 
 * Kow, cojuvadea. said Ian, whose usually calm demean- 
 our luul given jxiaoe to intens«e, yet suppressed excite- 
 ment, * it may seiui selfi ii — though I hope it is not 
 — when 1 ask you to leave that bear entirely to me. 
 \v>ii know, Vic, that your sister EIrJc onre expressed a 
 wish for a gri/.zly-bear collar, and at the time I inwardly 
 resolved to get her one, of niy own procuring, if I could. 
 It is a whim, you know, but, in the circunistances, I do 
 hope that — that * 
 
 ' Ah ! it is for une dame — une affair of de heart. Bon ! 
 You shall go in an' vin,' said the gallant KoUin. 
 
 * I don't know,' said Victor dubiously ; * it seems to 
 me rather hard to give up my chance of the first grizzly 
 I Ve ever seen. However, I 'm willing to do so on one 
 condition — that Bollin ai.d I go as near you as may be 
 without interfering. You know — excuse me, Ian — what an 
 awful bad shot you are. If you were to miss, you know 
 — which you 're sure to do — and we were not there — eh ? ' 
 
 ' All right, you shall go with me ; but have a care, no 
 helping of me except in case of dire necessity.' 
 
 This being agreed to, they made a wide circuit to reach 
 a hollow. In its shelter they galloped swiftly towards 
 the woodland, near the marf?in of which the bear had 
 been seen. Arrived at a poim which they judged to be 
 
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 THE RED MIAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 near the animal, they dismounted, fastened up their 
 horses, and prepared for war. 
 
 There were no encumbrances to lay aside, for thoy 
 travelled in the simplest possible costume, but Ian drew 
 the charge of his gun, wiped the piece carefully out with 
 a bit of rag, made sure that the touch-hole was clear, 
 fixed in a new flint, and loaded carefully with ball. The 
 others acted similarly. 
 
 ' Empty de pan an' prime again ven you gits near,' 
 said Rollin. 
 
 Ian made some uncalled-for reference to eggs and the 
 education of Rollings grandmother, tightened his belt, felt 
 that the hatchet and scalping-knife were handy behind 
 him, and set of! on his adventure, followed by his com- 
 panions at a considerable distance. 
 
 On drawing near to the outer edge of the woods he 
 stooped slightly, and trod with the extreme caution of 
 an Indian. Indeed, no red man could have beaten Ian at 
 woodcraft — except, of course, in the matter of shooting. 
 He felt this defect keenly as he glided along, but never 
 faltered for an instant. Elsie smiled at him as visibly as 
 if she had been there. His mind was made up. 
 
 At the edge of the wood he saw the rough spot where 
 the bear had been seen, but no bear was visible. He felt 
 a sinking of the heart. * It must have heard me and 
 run away,' he thought, and hurried forward. The actual 
 spot where it had been seen was reached, but Bruin was 
 not there. Disappointment rendered Ian somewhat im- 
 patient. He entered the bushes beyond the knoll hastily. 
 The bear had only changed its position, and was wagging 
 its head and nibbling its paws on the other side of these 
 bushes. It heard a footstep, ceased to nibble and wag, 
 and looked up inquiringly. Suddenly Macdonald burst 
 through the bushes and stood before him. 
 
 \ 
 
V 
 
 \ 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 81 
 
 It is an open question wlietber the man or the beast 
 was the more snr prised, for the former liacl given up all 
 hope by that time. But the bear was first to recover self- 
 possession, and advant ! d to meet the intruder. 
 
 It is well known that the king of the western wilds 
 is endowed with more than average ferocity and courage. 
 He may perhaps let you alone if you let xiim alone, but 
 if you take him by surprise he is not prone to flee. The 
 bear in question was a magnificent specimen, with claws 
 like the fingers ot a man. Even in that moment of 
 extreme peril Ian saw these claws strung together and 
 encircling Elsie's neck. 
 
 We say that the peril was extreme, for not only was 
 the hunter a bad shot, but the hunted was a creature 
 whose tenacity of hfe is so great that one shot, even if 
 well placed, is not sufficient to kill it outright. 
 
 No one knew all this better than Ian Macdonald, but 
 Elsie smiled approval, and Ian, being a matter-of-fact, 
 unromantic fellow, clenched his teeth with a snap and 
 went down on one knee. The bear quickened his pace 
 and came straight at him. Ian raised his gun. Then 
 there came a gush of feeling of some sort at his heart. 
 What if he should miss ? What if the gun should miss 
 fire ? Certain death ! he well knew that. He took deadly 
 aim when the monster was within a few yards of him 
 and fired at the centre of its chest. The ball took effect 
 on the extreme point of its nose, coursed under the skin 
 over its forehead, and went out at the back of its head. 
 
 Never before was a shot taken with more demonstra- 
 tive expression of rage. To say that the bear roared 
 would be feeble. A compounded steam- whistle and 
 bassoon might give a suggestive illustration. The pain 
 must have been acute, for the creature fell on its knees, 
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 earthquake with a snort. Then it sprang up and rushed 
 at its foe. Ian was reloading swiftly for his life. Vain 
 hope. Men used to breech-loaders can scarce understand 
 the slow operations of muzzle-loaders. He had only got 
 the powder in, and was plucking a bullet from his pouch. 
 Another moment and he would have been down, when 
 crack ! crack ! went shots on either side of him, and the 
 bear fell with a ball from Victor in its -heart and another 
 from RoUin in its spine. 
 
 Even thus fatally wounded it strove to reach its con- 
 querors, and continued to show signs of ungovernable 
 fury until its huge life went out. 
 
 Poor Ian stood resting on his gun, and looking at it, 
 the picture of despair. 
 
 * You hit him after all," said Victor, with a look of 
 admiration at his friend, not on account of the shooting, 
 but of his dauntless courage. ' And of course,* he con- 
 tinued, ' the grizzly is yours, because you drew first 
 blood.' 
 
 Ian did not reply at once, but shook his head gravely. 
 
 * If ;y ou and Rollin had not been here,' he said, * I 
 should have been dead by this time. No, Vic, no. Do 
 you think I would present Elsie with a collar thus 
 procured ? The bear belongs to you and Rollin, for it 
 seems to me that both shots have been equally fatal. You 
 shall divide the claws between you, I will have none of 
 them/ 
 
 There was bitterness in poor lan's spirit, for grizzly 
 bears were not to be fallen in with every day, and it 
 might be that he would never have another opportunity. 
 Even if he had, what could he do ? 
 
 * I don't believe I could hit a house if it were running,' 
 he remarked that night at supper. * My only chance will 
 be to wait till the bear is upon me, shove my gun into 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RTVER FLOOD 
 
 83 
 
 
 his mouth, and pull the trigger when the muzzle is well 
 down his throat/ 
 
 * That would be throttling a bear indeed/ said Victor, 
 with a laugh, as he threw a fresh log on the fire. ' What 
 say you, Rollin ? ' 
 
 * It vould bu'st de gun,' replied the half-breed, whose 
 mind, judt then, was steeped in tobacco smoke. * Bot,' 
 he continued, * it vould be vorth vile to try. Possible- 
 ment de bu'stin' of de gun in his throat might do ver veil. 
 It voulu give him con — con — vat you call him ? De ting 
 vat leetil chile have ? ' 
 
 * Contrariness,' said Victor. 
 
 ' Contradictiousness,* suggested Ian ; * they 're both 
 good long words, after your own heart.' 
 
 * Non, non ! Con — convulsions, dat is it. Anyhow it 
 vould injure his digestiveness.' 
 
 ' H&, ! ha ! yes, so it would,' cried Victor, tossing off a 
 can of cold water like a very toper. * Well, boys, I 'm off to 
 sleep, my digesti'j'eness being uninjured as yet. Good-night.' 
 
 ' What I without a pipe, Vic ? ' 
 
 ' Come, now, don't chaff. To tell you the truth, Ian, 
 I 've been acting your part lately. I 've been preaching a 
 sermon to^ myself, the text of which was given to me by 
 Herr Winklemann the night before we left the buffalo- 
 runners, and I 've been considerably impressed by my own 
 preaching. Anyhow, I mean to take my own advice — 
 good-night, again.' 
 
 Ian returned * good-night ' with a smile, and, lying 
 down beside him, gazed long and thoughtfully through 
 the trees overhead at the twinkling, tranquil stars. 
 Michel Rollin continued to smoke and meditate for 
 another hour. Then he shook the ashes out of his pipe, 
 heaped fresh logs on the declining fire, and followed his 
 comrades to the land of Nod. 
 
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 84 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
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 CHAPTER X 
 
 .jU 
 
 
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 PATE OP THE BUFFALO-HUNTERS 
 
 IN vain did the pursuers search after the lost Tony. 
 Finding it impossible to rediscover the trail, they 
 made for the nearest post of the fur-traders, from whom 
 they heard of an Indian who had passed that way in the 
 direction of the Rocky Mountains, but the traders had 
 taken no special notice of the boy, and could tell nothing 
 about him. They willingly, however, supplied the pursuers 
 with provisions on credit, for they knew Victor's father 
 well by repute, and allowed them to join a party who were 
 about to ascend the Saskatchewan River. 
 
 On being further questioned, one of the traders did 
 remember that the hair of the boy seemed to him unusually 
 brown and curly for that of a redskin, but his remin- 
 iscences were somewhat vague. Still, on the strength 
 of them, Victor and Ian resolved to continue the chase, 
 and Rollin agreed to follow. Thus the summer and autunni 
 passed away. 
 
 Meanwhile a terrible disaster had befallen the buffalo- 
 hunters of the Red River. 
 
 We have said that after disposing of the proceeds of 
 the spring hunt in the settlement, and thus securing 
 additional supplies, it is the custom of the hunters to 
 return to the plains for the fall or autumn hunt, which is 
 usually expected to furnish the means of subsistence 
 during the long and severe winter. But this hunt is not 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 86 
 
 of 
 
 
 always a success, and when it is a partial failure the gay, 
 improvident, harum-scarum half-breeds have a sad time 
 of it. Occasionally there is a total failure of the hunt, 
 and then starvation stares them in the face. Such was the 
 case at the time of which we write, and the improvident 
 habits of thoye people in times of superabundance began 
 to tell. 
 
 Many a time in spring had the slaughter of animals 
 been so great that thousands of their carcasses were left 
 where they fell, nothing but the tongues having been 
 carried away by the hunters. It was calculated that 
 nearly two-thirds of the entire spring hunt had been thus 
 left to the wolves. Nevertheless, the result of that hunt 
 was so great that the quantity of fresh provisions — fat, 
 pemmican, and dried meat — brought into Red River 
 amounted to considerably over one million pounds weight, 
 or about two hundred pounds weight for each individual, 
 old and young, in the settlement. A large proportion of 
 this was purchased by the Hudson's Bay Company, at 
 the rate of twopence per pound, for the supply of their 
 numerous outposts., and the half-breed hunters pocketed 
 among them a sum of nearly £1200. This, however, was 
 their only market, the sales to settlers being comparatively 
 insignificant. In the same year the agriculturists did 
 not make nearly so large a sum — but then the agricul- 
 turists were steady, and their gains were saved, while 
 the jovial half-breed hunters were volatile, and their 
 gains underwent the process of evaporation. Indeed, it 
 took the most of their gains to pay their debts. Thus, 
 with renewed supplies on credit, they took the field for 
 the fall campaign in little more than a month' after their 
 return from the previous hunt. 
 
 It is not our purpose to follow the band step by step. 
 It is sulHcient to say that the season was a bad one ; that 
 
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 86 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE 
 
 the hunters broke up into small bands whon winter set 
 in, and some of these followed the fortunes of the Indians, 
 who of course followed the buffalo as their only means of 
 subsistence. 
 
 In one of these scattered groups were Herr Winklemann 
 and Baptiste Warder — the latter no longer a captain, his 
 commission having lapsed with the breaking up of the 
 spring hunt. The plains were covered with the first snows. 
 The party were encamped on a small eminence whence a 
 wide range of country could be seen. 
 
 * There is a small herd on the horizon,* said Baptiste, 
 descending from the highest part of the hillock towards 
 the fire where the German was seated eating a scrap of 
 dried meat. 
 
 * Zat is veil. I vill go after dem.' 
 
 He raised his bulky frame with a sigh, for he was 
 somewhat weak and dispirited — the band with which he 
 hunted having been at the starving-point for some days. 
 Winklemann clothed himself in a wolf-skin, to which the 
 ears and part of the head adhered. A small sledge, which 
 may be described as a long thin plank with one end 
 curled up, was brought to him by a hungry-looking squaw. 
 Four dogs were attached to it with miniature harness made 
 to fit them. ^V^len all was ready the hunter flung himself 
 flat on his face at full length on the sledge, cracked his 
 whip, and away went the dogs at full speed. Herr Winkle- 
 mann was armed only with bow and arrows, such weapons 
 being most suitable for the work in hand. 
 
 Directing his course to a small clump of trees near to 
 which the buffalo were scraping away the yet shallow 
 snow to reach their food, he soon gained the shelter of the 
 bushes, fastened up the dogs, and advanced through the 
 clump to the other side. 
 
 It was a fine sight to a hungry man. About a dozen 
 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 87 
 
 animals were browsing there not far out of gunshot. 
 Winklemann at once went down on all-fours, and arranged 
 the large wolf-skin so that the legs hung down over hid 
 own legs and arms, while the head was pulled over his 
 eves like a hood. Thus disguised, he crept into the midst 
 of the unsuspicious band. 
 
 The buffalo is not afraid of wolves. He treats them 
 with contempt. It is only when he is wounded, or en- 
 feebled by sickness or old age, that his sneaking enemy 
 comes and sits down before him, licking his chops in 
 the hope of a meal. 
 
 A fat young cow cast a questioning glance at Winkle- 
 mann as he approached her. He stopped. She turned 
 aside and resumed her feeding. Then she leaped suddenly 
 into the air and fell quivering on the snow, with an 
 arrow up to the feathers in her side. The hunter did not 
 rise. The animals near to the cow looked at her a moment, 
 as if in surprise at her eccentric behaviour, and then went 
 on feeding. A.gain the hunter bent his bow, and another 
 animal lay dying on the plain. The guardian bull 
 observed this, lifted his shaggy head, and moved that 
 subtle index of temper, his tail. An ill-directed arrow 
 immediately quivered in his flank. With a roar of rage 
 he bounded into the air, tossed up his heels, and seeing 
 no enemy on whom to wreak his vengeance — for the 
 wolf was crouching humbly on the snow — he dashed 
 wildly away, followed by the rest of the astonished 
 herd. 
 
 The whole camp had turned out by that time t^o resume 
 their journey, and advanced joyfully to meet the return- 
 ing hunter. As they passed one of the numerous clumps 
 of wood with which the plains were studded, another herd 
 of buffalo started suddenly into view. Among other 
 objects of interest in the band of hunters, there happened 
 
 *, 
 
 lit 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 if 
 
88 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 ilX 
 
 'I 
 
 i ■ 
 
 I 
 
 to be a small child, which was strapped with some luggage 
 on a little sled and drawn by two dogs. These dogs 
 were lively. They went after the buffalo full swing, to 
 the consternation of the parents of the child. It was 
 their only child. If it had only been a fiagment of their 
 only child, the two dogs could not have whisked it off 
 more swiftly. Pursuit was useless, yet the whole band 
 ran yelling after it. Soon the dogs reached the heels of 
 the herd, and all were mixed pell-mell togethcL — the dogs 
 barking, the sled swinging to and fro, and the buffalo 
 kicking. At length a bull gored one of the dogs ; his 
 head got entangled in the harness, and he went off at 
 a gallop, carrying the dog on his horns, the other suspended 
 by the traces, and the sled and child whirling behind him. 
 The enraged creature ran thus for full half a mile before 
 ridding himself of the encumbrance, and many shots were 
 fired at him without effect. Both dogs were killed, but, 
 strange to say, the child was unhurt. 
 
 The supply of meat procured at this time, although 
 very acceptable, did not last long, and the group with 
 which Winklemann was connected was soon again reduced 
 to sore straits. It was much the same with the scattered 
 parties elsewhere, though thev succeeded by hard work in 
 securing enough of meat to keep themselves alive. 
 
 In these winter wanderings after the buffalo, the half- 
 breeds and their families had travelled from 150 to 200 
 miles from the col'^ny, but in the midst of their privations 
 they kept up heart, always hoping that the sudden dis- 
 covery of largor horda would ere long convert the present 
 scarcity into the more usual superabundance. But it was 
 otherwise ordained. On the 20th of December there was 
 a fearful snowstorm, such as had not been witnessed for 
 years. It lasted several days, drove the buffalo hope- 
 lessly beyond the reach of the hunters, and killed most 
 
A TALE OF THE FED KlVEll FLOOD 
 
 80 
 
 e luggage 
 lese dogs 
 swing, to 
 It was 
 b of their 
 :cd it off 
 ole band 
 > heels of 
 -the dogs 
 e buffalo 
 ngs ; his 
 nt off at 
 uspended 
 lind him. 
 ile before 
 tiots were 
 lied, but, 
 
 although 
 up with 
 
 reduced 
 icattered 
 
 work in 
 
 the half- 
 to 200 
 civations 
 Iden dis- 
 present 
 it it was 
 lere was 
 3sed for 
 |o hope- 
 
 •d Iil03t 
 
 of their horses. What greatly aggravated the evil was 
 the suddenness of the disaster. According to the account 
 of one who was in Kcd Ivivcr at the time, and an eye- 
 witness, the aninialj dis:i])|)(iired ahuost instantaneously, 
 and no one waa pi(>paied for the inevitable famine that 
 followed. The hunters were ab the same time so scattered 
 that they could render each other no assistance. Indeed, 
 the various groups did not know whereabouts the others 
 were. Some were never found. Here and there whole 
 families, despairing of life, weakened by want, and perish- 
 ing with cold, huddled themselves together for warmth. 
 At first the heat of their bodies melted the snow and 
 soaked their garments. These soon froze and completed 
 the work of destruction. They died where they lay. 
 Some groups were afterwards discovered thus frozen 
 together in a mass of solid ice. 
 
 While the very young and the feeble succumbed at once, 
 the more robust made a brave struggle for life, and, as 
 always happens in cases of extreme suffering, the good or 
 evil qualities of men and women came out prominently 
 to view. The selfish, caring only for themselves, forsook 
 their suffering comrades, seized what they could or dared, 
 and thus prolonged awhile their wretched lives. The 
 unselfish and noble-hearted cared for others, sacrificed 
 themselves, and in many cases were the means of saving 
 life. 
 
 Among these last were Baptiste Warder and Winkle- 
 mann. 
 
 * I vill valk to de settlement,' said the latter, one 
 morning towards the middle of January, as he rose from 
 his lair and began to prepare breakfast. 
 
 * I '\\ go with you,* said Warder. * It 's madness to 
 stop here. Death will be at our elbow anyhow, but he 'II 
 be sure to strike us all if we remain where we are. The 
 
 l^i 
 
 I r 
 
 it 
 
) ) 
 
 90 
 
 THE K RD MAX'S REVENGE : 
 
 > I 
 
 i ► 
 
 i' 
 
 :i i 
 
 1': 
 
 
 ■} 
 
 :J 
 
 i 
 
 meat we were lucky enough to get yesterday will keep 
 our party on short allowance for some time, and the men 
 will surely find something or other to oke it out while 
 we push on and bring relief.' 
 
 * Goot/ returp'^'d the German ; ' ve vill start after 
 breakfast. My le ''s are yet pretty strong/ 
 
 Accordingly, putting on their snow-shoes, the two 
 friends set out on a journey such as few men would 
 venture to undertake, and fewer could accomplish, in the 
 circumstances. 
 
 On the way they had terrible demonstration of the 
 extent of sufltering that prevailed among their friends. 
 They had not walked twenty miles when they came on 
 tracks which led them to a group — a father, mother, and 
 two sons — who were sitting on the snow frozen to death. 
 In solemn silence the hunters stood for a few minutes 
 and looked at the sad sight, then turned and passed on. 
 The case was too urgent to permit of delay. Many lives 
 hung on thv. *r speedy conveyance of news to the settle- 
 ment. They bent forward, and with long swinging strides 
 sped over the dreary plains until darkness — not exhaus- 
 tion — compelled them to halt. They carried with them 
 a small amount of pemmican, about half rations, trusting 
 to meet with something to shoot on the way. Before 
 daylight the moon rose. They rose with it and pushed 
 on. Suddenly they were arrested by an appalling yell. 
 Next moment a man rushed from a clump of trees 
 brandishing a gun. He stopped when within fifty yards, 
 uttered another demoniacal yell, and took aim at Warder. 
 
 Quick as thought the ex-captain brought his own piece 
 to his shoulder. He would have been too late if the gun 
 of his opponent had not missed fire. 
 
 ' Stop ! 'tis Pierre Vincent I ' cried Winklemann, just 
 in time to arrest Warder's hand. 
 
 i 
 
i 
 
 A TAT.E C)l-^ TITE RED RTVER FLOOD 
 
 01 
 
 will keep 
 
 (1 the men 
 
 out while 
 
 itart after 
 
 the two 
 len would 
 ish, in the 
 
 on of tlie 
 
 ir friends. 
 
 r came on 
 
 other, and 
 
 I to death. 
 
 w minutes 
 
 passed on. 
 
 tiany lives 
 
 the settle- 
 
 ng strides 
 
 t exhaus- 
 
 ith them 
 
 trusting 
 
 Before 
 
 lid pushed 
 
 lling yell. 
 
 of trees 
 
 fty yards, 
 
 Warder. 
 
 )wn piece 
 
 the gun 
 
 mn, just 
 
 ! 
 
 Vincent was a well-known comrade, but his face was 
 so disfigured by dirt and blood that they barely recognised 
 him. He flung away his gun when it snapped, and ran 
 wildly towards thorn. 
 
 ' Como ! come! I have food, food ! li;i ! h.i ! much food 
 yonder in the bush ! My wife and child eat it ! they are 
 eating — eating now ! ha ! ha ! ' 
 
 With another fierce yell the poor maniac — for such he 
 had become — turned off at a tangent, and ran far away 
 over the plains. 
 
 They made no attempt to follow him ; it would have 
 been useless. In the bush tiiey found his wife and child 
 stone-dead. Frequently during that terrible walk they 
 came on single tracks, which invariably showed that the 
 traveller had fallen several times, and at length taken to 
 creeping. Then they looked ahead, for they knew that the 
 corpse of a man or woman was not far in advance of them. 
 
 One such track led them to a woman with an infant 
 on her back. She was still pretty strong, and trudged 
 bravely over the snow on her snow-shoes, while the little 
 one on her back appeared to be quite content with its lot, 
 although pinched-looking in the face. 
 
 The men could not aHord to help her on. It would 
 have delayed themselves. The words ' life and death ' 
 seemed to be ringing constantly in their ears. But they 
 spoke kindly to the poor woman, and gave her nearly all 
 their remaining stock of provisions, reserving just enough 
 for two days. 
 
 * I 've travelled before now on short allowance,' said 
 AVarder, with a pitiful smile. ' We 're sure to come across 
 something before long. If not, we can travel empty for 
 a bit.' 
 
 ' Goot ; it vill make us lighter/ said Winklemann, with 
 a crave nod. 
 
 ! 
 
 If 
 
■^ 
 
 no 
 
 THE l^KD MAX\S REVEXCK : 
 
 'I 
 
 t 
 
 It 
 
 B- t 
 
 'It 
 
 il 
 i 
 
 ; J 
 
 ' m 
 
 V 
 
 •f 
 
 \ 
 
 Tlioy parted from tlio woman, and soon loff hnr out of 
 si^'ht behind. 8ho never roaehed the Bottleruont. 8hc 
 and the child were afterwards found dead within a quarter 
 of a mile of P<'ail)ina. Fiom vlic report of the party t^he 
 had lefl, ihi.i poor c?-eatiiro must have tnivelh'd upwurdsj 
 of a liuiidied milea in three divya and nights before sinking 
 in that terrible strugi,do for life. 
 
 Warder and his companion did not require to diverge 
 in order to follow these tr;ieks. They all ran one way, 
 straight for Red llivcr — for home! But there were 
 m.iny, very many, who nev^e^ saw that home again. 
 
 One cxeeption they overtook on their fourth day. Sh.'> 
 was a middle-aged woman, but her visage was so wrinkled 
 by wigwam smoke, and she had such a stoop, that she 
 seemed very old indeed. 
 
 * Why, I know that figure,* exclaimed Warder, on 
 sighting her ; * it 's old Liz, Michel Kollin's Scotch 
 mother ! * 
 
 So it turned out. She was an eccentric creature, full 
 of life, fire, and fun, excessively short and plain, but 
 remarkably strong. She had been forsaken by her nephew, 
 she said. Michel, dear Michel, would not have left her 
 in the lurch if he had been there. But she would be at 
 home to receive Michel on his return. That she would ! 
 And she was right. She reached the settlement alive, 
 though terribly exhausted. 
 
 Warder and Winklemann did not ' come across * any- 
 thing except one raven, but they shrt that and devoured 
 it, bones and all. Then they travelled a day without 
 food and without halt. Next day they might reach the 
 settlement if strength did not fail, but when they lay 
 down that night Warder said he felt like going to die, 
 and Winklemann said that his * leeks ' were now useless, 
 and his ' lunks ' were entirely gone ! 
 
 % 
 
 ;l 
 
ipr out of 
 
 ?nt. 8hc 
 a fjiiartor 
 party she 
 U[t\va?fls 
 :e sinking 
 
 diverge 
 ono way, 
 ore wore 
 I. 
 
 lay. Sho 
 wrinkled 
 that she 
 
 irder, on 
 3 Scotch 
 
 ture, fall 
 ain, but 
 nephew, 
 
 left her 
 [Id be at 
 
 would ! 
 it alive, 
 
 33 * any- 
 evoured 
 without 
 ach the 
 hey lay 
 to die, 
 useless, 
 
 1 
 
 A TALE OF THE KEJJ Jll\ Ell ILUUD 
 
 'J3 
 
 CIIArTKIl XI 
 
 TO THIO RESCUE 
 
 ELSIE and Cora Ilavenshaw were seated at a table in 
 Willow Creek, wiih their nsother an(i Miss Trim, 
 repairing garments one night in that same inclement 
 January of wliich wo have been writing. 
 
 Mr. Ilavenshaw was enjoying his pipe by the stove, 
 and Louis Lambert waa making himself agreeable. The 
 old man was a little careworn. No news had yet ])een 
 leceivcd of Tony or of Victor. In regard to the latter he 
 felt easy ; Victor could take care of himself, and was in 
 good company, but his hfcirt sank when he thought of his 
 beloved Tony. What would ho not have given to Iiave 
 had him smashing liis pipe or operating on his scalp at 
 that moment ! 
 
 ' It is an awful winter,' observed Elsie, as a gust of 
 wind seemed to nearly blow in the windows. 
 
 * I pity the hunters in the plains,* said Cora. ' They 
 say a rumour has come that they are starving/ 
 
 * I heard of that, but hope it is not true,' observed 
 Lambert. 
 
 * Oh ! they always talk of starving,' said old Raven- 
 shaw. ' No fear of 'ern.' 
 
 At that moment theie was a suunu of shuffling in the 
 porch, the door was thrown open, and a gaunt, haggarc. man, 
 with torn, snow-sprinkled garments, pale face, and bloodshot 
 eyes, stood pictured on the background of the dark porch. 
 
 f) 
 
 , I 
 
 I 
 
 
1 < 
 
 
 ,ii 
 
 f •'ff; 
 
 N 
 
 III t = 
 
 r 
 
 
 ii 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 I' 
 
 111 
 
 j:i^ 
 
 1 
 
 94 
 
 THE KED MAN'S KEVEXGE : 
 
 * Baptistc Wanlcr ! * exclaimed Lambert, 'starting up. 
 
 * Ay, what 's left o' mc ; and here 's the remains o* 
 Winklemann,* said "Warder, pointing to the cadaverous 
 face of the starving German, who followed him. 
 
 Need we say that the hunters received a kindly welcome 
 by the Ravenshaw family, as they sank exhausted into 
 chairs ? The story of star^-ation, suflering, and death was 
 soon told — at least in outline. 
 
 * You are hungry. When did yoa cat last ? ' asked Mr. 
 llavenshaw, interrupting them. 
 
 * Two days ago,' replied Warder, with a weary smile. 
 
 * It seems like two vccks,' observed the German, with 
 a sigh. 
 
 * Hallo ! Elsie, Cora, victuals ! ' cried the sympathetic 
 old man, turning quickly round. 
 
 But Elsie, whoso perceptions were quick, had already 
 placed bread and beer on the table. 
 
 * Here, have a diink of beer fust,* said the host, pour- 
 ing out a foaming glass. 
 
 Warder shook his head. Winklemann remarked that 
 * beer vas goot, ver goot, but they had been used to vatter 
 of late.' 
 
 * Ah ! ' he added, after devouring half a slice of bread 
 while waiting for Cora to prepare another ; ' blessed brod 
 an' booter ! Nobody can know vat it is till he have starve 
 for two veek — a — I mean two days ; all de same ting in 
 my feel ' 
 
 The entrance of a huge bite put a sudden and full stop 
 to the sentence. 
 
 * Why did yoii not stop at some of the houses higher 
 up the river to feed •' ' aslced Lambert. 
 
 Warder explaitied that the}' meant to have done so, 
 but they had missed their way. They had grown stupid, 
 he thought, from weakness. When they lost the way 
 
 W 
 
 ^ 
 5 
 
 \ 
 
 I 
 I 
 
1 
 
 ^g up. 
 smains o' 
 -davcroua 
 
 welcome 
 stcd into 
 ieath was 
 
 -sked Mr. 
 
 smile, 
 tan, with 
 
 ipatlictic 
 
 already 
 
 st, pour- 
 
 ved that 
 o vatter 
 
 :)f bread 
 
 )cd brod 
 
 c starve 
 
 ting in 
 
 ull stop 
 
 ! higher 
 
 one so, 
 stupid, 
 le way 
 
 I 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 05 
 
 they made straight for the river, guided by the pole-star, 
 and the first house they came in sight of was that of 
 Willow Creek. 
 
 * How can the pole-star guide one ? ' asked Cora, in 
 some surprise. 
 
 * Don't you know ? ' said Lambert, going round to 
 where Cora sat, and sitting down beside her. ' I will 
 explain.' 
 
 ' li I did know I wouldn't ask,' replied Cora coquet- 
 tishly ; ' besides, I did not put the question to you.' 
 ' Nay, but you don't object to my answering it, do you ? ' 
 
 * Not if you are quite sine you can do so correctly.' 
 
 ' I think I can, but the doubts which you and your 
 sister so often throw on my understanding make me 
 almost doubt myself,' retorted Lambert, with a lu ighing 
 glance at Elsie. ' You nuist know, then, that there is 
 a constellation named the Great Bear. It bears about as 
 much resemblance to a bear as it does to a rattlesnake, 
 but that 's what astronomers have called it. Part of it i.' 
 much more in the shape of a plough, arid one of the stars 
 in that plough is the pole-star. You can easily dis- 
 tinguish it when once you know how, because two of the 
 other stars are nearly in line with it, and so are called 
 " pointers." When you stand looking at the ]H)le-star you 
 are facing the north, and of course, when you know where 
 the north is, you can tell all the other points of the compass.* 
 
 It must not be supposed that the rest of the party 
 listened to this astronomical lecture. The gallant Louis 
 had sought to interest Elsie as well as Cora, but Elsie was 
 too much engrossed with the way-worn hunters and their 
 sad tale to think of anything else. When thev had eaten 
 enough to check the tierce cravings of hunger they related 
 more particulars. 
 
 'And now,* said "'Vai.'er, sitting erect and stretching 
 
 ■ i 
 
 '•I 
 
 •a 
 
 f: 
 
 1, 
 
ii 
 
 
 i I ' 
 
 1.; 
 
 
 1 
 
 ii 
 
 06 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 his long arms in the air as if the moro to enjoy the 
 delightful sensation of returning strength, * we have 
 pushed on at the risk of our lives to save time. This 
 news must be carried at once to the Governor. The 
 Company can help us best in a fix like this.' 
 
 * Of course, of course ; I shall send word to him at once,* 
 said his host. 
 
 * All right, Baptiste,* said Lambert, coming forward, * 1 
 expected you 'd want a messenger. Here I am. Black 
 Dick 's in the stable. He '11 be in the cariole in ten 
 minutes. What shall I say to the Governor ? ' 
 
 * I '11 go with you,* answered Warder. 
 
 * So vill I,* said Winklemann. 
 
 * You 11 do nothing of the sort,* retorted Ravenshaw. 
 * You both need rest. A sound sleep will fit you to do 
 your work more actively in the morning. I myself will 
 gu to the fort.* 
 
 * Only one can go, at least in my cariole,* remarked 
 Lambert, * for it only holds two, and no one can drive 
 Black Dick but myself.* 
 
 Baptiste Warder was immovable ; it ended in his 
 going off in the cariole with Lambert to inform the 
 governor of the colony, who was also chief of the Hudson's 
 Bay Company in Red River, and to rouse the settlement. 
 They had to pass the cottage of Angus Macdonald on the 
 way. 
 
 * Oh ! wow ! ' cried that excitable old settler when he 
 heard the news. * Can it pe possible ? So many tead 
 an' tying. Oh! wow! — Here, Martha ! Martha! where 
 iss that wuman ? It iss always out of the way she ias 
 when she 's wantit. Ay, Peegv.ish, you will do equally 
 well. Go to the stapl«^, man, an' tell the poy to ])ut the 
 mare in the c riole. Make him pc quick; it's slow he 
 iss at the best, whatever/ 
 
 'i-iK. 
 
njoy the 
 ve have 
 le. This 
 or. The 
 
 at once/ 
 
 ivard, ' I 
 
 Black 
 
 i in ten 
 
 enshaw. 
 u to do 
 self will 
 
 marked 
 n drive 
 
 in his 
 m the 
 idson's 
 ement. 
 on the 
 
 len he 
 toad 
 where 
 le ias 
 jually 
 it the 
 >w he 
 
 I 
 
 A TALE or THE RED RIVER iLOOD 97 
 
 Lambert did not wait to hear the remarks of Angu?, 
 but drove off at once. Angus put on his leather coat, fur 
 cap, and mittens, and otherwise prepared himself for a 
 drive over the snow-clad plains to Fort Garry, where the 
 Governor dwelt, intending to hear what was going to be 
 done, and offer his services. 
 
 With similarly benevolent end in view, old Ravenshaw 
 harnessed his horse and made for the same goal, regard- 
 loss alike of rheumatism, age, and inclement weather. At 
 a certain point, not far from the creek, the old trader's 
 private track and that which led to the house of Angus 
 Macdonald united, and thereafter joined the main road, 
 which road, by the way, was itself a mere track beaten in 
 the snow, with barely room for two carioles to pass. Now, 
 it so happened that the neighbours came up to the point 
 of junction at the same moment. Both were driving 
 hard, being eager and sympatheldc a.]:c>ut the sufferings 
 of the plain-hunters. To have continueu at the same pace 
 would have been to insure a meeting and a crash. One 
 must give way to the other ! Since the affair of the knoll 
 these two men had studiously cut each other. They met 
 every Sabbath day in the same church, and felt this to be 
 incongruous as well as wrong. The son of the one was 
 stolen by savages. The son of the other was doing his 
 utmost to rescue the child. Each regretted having 
 quarrelled with the other, but pride was a powerful 
 influence in both. What was to be done ? Time for 
 thought was short, for two fiery steeds were approaching 
 each other at the rate of ten miles an hour. -Who was to 
 
 gi\T in ? 
 
 thought 
 
 ' I '11 see both carioles smashed to atoms first ! 
 Ravenshaw, grinding his te<>th. 
 ' She '11 tie first,' thought Angus, pursing his lips. 
 The instinct of self-preservation caused both to come 
 
 Mi 
 
 (! 
 
n: 
 
 in i 
 
 I 
 
 Hi 
 
 
 ii 
 
 i; 
 
 i, 
 
 t 
 
 '■ 
 
 I 
 
 I)' 
 
 
 98 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 to a dead and violent halt when within six yards of the 
 meeting-point. A happy thought burst upon Angus at 
 that instant. 
 
 ' Eftcr you, sir/ he said, with a palpable sneer, at the 
 same time backing his horse slightly. 
 
 It was an expression of mock humility, and would 
 become an eviJence of superior courtesy if Raven^haw 
 should go insolently on. If, on the other hand, he should 
 take it well, a friendly reference to the roads or the 
 weather would convert the sneer into a mere nasal tone. 
 
 * Ah, thanks, thanks,' cried Mr. Ravcnshaw heartily, 
 as he drove past ; * bad news that about the plain-hunters. 
 I suppose ycu Vc heard it.' 
 
 * Ay, it iss pad news — ferry pad news inteed. Mister 
 Ruvnshaw. It will pc goin' to the fort ye are ? * 
 
 * Yes ; the poor people will need all the help we can 
 give them/ 
 
 * They wull that ; oo ay.' 
 
 Discourse being difficult in the circumstances, they 
 drove the remainder of the way in silence, but each 
 knew that the breach between them was healed, and felt 
 relieved. Angus did not, however, imagine that he was 
 any nearer to his desires regarding the knoll. Full well 
 did he understand and appreciate the unalterable nature 
 of Sam Ravcnshaw's resolutions, but he was pleased again 
 to be at peace, for, to say truth, he was not fond of war, 
 though ready to fight on the smallest provocation. 
 
 Baptiste Warder was right in expecting that the Company 
 would lend their powerful aid to the rescue. 
 
 The moment the Governor heard of the disaster, he 
 took immediate and active steps for sending relief to the 
 plains. Clothing and provisions were packed up as fast 
 as possible, and p: rty after party was sent out with these. 
 But in the nature of things the relief was slow. We have 
 
 ( 
 
 I 
 
i 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 
 
 99 
 
 said that some of the hunters and their families had 
 followed the Lidians and buffalo to a distance of between 
 150 and 200 miles. The snow was now so deep that the 
 only means of transport was by dog-slcdges. Dogs, being 
 light and short-limbed, can travel where horses cannot, but 
 even dogs require a track, and the only way of making 
 one on the track'ess prairie, or in the forest, is by mean.i 
 of a man on snow-shoes, who walks ahead of the dogs 
 and thus * beats the track/ The men employed, however, 
 were splendid and persevering walkers, and their hearts 
 were in the work. 
 
 Both Samuel Ravenshaw and Angus Macdonald gave 
 liberally to the cause ; and each obtaining a team of dogs, 
 accompanied one of the reUcf parties in a dog-cariole. If 
 the reader were to harness four dogs to a slipper-bath, he 
 would have a fair idea of a dog-cariole and team. Louis 
 Lambert beat the track for old Ravenshaw. He was a 
 recognised suitor at Willow Creek by that time. The 
 old gentleman wa. well accustomed to the dog-cariole, but 
 to Angus it was new — at least in experience. 
 
 * It iss like as if she was goin' to pathe,' he remarked, 
 with a grim smile, on stepping into the machine and 
 sitting down, or rather reclining luxuriously among the 
 buffalo robes. 
 
 The dogs attempted to run away with him, and suc- 
 ceeded for a hundred yards or so. Then they got 
 off" the track, and discovered that Angus was heavy. 
 Then they stopped, put out their tongues, and looked 
 humbly back for the driver to l^eat the trade for them. 
 
 A stout young half-brcod was the driv<r. He came up 
 and led the way until thoy reached the open plains, 
 where a recent gale bad swept away the soft snow, and 
 left a long stretch that was hard enough for the dogs to 
 
 s fresh and lively. 
 
 walk on without sinking. The Ux 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 M 
 
 m 
 
 BIBLIOTHECA 
 
 ^Wavi«n«i^ 
 
II 
 
 1 
 
 j 
 
 1 
 
 ': ' 
 
 
 ' ■ V 
 
 .. ! 
 
 i • 
 
 ^ i I 
 
 *i 
 
 i ' 
 
 
 1 
 1- 
 
 It' 
 
 .11! 
 
 100 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 * She *d pettcr hold on to the tail/ suggested Angus. 
 
 Tlio driver assented. He had already left the front, 
 and allowed the cariole to pass him, in order to lay hold 
 of the tail-line and check the pace, but the dogs were too 
 sharp for him. They bolted again, ran more than a mile, 
 overturned the cariole, and threw its occupant on the 
 snow, after which they were brought up suddenly by a 
 bush. 
 
 On the way the travellers passed several others of the 
 wealthy settlers who were going personally to the rescue. 
 Sympathy for the plain-hunters was universal. Every one 
 lent a wilhng hand. The result was that the lives of 
 hundreds were saved, though many were lost. Their 
 sufferings were so great that some died on their road to 
 the colony, after being relieved at Pembina. Those found 
 alive had devoured their horses, dogs, raw hides, leather, 
 and their very moccasins. Mr. Ravenshaw and his neigh- 
 bour passed many corpses on the way, two of which were 
 scarcely cold. They also passed at various places above 
 forty sufferers in seven or eight parties, who were crawling 
 along with great difficulty. To these they distributed 
 the provisions they had brought with them. At last the 
 hunters were all rescued and conveyed to the settlement 
 — one man, with his wife and three children, having been 
 dug out of the snow, where they had been buried for five 
 days and nights. The woman and children recovered, 
 but the man died. 
 
 Soon after this sad event the ^vinter began to exhibit 
 unwonted signs of severity. It had begun earlier, and 
 continued later than usual. The snow averaged three feet 
 deep in the plains and four feet in the woods, and the cold 
 was intense, being frequently down t'^ forty-five degrees 
 below zero of Fahrenheit's scale, while the ice measured 
 between five and six feet in thickness on the rivers. 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 101 
 
 But tlie great, significant, and prevailing feature of that 
 winter was snow. Never within the memory of man had 
 tlierc been such heavy, continuous, persistent snow. It 
 blocked up the windows so that men had constantly to 
 clear a )}assage for daylight. It drifted up the doors so 
 that they were contimially cutting passages for themselves 
 to the world outside. It covered the ground to such an 
 extent that fences began to be obliterated, and landmarks 
 to disappear, and it weighted the roofs down until some 
 of the weaker among them bid fair to sink under the load. 
 
 ' A severe winter,' was old Mr. Ravenshaw's usual 
 morning remark as he \. Jut to the windows, pipe in hand, 
 before breakfast. To which his better half invariably 
 replied, * Never saw anything like it before ' ; and Miss 
 Trim remarked, * It is awful.' 
 
 * It snows hard — whatever,' was Angus Macdonald's 
 usual observation about the same hour. To which his 
 humble and fast friend Peegwish — who assisted in his 
 kitchen — was wont to answer, * Ho ! ' and glare solemnly, 
 as though to intimate that his thoughts were too deep for 
 utterance. 
 
 Thus the winter passed away, and when spring arrived 
 it had to wage an umisualty fierce conflict before it 
 gained the final victory over ice and snow. 
 
 h 
 
 i 'I 
 
 H 'I 
 
 hibit 
 and 
 
 feet 
 cold 
 rees 
 .ir<;d 
 
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 102 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
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 B 
 
 CHAPTER Xri 
 
 VICTORY ! 
 
 UT before tliat winter closed, ay, before it began, 
 a gieat victory was gained, which merits special 
 mention here. Let us retrace our steps a little. 
 
 One morning, while Ian Macdonald was superintending 
 the preparation of breakfast in some far-away part of the 
 western wilderness, and Michel RoUin was cutting fire- 
 wood, Victor Ravenshaw came rushing into camp with 
 the eager announcement that he had seen the footprints 
 of an enormous grizzly bear ! 
 
 At any time such news would have stirred the blood of 
 Ian, but at that time, when the autumn was nearly over, 
 and hope had almost died in the breast of our scholastic 
 backwoodsman, the news burst upon him with the thrilling 
 force of an electric shock. 
 
 ' Now, Ian, take your gun and go in and win,* said 
 Victor with enthusiasm, for the youth had been infected 
 with Rollin's spirit of gallantry. 
 
 ' You see,' Rollin had said to Victor during a confi- 
 dential tete-a-tete, ' ven a lady is in de case ve must bow 
 de head. Ian do lov your sister. Ver goot. Your sister 
 do vish for a bar-claw collar. Ver goot. Veil, de chance 
 turn up at last — von grizzly bar do appear. Who go 
 shot 'im ? Vy, Ian, certaintly. Mais, it is pity he am 
 so 'bominibly bad shot ! ' 
 
 Victor, being an unselfish fellow, at once agreed to this ; 
 
 
 ■1:1 
 
 I, 
 
t began, 
 3 special 
 
 ntending 
 rt of the 
 ing fire- 
 up with 
 jotprints 
 
 blood of 
 
 \y over, 
 
 holastic 
 
 hrilling 
 
 n/ said 
 nfected 
 
 confi- 
 st bow 
 r sister 
 chance 
 Tio go 
 he am 
 
 this ; 
 
 
 A TALE OP THE RED KIVEll FLOOD 103 
 
 hence his earnest advice that Ian should take his gun and 
 go in and win. But Ian shook his head. 
 
 ' My dear boy/ he said, with a sigh, * it 's of no use 
 my attempting to shoot a bear, or anything else. I don't 
 know what can be wrong with my vision, I can see as 
 clear and as far as the best of you, and I 'm not bad, you '11 
 allow, at following up a trail over hard ground ; but when 
 it comes to squinting along the barrel of a gun I 'm worse 
 than useless. It 's my belief that if I took aim at a hay- 
 stack at thirty yards I 'd miss it. No, Vic, I must give 
 up the idea of shooting altogether.' 
 
 * What ! have you forgotten the saying, " Faint heart 
 never won fair lady " ? ' exclaimed Victor, in surprise. 
 
 * Nay, lad, my memory is not so short as that, neither 
 is my heart as faint as you seem to think it. I do intend 
 to go in and win, but I shall do it after a fashion of my 
 own, Vic* 
 
 Rollin, who came up at the moment and flung a bundle 
 of sticks on the fire, demanded to know what * vas the 
 vashion * referred to. 
 
 * That I won't tell you at present, boys,' said Ian ; 
 ' but, if you have any regard for me, you '11 make me a 
 solemn promise not in any way to interfere with me or 
 my plans unless you see me in actual and imminent danger 
 of losing my life.' 
 
 * Jus' so,' said Rollin, with a nod, * ve vill not step in to 
 de reskoo till you is at de very last gasp.' 
 
 Having obtained the requisite promise, Ian set off with 
 his comrades to examine the bear's track. There could 
 be but one opinion as to the size of the grizzly which had 
 made it. As Victor had said, it was enormous, and showed 
 that the animal had wandered about hither and thither, 
 as if it had been of an undecided temperament. Moreover 
 the track was quite fresh. 
 
 \\\ 
 
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 i ' 
 
104 
 
 Tirr. h'ET) MAX'S rJRVENGE: 
 
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 Of course there was much oajjjor conversation ahout it 
 among tlio friends ; carried on in subdued tonea and 
 whispers, as if they feared that the bear might be listening 
 in a neighbouring })u,sli. After discussing the sulrjecfc in 
 every point of vit^w, and examining tlio tracks in every 
 light, they returned to the camp, at Victor's suggestion, 
 to talk it over more fully, and make preparations for the 
 hunt. Ian, however, cut short their dehberations by 
 reminding his comrades of their promise, and claiming 
 the strict fulfilment of it. 
 
 ' If this thing is to bo undertaken by me,' he said, ' I 
 must have it all my own way and do the thing entirely by 
 myself/ 
 
 * Nobody objects to your having it all your own way,' 
 retorted Victor, somewhat testily, ' but why should you 
 be so secret about it ? ^Vhy not give a fellow some sort 
 of idea what your plan is, so that, if we can't have the 
 pleasure of helping you, we may at least enjoy the comfort 
 of thinking about it ? ' 
 
 * No, Vic, no. I won't give you a hint, because my 
 plan is entirely new, and you would laugh at it ; at least 
 it is new to me, for I never heard of its having been 
 attempted with grizzlies before, though I have heard of it 
 in connection with other bears. Besides, I may fail, in 
 which case the less that is known about my failure the 
 better. Only this much will I say, the idea has been 
 suggested to me by the formation of the land hereabouts. 
 You know there is a gap or pass in the rocks just ahead 
 of us, through which the bear seems to have passed more 
 than once in the course of his rambles. Well, that gap 
 is the spot where I will make my attempt. If you follow 
 me to that gap I will at once return to camp and let you 
 manage the matter yourselves.* 
 
 * Well, well, do as you please,' said Victor, with a laugh, 
 
 I 
 
A TALE or IHE KED IllVEK ILOOD 105 
 
 about it 
 1108 and 
 listening 
 l)ject in 
 in every 
 ^gostion, 
 \ for the 
 ions by- 
 claiming 
 
 said, ' I 
 :irely b}' 
 
 n\ way,' 
 luld you 
 )me sort 
 lave the 
 comfort 
 
 Luse my 
 at least 
 g been 
 rd of it 
 fail, in 
 ure the 
 IS been 
 abouts. 
 ahead 
 Id more 
 at gap 
 follow 
 et you 
 
 I laugh, 
 
 * and the sooner you set about it the bettor. Rollin and 
 I will ride away some miles in the opposite direction and 
 sec if wo can't get hold of a wild goose for supper.' 
 
 * Ila ! perhaps do grizzly vill get hold of anoder and a 
 vilder goose for supper,' said KoUin, with a shake of hi.^ 
 head. 
 
 When his companions had departed, Ian ^lacdonakl 
 cleaned his gun carefulh'^ and loaded with ball ; then 
 placing his axe in his belt beside his scalping-knife, he 
 proceeded with long t.nd rapid strides towards the gap or 
 pass above referred to. The bear's track led through thia 
 pass, which was a narrow cut, not more than thirty feel 
 wide, in a steep rocky ridge with which the countiy at 
 that place was intersected for a considerable distance. 
 The ridge itself, and the pass by which it was divided, 
 were thickly covered with trees and deii.:ie under- 
 growth. 
 
 The floor of the pass vvas level, although rugged, and 
 the rocks on either side rose in a sheer precipice, so that 
 whoever should attempt to penetrate without wings to 
 the region beyond must needs go by that narrow cut. 
 
 Arrived at the middle of the pass, where it was narrowest, 
 Ian leant his gun against the precipice on one side, took 
 oil his coat, tucked up his sleeves, grasped his axe, and 
 attacked a mighty tree. Like Ulysses of old, he swung 
 the axe with trenchant power and skill. Huge chips 
 flew circling round. Ere long a gooc^ly tree creaked, 
 groaned, and finally fell with a crash upon the ground. 
 It was tough work. Ian heaved a sigh of satisfaction 
 and wiped his streaming brow as he surveyed the fallen 
 monarch. There was another king of the same size near 
 to the opposite precipice, which he felled in the same 
 way. Both monarchs mingled and severely injured their 
 loyal heads in the middle of the pass, which thus became 
 
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 Till-: IJill) MANS I:K\ KNCi:: 
 
 entirely bloikotl iij), for our woodsman had so managed 
 that the trees fell ri;^'ht across it. 
 
 Next, Ian attacked the united lieads, and with jj;reat 
 labour hewed a passage throufrh them, near to a sj)()t 
 where a larjj^e boulder hiy. Selecting another forest kin;^, 
 Ian cut it so that one end of it fell on tht^ boulder. The 
 result of all this hewing and guiding of tlic fallin;^' 
 monarchs was that the only available track through the 
 pass was a hole about four feet in diameter, with a tree ol 
 great weight suspended above it by the boulder. 
 
 To chop off the branches and convert this latter tree 
 into a log did not take long. Neither did it take much 
 time or exertion to fashion a sort of support, or trigger, in 
 the shape of a figure 4, immediately under the log, so as 
 to obstruct the hole before mentioned. But to lower the 
 log gently from the boulder on to this trigger without 
 setting it off was a matter of extreme difficulty, requiritig 
 great care and much time, for the weight of the log was 
 great, and if it should once slip to the ground, ten Ian 
 Macdonalds could not have raised it up again. It was 
 accomplished at last, however, and several additional 
 heavy logs were leaned upon the main one to increase its 
 weight. 
 
 * If he returns this wav at all, he will come in the 
 evening,' nuittcred Ian to himself, as he sat down on a 
 stump and surveyed his handiwork with a smile of satis- 
 faction. * But perhaps he may not come back till morning, 
 in which case I shall have to watcn here all night, and 
 those impatient geese in the camp will be sure to disturb 
 us on the plea that they feared I had been killed — bah ! 
 and perhaps he won't come at all ! ' 
 
 This last idea was not muttered ; it was only thought, 
 but the thought banished the smile of satisfaction from 
 lan's face. In a meditative mood he took up his gun, 
 
 i 
 
A 'i.\ij': 01' Tino 111:1) iwxfm flood 
 
 io: 
 
 I 
 
 nanagr( 
 
 th groat 
 > a spot 
 (vsl king, 
 cr. Tho 
 c falling 
 ough llic 
 a tree of 
 
 ittcr tree 
 kc mud I 
 rigger, in 
 [og, so as 
 lower tho 
 : without 
 requiring 
 c log was 
 ten Ian 
 It was 
 idditional 
 crease its 
 
 le in the 
 )wn on a 
 of satis- 
 morning, 
 ght, and 
 disturb 
 ;d— bah ! 
 
 thought, 
 
 ion from 
 
 his gun, 
 
 1 
 
 rofroshed tho priming and Hllghtly (•lii|)pod (ho flint, so as 
 to sharpen its edge and make sure })f its striking tiro. 
 
 Wy that time it was long j)ast noon, and tho hunter 
 was meditating tho j)r()priety of going to a noighbouring 
 height to view tho surrounding country, wlim a .slight 
 noise attracted his attention. Jlc started, cocked liis 
 gim, glared round in all directions, and held his breath. 
 
 Tho noise was not rej)cated. Oradually th(^ frown of 
 his brows melted, the glare of his eyes abated, tho tension 
 of liis muscles was relaxed, and his highly-wrought 
 feelings escaped in a long-drawn sigh. 
 
 * Pshaw ! 'twas nothing. No bear in its senses would 
 roam about at such an hour, consiiloring tin; row I have 
 been kicking up with hacking and crashing. Come, I '11 
 go to the top of that crag, and have a look round.' 
 
 lie put on his coat and belt, stuck his axe and knife 
 into the latter, shouldered his gun, and went nimbly up 
 the rocky ascent on his left. 
 
 Coming out on a clear spot at the crag which had 
 attracted him, he could sec the whole pass beneath him, 
 except the spot where his trap had been laid. That por- 
 tion was vexatiously hidden by an intervening clump of 
 bushes. Next moment he was petrified, so to speak, by 
 the sight of a grizzly bear sauntering slowly down the 
 pass as if in the enjoyment of an afternoon stroll. 
 
 No power on earth — except, perhaps, a glance from 
 Elsie — could have unpetrificd Ian Macdonald at that 
 moment. He stood in the half-crouching attitude of one 
 about to spring over the cliff — absolutely motionless — 
 with eyes, mouth, and nostrils wide open, as if to afford 
 free egress to his spirit. 
 
 Not until the bear had passed slowly out of sight 
 behind the intervening bushes was he disenchanted. 
 Then, indeed, he leaped up like a startled deer, turned 
 
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 lOS 
 
 THE RED MIAN'S REVENGE 
 
 sharp round, and bounded back tlic way he had come, 
 with as much caution and as Httle noise as was compatible 
 with such vigorous action. 
 
 Before he had retraced liis steps ten yards, however, he 
 heard a crash i Well did lie know what liad caused it. 
 His heart got into his throat somehow. Swallowing it 
 with much difficulty, he ran on, but a roar such as was 
 never uttered by human lungs almost stopped his circula- 
 tion. A few seconds brought Ian within view of his trap, 
 and what a sight presented itself ! 
 
 A grizzly bear, which seemed to him the hugest, as it 
 certainly was at that moment the fiercest, that ever roamed 
 the Rocky Mountains, was struggling furiousl}^ under the 
 weight of the ponderous tree, with its superincumbent 
 load of logs. The monster had been caught by the small 
 of the back — if such a back can be said to have possessed 
 a small of any kind — and its rage, mingled as it must 
 have been with surprise, was awful to witness. 
 
 The whole framework of the ponderous trap trembled 
 and shook under the influence of the animal's writhings. 
 Heavy though it was, the bear shook it so powerfully at 
 each spasm of rage, that it was plainly too weak to hold 
 him long. In the event of his breaking out, death to the 
 trapper was inevitable. 
 
 Ian did not hesitate an instant. His chief fear at the 
 moment was that his conn-ades at the camp might have 
 heard the roaring — distant though they were from the 
 spot — and might arrive in time to spoil, by sharing, his 
 victory. 
 
 Victory ? Another struggle such as iJiat, and victory 
 would have rested with the bear ! Ian resolved to make 
 sure work. He would put missing out of the question. 
 The tremendous claws that had already worked a small 
 pit in the earth reminded him of the collar and of Elsie. 
 
 
 i 
 
1 come, 
 ipatible 
 
 ever, he 
 used it. 
 »wing it 
 as was 
 cii'cula- 
 liis trap, 
 
 st, as it 
 ' roamed 
 iider the 
 cumbeiit 
 lie small 
 )osscssed 
 it must 
 
 embled 
 
 ri things. 
 
 •fully at 
 
 to hold 
 
 1 to the 
 
 r at the 
 ht have 
 L*om the 
 ring, his 
 
 victory 
 to miike 
 uestiou. 
 a small 
 f Elsie. 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 109 
 
 Leaping forward, he thrust the point of his gun into the 
 oar of the infuriated animal and pulled the trigger. 1\<' 
 ^vas almost stunned by the report and roar, together with 
 an unwonted shock that sent him reeling backward. 
 
 We know not how a good twist-barrelled gun would 
 behave if its muzzle were thus stopped, but the common 
 Lidian gun used on this occasion was not meant to be 
 i hus treated. It was blown to pieces, and Tan stood gazing 
 in spoochless surprise at the fragment of wood remaining 
 in his hand. How far it had injured the bear he could 
 not tell, but the shot had not apparently abated its power 
 one jot, for it rftill heaved upwards in a paroxysm of rage, 
 and with such force as nearly to overthrow the complex 
 erection that held it down. Evidently there was no time 
 to lose. 
 
 Ian drew his axe, grasped it with both hands, raised 
 himself on tiptoe, and brought it down with all his might 
 on the bear's neck. 
 
 The grizzly bear is noted for tenacity of life. Ian had 
 not hit the neck-bone. Instead of succumlnng to the 
 tremendous blow, it gave the handle of the axe a vicious 
 twist with its paw, which jerked the hunter violently to 
 the ground. Ikfore he could recover himself, the claws 
 which he coveted so much were deep in his right thigh. 
 Ilis presence of mind did not forsake him even then. 
 Drawing his scalping-knife, he wrenched himself round, 
 and twice buried the keen weapon to the haft in the 
 bear's side. 
 
 Just then an unwonted swimming sensation came over 
 fan ; his great strength seemed suddenly to dissipate, and 
 the bear, the claw-collar, even Elsie, faded utterly from 
 his mind. 
 
 The stars were shining brightly in the calm sky, and 
 twinkling with pleasant tranquillity down upon his up- 
 
 
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 110 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 turned countenance when consciousness returned to Ian 
 Macdonald. 
 
 ' Ah, Vic ! ' he inurmnred, with a long sad sigh ; * I \o. 
 had such a splendid dream ! ' 
 
 ' Come, that 's right, old boy. Here, have another mouth- 
 ful,* said Victor, holding a tin can to his friend's lips. 
 ' It 's only tea, hot and strong, the best thing in the world 
 to refresh a wounded man ; and after such a fight ' 
 
 * What ! * exclaimed Ian, starting and sitting bolt up- 
 right, while he gazed in the faces of his two comrades. 
 * Is it true ? Have I killed the — the — grizzly ? ' 
 
 * Killed him ! ' exclaimed Victor, rising ; * I should 
 think you have/ 
 
 * Killed 'im ! ' echoed Rollin. * You *s killed 'im two 
 or tree time over ; vy, you 's axed 'im, stabbed 'im, shotted 
 'im, busted 'im, squashed 'im — ho ! ' 
 
 * Am I much damaged ? ' inquired Ian, interrupting, 
 for he felt weak. 
 
 ' Oh ! no — noting whatsocomever. Only few leetil 
 holes in you's legs. Be bedder in a veek.' 
 
 * Look here,' said Victor, kneeling beside the wounded 
 man and presentii.g to him a piece of wood on which were 
 neatly arranged a row of formidable claws. ' I knew you 
 would like to see them.' 
 
 ' How good of you, Vic ! It was thoughtful of you, and 
 kind. Put them down before me — a little nearer — there, 
 — so.' 
 
 Ian gazed in speechless admiration. It was not that 
 he was vain of the achievement ; he was too sensible and 
 unselfish for that ; but it was such a pleasure to think of 
 being able, after all, and in spite of his bad shooting, to 
 present Elsie with a set of claws tliat were greatly superior 
 to those given to her mother by Louis Lambert — the finest, 
 in short, that he had ever seen. 
 
 I 
 
 i^ 
 
r 
 
 d to Ian 
 
 i; 'l\o, 
 
 T moutli- 
 id's lips. 
 :he world 
 
 lit ' 
 
 bolt up- 
 lomrades. 
 
 I should 
 
 'im two 
 1, shotted 
 
 irrupting, 
 
 :ew leetil 
 
 wounded 
 lich were 
 
 :ncw you 
 
 70U, and 
 r — there, 
 
 not that 
 Bible and 
 think of 
 oting, to 
 superior 
 le finest, 
 
 1 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED KiVEil ELOOD 111 
 
 CHAPTER XITI 
 
 A CUXNINa DEVICE ENDS IN FAILURE FOLLOWED BY 
 
 DESTRUCTION 
 
 IN a previous chapter it has been told how the long 
 hard winter of that year (182G) had passed away, 
 after an unwontedly severe tussle with the spring. The 
 prophets of the land now began to hold up their heads 
 and look owlishly wise, for their predictions were evidently 
 about to be fulfilled. 
 
 Had not old Sam Havenshaw said all through the 
 winter that ' something wouki come of it ' ? Was it not 
 the daily remark of Angus Macdonald that such a state of 
 things * could not go on for ever — whsitever ' ? Had not 
 Peegwish glared prophecy with a degree of solemnity that 
 rendered words not only impossible, but unnecessary ? and 
 had not Miss Trim asserted that dreadful consequences 
 of some sort were sure to follow ? 
 
 Dreadful consequences did follow, and they began with 
 a fine warm day. For a considerable time the fields of 
 snow had been subjected to the influence of the blazing 
 sun, and had been greatly diminished in depth. The day 
 in question, however, was so very warm that Louis Lambert 
 was induced to take his horse and gun with a view to 
 wolf-hunting on the plains. The hard crust formed on 
 the snow's surface by the partial meltings of early spring 
 is sufficiently strong to boar the weight of a wolf, but will 
 not support a horse. Wolves, therefore, roam about with 
 
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 11 
 
 112 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 ease and at will at tliat period, while horses are obliged to 
 keep to beaten tracks. When, liuwevcr, the thavws set in, 
 the case is reversed. The wolf, with his short limits, 
 flounders laboriously in the drifts of soft snow, while the 
 horse, with his long and powerful legs, can gallop in 
 spite of these. Thus wolf-hunting becomes, for a time, 
 possible. 
 
 Louis Lambert was fond of the chase. He was also 
 fond of courting, and, resolving to combine the two, 
 galloped away to the abode of old Ravenshaw. He had 
 been there so often of late that he felt half ashamed of 
 this early morning visit. Lovers easily find excuses for 
 visits. He resolved to ask if Hcru Winklemann had been 
 seen passing that morning, as he wished his companion- 
 ship on the plains — the shallow deceiver ! 
 
 * Good-morning, Cora,* he said, on enteriiig the hall. 
 Elsie, who stood at the window with her back to the 
 
 door, turned quickly round. 
 
 * Oh, I beg pardon,* he said, with a slightly confused 
 air ; 'I thought you were Cora, and ' 
 
 ' Well,' interrupted Elsie, with a hurt look that accorded 
 ill with a twinkle in her eyes ; ' I think you might know 
 the difference between me and Cora by this time, though 
 you only saw my back.* 
 
 * Ah, Elsie ! * returned the youth, as he shook hands, 
 * you ought in fairness to make allowance for the effects of 
 spring. You know full well that the glare of the sun on 
 the snow half blinds a fellow, so that even when, when — — * 
 
 * Come, now, don't search about in your empty brain 
 for one of your unmeaning compliments, but say at once 
 what brings you here at so early an hour. Has a war- 
 party of Sioux come down on us, or is the river about to 
 break up ? * 
 
 * War-parties of Sioux are no doubt prowling about the 
 
 1 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD n3 
 
 ligcd to 
 s set ill, 
 ; limbs, 
 hilo the 
 illop in 
 a time, 
 
 ''as also 
 le two, 
 Ho had 
 imed of 
 iscs for 
 id been 
 panion- 
 
 ill. 
 to the 
 
 infused 
 
 score! ed 
 know 
 lough 
 
 hands, 
 ects of 
 iun on 
 
 Q- 
 
 brain 
 once 
 war- 
 Hit to 
 
 it the 
 
 ii 
 
 ^ 
 
 plains somewhere,' returned Lambert, with a smile, ' and 
 the ice will go soon if this heat continues ; but neither of 
 these things brought me hero. Tlic truth is, I came to 
 ask if Winklemann had been seen to pass your windows 
 this morning ? ' 
 ' The truth ? ' repeated Elsie, with a searching look. 
 
 * Well,* replied the youth, with a laugh, ' I came alh:o 
 to see you and — and — Cora/ 
 
 ' And father also, I suppose ? 
 
 ' Why, Elsie, you are unusually sharp this morning ; but 
 I really do wish to know if Winklemann has been seen, 
 because he had left home when I passed his house, and I 
 want him to hunt with me.' 
 
 * Then I may tell you that he passed our window not 
 ten minutes before your arrival, going in the direction of 
 die Lower Fort. He rides fast, as you know, so if you 
 would catch him up you must follow quickly/ 
 
 The young man stood for a moment undecided, then, 
 perceiving that Elsie gave him no encouragement to remain, 
 he bade her adieu and rode away. 
 
 ' Louis is remarkably fond of coming here,' said Elsie 
 to Cora, who entered the room a few minutes later, ' but 
 he did not come to sec vs this morning. He only came to 
 ask after Herr Winklemann.' 
 
 Cora laughed, but gave no further evidence of the state 
 of her mind. 
 
 Just then Peegwish the Indian entered. He walked 
 towards the sisters with that solemn dignity of manner 
 peculiar to the North American savage, but the intensified 
 solemnity of his looks and a certain unsteadiness in his 
 gait rather marred the dignity. 
 
 * Peegwish,' said Elsie, going towards him with a 
 grieved look, * you have been drinking beer again.' 
 
 The Indian protested, in very bad English, that he had 
 
 ilif 
 
 i lii 
 
114 
 
 THE RED ^[AN'S llEVEXGE : 
 
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 > : 
 
 
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 Hi 
 
 .1* ■« sa 
 
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 ; 
 
 
 t • 
 
 it 
 
 not tasted beer since the previous Christnia.s , whereupon 
 Elsie proceeded to administer an earnest reproof to the 
 muddled hypocrite, for she v/as really anxious to save him 
 from the destruction which had already overtaken many 
 of his red brethren through the baleful influence of fire- 
 water ; but Peegwish was just then in no condition to 
 appreciate her remarks. To all she said his only reply 
 was that he wanted * ballv/ 
 
 ' You want bally ? ' returned Elsie, with a puzzled look. 
 
 ' Yis — bally,' he repeated, and a gleam cf indescribable 
 slyness broke like a sunbeam on his solenni visage as he 
 said it. 
 
 ' What can he mean by bally, Cora ? ' 
 
 ' Perhaps he means barley.' 
 
 * Ho ! ' exclaimed the Indian, with emphasis, by which 
 he meant, ' You 're right.' 
 
 But Elsie had no barley to give him. She tried to find 
 out what he wanted to do with the barley, but Peegwisli 
 was not comm"nicative. The gleam of cunning faded from 
 his mahogany countenance, and he relapsed into a state 
 of impenetrable wisdom, in which condition he retired, and 
 betook himself to the upper part of the settlement, near 
 Fort Garry, in quest of ' bally.' Here he found the people 
 in a state of considerable excitement owing to the sudden 
 and unusual rise of the liver. 
 
 At Fort Garry the Assinaboine Eiver joins the Red 
 River, and flows with it into Lake Winnipeg. At the 
 period of which we write (the month of May) both rivers 
 were yet covered with the icy garment — between four and 
 five feet thick — under which they had gone to rest five 
 or six months before. The vast accumulation of snow 
 which had fallen that winter was melted so fast that the 
 Red River had risen with terrible rapidity, and it was 
 obvious, from the ominous complainings of the ' thick- 
 
 
 r 
 
A TALE OF THF. RED PvIVETl FLOOD 115 
 
 lereupon 
 f to the 
 ave liiiu 
 sn many 
 I of firc- 
 lition to 
 ly reply 
 
 led look, 
 jcribalile 
 go as h(^ 
 
 ly wliicli 
 
 1 to find 
 !*eegwi.sli 
 led from 
 
 a state 
 red, and 
 nt, near 
 e people 
 
 sudden 
 
 le Red 
 
 At the 
 
 I rivers 
 
 our and 
 
 est five 
 
 )f snow 
 
 hat the 
 
 it was 
 
 ' thick- 
 
 ribbed ice,' that a burst-up of unwonted violence was 
 impending. The strength of the ice, however, was so great 
 that it rose with the swelling waters without breaking 
 until nearly on a level with the lop of the river banks. 
 In some places, where the banks were low, the pent-up 
 floods broke forth and swamped the land, but as yet little 
 damage had been done. 
 
 Of course the alarm of the settlers was considerable. 
 Humours of former floods which had devastated the 
 r.urrounding plains were rife, and those of the people whose 
 houses stood on the lower grounds began to remove their 
 goods and chattels to higher places. Others delayed doing 
 so in the belief that the river would not rise nmch higher, 
 at all events that it would subside as soon as the ice broke 
 up and cleared away to Lake Winnipeg. Some there were 
 whose dwellings stood on high ground, and who professed 
 to have no belief in floods at all. 
 
 In other circumstances Peegwish would have noted the 
 state of things that prevailed, but at that time his faculties 
 were steeped in beer. For some days past they had been 
 in this condition, but his supply was exhausted, and people 
 who knew his propensity refused to give him more. 
 Peegwish, therefore, being a somewhat resolute savage, 
 resolved to adopt a course which would render him inde- 
 pendent. Chuckling to himself at the depth and cunning 
 of his intended course of action, he went among the farmers 
 begging for ' bally ' ! Some to whom he appealed treated 
 him facetiously, others turned him away from their doors, 
 being too anxious about the impending flood to listen to 
 him. At last he found a soft-hearted soul in the person 
 of Michel Rollin's mother, old Liz, w^ho dwelt in a very small 
 log-hut on a knoll at a considerable height above the river. 
 
 ' What d' ee want wi' the barley ? ' demanded old Liz, 
 who, besides being amiable, had a feeling of kindness for 
 
 B 
 
» 
 
 ll(> 
 
 'iiiK !:ki) MAN'S i;i^VKN(;r, 
 
 ! 
 
 \* 
 
 
 'I 
 
 I; 
 
 tl 
 
 ♦ '4 
 
 I * 3 
 
 4 
 
 tho man \\\\\\ \\\\om Ikm* ahHcnt how had for yoavH Ixmmi in 
 iho ]ial)il «if luniliui];. 
 
 ' 'Vo li<';il 'nn.* r<>|)li(Ml \]\o Indian. 
 
 'To <\'i( it,' iM'Iiix-il (li(» ,s(iird\- lil(I(> woman; ' wccl, 
 oomo in. I cni .'^paro Homo, but. dinna mak* a iioi.so, 
 Paildy H sl(M'pin'.' 
 
 Tlio Mavii<j;(> (mi(«m'imI witli sclcmn llioui';li wavorinjT 
 <'autit>n. Old Ihouuli hIio wjim, Li?: lia.d a livinL^ I'aflicr. 
 H»» was r-o very aiicicnl, Ihnl it' lie l)a<l dwelt in l^-ixypl lie 
 would probahly have been laKei", for .;. live nunntny. Me 
 sal in the chimneyeorner, ui an anu-eliidr lo wliieh Li/ 
 had lied him to pn^vent lii.s fallinjjf inio tlu^ fire, lie 
 Nuiiled and lUHldiHl at. tho fire wIkmi awake, and snored and 
 nodded at. if. when asleep. Beyond this, and a <',rat('ful 
 reeoi:!;nifioi\ of Ids danuhtiM-'s attentions, he. did and Ra,id 
 nothing, (ilaziujj; at; Daddy, TVegwish fell into ai\ owlisli 
 rovorio, from which ho was aroused by old Liz pntting a 
 small saok of barley on tho ground before him. Tho Indian 
 rcooivod it with thanks, throw it on Ids shouhhM-, and with 
 an expression of nnaltorable (hMermination on his visage, 
 rotmned to his own liomo. 
 
 Tho home of Toogwish was dilapidated like Jdmself. Tt 
 stooil on a portion of ground belonging to /vngns Mae- 
 donald, and was very near to tho river's brinlv. It was a 
 mere h\g-eabin of tho smallest dimensions, having one low 
 door and one classless windinv. The window also served 
 tho pnrposc of a chinmoy. Its fnrnitnro was in keeping 
 witli its appoaratieo — a stool, a eonplc of blankets, two 
 little heaps of brnsliwood for beds, a kettle or two, a bag 
 of pemmican. an old Hint gun, two pairs of snow-shoes, a 
 pair of eanoe-paddlos. a couple of very dirfy bundles, and 
 an old female. The latter \vas the dirtiest piece of furni- 
 ture in the establishment. She was sister to Peegwish, 
 and was named by him Wildeat. 
 
A TAl.K OF TIIM HKI) RlVKl: ILOOD 11/ 
 
 i \. 
 
 IIM I 
 
 •cm 111 
 
 :* Ji iioi.sc, 
 
 w.'ivoriii!!; 
 
 in^jj f;i(lu>r. 
 
 I f'lxypt' lie 
 
 iiiiiiy. lit" 
 
 vvliich \,\A 
 
 (ire. \\v 
 
 Ji gnilcfiil 
 I and ,sji,i(! 
 an owliyli 
 pulling a 
 'ho Jndiiin 
 , and willi 
 lis visago, 
 
 niRclf. n 
 Igna Mac- 
 It was a 
 b one \o\\ 
 !o sorvod 
 keeping 
 :ets, two 
 \o, a bag 
 •shoes, a 
 les, and 
 if fnrni- 
 'ogwish, 
 
 -^ 
 
 1)eHpite appearaiKM^H, llie Init wjih conifoiiaMy w.ini), for 
 W ildcat- -who, to do lnr jnHtice, liad hern grosHly iiiIh- 
 tiaiiH'd- wan foiul of heal. »^he (Jcvolcd the elijcf part 
 of licr OAiHtenco to the collection of fuel, most of the. 
 icmaindcr being spent in making moccasins, etc., and 
 (■ot)king. 
 
 ' Tut on the pot, Wildcat,' said Peegwish on entering, 
 as ]m5 tliH'W down liie sack of barley. 
 
 The woman obeyed with alacrity. The firo burned on 
 lii(> earthen floor in ])riiriitive Hlyle. Erecting thrco Bticks 
 over it in the tripod form, siie hung a pot therefrom. Idled 
 it with water, and awaited further orders. Knowing her 
 hrol Iter's east of mind well, she refrained from questioning, 
 though she perceived from the jieculiar cunning of hi;4 
 looks that Hoinelhing unusual occupied his mind. Teeg- 
 wi.;h saw t hat Wihh'at's curiosity was arous(!d, and resolved 
 to kee[) it in that con<lition. lb; had learned the fact that 
 beer was made from barley, and had resolved, thenceforth, 
 lo brew his own beer ; but no hint of this did he permit 
 to escape him. ]!(; even went to the other extreme, and 
 hecanu^ unusually communicative on Bubj(!cts remote from 
 hvcv. lie told how that the people up the river were 
 being frightened liy the rise in the water; how ho liad 
 met Lambert and Winklemann going to hunt wolves ; how 
 those Niuu'ods had been obliged to change their minds 
 and turn back for the purpose of looking after their 
 property ; and, in short, ho wandered as far from the 
 sulijcct of beer and brewing as possible. 
 
 His reference to the rise of the river, however, turned 
 Wildcat's thoughts to the fact that the ice in their 
 immediate neighbourhood had been forced up in a manner 
 that caused her some anxiety. 8he mcMitioned her fears 
 to Peegwish, but that worthy was too deeply immersed in 
 his experiments just then to care much for anything else. 
 
 4 
 
 » : 
 
r 
 
 ii 
 
 f 
 
 1^' 
 
 lis 
 
 Till'] UFA) MAX'S inOVKXCIJO: 
 
 :i. 
 
 
 Mi 
 
 i't 
 
 ;s 
 
 
 'i. 
 
 H >! 
 
 To lior romarks lie moroly roplicrl |>y a solnnii sli;ik(i of 
 tlic liciul Jiiul an owlish ^nzo into llio bi^ j)()t. 
 
 Soon t lio Wilier in the pol< begun l(^ boil. Poi^gwish put 
 ii\ ji large proporlioii of barh^y, lighted hi.s pipe, and sat 
 down (o await the r<\snlt with the paticMU'C of a Stoic-. 
 Wildcat nat beside him with c<pial patien(M\ An hour 
 passed, Teegwish dip[)ed a wooden spoon into the pot and 
 tasted. The result- was not satisfactory — it burnt his lips. 
 lie let the spoonful cool, and tried agaiti. The licpiid was 
 marveUously like barley-broth, with which delicacy he 
 was well ac(piainted. Another hour j)assed ; again he 
 dipped the t^poon, and again met with disappointment, for 
 liis brew was not yet beer. The sun went down, the moon 
 arose, the .stars came out, and still Peegwish and Wildcat 
 yat watching and dozing over the big pot. 
 
 At last the former bade the latter watch alone while he 
 Kle[)t. lie lay back where he sat and slumbered instantly. 
 Wildcat obcA-ed orders by heaping fresh logs on the fire 
 ai\d following suit. They snored in concert. 
 
 The night advanced ; the uneasy grindings of the ice 
 increased ; the tinkling of a thousand snow-born rills filled 
 the air with liquid melody. The sub-glacial murmuring of 
 many waters filled many hearts with anxious care, and 
 numerous households near the river's brink sat up the live- 
 long night to w'atcli — perhaps to pray. Intermittent 
 cracking of the ice kept up the sound, as it were, of spatter- 
 ing musketry, and occasional loud reports w^ere interspersed 
 like the thunder of heavy guns. 
 
 At grey dawn Pcegwish awoke, looked slowly round, 
 observed his sister asleep, and seized her by the nose. 
 She awoke, rose hastily, and stirred the fire. An inspection 
 of the big pot showed that its contents had become barley 
 porridge. Even Pecgwish's imagination failed to regard it 
 as beer. But Pcegwish had been somewhat sobered by his 
 
 
A TAiJ*: (M 'Jill-; wvA) ia\ i:i; I'Looh iii) 
 
 cgwisli put 
 
 )(\ and sal 
 
 of a Stoic. 
 
 An liour 
 
 lio j»()t iiiid 
 
 'lit Jiis lips. 
 
 li(liii(l was 
 
 lolicacy lie 
 
 again he 
 
 itnicnt, for 
 
 I, the moon 
 
 tid Wildcat 
 
 10 while he 
 I iiLstandy. 
 on the fire 
 
 of the ic(^- 
 1 rills filled 
 miuring of 
 care, and 
 the live- 
 bcrmittcnt 
 )f spatter- 
 berspcrsed 
 
 \y round, 
 the nose, 
 ispcction 
 10 barley 
 I regard it 
 jd by his 
 
 ! Icfp. Ifonrin^ th(^ otiiinoua sounds on llio river lio jurniiod 
 u|) jiikI ran outside. The sij^lit that pn\Menred it ^If wha 
 [Milliciently alarming. During the night the wal<'r had 
 ri icii six fed, and (he ire had been raised to a level with 
 I lie floor of the Jiidian's hut. ]iut this was not tlie worst. 
 A short tongue of land just above the lint had up to that 
 iiine fornietl a sort of breakwater to the dwelling. Now, 
 however, the ice had been forced quite over the barrier by 
 (ho irresistil)le [H'ossurc fjehlnd, and even while lie gazed 
 a great wedge of ice, nearly five feet thick and several 
 yards in h'ngtli, was being reared up like a glittering 
 ohclisk, and forced slowly but surely down upon the liut. 
 JVogwish had not recovered from liis first surpriso when 
 I he obelisk broke off by its own weight and ff^li in a mass 
 of ruins, whilst the ice behind kept thrusting with terrible 
 force towards him. 
 
 If Peegwish was sluggish by nature liis malady was 
 evidently not incurable. IIo uttered a shout, and leaped 
 back into his hut like a panther. His sister came out, 
 gave one glance at the river, became wild-cattish for the 
 first time in her lifoj and sprang after her brother. 
 
 A few seconds later and the pair reappeared, bearing 
 some of their poor possessions to a place of safety higher 
 up the bank. They returned for more, and in a very few 
 minutes had the whole of their worldly wealth removed 
 from their doomed edifice. Then they sat down on the 
 bank, and sadly watched the destruction of their home. 
 
 From their point of view they could see that the main 
 b(xly of ice on the river was still unbroken, and that it 
 was merely a huge tongue, or needle, which had been thrust 
 up at that point by the form of the land above referred to. 
 The shattered masses were soon forced against the side of 
 the hut. There was a slight pause and a creaking of 
 timbers ; then the ice slipped upwards and rose above the 
 
 W 
 
f 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 hi 
 
 
 r 
 
 1 
 
 1.1 
 
 
 J . 
 
 
 il; 
 
 
 HI- 
 
 120 
 
 THE llED MAX'S IlEVENGE : 
 
 roof. More ice came down from above — slowly grinding. 
 Again there was a pause. The creaking timbers began 
 to groan, the hut leaned gently over. One of the door- 
 posts snapped, the other sloped inwards, the roof collapsed, 
 the sides went in, the ice passed over all, and the hut of 
 Pecgwish was finally obliterated from off the face of the 
 earth. So, a giant with his foot might slowly and effectu- 
 ally crush the mansion of a snail ! 
 
 
 Mj 
 
 t 
 
 
 id 
 
 I % 
 
 m 
 
 f '« 
 
 !i I 
 
 
 l- 
 
 •;! 
 
A TALK OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 121 
 
 ' grinding. 
 lera began 
 the door- 
 collapsed, 
 the hut of 
 ace of the 
 id eiiectu- 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE FLOOD BEGINS TO DO ITS WORK 
 
 T ia very sad that the hut of poor Peegwish ha3 been 
 carried away/ observed Miss Martha Macdonald, 
 while presiding at the breakfast-table. 
 
 ' Yes, it iss fery sad/ lesponded Angus Macdonald, in 
 a somewhat unamiable tone ; ' but it iss more sad that 
 he will pe living in our kitchen now, for that wuman 
 Wildcat must pe there too, and it iss not coot for Wildcat 
 to live in the kitchen. She will pe too fond of the kitchen 
 altogether, an* she will pe a greater thief than our own 
 cawtie, for she iss more omniferous an' not so easy to 
 scare.* 
 
 * But cook is as good as a weasel at watching cats,* 
 returned Martha, with a smile ; * and it ia reason we have 
 to be thankful we have no heavier trouble, Angus, for many 
 of the people up the river are driven out of their houses.' 
 
 * What you say iss true, Martha. Just pefore breakfast 
 I met that Cherman crater, Winklemann, ridin* to the 
 mission-house for help. The ice would pe scrapin* the 
 end of his gardin, he was tellin' me, an* if the ruver would 
 pe risin* another fut it would come into the house. He 
 says the people are goin* off to the mountain like flocks of 
 sheep, carryin* their coots and trivin* their cattle pefore 
 them. It iss fery pad times, whatever.* 
 
 In the parlour of Willow Creek House the breakfast 
 party enlarged on the same theme. 
 
 
. i 
 
 \t] 
 
 Ir: 
 
 
 U : 
 
 i 
 
 !:l 
 
 
 ( 
 
 * 
 
 ; \ 
 
 t' 
 
 ^ t ^1 
 
 ^ ' ih 
 
 I a 
 
 >;« 
 
 il-^! 
 
 10> 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 * Things look serious/ observed Samuel Ravenshaw, as 
 he commenced his third egg. ' If the water rises at this 
 rate much longer, not only the houses thai stand low on 
 the river banks, but the whole settlement will be in danger. 
 It is said that four houses and a barn were swept away 
 last night by the force of the ice somewhere above the 
 mission premises, and that about sixty people slept in the 
 church/ 
 
 ' It is well that our house stands high,' said Mrs. Raven- 
 shaw. * Don't you think, Sam, that we might have the 
 barn prepared, in case some of our neighbours have to 
 leave their houses ? ' 
 
 ' The barn is ready, mother,' said Elsie. ' Father and 
 I have been arranging it all the morning with the aid 
 of Peegwish, poor felh.fv, who has been sent to us by 
 Macdonald.' 
 
 ' Ay, and it 's as trim as an hospital,' added Mr. Raven- 
 shaw ; * but I hope it won't be wanted. The ice is now 
 clearing away. WTien it is gone, the river will be sure 
 to fall, — Tell the boy to saddle the horse, Cora,' continued 
 the old gentleman, attacking his fourth egg. * I shall 
 rido up to see how Winklemann gets on. Lambert is 
 helping him.' 
 
 * Is Lambert's own house safe ? ' asked Elsie, with a 
 glance at her sister. 
 
 * Safe enough just now,' replied her father ; * for it 
 stands much higher and further back.' 
 
 * Don't forget old Liz Rollin,' said Elsie. * Her hut 
 stands high, but if things get worse she will be in danger, 
 and there is no one to look after her, you know.' 
 
 ' No fear of my forgetting the mother of the man who 
 is helping to search for my dear boy,' returned Ravenshaw; 
 * besides, old Liz is not without friends. Both Louis and 
 Winklemann have promised to keep their eyes on her/ 
 
 '■k 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 123 
 
 nshaw, as 
 es at this 
 id low on 
 in danger, 
 'ept away 
 ibove the 
 ept in the 
 
 's. Raven- 
 have the 
 3 have to 
 
 ather and 
 h the aid 
 to us by 
 
 [r. Raven- 
 ice is now 
 11 be sure 
 continued 
 ^I shall 
 imbert is 
 
 J, with a 
 
 'for it 
 
 Her hut 
 n danger, 
 
 man who 
 venshaw ; 
 jouis and 
 her/ 
 
 This reference to the mother of Michel Roll in turrod 
 the thoughts of the party into a channel that was very 
 familiar, for the lost Tony and his brother were seldom 
 absent from their thoughts. Of late, ho^vever, they had 
 ceased to talk much of the absent ones, because, as months 
 flew by without any tidings, their anxieties increased, and 
 as their fears increased they felt less inclined to talk 
 hopefully. Long before the breaking up of the ice Mr. 
 Ravenshaw had sent off an expedition at his own cost in 
 search of the searchers. It consisted of a trusty Indian 
 and two half-breeds. They were to cross the plains 
 towards the Saskatchewan district, and make inquiries 
 among the fur-traders there ; but nothing had yet been 
 heard of them, and although the face and figure of Tony 
 were never absent from the old man's memory, his name 
 was not now so frequently on his lips. 
 
 A sigh from Miss Trim revealed cle&rly the nature of 
 her thoughts. Poor Miss Trim ! Her occupation was 
 almost ;'."ne since Tony's disappearance. Besides losing 
 the terrble and specific task of teaching Tony his lessons, 
 the aaiiable lady had lost the general duty of keeping 
 Tony in order, putting right what Tony had put wrong, 
 and, generally, undoing what Tony did. She also missed 
 painfully those little daily attentions to her hands and 
 shins, which were rendered necessary in consequence of 
 Tony's activity with his nails and the toes of his boots, 
 to say nothing of his teeth. For many weeks past — it 
 seemed to her years — Miss Trim had not bandaged a cut, or 
 fomented a bruise, or mollified a scratch with ointment. She 
 absolutely felt as though she had suffered bereavement. 
 
 The silence which had descended on the breakfast-table 
 was not broken until Mr. Ravenshaw 's horse was reported 
 ready at the door. On his way to the main road the old 
 gentleman had to pass close to the summer-house on the 
 
 I !■' 
 
 !l 
 
 i ^ 
 
 ua 
 
 ''I 
 'it 
 
t i 
 
 i.> 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
 '4 
 
 . * 
 
 !,i 
 
 ♦' '< % 
 
 
 124 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 knoll so much coveted by AngU3 Macdonald. There ho 
 reined up a few minutes. The position commanded an 
 extensive view, and the aspect of the river was sufliciently 
 alarming. The ice, which by that time had broken up, 
 was rolling and crashing along with inconceivable force 
 before the impetuous torrent. The water had risen to 
 such a height that the lower lands were completely inun- 
 dated. That it was still rising was made obvious by the 
 fact that the rolling masses at the river-sides were being 
 thrust higher and higher on obstructing points, carry- 
 ing bushes and trees before them. Even while he gazed 
 a lofty elm that grew on a low part of Angus Macdonald 's 
 property was overthrown as if it had been a mere 
 twig, and swept away. Several young maple and oak 
 trees further down shared the same fate a few minutes 
 later. 
 
 The house of Angus was full in view. It occupied a 
 mound nearly, though not quite, as hif^h as the knoll on 
 which he stood, and was still, like his own dwelling, far 
 above the reach of the raging flood. The spot where the 
 hut of Peegwish had stood was by that time deep below 
 the surface of the ice-torrent. 
 
 Mr. Ravenshaw did not remain long in contemplation. 
 The weather, which had been stormy, became suddenly 
 cold, and a blinding fall of sleet induced him to button 
 his greatcoat up to the chin as he hastened away. 
 
 Arriving at the mission station after a gallop of several 
 miles, he found a state of things which almost beggars 
 description. Men, women, and children were hurrying 
 to and fro, laden with their chief valuables, or driving 
 carts loaded with household goods, which they deposited 
 on the mission premises for safety, preparatory to the 
 desertion of houses, which was expected to take place on 
 the morrow. Goods of every description were scattered 
 
I 
 
 There ho 
 anded an 
 ilUciently 
 •oken up, 
 ible force 
 risen to 
 ;ely inun- 
 Li3 by the 
 ere being 
 ts, carry- 
 he gazed 
 cdonald'.s 
 a mere 
 and oak 
 r minutes 
 
 ?cupied a 
 knoll on 
 filing, far 
 vheve the 
 ep below 
 
 nplation. 
 suddenly 
 button 
 
 >f several 
 beggars 
 hurrying 
 : driving 
 eposited 
 to the 
 place on 
 cattered 
 
 HI 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 125 
 
 about in wild confusion, for many of the people were half 
 mad with alarm. The missionary, with his assistants, 
 was doing his best to reduce the chaos to order. 
 
 Fan her up the river Mr. Ravenshaw encountered Herr 
 AVinklemann bearing a huge arm-chair on his shoulders. 
 ' Mine hause is toomed ! ' he said. 
 
 * Doomed ? I hope not. Where are you going with the 
 chair ? * 
 
 * To zee hause of old Liz. 
 
 Without waiting for a rejoinder the stout German 
 hurried on, and was soon lost to view among the bushes. 
 Ravenshaw followed him shortly afterwards, and found 
 old Liz arranging and piling away the belongings of 
 Winklemann, who, after depositing the arm-chair by the 
 side of the fire opposite the corner occupied by Daddy, 
 had returned to his doomed house for more. Anxious 
 to know in what condition his friend's house was, the old 
 gentleman took the road to it. The house of old Liz, as 
 we have said, stood high, and well back from the river. 
 It had been made a place of refuge by the nearest neigh- 
 bours, and was not only filled but surrounded by goods 
 and furniture, as well as live-stock. A dense mass of 
 willow bushes, by which the little hut was surrounded, 
 completely shut out the view all round, except backward, 
 in the direction of the prairie, so that Ravenshaw did not 
 come in sight of the spot where the flood had already 
 commenced its work of destruction until he had traversed 
 a footpath for nearly a quarter of a mile. Many wet and 
 weary settlers passed him, however, with their possessions 
 on their backs, and here and there groups of women and 
 children, to all of whom he gave a cheering word of hope 
 and encouragement. 
 
 On clearing the bushes the full extent of desolation 
 was presented to view. The river here had overflowed 
 
1^ 
 
 I" 
 
 ! ) 
 
 
 It! 
 
 * 
 
 I; 
 
 II 
 * a It 
 
 ^ * :i 
 » « u 
 
 ; 1 
 
 11 
 
 } 
 
 
 
 
 1- ■ 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 iii^ 
 
 1 
 
 126 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 its banks, so that a large part of the country wore the 
 aspect of a lake. Knolls and slight eminences, which in 
 happier times had been scarcely observable, now stood 
 boldly out as conspicuous islets, while many farmhouses 
 were either partly submerged or stood on the margin of 
 the rising waters which beat against them. There was a 
 strong current in some places, elsewhere it was calm ; 
 but the river itself was clearly traceable by the turmoil of 
 crashing ice and surging water which marked its course. 
 Men and women were seen everywhere — in the water and 
 out of it — loading carts or barrows with their property, 
 and old people, with children, looked on and shivered, for 
 the thermometer had fallen to five degrees below the 
 freezing-point of Fahrenheit's scale, as indicated by the 
 thermometer at the parsonage. The sleet had ceased, and 
 the wind had fallen, but dark masses of clouds hurried 
 athwart the lowering sky, and the dreary character of the 
 scene was heightened by the poor cattle, which, being 
 turned out of their warm places of shelter, stood on knolls 
 or in the water and lowed piteously. 
 
 One of the most conspicuous objects of the scene, from 
 Ravenshaw's point of view, was poor Winklemann's house 
 — a small one which stood on a low spot already sur- 
 rounded by water. In front of it was Winklemann him- 
 self, wading through the flood, without coat or hat, and 
 carrying a large bundle in his arms. 
 
 * What have you got there ? ' asked Ravenshaw, aa the 
 German went staggering past. 
 
 * Mine raoder,' he replied, and hurried on. 
 
 Herr Winklemann had a mother — as old as the hills, 
 according to his own report, and any one who beheld her 
 feeble frame and wrinkled visage might wtII have believed 
 him. With tender regard for her welfare her stout son 
 had refrained from removing or even alarming her until 
 
 if 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 127 
 
 wore the 
 which in 
 low stood 
 irmhouse.s 
 margin of 
 lerc was a 
 ras calm ; 
 turmoil of 
 !ts course, 
 water and 
 property, 
 vered, for 
 )elow the 
 sd by the 
 sased, and 
 is hurried 
 ter of the 
 ch, being 
 on kwolls 
 
 ene, from 
 n's house 
 
 ady sur- 
 ann hini- 
 
 hat, and 
 
 w, as the 
 
 the hills, 
 eheld her 
 believed 
 tout son 
 her until 
 
 H 
 
 the last moment, partly from fear that fright and the 
 removal might do her serious injury, and partly from the 
 hope that the flood had reached its highest point ; but 
 when the danger to his dwelling became great he resolved 
 to carry her to the hut of old Liz, and, as a preliminary 
 step, had removed her old arm-chair, as we have seen, to 
 be ready for her reception. On returning to the house, 
 however, he found that a portion of the river-bank above 
 had unexpectedly given way, diverging the flood a little 
 in that part, so that his dwelling was already a foot deep 
 in water. The old woman, however, lay safely on the bed 
 where \Vii>klemann had pl^.^ed her, and was either un- 
 conscious of, or indifferent to what was going on. She 
 did indeed look a little surprised when her son wrapped 
 the blanket, on which she lay, completely round her, and 
 took her up in his arms as if she had been a little child, 
 but the look of surprise melted into a humoious smile as 
 he drew the last fold over her face. She clearly believed 
 it to be one of her dear boy's little practical jokes, and 
 submitted without a murmur. 
 
 Staggering through the flood with her, as we have said, 
 Winklemann carried her to the cottage of old Liz, who 
 received her with tender care, helped to place her in the 
 big chair, and remembering Daddy's tendency to fall into 
 the fire, tied her securely therein. 
 
 Meanwhile Winklemann ran back to his house, where 
 he found Mr. Ravenshaw and Louis Lambert assisting 
 several men to secure it on its foundations by tying it 
 with ropes to the nearest trees. 
 
 Joining these, he lent his powerful aid ; but a power 
 greater than his was at work, which could not be resisted. 
 Not only did the water rise at an alarming rate and rush 
 against tho house with tremendous violence, but great 
 cakes of ice bore down on it and struck it with such force 
 
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 M: 
 
128 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
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 as to make every timber tremble. Like all the other 
 houses of the settlement, it was built entirely of wood, and 
 had no other foundation than the levelled ground on which 
 its framework stood. 
 
 When the water rose considerably above his knees, and 
 ice-floes threatened to sweep him away, Mr. Ravenshaw 
 thought it was time for an elderly gentleman to retire. 
 The others continued for some time longer securing the 
 ropes and, with poles, turning aside the ice ; but ere 
 long they also were driven to the higher ground, and 
 compelled to stand idly by and watch the work of 
 destruction. 
 
 * You 've got everything out, I fancy ? * asked Lambert. 
 
 * Everyt'ing,' rephed Winklemann, with a deep sigh ; 
 * not'ing is left but zee hause.' 
 
 ' An' that won't be left long,' observed Mr. Ravenshaw, 
 as a huge mass of ice went against its gable-end like a 
 battering-ram. 
 
 It seemed to be the leader of a fresh battalion of the 
 destroyer. A succession of ice-floes ran against the house 
 and trees to which it was fastened. An additional rush 
 of water came down at the same time like a wave of the 
 sea. Every one saw that the approaching power was 
 irresistible. The wave, with its ice-laden crest, absolutely 
 roared as it engulfed the bushes. Two goodly elms 
 bowed their heads into the flood and snapped off. The 
 ropes parted like packthread ; the building slewed round, 
 reeled for a moment with a drunken air, caught on a 
 shallow spot, and hung there. 
 
 * Ach ! mine goot old hause — farvell ! ' exclaimed 
 Winklemann, in tones of deepest pathos. 
 
 The house bowed as if in recognition of the old familiar 
 voice, sloped into deeper water, gurgled out its latest 
 b-jath, like a living thing, through its doors and windows, 
 
the other 
 wood, and 
 I on which 
 
 ^nees, and 
 avenshaw 
 
 to retire. 
 
 uring the 
 
 but ere 
 
 tind, and 
 
 work of 
 
 Lambert, 
 ep sigh ; 
 
 i^enshaw, 
 id like a 
 
 n of the 
 le house 
 fial rush 
 e of the 
 vei was 
 solutely 
 !y elms 
 T. The 
 round, 
 t on a 
 
 jlaimed 
 
 amiliar 
 
 latest 
 
 idows, 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 129 
 
 and sank beneath the wreck and ruin of its old surround- 
 
 mgs. 
 
 It was what men aptly term a clean sweep, but Winkle- 
 raann's was not the only house that succumbed to the 
 flood on that occasion. Many besides himself were 
 rendered homeless. That night (the 4th of May) the 
 waters rose four feet, and the settlers even on the higher 
 grounds began to think of flight. ° 
 
nfr'T^ 
 
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 ( ' • ■' 
 
 130 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 CHAPTEE XV 
 
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 THE FLOOD CONTINUES TO DO ITS WORK 
 
 RAPIDLY and steadily did the waters of the Red 
 River rise, until, overflowing all their banks, they 
 spread out into the plains, and gradually settler alter settler 
 retired before the deluge, each forsaking his home at the 
 last moment, and going off in quest of higher ground with 
 his cattle and property. 
 
 These high places were not numerous, for the whole 
 region was very level. Many settlers discovered at that 
 time a number of features in the colony which had been 
 unrecognised before, and found refuge on spots which had 
 never been observed as lying above the dead level of the 
 plains. Even these spots were not all safe. Many of 
 them were speedily submerged, and those who had fled 
 to them sought refuge on the still higher knolls, which 
 socMi became inconveniently crowded. Some miles from 
 the river there was an elevation of ground named the 
 * Little Mountain,' and to this many of the people repaired. 
 It was about as deserving of its title as is a molehill ; 
 nevertheless it proved a safe asylum in the end. 
 
 Louis Lambert was driven from his home the day after 
 that on which the house of his friend Winklemann was 
 destroyed. His house was a stout one of two storeys, 
 and, owing to its position, was less exposed to the current 
 of the flood than many other dwellings. Confident of its 
 strength and the security of its position, its owner had 
 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 131 
 
 K 
 
 the Red 
 nks, they 
 ter settler 
 ne at the 
 )und with 
 
 he whole 
 i at that 
 had been 
 ^hich had 
 ^el of the 
 Many of 
 had fled 
 Is, which 
 iles from 
 imed the 
 repaired, 
 molehill ; 
 
 iay after 
 lann was 
 storeys, 
 3 current 
 !nt of its 
 mer had 
 
 
 carried all his goods and furniture to the upper storey, 
 but on returning, after assisting his friend, he found the 
 water in it so high that he feared it might be set afloat — 
 as some of the houses had already been — and finally made 
 up his mind to remove. But where should he remove to ? 
 That was the question. 
 
 ' To zee hause of old Liz,* observed his friend. * It is 
 close to hand, an' zere is yet room.' 
 
 This was true, but Lambert's inclinations turned in the 
 direction of Willow Creek ; he therefore protested there 
 was not room. 
 
 ' No, no/ h^ said ; * it 's not fair to crowd round old Liz 
 as we are doing. I '11 ride down to Ravenshaw's and see if 
 there is room on his ground to place my property. There 
 will be plenty of time. Even if the water should go on 
 rising, which I hope it won't, my house can't float for many 
 hours. Meanwhile, if you '11 fetch round the boat, and 
 place some of the heavy goods in it, you '11 be doing me a 
 good turn.' 
 
 * Veil, veil/ muttered the German, as he looked after 
 his friend with a quiet smile and a shake of the head, 
 ' dere is no madness like lof ! Ven a man falls in lof he 
 becomes blind, qvite blind ! ' 
 
 The blind one, meanwhile, mounted his steed and 
 galloped away on the wings of ' lof.' Lambert was 
 a reckless rider, and an impatiert though good-natured 
 fellow. He dashed at full speed through shallow places, 
 where the floods were creeping with insidious, tide-like 
 persistency over the farm-lands, and forded some of the 
 creeks, which almost rendered swimming imavoidable, 
 but in spite of his daring he was compelled to make many 
 a vexatious detour in his headlong course down to Willow 
 Creek. On the way his mind, preoccupied though it was, 
 could not escape being much affected by the scenes of 
 
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 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 devastatxon through which he passed. Everywhere near 
 the river houses were to be Been standing several feet deep 
 in water, while their owners were either engaged in con- 
 veying their contents in boats and canoes to the nearest 
 eminences, or removing them from such eminences in 
 carts to spots of greater security. Some of the owners of 
 these deserted houses had become so reckless or so de- 
 spairing under their misfortunes, that they offered to sell 
 them for merely nominal sums. It is said that some of 
 them changed hands for so small a sum as thirty shillings 
 or two pounds. 
 
 Cantering round the corner of a fence, Lambert came 
 within a hundred yards of a house round which the water 
 was deep enough to float a large boat. Here ho observed 
 his friends, John Flett and David Mowat, embarking 
 household goods into a large canoe out of the parlour 
 window. Riding into the water, Lambert hailed them. 
 
 * Hallo, Flett, d' ee want help ? ' 
 
 * Thank 'ee, no ; this is the last load. Got all the rest 
 down to the church ; the minister is lettin* us stow things 
 in the loft.' 
 
 * You 're in too great haste, Flett,' returned Lambert. 
 * The water can't rise much higher ; your place is sure to 
 stand.' 
 
 ' Not so sure o* that, Louis ; there 's a report brought in 
 by a redskin that all the country between the sources of 
 the Assinaboine and Missouri is turned into a sea, and the 
 waters o' the Missouri itself are passing down to Lake 
 Winnipeg. He says, too, that a. whole village of redskins 
 has been swept away.' 
 
 * Bah ! it 's not true,' said Lam1)ert. 
 
 * True or false,' rejoined Flett, resuming his work, ' it 's 
 time for me to clear out o' tliis.' 
 
 Forsaking the road, which ho had hitherto attempted to 
 
 
 I 
 
 !i 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 133 
 
 ' it \s 
 
 ad to 
 
 follow, Lambert now stretched out at full gallop into the 
 plains. He came to a small creek and found that the 
 simple wooden bridge had been washed away, and that 
 the waters of the river were driving its tiny current in 
 the wrong direction. In a fit of impatience he applied 
 the whip to his steed, which, being a fiery one, rushed 
 furiously at the creek. Fire does not necessarily give an 
 untrained horse power to leap. The animal made an 
 awkward atter pt to stop, failed, made a still more awkward 
 attempt to jump, failed again, and stumbled headlong into 
 the creek, out of which he and his master scrambled on 
 the opposite side. 
 
 Lambert shook himself, laughed, leaped into the saddle, 
 and went off again at full speed. He came to the mission 
 station, but did not stop there. It still stood high above 
 the waters, and was crowded with settlers. Not far from 
 it was a spot of rising ground, which was covered with more 
 than a hundred tents and wigwams belonging to Canadian 
 and half-breed families. Passing on, he came upon other 
 scenes of destruction, and finally arrived at the abode of 
 old Mr. Ravenshaw. It, like the mission premises, still stood 
 high above the rising flood. The family were assembled in 
 the chief sitting-room, old Ravenshaw enjoying a pipe, 
 while the ladies were variously occupied around him. 
 
 * You Ve heard the report brought by the Indian about 
 the flood, I fancy ? ' 
 
 ' Oh, yes ; but I give no ear to reports,' said the old 
 gentleman, emitting an indignant puff of smoke ; * they 
 often end like that.' 
 
 ' True ; nevertheless, it 's as well to be prepared,' said 
 Lambert, with a glance at Elsie and Cora, who sat togt cher 
 near the window ; * and I Ve come to beg for house-room 
 for my goods and chattels, for the old house 'is not so safe 
 as I had thought.* 
 
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 134 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVEXCE : 
 
 * There 's plenty of room in the barn for people in 
 distress/ said Elsie, with a glance at her sister. 
 
 * Or in the cow-house,' added Cora, with a laugh and 
 a slight toss of her head ; * we 'vo had the cattl« removed 
 on purpose to make room 'ir you.' 
 
 * How considerate ! And ( he cow-house of Willow Creek, 
 with its pleasant associations, is a palace compared to the 
 hall of any other mansion/ said the gallant Louis. 
 
 A crash was heard outside just then. On looking from 
 the windows, a great cake of ice about five feet thick, 
 with a point like a church spire, was seen attempting, as 
 it were, to leap the lower end of the garden-fence. It 
 failed ; but, on making a second attempt, was more 
 successful. The fence went slowly down, and the spire 
 laid its head among the vegetables, or rather on the spot 
 where the vegetables would have been had the season 
 been propitious. It was accompanied by a rush vater. 
 
 The sight was viewed with comparative comp^^aure by 
 old Mr. Ravenshaw, but his better half took it less quietly, 
 and declared that they would all be drowned. 
 
 * I hope not ! ' exclaimed Miss Trim fervently, clasping 
 her hands. 
 
 * We *re high and dry just now, Louis,' said Mr. Raven- 
 shaw gravely, * but Willow Creek won't be a place of 
 refuge long if the rise goes on at this rate. See, my neigh- 
 bour is beginning to show signs of uneasiness, though 
 the ground on which he stands is not much lower than 
 my own.' 
 
 As he spoke, the old fur-trader pointed to the house of 
 Angus Macdonald, where a large cart was being loaded 
 with his property. 
 
 Angus himself entered at the moment to beg leave to 
 remove some of his valuables to his friend's barn. 
 
 * It iss not the danger, you see, Muster Ruvnshaw, 
 
 iti 
 
A TALE OF TTTE RED RTVER FLOOD Ur, 
 
 ople in 
 
 igh and 
 emovcd 
 
 d to the 
 
 ng from 
 it thick, 
 )ting, as 
 nee. It 
 Ei8 more 
 he spire 
 the spot 
 ^ season 
 vater. 
 JO a re by 
 quietly, 
 
 clasping 
 
 Raven- 
 place of 
 y neigh- 
 though 
 rer than 
 
 louse of 
 loaded 
 
 leave to 
 
 vnshaw, 
 
 arc some 
 
 that troubles me ; it iss the vvatter. There 
 things, as the Icddics fcry well know, will pc quite dc- 
 Htroyed py wattor, an' it iss puttin* them out of harm'.s 
 way that I will pc after.' 
 
 ' Put whatever you like in the barn, Macdonald,' said 
 Mr. Ravenshaw promptly ; * Elsie and I have had it and 
 the other outhouses prepared. You are heartily welcome. 
 I hope, however, that the water won't rise much higher.' 
 
 * The watter will rise higher, Muster Ruvnshaw,' re- 
 turned Angus, with the decision of an oracle ; ' an' it 
 will pe goot for us if it will leave our houses standiti* 
 where they are. Peegwish will be tellin' me that ; an* 
 Peegwish knows what he iss apout when he iss not trunk, 
 whatever/ 
 
 Peegwish did indeed know what he was about. At the 
 very time that Angus was spciking about him, Peegwish, 
 feeling convinced that Macdonald's house was in danger, 
 was on his way to the mission station, which he knew to 
 be a place of greater safety, and where he felt sure of a 
 welcome, for the Rev. Mr. Cockran — in charge at the time 
 — had a weakness for the old hypocrite, and entertained 
 strong hopes of bringing about his reformation. For two 
 days he stayed in the parsonage kitchen, smoking his 
 pipe, revelling in the odds and ends, such as knuckle- 
 bones, stray bits of fat and tripe, which fell to his lot, and 
 proudly exhibiting himself in one of the minister's cast-off 
 black coatS; which contrasted rather oddly with a pair of 
 ornamented blue leggings and a scarlet sash. When not 
 busy in the kitchen, he went about among the homeless 
 settlers assembled round the mission, sometimes rendering 
 a little help, oftener causing a good deal of obstruction, and 
 vainly endeavouring to obtain beer, while he meditated 
 sadly now and then on his failure in the brewing line. 
 
 At the end of these two days, however, a great change 
 
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 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 took place at the mission station, for the flood continued 
 steadily to increase until it reached the church and parson- 
 age, and drove the hundreds of people who had assembled 
 there away to the more distant knolls on the plains. 
 Mr. Cockran, with his household and Sabbath scholars, 
 besides a few of the people, resolved to stick to the church 
 as long as it should stick to the ground, and Peegwish 
 remained with them. He had unbounded confidence in 
 the good missionary, and still more unbounded confidence 
 in the resources of the parsonage kitchen. Wildcat was 
 similarly impressed. 
 
 At last the water rose to the church itself and beat 
 against the foundations of the parsonage, for the current 
 was very strong and had carried away some of the fence?. 
 All the people were thus obliged to take refuge in the 
 church itself, or in the parsonage. 
 
 On the 13th of May there were very few dry spots 
 visible on or near the banks of the Red River. Dozens 
 of houses had been carried away, and were either destroyed 
 or stranded on localities far from their original sites. As 
 far as the eye could reach, the whole region had been con- 
 Terted into a mighty lake, or rather sea ; for in the direc- 
 tion of the plains the waters seemed to join the horizon. 
 Everywhere this sea was studded with islets and knolls, 
 which grew fewer and smaller as the floods increased. 
 Here and there piles of floating firewood looked like boats 
 with square-sails in the distance, while deserted huts 
 passed over the plains with the stream like fleets of Noah's 
 arks ! 
 
 When the water began to touch the parsonage, its owner 
 gave orders to collect timber and make preparation fou 
 the erection of a strong stage as a final place of refuge. 
 
 * Come,' said he to Peegwish, when his orders were 
 being carried out ; * come, get your canoe, Peegwish, and 
 
 Tm 
 
1 
 
 I continued 
 md parson - 
 I assembled 
 the plains. 
 h scholars, 
 the church 
 d Peegwish 
 nfidence in 
 [ confidence 
 l^ildcat was 
 
 f and beat 
 
 the current 
 
 the fences. 
 
 :uge in the 
 
 dry spots 
 ;r. Dozens 
 r destroyed 
 I sites. As 
 1 been con- 
 1 the direc- 
 le horizon, 
 md knolls, 
 
 increased. 
 
 like boats 
 erted huts 
 
 of Noah's 
 
 its owner 
 iration for 
 refuge, 
 ders were 
 
 wish, and 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED lUVER FLOOD 137 
 
 we will pay a visit to the poor fellows on the knoll up the 
 river/ 
 
 The Indian waded to a spot close by, where his canoe 
 was fastened to a post, and brought it to the door, after 
 the fashion of a gondolier of Venice. The faithful Wildcat 
 took the bow paddle ; the clergyman stepped into the 
 middle of the craft and sat down. 
 
 They shot swiftly away, and were soon out of sight. 
 The day was calm and warm, but the sky had a lurid, 
 heavy appearance, which seemed to indicate the approach 
 of bad weather. Paddling carefully along to avoid running 
 against sunk fences, they soon came into the open plains, 
 and felt as though they had passed out upon the broad 
 bosom of Lake Winnipeg itself. Far up the river — whose 
 course was by that time chiefly discernible by empty 
 houses, and trees, as well as bushes, half submerged — they 
 came in sight of a stage which had been erected beside a 
 cottage. It stood only eighteen inches out of the water, 
 and here several women and children were found engaged 
 in singing Watts' hymns. They seemed quite comfortable, 
 under a sort of tarpaulin tent, with plenty to eat, and 
 declined to be taken off, though their visitors offered to 
 remove them one at a time, the canoe being unable to take 
 more. Further up, the voyagers came to the hut of old Liz. 
 
 This hut was by that time so nearly touched by the 
 water that all the people who had formerly crowded round 
 it had forsaken it and made for the so-called mountain. 
 Only Liz herself remained, and Herr Winklemann, to take 
 care of their respective parents. 
 
 * Do you think it safe to stay ? ' asked the clergyman, 
 as he was about to leave. 
 
 * Safe, ya ; qvite safe. Besides, I have big canoe, vich 
 can holt us all.* 
 
 * Good-bye, then, and remember, if you want anything 
 
tW 
 
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 138 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 that I can give you, just paddle down to the station and 
 ask for it. Say I sent you/ 
 
 ' Ya, I vill go down/ said Herr Winklemann gratefully. 
 
 And Herr Winklemann did go down, much to his own 
 subsequent discomfiture and sorrow, as we shall see. 
 
 Meanwhile Mr. Cockran reached the knoll which he 
 had set out to visit. It was of considerable extent, and 
 crowded with a very miscellaneous, noisy, and quarrelsome 
 crew, of all sorts, ages, and colours, in tents and wigwams 
 and extemporised shelters. 
 
 They received the clergyman heartily, however, and 
 were much benefited by his visit, as was made apparent 
 by the complete, though temporary, cessation of quarrelling. 
 
 The elements, however, began to quarrel that evening. 
 Mr. Cockran had intended to return home, but a gale of 
 contrary wind stopped him, and he was fain to accept the 
 hospitality of a farmer's tent. That night the storm raged 
 with fury. Thunder and lightning added to the grandeur 
 as well as to the discomfort of the scene. Some time 
 after midnight a gust of wind of extreme fury threw down 
 the farmer's tent, and the pole hit the fafmer on the nose ! 
 Thus rudely roused, he sprang up and accidentally knocked 
 down Peegwish, who happened to be in his way. They 
 both fell on the minister, who, being a powerful man, 
 caught them in a bear-like grasp and held them, under 
 the impression that they had overturned the tent in a 
 quarrel while he was asleep. 
 
 At that moment a cry of fire was raised. It was found 
 that a spark from a tent which stood on the windward 
 side of the camp had caught the long grass, and a ter- 
 restrial conflagration was added to the celestial commotions 
 of the night. It was a moment of extreme peril, for the 
 old grass was plentiful and sufficiently dry to burn. It 
 is probable that the whole camp would have been destroyed 
 
station and 
 
 I gratefully, 
 to his own 
 .1 see. 
 
 i which he 
 3xtent, and 
 luarrelbome 
 id wigwams 
 
 5vever, and 
 ie apparent 
 quarrelling, 
 at evening. 
 Lt a gale of 
 
 accept the 
 itorm raged 
 le grandeur 
 Some time 
 ihrew down 
 n the nose ! 
 lly knocked 
 ray. They 
 erful man, 
 lem, under 
 
 tent in a 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 139 
 
 but for a providential deluge of rain which fell at the 
 time and effectually put the fire out. 
 
 Of course Mr. Cockran became very anxious about those 
 he had left at home, for the storm had increased the 
 danger of their position considerably. Happily, with the 
 dawn the gale moderated. The improvement did not 
 mdeed, render canoeing safe, for the white-crested waves 
 of that temporary sea still lashed the shores of the new- 
 made islet ; but the case was urgent, therefore the clergy- 
 
 fv?/f;"'!\'^ ^^' ''^"^'' ^"^' ""'^^ Peegwish and the 
 faithful Wildcat, steered for the station. 
 
 was found 
 ) windward 
 and a ter- 
 ommotions 
 iril, for the 
 ► burn. It 
 1 destroyed 
 
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 140 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 I 
 
 'fi 
 
 I 
 
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 f ' ill 
 
 1 f ! 
 
 WINKLEMANN AND OLD LIZ GET INTO TROUBLE 
 
 AT the parsonage, before the storm had fairly begun, 
 the canoe party was thought of with considerable 
 anxiety, for Mrs. Cockran knew how frail the craft was in 
 which her husband had embarked, and among the sixty- 
 three persons who had taken refuge with her not one was 
 capable of taking command of the rest in a case of emer- 
 gency. Great, therefore, was her satisfaction when Herr 
 Winklemann appeared in his canoe with a request for a 
 barrel of flour. 
 
 * You shall have one,' said Mrs. Cockran, * and anything 
 else you may require ; but pray do not leave me to-night. 
 I can give you a comfortable bed, and will let you go the 
 moment my husband returns. I fully expect him this 
 evening.' 
 
 * Madam,' answered the gallant Winklemann, with a 
 perplexed look, * you is vere goot, bot de gale vill be rise 
 qvickly, an' I dares not leaf mine moder vidout protection.' 
 
 * Oh ! but just stay for an hour or two,' entreated Mrs. 
 Cockran, * and show the people how to go on with the stage. 
 Perhaps my husband may return sooner than we expect. 
 Perhaps the storm may not come on ; many such threaten- 
 ings, you know, come to nothing.' 
 
 Winklemann looked anxiously up at the sky and shook 
 his head, but the entreaties of the lady prevailed. The 
 good-natured German consented to remain for a ' ver 
 

 ;LE 
 
 • begun, 
 iderable 
 b was in 
 e sixty- 
 one was 
 3f emer- 
 en Herr 
 st for a 
 
 nything 
 ;o-night. 
 1 go the 
 lim this 
 
 with a 
 I be rise 
 tection/ 
 bed Mrs. 
 le stage. 
 
 expect, 
 ireaten- 
 
 d shook 
 
 d. The 
 
 a ' ver 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RWER FLOOD 141 
 
 leetle ' time, and at once set about urging on and directing 
 the erection of the stage. This stage was planned to be a 
 substantial platform about thirty feet square, supported 
 on posts firmly driven into the ground, so that the water 
 might pass freely under it. In the event of the parsonage 
 becoming untenable it would form a refuge of comparative 
 safety. 
 
 It was while Winklemann was busily engaged on the 
 stage that the storm broke forth which compelled the 
 clergyman to spend the night on the islet, as already 
 described. Of course the storm also forced Winklemann 
 to remain at the station. But that impulsive youth's 
 regard for his * moder * would not permit of his giving in 
 without a struggle. When he saw that the gale increased 
 rapidly, he resolved to start off without delay. He 
 launched his canoe ; a half-breed in his employment 
 managed the bow paddle, but they found that their uhited 
 strength was insufficient to drive the craft more than a 
 hundred yards against wind and waves. Returning to the 
 station, Winklemann engaged two additional men to aid 
 him, but the increasing gale neutralised the extra force. 
 After a vain struggle the canoe was hurled back on the 
 knoll, a wave caught the bow, overturned it, and threw 
 the men into the water at the very door of the parsonage. 
 
 The canoe was partially broken. Time was required 
 to repair it. Time also gave the gale opportunity to gather 
 power, and thus the chafing German was compelled to 
 spend the night at the station. 
 
 Meanwhile, those men whom he had left behind him 
 spent a terrible night, but the brunt of the trouble fell 
 upon old Liz. 
 
 Poor old Liz I She was a squat piece of indomitable 
 energy, utterly regardless of herself and earnestly solicitous 
 about every one else. 
 
 I. 
 
 ir 
 
142 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
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 111 
 
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 I 
 
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 i . 
 
 i / 1 ^ 
 
 w 
 
 liL 
 
 When the storm commenced, her dwelling had begun to 
 show symptoms of instability. This fact she carefully 
 concealed from Daddy and old Mrs. Winklfmann, who 
 remained in their respective chairs smiling a!} each other, 
 for both were accustomed to good treatment from their 
 children, and regarded life in general from a sunny point 
 of view. They knew that something very unusual was 
 going on, but the old frau said — or thought — to herself, 
 ' My boy will look after me ! ' while Daddy said, or thought, 
 * Liz knows all about it.* Happy trustful spirits ! En- 
 viable pair ! 
 
 Having informed the pair that she was going away for 
 a minute or two to look after something outside, old Liz 
 left them. She found herself up to the knees in water, 
 of course, the moment she passed the doorway. From an 
 outhouse she procured a strong rope. This she fastened 
 to a large iron ring in the side of the hut, and attached 
 the other end to a thick tree whose branches overshadowed 
 it. Even during the brief time she was thus engaged the 
 flood increased so rapidly, and the rising wind blew so 
 wildly, that the poor creature was almost carried off her 
 short legs. But old Liz had a powerful will, and was 
 strong-hearted. Having accomplished her object, and 
 lost for ever her frilled cap in so doing, she struggled 
 back towards the door of the hut. A passing billet of 
 firewood tripped her up and sent her headlong into the flood. 
 She disappeared, but emerged instantly, with glaring eyes, 
 gasping mouth, and streaming hair. A resolute rush 
 brought her to the doorstep ; she seized the door-post, 
 and was savjd. 
 
 * Hech ! but it 's an awfu* time,* gasped old Liz, as she 
 wrung the water from her garments. — ' Comin', Daddy ! 
 I H be there this meenit. I Ve gotten mysel' a wee 
 wat/ 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 143 
 
 begun to 
 carefully 
 nn, whc 
 h other, 
 )ni their 
 ly point 
 iual was 
 herself, 
 thought, 
 s ! En- 
 way for 
 old Liz 
 1 water, 
 i'roin an 
 'astened 
 attached 
 adowed 
 ged the 
 3lew so 
 of! her 
 nd was 
 t, and 
 ruggled 
 illet of 
 e flood, 
 g eyes, 
 rush 
 )r-post, 
 
 as she 
 )addy ! 
 a wee 
 
 * What 's wrang ? ' asked Daddy, in a feeble voice, as 
 his ancient daughter entered. 
 
 ' It 's only a bit spate, Daddy. The hoose is a'maist 
 soomin', but ye 've nae need to fear.* 
 
 ' 1 'm no' feared, Liz. What wad I be feared o' whan 
 ye 're there ? ' 
 
 * Ver is mine boy ? ' demanded old Mrs. Winklemann, 
 looking round. 
 
 ' He 's gane to the kirk for floor. Ne'er fash yer heed 
 aboot km. He '11 be back afore lang.' 
 
 The old woman seemed content, though she did not 
 understand a word of Liz's Scotch. 
 
 * Bless mine boy,' she said, with a mild smile at Daddy, 
 who replied with an amiable nod. 
 
 But this state of comparative comfort did not last long. 
 In half an hour the water came over the threshold of the 
 door and flooded the floor. Fortunately the old couple 
 had their feet on wooden stools and thus escaped the first 
 rush, but old Liz now felt that something must be done 
 to I:eep them dry. There was a low table in the room. 
 She dragged '.t out and placed it between the couple, who 
 smiled, under the impression, no doubt, that they were 
 about to have their evening meal. 
 
 * Daddy, I 'm gaun to pit yer legs on the table. It '11 
 be mair comfortabler, an '11 keep ye oot o' the wat.' 
 
 Daddy submitted with a good grace, and felt more easy 
 than usual, the table being very little higher than his 
 chair. Mrs. Winklemann was equally submissive and 
 pleased. Covering the two pairs of legs with a blanket, 
 old Liz produced some bread and cheese, and served out 
 rations thereof to keep their minds engaged. She plumed 
 herself not a little on the success of the 'able-and-legs 
 device, but as the water rose rapidly she became anxious 
 again, though not for herself. She waded about the hut 
 
 M 
 
 : » 
 
 III 
 
 i' 
 
 I 
 
144 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 -.1 
 
 P. 
 
 
 ii 
 
 I 
 
 pi 
 
 V!' 
 
 I * f * ' 
 
 i 
 
 S 1 
 
 I'- Mi 
 
 I!' 
 
 ■f 
 
 *":i 
 
 
 
 with supreme indifference to the condition of her own 
 lower limbs. At last she mounted upon the bed and 
 watched, as the water rose inch by inch on the legs of 
 the two chairs. 
 
 * What wull I do whan it grups them ? ' she muttered, 
 experiencing that deep feeling of anticipation with which one 
 might watch the gradual approach of fire to gunpowder. 
 
 The objects of her solicitude snored pleasantly in 
 concert. 
 
 * It '11 kill them wi' the cauld, to say naething o* the 
 start,' continued the old woman with deepening, almost 
 desperate, anxiety. * Oh man, man, what for did ye 
 leave us ? ' 
 
 This apostrophe was addressed to the absent Winkle- 
 mann. 
 
 One inch more, five minutes longer, and the flood 
 would reach the bodies of the old couple. Liz looked 
 round wildly for some mode of delivering them, but 
 looked in vain. Even if her strength had been adequate, 
 there was no higher object in the room to which she 
 could have lifted them. The bed, being a truckle one, 
 and lower than the chairs, was already submerged, and old 
 Liz herself was coolly, if not calmly, seated in two inches 
 of water. At the very last moment deliverance came in 
 an unexpected manner. There was a slight vibration in 
 the timbers of the hut, then a sliding of the whole edifice. 
 This was followed by a snap and a jolt : the ring-bolt or 
 the rope had gone, and old Liz might, with perfect propriety, 
 have exclaimed, in the words of the sea song, * I 'm afloat ! 
 I 'm afloat ! and the Rover is free ! ' 
 
 For one moment her heart failed ; she had read of Noah*s 
 ark, but had never quite believed in the stability of that 
 mansion. Her want of faith was now rebuked, for the old 
 hut floated admirably, as seamen might say, on an even 
 
 ^.i 
 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 145 
 
 m 
 
 )n m 
 ifice. 
 It or 
 iety, 
 oat! 
 
 ah*s 
 
 that 
 
 old 
 
 jven 
 
 keel True, it committed a violent assault on a tree at 
 starting, which sent it spinning round, and went crashing 
 through a mass of drowned bushes, which rendered it 
 again steady ; but these mishaps only served to prove the 
 seaworthiness of her ark, and in a few minutes the brave 
 little woman revived. Splashing off the bed and splutter- 
 ing across the room, she tried to open the door with a view 
 to see what had happened and whither they were bound, 
 for the two windows of the mansion were useless in this 
 respect, being fitted with parchment instead of glass. But 
 the door was fast, and refused to open. 
 
 ' We '11 a' be lost ! * exclaimed Daddy, in alarm, for he 
 had been awakened by the shock against the tree, and was 
 now slightly alive to their danger. 
 
 * Ver is mine boy ? ' asked the old frau, in a whimper- 
 ing voice. 
 
 * Nae fear o* *ee,* said Liz, in a soothing tone. * Him 
 that saved Noah can save us.' 
 
 ' Open the door an' see where we are, lassie,' said the 
 old man. 
 
 * It '11 no' open. Daddy.' 
 
 * Try the wundy, then.' 
 
 * I 'm sweer'd to break the wundy,' said Liz. * Losh, 
 man, I '11 try the lum ! ' 
 
 The chimney, to which old Liz referred, was capacious 
 enough to admit a larger frame than hers. Moreover, it 
 was a short one, and the fire had long ago been drowned 
 out. With the enthusiasm o' an explorer, the little woman 
 s' Doped and crtered the nre-place. She felt about inside 
 for a few moments, and in doing so brought down an 
 enormous quantity of soot. Immediately there was a 
 tremendous coughing in the chimney. 
 
 * Lassie ! lassie ! come cot. Ye '11 be chokit,' cried 
 Daddy, in alarm. 
 
 i 
 
 (i 
 
 't i 
 
ffr^ 
 
 ma 
 
 146 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 If 
 
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 f- 
 
 Mi 
 
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 J 
 
 It 
 
 
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 su 
 
 I ' ' 
 
 I ! 
 
 III 
 11 
 
 5 If 
 
 
 ' Hoots, man, baud yer gab,' was the polite reply. 
 
 Liz was not to be easily turned from her purpose. 
 Raising one leg up she found a crevice for her right foot, 
 and the aged couple beheld the old creature, for the first 
 time, in the attitude of a danseuse, standing on one toe. 
 Next moment the remaining leg went up, and she dis- 
 appeared from view. If there had been any one outside, 
 the old woman would have been seen, two minutes later, 
 to emerge from the chimney-top with the conventional 
 aspect of a demon — as black as a Zulu chief, choking 
 like a chimpanzee with influenza, and her hair blowing 
 freely in the wind. Only those who have intelligently 
 studied the appearance of chimney-sweeps can form a 
 proper idea of her appearance, especially when she re- 
 covered breath and smiled, as she thought of her peculiar 
 position. 
 
 But that position was one which would have damped the 
 courage of any one except old Liz. The storm was begin- 
 ning to grow furious ; the sun, which had already set, was 
 tinging the black and threatening clouds with dingy red. 
 Far as the eye could reach, the once green prairie pre- 
 sented an angry sea, whose inky waves were crested and 
 flecked with foam, and the current was drifting the hut 
 away into the abyss of blackness that seemed to gape on 
 the horizon. 
 
 ' What see ye, Liz ? ' cried Daddy, bending a little, so 
 as to send his voice up the chimney. 
 
 ' I see naethin' but watter ; watter everywhere,' said 
 Liz, unconsciously quoting the Ancient Mariner, and bend- 
 ing so as to send her reply down. She did more ; she 
 lost her balance, and sent herself down to the bottom of 
 the chimney, where she arrived in a sitting posture with a 
 flop, perhaps we should sayasquash, seeing that she alighted 
 in water, which squirted violently all over her sooty person. 
 
A TALE OF THE RED lUVER ELOOD 147 
 
 i I 
 
 This sudden reappearance astonished the aged couple 
 almost more than it surprised Liz herself, for she could 
 not see herself as they saw her. 
 
 ' Hech ! but that was a klyte ; but ne'er heed, Daddy. 
 I 'm nane the waur. Eh, but I '11 ha'e to clean niysel'/ said 
 old Liz, rising slowly and going straight to a corner cup- 
 board, whence she took a slab of soap, and began to apply 
 it vigorously, using the entire room, so to speak, as c 
 wash-tub. The result was unsatisfactory ; beginning the 
 process as a pure black, she only ended it as an impure 
 mulatto, but she was content, and immediately after set 
 herself to fasten the aged pair more securely in their chairs, 
 and to arrange their limbs more comfortably on the table ; 
 after that she lighted a candle and sat down on the sloppy 
 bed to watch. 
 
 Thus that household spen c the night, rocked, as it were, 
 on the cradle of the deep. 
 
 At dayhght Herr Winklemann rose from his sleepless 
 couch at the parsonage, and finding that the wind had 
 moderated, launched his canoe. He left the mission 
 station just an hour before Mr. Cockran returned to it. 
 
 Anxious was the heart of the poor yoitth as he wielded 
 the paddle that morning, and many were the muttered 
 remarks which he made to himself, in German, as he urged 
 the canoe against wind and current. As he neared home 
 his fears increased. On reaching a certain part from which 
 he had been wont to descry the chimney of old Liz's hut, 
 he perceived that the familiar object was gone, and uttered 
 a mighty roar of horror. 
 
 The half-breed in the bow ceased paddling, and looked 
 back in alarm. 
 
 ' Git on, you brute ! * shouted Winklemann, at the game 
 time exerting his great strength as though he meant to 
 urge the light craft out of the water into the air. 
 
 
 ^i 
 
 I'll 
 
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 ^ 
 
 
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 148 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 A few minutes mere and they swept round into the space 
 where the hut had once stood. There was nothing left 
 but the bit of rope that had been made fast to the ring- 
 bolt. Poor Winklemann let his paddle drop and sank 
 almost double with his face in his hands. 
 
 * Mine moder/ was all he could say, as he groaned 
 heavily In a few seconds he recovered with a start and 
 bade the man in the bow paddle for his life. 
 
 Winklemann, of course, knew that the house must have 
 floated downwards with the current, if it had not been 
 utterly overwhelmed. He directed hia search accordingly, 
 but the breadth of land now covered by the flood caused 
 the currents to vary in an uncertain manner, as every 
 ridge, or knoll, or hollow in the plains modified them. 
 Still, there could be only one general direction. After a 
 few minutes of anxious reflection the bereaved man resolved 
 to keep by the main current of the river. He was unfor- 
 tunate in this, for the hut, in commencing its adventur- 
 ous career, had gone of! in the direction of the plains. 
 All day he and his companion paddled about in search of 
 the lost family, but in vain. At night they were forced to 
 return to the parsonage fo ' i little food and rest, so as to fit 
 them for a renewal of the search on the following morning. 
 
 At the mission station they found Mr. Cockran, with 
 his wife and forty of his people, established on the stage. 
 Early in the day the water had burst into the parsonage, 
 and soon stood a foot deep on the floor, so that the pastor 
 deemed it high time to forsake it and take to the last 
 refuge. It was a crowded stage, and great was the anxiety 
 of many of the mothers upon it lest their httle ones should 
 be thrust over the edge into the water. No such anxiety 
 troubled the little ones themselves. With that freedom 
 from care which is their high privilege, they even gam- 
 bolled on the brink of destruction. 
 
 IS I I 
 
A TALE OF THE RED JilVFAi FLOOD 149 
 
 Next day was the Sabbath. To go to church was 
 impossible. There were three and a half feet of water in 
 that building. The day was fine, however, and sunny. 
 The pastor, therefore, had service on the stage, and being 
 an earnest, intelligent man, he made good use of the floods 
 and the peculiarity of their circumstances to illustrate and 
 enforce hia discourse. 
 
 Long before the hour of worship had arrived, however, 
 poor Winklemann went off in his canoe, and spent the 
 whole of that day, as he spent several succeeding days, 
 in anxious, diligent, hopeful, but finally despairing search 
 for his lost old * moder,' 
 
 r 
 
 i 
 
[•^x 
 
 I ' 
 
 J j 
 
 100 
 
 THE llEi) ^lA^'S KEV'ENGE 
 
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 ■■■ 
 
 ^ '-I 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE WATERS STILL PJSE, AND MLSS TRIM COMES TO GRIEF 
 
 ON the night of the loth the gale broke out again with 
 redoubled fury, and the stage at the mission station 
 was shaken so much by the violence of the waves and wind 
 that fears were entertained of its stability, despite its 
 great strength. The water rose six inches during that 
 night, and when the vast extent of the floods is taken into 
 account, this rise was prodigious. The current was also 
 so strong that it was feared the church itself, with the 
 property and people in its loft, \vould b*^ swept away,. 
 
 Towards daylight a boat was seen approaching. It 
 turned out to be that of Mr. Ravenshaw, containing him- 
 self and Lambert, with a crt-v from Willow Creek. The 
 house of the old gentleman had, he said, much water in 
 the lower rooms, so that he had been driven to its upper 
 floor ; but he felt sure of its strength, having himself 
 helped to lay its foundations. Knowing the danger of 
 those who dwelt in the parsonage, he had come to offer an 
 asylum to as many as his house would hold. But Mr. 
 Cockran decHned to quit his post. The gale was by that 
 time abating, the cheering daylight increasing ; and as 
 ha had a large boat of his own moored to a neighbouring 
 post, he preferred to remain where he was. Mr. Raven- 
 shaw therefore ordered Louis to hoist the sail, and bidding 
 adieu to the clerical party, returned to Willow Creek. 
 
 Of all the household there, Miss Trim had viewed tho 
 
 '^ 
 
O GRIEF 
 
 ^ain with 
 n station 
 a,iid wind 
 ispite its 
 'ing that 
 iken into 
 was also, 
 with the 
 ay,. 
 
 ling. It 
 ing him- 
 ac. The 
 ivater in 
 upper 
 
 himself 
 Lnger of 
 |of!er an 
 
 kit Mr. 
 that 
 
 land as 
 
 )ouriiig 
 Laven- 
 
 )idding 
 
 c. 
 
 kd tho 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 151 
 
 approach of the water with the greatest anxiety and Mrs. 
 Ravenshaw with the greatest philosophy. Miss Trim, 
 being an early riser, was the first to observe the enemy 
 on the morning of its entrance. She came downstairs and 
 found the water entering the house quietly by the sides, 
 oozing from under the boards and secretly creeping along 
 till it covered the Hoors. She rushed upstairs to alarm 
 Mr. Ravenshaw, and met that active old gentleman 
 coming down. He set to work at once to rescue his 
 goods on the lower floor, while Miss Trim, in great ex- 
 citement, went and roused the girls, who leaped up at 
 once. Then she went to Mrs. Ravenshaw's room. 
 
 * Oh, Mrs. Ravenshaw, get up quick ; the flood is 
 corning in at last — ovtr the floors — through the chinks — 
 up the seams — every vvhere — do — do get up ! We shall 
 all be * 
 
 She stopped. A long-drawn sigh and a gentle * hush ! ' 
 was all the reply vouchsafed by Mrs. Ravenshaw. 
 
 A quarter of an hour later Miss Trim came nervously 
 back. * It 's rushing in now like anything ! Oh, do get 
 up ! We may have to fly ! The boards of the floor have 
 been forced up, and they 've had to take the door off its 
 hinges' 
 
 She stopped again. Mrs. Ravenshaw, with placid 
 face and closed eyes, had rephed with another gentle 
 ' hush-sh ! ' 
 
 Descending once more, Miss Trim was met by a sudden 
 stream, which had burst in the back door. Rushing 
 again into the old lady's bedroom, she cried vehemently. 
 * Woman ! won't you got u}> ? * 
 
 * Why should I ? ' ankcd the other in a sleepy tone. 
 ' Isn't Samuel looking after it ? ' 
 
 * Of course he is, but ' 
 
 * Well, well/ inteiTupted the old lady, a little testily, 
 
i'' 
 
 152 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 
 *|1 
 
 1^' MV ,1 
 
 * if he 's there it 's all right. He knows what to do, I don't. 
 Neither do you, Miss Trim ; so pray go away and let me 
 sleep/ 
 
 Poor Miss Trim retired discomfited. Afterwards when 
 the family were driven to the upper storey of the dwelling 
 she learned to regard things with something of Mrs. 
 Ravenshaw's philosophy. 
 
 One morning at dayhght there was a calm so profound 
 that the sleepers at Willow Creek were not awakened 
 until the sun rose in a cloudless sky and ghttered over 
 the new-born sea with ineffable splendour. It was a 
 strange and sad though beautiful sight. Where these 
 waters lay like a sheet of glass, spreading out to the scarce 
 visible horizon, the grass-waves of the prairie had rolled 
 in days gone by. There were still some knolls visible, 
 some tops of trees and bushes, like islets on the sea, and 
 one or two square masses of drift-wood floating slowly 
 along with the now imperceptible current, like boats under 
 full sail. Here and there could be seen several wooden 
 houses and barns, some of which had come down from the 
 upper parts of the settlement, like the hut of old Liz, and 
 were stranded awkwardly on shoals, while others were 
 still drifting over the watery waste. 
 
 All this was clearly visible from the windows of the 
 upper room, in which slept the sisters Elsie and Cora, and 
 presented itself to the former when she awoke like a 
 vision of fairyland. Unable to believe her eyes, she 
 rubbed them with her pretty little knuckles, and gazed 
 again. 
 
 ' How beautiful ! * slie exclaimed. 
 
 The exclamation awoke Cora, who sat up and 3''awned. 
 Then she looked at her sister, and being only half awake, 
 smiled in an imbecile manner. 
 
 * Isn't it ? ' asked Elsie. 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 153 
 
 , I don't, 
 id let me 
 
 rds when 
 dwelling 
 of Mrs. 
 
 profound 
 iwakened 
 sred over 
 t was a 
 jre these 
 he scarce 
 ad rolled 
 8 visible, 
 sea, and 
 ig slowly 
 ata under 
 i wooden 
 :rom the 
 Liz, and 
 ers were 
 
 s of the 
 ora, and 
 like a 
 yea, she 
 id gazed 
 
 yawned, 
 awake, 
 
 ' Splendid ! ' replied Cora, turning to the windows. 
 ' Oh, I 'm so sleepy ! ' 
 She sank on the pillow again and shut her eyes. 
 
 * Come, Cora, let us finish the discussion we began last 
 night about Louis Lambert,* said Elsie, with an arch 
 smile. 
 
 * No, I won't ! Let me sleep. I hate Louis Lambert ! ' 
 said Cora, with a shake of her uppermost shoulder. 
 
 Elsie laughed and rose ; she was already dressed. Mr. 
 Ravenshaw had, on the previous night, ordered both his 
 daughters j lie down in their clothes, as no one could 
 tell what might happen to the house at any moment. 
 The flood had not yet begun to abate ; Elsie could tell 
 that, as she sat arranging her hair, from the sound of 
 water gurgling through the lower rooms. 
 
 We have said ^hat the Ravenshaws had been driven 
 by the floods to the upper floor of their residence. This 
 floor consisted of three bedrooms and a lumber-room. 
 One of the bedrooms was very small and belonged to the 
 sisters, to whose sole use it was apportioned. For con- 
 venience, the other two rooms were set apart on this 
 occasion as the male and the female rooms of the establish- 
 ment, one being used by as many of the women as could 
 get comfortably in o it, the other by the men. The over- 
 flow of the household, including those neighbours who 
 had sought refuge with the family, were accommodated 
 in the adjoining barn, between which and the main build- 
 ing communication was kept up by means of a canoe, with 
 Peegwish and Wildcat as the ferrymen. The lumber- 
 room, having had most of its lumber removed, was con- 
 verted into a general hall, or salon, where the imprisoned 
 family had their meals, received their friends, and discussed 
 their trials. It wa« a rather dusty place, with sloping 
 roof, no ceiling, aud cross-beams, that caused cross tempera 
 
 '. II 
 
 !■. 
 
 !!:: 
 
 
 I! 
 
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 M 
 
 tU 
 
 111 
 
 ». 
 
 
 IN 
 
 
 ii,..t 
 
 ;ilf':'» 
 
 "I 
 
 » 
 
 154 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE 
 
 in thoso who ran against them. In one corner a door, 
 removed from its hinges, did duty as a dresser. In another 
 Mr. Ravenshaw had erected a small stove, on which, being 
 rather proud of his knowledge of cookery, he busied him- 
 self in spoiling a good deal of excellent food. A couple 
 of planks, laid on two trunks, served for a table. Such 
 cooking utensils an' such portions of light furniture as 
 were required had been brought up from the rooms below, 
 that which was lef^ having been weighted with large stones 
 to prevent its being carried away, for the lower doors and 
 windows had been removed to prevent their being driven 
 in or out, as the case might be. 
 
 So complete was the destruction everywhere, that 
 Samuel Ravenshaw had passed into a gleeful state of 
 recklessness, and appeared to enjoy the fun of thus rough- 
 ing it rather than otherwise, to the amusement of his 
 amiable wife, who beheld his wasteful and daring culinary 
 efforts without a murmur, and to the horror of Miss Trim, 
 who was called upon to assist in and share the triumphs 
 as well as the dangers of these efforts. 
 
 * Fetch the pepper now, Miss Trim. That 's it, thank 'ee. 
 — Hallo ! I say, the top has come off that rascally thing, 
 and half the contents have gone into the pan ! ' 
 
 He was engaged in frying a mess of pemraican and 
 flour, of which provender he had secured enough to stand 
 a siege of at least six months' duration. 
 
 * Never mind,' he continued ; * in with more flour 
 and more pemmican. That 's your sort. It '11 make 
 it taste more like curry, which is hot enough, in all 
 conscience.' 
 
 * But pepper is not like curry,' said Miss Trim, who 
 had a brother in India, and was consequently a second- 
 hand authority on Indian affairs. * Curry is hot, no 
 doubt, and what one may call a seasoning ; but it has not 
 
I door, 
 mother 
 I, being 
 jd him- 
 
 couple 
 
 Such 
 
 ture as 
 
 below, 
 3 stones 
 ors and 
 ; driven 
 
 e, that 
 itate of 
 i rough- 
 ; of his 
 3ulinary 
 s Trim, 
 iumpha 
 
 ank 'ee. 
 thing, 
 
 an and 
 o stand 
 
 flour 
 make 
 in all 
 
 n, who 
 second- 
 ot, no 
 as not 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 155 
 
 the flavour of pepper at all, and is not the colour of it, 
 and * 
 
 * Yes, yes, / know all al)out that. Miss Trim. Why, 
 there 's a box of it, isn't there, in the little cupboard on 
 the stair ? I quite forgot it. Fetch it, please, and we '11 
 have real pemmican curry ; and rouse up my lazy girls as 
 you pass. Don't disturb Mrs. R., though. The proverb 
 says, " Let sleeping " — no, I don't mean that exactly. By 
 the way, don't slip on the stair. The water 's about up 
 to that cupboard. Mind, there are six feet water or more 
 in the passage now, and if * 
 
 He stopped, for Miss Trim had already left the room, 
 just as Lambert entered it. 
 
 The cupboard to which Miss Trim had been sent was 
 an angular one, let into the wall to utilise a crooked corner. 
 The step of the stair immediately below it was the last 
 dry one of the flight. From that step to the bottom was 
 held by the flood, which gurgled oihly through the deserted 
 basement. Descending to that step with caution, and 
 gazing anxiously at her own image reflected below, she 
 opened the cupboard door. 
 
 Now, it chanced that Angus Macdonald's Cochin-China 
 hen, having been driven from its own home by the flood, 
 had strayed into Mr. Ravenshaw's house and established 
 itself, uninvited, in the cupboard. It received Miss Trim 
 with a croak of indignation and a flutter. Starting back 
 with a slight ' Oh ! ' the poor lady fell ; and who shall 
 adequately describe, or even imagine, the effects of that 
 fall ? Many a time had Miss Trim descended that stair 
 and passage on her feet, but never until then had she 
 done so on her back, like a mermaid or a seal ! Coming 
 to the surface immediately, she filled the house with a 
 yell that alrtiost choked the hearers, caused old Raven- 
 shaw to heave the pemmican curry into the lap of 
 
 'I ! ' 
 ' ' 1 
 
 I' 
 I. 
 
 : i 
 
 |i 
 
 .' < 
 
 
\ 1 
 
 156 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE -. 
 
 
 
 :l 
 
 [f{ 
 
 Lambert, and induced Lambert himself to leap down- 
 stairs to the rescue like a harlequin. The bold youth 
 had to swim for it ! A gurgle at the far end of the 
 passage told where Miss Trim w^as going down, like 
 wedding announcements, for the third and last time. 
 Lambert went in like an otter, caught the lady in his 
 arms, and bore her to the staircase, and thence to the 
 upper floor in a few minutes. She was at once taken 
 to the sisters' bedroom, and there restored to life and 
 lamentation. 
 
 * My dear,' said Mr. Ravenshaw to his wife when she 
 appeared, ' you 'd better look after our breakfast — 
 I 've made a mess of it, and I '11 go over to Angus Mac- 
 donald and invite him and his household to come and 
 stay with us. Their house must be almost afloat by this 
 time.* 
 
 The old gentleman hailed Peegwish, who was outside 
 in the canoe at the moment. 
 
 That would-be brewer at once made for the house, 
 paddled his canoe through the doorway and up the 
 passage to the staircase, where Wildcat, who managed the 
 bow paddle, held on by the bannister while Mr. Raven- 
 shaw embarked. Reissuing from the doorway, they made 
 for their neighbour's residence. 
 
 Macdonald's house had indeed become almost unin- 
 habitable. It stood so deep in the water that only the 
 upper windows were visible. The chimneys and roofs of 
 some of the outhouses formed, with the main building 
 and a few tree-tops, a small Archipelago. 
 
 * You are fery kind, Mr. Ruvnshaw,' said Angus from 
 an upper window, beneath which the canoe floated. * It 
 iss not improbaple that my house will pe goin' down the 
 river like a poat, but that iss nothing — not anything at 
 all — when there will pe such a destruction goiii' on all 
 
 i 
 
like 
 
 unin- 
 ly the 
 
 from 
 'It 
 vn the 
 ing at 
 on all 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 157 
 
 over the settlement whatever. It iss fery coot of you, oo 
 ay. I will put my fuddle into the canoe, an' my sister 
 she will pe ready at wance. — Wass you ready, Martha ? ' 
 
 A voice from the interior intimated that Miss Martha 
 would be * ready in two minutes/ 
 
 * Pe quick, then,* said Macdonald, looking inwards 
 while he lowered his violin, to which he was passionately 
 attached, into the canoe, * you hef not much time to 
 waste, Martha, for it wass time we will pe goin*/ 
 
 In a few minutes Angus Macdonald's house was 
 abandoned to its fate, and himself and Eister, with a 
 couple of domestics, were added to the number of refugees 
 who crowded to the abode of hospitable Sam Ravenshaw. 
 
 * Hef you forgotten the cawtie ? ' asked Angus of his 
 sister, while assisting her to land on the steps from which 
 Miss Trim had taken her dive. 
 
 * No, Angus, I Ve got it in my basket, but I fear the 
 poor old hen has been lost. It 's all over the house I 
 sought for it before comin' away, but ' 
 
 A triumphant cackle from the cupboard overhead 
 interrupted Miss Martha. 
 
 * Ha ! ha ! ' shouted Mr. Ravenshaw ; J^at 's where 
 the sound came from this morning ! And I do believe it 
 nmst have b*^en that brute which caused Miss Trim to fall 
 into the water/ 
 
 With a twinkle in his eye, the old gentleman related 
 the incident of the morning, while Angus, with a grim 
 expression, kept his eye on Beauty, who gazed inquiringly 
 out at the half-open door of her retreat. 
 
 * It iss a pad craitur you 've peen — fery pad — ever 
 since I got you, but it iss no more mischief you will pe 
 dooin' after this — whatever.' 
 
 Angus seized the unfortunate hen by the neck as he 
 spoke, and flung it along the passage, where it fell into 
 
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 158 
 
 THE RED AUN'S REVENGE : 
 
 the water, and went cackling and choking through the 
 doorway. 
 
 Beauty's powers were varied as well as surprising. 
 Although thus, for the first time in her life, compelled to 
 take to the water, she swam as well as any duck, and 
 went straight off, as if by instinct, to the forsaken house. 
 From the window of the lumber-room Angus saw her 
 reach it, scramble, somehow, on to its roof, and there utter a 
 crow of defiance that would have done credit to her 
 defunct husband. There was one other object besides 
 his own house and surroundings whic' Angus saw from 
 (hat window. It was the smoking-box on the willow- 
 clad knoll, which formed a separate island in the flood. 
 The sight stirred up unpleasant recollections. He turned 
 from the window, and gave his attention to the sub- 
 stantial breakfast to which his host invited him. 
 
 The greater part of that day was spent in rearranging 
 the habitable parts of Willow Creek, and placing the more 
 delicate valuables further out of danger. At night candles 
 were lighted, fresh wood was heaped up in the stove, and 
 the lumber-room became comparatively comfortable. 
 
 * Will you play us a tune, Angus ? * said Louis Lambert, 
 drawing a stool between Elsie and Cora and sitting down. 
 * The ladies, you know, never tire of your music' 
 
 * I hoi not anything new,' replied Angus, with becom- 
 ing modesty ; * but if the leddies wass willin' to listen to 
 some o' the old tunes, my fuddle an' I will try what we 
 can do.' 
 
 * We love the old tunes best,' said Cora. 
 
 As every one else echoed the sentiment, Angus, nothing 
 loath, bogan to discourse sweet sounds, which, to say truth, 
 were indeed very sweet, and mingled not inharmoniously 
 with the sound of waters which gurgled gently underneath. 
 
 Angus could play Scotch reels in a manner that made 
 
A TALE OF THE KED KIVEIl FLOOD 159 
 
 dancing almost unavoidable, but he preferred slow, 
 plaintive music, and on this occasion indulged his taste to 
 the full, so as to fling a mantle of quiescence and pathos 
 over the family circle. 
 
 Samuel Ravenshaw had retired to a darkish corner to 
 enjoy his pipe, but the music awoke sad memories. The 
 lost Tony came vividly before him, and beside his darling 
 boy arose the dark form of the Red Man, whose mode of 
 taking his revenge had been to him so terrible, all the 
 more terrible that the nature of the old man was secretive 
 in regard to sorrow. His joys he was ever ready to share 
 with every one, but his griefs he smothered in his own 
 breast, and scorned to let his countenance betray his 
 heart. 
 
 No one knew how much he suffered. Perhaps Elsie 
 understood him best. At all events she had become more 
 earnest and thoughtful in her attentions after that dark 
 day when her httle brother was spirited away. Leaving 
 Lambert to Cora, she went over to her father, sat down 
 beside him, and, laying her head upon his shoulder, listened 
 with a sort of melancholy pleasure to the sweet strains 
 of the violin. 
 
 They were suddenly and rudely awakened from this 
 state of quiescence by a blinding flash of lightning, followed 
 almost instantaneously by a tremendous clap of thunder 
 which sounded like coHiding worlds overhead, and then 
 rolled away in deep mutterings of discontent. This was 
 repeated at short intervals, then the rain and hail came 
 down in torrents, and the wind rose so that soon the 
 waves began to beat violently on the house. The day 
 which had begun so calmly ended in furious storm — 
 emblematic of many a day in every human life. 
 
 Seated there with feelings of awe and anxiety, the 
 Ravenshaw household passed the night in silence. 
 
 ii / 
 
 It: 
 
 II fi 
 
T r 
 
 ' 1 
 
 
 100 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVENGE 
 
 And still the waters of the Red River continued to 
 rise — slowly, it is true, and inch by inch instead of foot 
 by foot — until these settlers in the great wilderness began 
 to think, with something akin to superstitious fear, of 
 that mighty deluge which had been sent to submerge the 
 world in the daya of old. 
 
 I' 
 
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 J:^ 
 
A TALE OF THE ItED RIVER FLOOD IGl 
 
 CHAPTER XVITT 
 
 OLD RAVENSIIAVV UOES EXPLOUING AND RESCUING 
 
 ANOTHER fine calm day came to comfort tlio 
 victims of the flood in th^^- midst of that tempest- 
 uous time, with its April cliaractcr of mingled storm and 
 sunshine. The rise in the water on the previous night 
 had been almost imperceptible. Feeling, therefore, some- 
 what easier in his mind, old Mr. Ravenshavv determined 
 to embark in his boat for the purpose of paying a visit 
 to those unfortunates who, after being driven from their 
 homes, had taken refuge on the imperceptible eminence 
 which had been styled ' The Mountain.' Taking with 
 him Lambert and a stout crew, he embarked from his 
 upper bedroom window, bade his wife and daughters an 
 affectionate adieu, hoisted his sail, and pushed off. 
 
 The hoisting of the sail was a mere matter of form. 
 
 * It 's of no use at present, but will be ready to catch 
 the first puff that may favour us,* observed the oil 
 gentleman, as he sat down and took the tiller. * Give 
 way, lads.' 
 
 The oars were dipped, and the Willow Creek mansion 
 was soon but a speck on the horizon of the watery waste. 
 
 And now the old fur-trador learned the full extent of 
 the desolation with which it had pleased God to visit the 
 settlement at that time. While taken up with the cares 
 and anxieties connected with Willow Creek, he was of 
 course aware that terrible destruction, if not death, must 
 
 M 
 
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 'I 
 
 
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 li 
 
 I 1 
 
 102 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 have been going on around him ; but now, when he 
 rowed over the plains, saw the state of things with his 
 own eyes, and heard the accounts of many settlers, some 
 of whom he rescued from positions of danger, the full 
 extent of the damage done by the great flood of 1826 was 
 borne powerfully in upon his mind. 
 
 The varied stories which some had to tell of their escapes, 
 others of their losses, and of all their suflerings, were 
 sad as well as interesting. Some of the people had taken 
 shelter in garrets or on stages, where they had to wait 
 anxiously till some boat or canoe should turn up to rescue 
 them. Some had been surprised by the sudden rise of 
 the flood at night while asleep, and had wakened to find 
 themselves and their beds afloat. Two men who had 
 gone to sleep on a, rick of hay found themselves next 
 morning drifti^^g with the current some three miles below 
 the spot where they had lain down. Others, like old Liz, 
 had been carried ol! bodily in their huts. Not a few 
 had been obliged to betake themselves to the housetops 
 until help came. Some there were who took to swimming, 
 and saved themselves by clinging to the branches of trees ; 
 yet, strange to say, during the whole course of that flood 
 only one man lost his life.^ 
 
 It was very different, however, with regard to the lower 
 animals. When at its height the water spread out on 
 each side of the river to a distance of six miles, and about 
 fourteen miles of its length, so that not only were many 
 horses, cattle, pigs, and poultry drowned in the general 
 stampede, but the pretty little ground squirrels were 
 driven out of their holes, and along with rats, mice, 
 
 ^ Twenty-six years later, in 1852, Red River Settlement was 
 visited by a tlood very similar in its main features to that of 1S'2G, 
 above described ; and it is a curious coincidence that onl}-^ one man 
 lost his life during the latter flood ; also, that the waters of the floods 
 of both yearB began to subside on exactly the same date. 
 
?if 
 
 mice, 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 1C3 
 
 snakes, and insects, perished in thousands. Even the 
 frogs discovered that too much of a good thing is bad, for 
 they found no rest for the soles of their feet, except float- 
 ing logs, planks, and stray pieces of furniture, on which 
 many of them were seen by our voyagers gazing contem- 
 platively at the situation. 
 
 Everywhere houses and barns were seen floating about, 
 their owners gone, but with dogs and cats in the door- 
 ways and windows, and poultry on the roofs ; and the 
 barking, mewing, and cackling of these, with the squealing 
 of sundry pigs, tended to increase the general desolation. 
 Such of the contents of these houses as had been left 
 behind in the flight were washed out of them, and the 
 waters were sprinkled here and there with bedsteads, 
 chairs, tables, feather-beds, and other property, besides 
 the carcasses of dead animals. 
 
 At certain points of the river, where there were shallows 
 towards which the currents set, carts, carioles, boxes, 
 carriages, gigs, fencing, and property of every description, 
 were stranded in large quantities and in dire confusion, 
 but much of the wreck was swept onward and engulfed 
 in Lake Winnipeg. 
 
 The unfortunate settlers found refuge ultimately, after 
 being driven from knoll to knoll, on the higher ground 
 of the Assinaboine, on the Little Mountain, and on a low 
 hill twelve miles from the settlement. 
 
 On his way to the Little Mountain Mr. Ravenshaw 
 touched at the mission station. Here the various groups 
 in the garret of the parsonage, the gallery of the church, 
 and on the stage, were greatly reduced in numbers, many 
 of the refugees having availed themselves of the visits 
 of several settlers and gone oi! to the mountain in their 
 boats or canoes, with what of their property they had 
 managed to save. 
 
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 164 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVENGE 
 
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 Among those who remained there was a marked spirit 
 of cheerful submisfaion. 
 
 * You see,' said the pastor, in reply to an observation 
 of Mr. Ravenshaw on this point, ' I have endeavoured to 
 impress upon my poor people that mere quiet submission 
 to "^he inevitable is not a Christian characteristic, that 
 men of all creeds and nations may and do thus submit, 
 and that it is the special privilege of the followers of 
 Jesus to submit cheer jullij to whatever befalls — pleasant or 
 otherwise — because he has the promise that all things 
 shall work together for his good/ 
 
 * Humph!' jsaid the trader with a shrug of his shoulders; 
 * it seems to me that some of us don't avail ourselves 
 much of our privilege.' 
 
 The pastor could scarcely repress a laugh at the grumpy 
 tone in which his visitor spoke. 
 
 ' You are right, Mr. Ravenshaw, none of us come nearly 
 up to the mark in our Christian course. The eftort to do 
 so constitutes much of the battle rhat we have to fight, 
 but our comfort is, that we shall hd more than conquerors 
 in the long-run. There sit.=i a 'vidow now,' he continued, 
 pointing to an Indian woman seated on the stage who 
 was busy making a pair of moccasins for a little child that 
 played by her side, ' who is fighting her battle bravely 
 at present. Not a murmur has yet escaped her lips, 
 although she has lost all her possessions — except her boy.' 
 
 ' Ah ! exceft her boy ! * The old trader did not speak. 
 He only thought of Tony, and quickly changed the drift 
 of the conversation. 
 
 Soon after leaving the mission station a breeze sprang 
 up ; the sail filled ; the oars were pulled in, and they 
 went more swiftly on. Ere long they sighted the stage 
 on which the women had been previously discovered 
 singing hymns. They did not sing now. Their provi- 
 
 i^^\ 
 
lips, 
 boy.' 
 speak, 
 drift 
 
 prang 
 they 
 stage 
 )vered 
 provi- 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 1G5 
 
 sions were failing, their hopes of an abatement in the flood 
 were dying out, and they no longer refused to accept 
 deliverance from their somewhat perilous position. 
 
 ' Have you seen anything of Herr Winldcmann lately ? ' 
 asked Lambert of one of the women. 
 
 ' Nothing ; but John Flett and David Mowat passed 
 our stage yesterday in a canoe, and they told us that the 
 hut of old Liz Rollin has been carried away with her and 
 her father and Winklemann's mother, and they say that 
 her son has been seen in a small canoe rangin* about by 
 himself like a madman searchin' for her.' 
 
 * The moment we reach the Mountain I '11 get hold of a 
 canoe and go in search of him,' said Lambert. 
 
 * Right, boy ! right i ' said Ravenshaw ; ' I fear that 
 something may have happened to the poor lad. These 
 small canoes are all very well when you can run ashore 
 and mend 'em if they should get damaged, but out here, 
 among sunk posts and fences, and no land to run to, 
 it is dangerous navigation. — Hist ! Did ye hear a cry, 
 lads ? ' 
 
 The men ceased to talk, and listened intently, while 
 they gazed round the watery waste in all directions. 
 
 Besides a stranded house here and there, and a few 
 submerged trees, nothing was to be seen on the water 
 save ^he carcasses of a few cattle, above which a couple 
 of ra"; ens were wheeling slowly, 
 
 Th"*. cry was not repeated. 
 
 * Imagination,' muttered old Ravenshaw to himself, 
 after Lambert had given a lusty shout, which, however, 
 elicited no reply. 
 
 ' It must have been ; I hear nothing,' said Lambert, 
 looking round uneasily. 
 
 * Come, out oars again, lads,' said the old gentleman, 
 as the sail flapped in the failing breeze. * Night will 
 
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 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE 
 
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 ■<:;;i 
 
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 catch us before we reach Hallo ! back your oars — 
 
 hard ! Catch hold of 'im/ 
 
 A living ci'cature of some sort came out from behind 
 a floating log at that moment, and was almost run down. 
 The man at the bow oar leaned over and caught it. The 
 yell which followed left n j shadow of doubt as to the 
 nature of the creature. It was a pig. During the next 
 two minutes, while it was being hauled into the boat, it 
 made the air ring with shrieks of concentrated fury. 
 Before dismissing this pig, we may state that it was after- 
 wards identified by its owner, who said it had been swept 
 away from his house two days before, and must therefore 
 have been swimming without relief for eight-and-forty 
 hours. 
 
 * That accounts for the cry you heard/ said Louis 
 Lambert, when the screams subsided. 
 
 * No, Louis ; a pig's voice is too familiar to deceive me. 
 If it was not imagination, it was the voice of a man.' 
 
 The old trader was right. One of the objects which, 
 in the distance, resembled so closely the floating carcass 
 of an ox was in reality an overturned canoe, and to the 
 stern of that canoe Herr Winklemann was clinging. He 
 had been long in the water, and was almost too much 
 exhausted to see or cry. When the boat passed he thought 
 he heard voices. Hope revived for a moment, and he 
 uttered a feeble shout, but he failed to hear the reply. 
 The canoe happened to float between him and the boat 
 so that he could not see it as it passed slowl}; on its 
 course. 
 
 Poor Winklemann ! In searching wildly about the wide 
 expanse of water for his lost mother, he had run his 
 canoe violently against the top rail of a fence. The 
 delicate birch bark was ripped off. In another minute 
 it sank and turned bottom up. It waa a canoe of the 
 
 i i. I I 
 
oars — 
 
 behind 
 11 down. 
 t. The 
 
 to the 
 he next 
 boat, it 
 id fury, 
 as after- 
 sn swept 
 herefore 
 nd-forty 
 
 d Louis 
 
 eive me. 
 n.' 
 
 J which, 
 
 carcass 
 
 I to the 
 
 ig. He 
 
 much 
 
 bought 
 
 and he 
 
 reply. 
 
 e boat 
 
 on its 
 
 le wide 
 
 lun his 
 
 The 
 
 linute 
 
 )f the 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 107 
 
 eraallcst size, Winklcmann having preferred to continue 
 his search alone rather than with an unwillnig companion. 
 The German was a good swimmer ; a mere upset might 
 not have been serious. He could have righted the cnnoc, 
 and perhaps clambered into it over the stern, and baled 
 it out. But with a large hole in its bottom there was no 
 hope of deliverance except in a passing boat or canoe. 
 Clinging to the frail craft, the poor youth gazed long 
 and anxiously round the horizon, endeavouring the while 
 to push the wreck towards th' iiearest tree top, which, 
 however, was a long way off. 
 
 By degrees the cold told on his huge frame, and his 
 great strength began to fail. Once, a canoe appeared 
 in the distance. He shouted with all his might, but it 
 was too far off. As it passed on out of sight he raised his 
 eyes as if in prayer, but no sound escaped his compressed 
 lips. It was noon when the accident occurred. Towards 
 evening he felt as though his consciousness were going to 
 forsake him, but the love of life was strong ; he tightened 
 his grasp on the canoe. It was just then that he heard 
 the voices of Ravenshaw's party and shouted, but the cry, 
 as we have said, was very feeble, and the poor fellow's 
 sense of hearing was dulled with cold and exhaustion, 
 else he would have heard Lambert's reply. 
 
 ' Oh ! mine moder ! mine moder ! ' he sighed, as his 
 head drooped helplessly forward, though his firgers Light- 
 ened on the canoe with the convulsive grasp of a drowning 
 man. 
 
 Night descended on the water. The moon threw a 
 fitful gleam now and then through a lift in the sailing 
 clouds. All was still and dark and desolate above and 
 around the perishing man. Nothing with life was visible 
 save a huge raven whic'i wheeled to and fro with a solemn 
 croak and almost noiseless wing. 
 
 H 
 
T 
 
 I 
 
 1G8 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVENGE 
 
 But the case of Winklemann was not yet hopeless. 
 His chum, Louis Lambert, could not shake himself free 
 from a suspicion that the cry, which had been put down 
 to imagination, might after all have been that of some 
 perishing human being — perhaps that of his friend. 
 Arrived at the Little Mountain, Louis lost no time in 
 obtaining a canoe, also an Indian to take the bow paddle. 
 
 The mountain, which was a mere undulation of the 
 prairie, presented a strange scene at that time. Many 
 settlers — half-breeds, Canadians, and Indians — were en- 
 camped there ; some under tents of various sizes, others 
 under upturned boats and canoes ; not a few under the 
 wider canopy of the heavens. Intermingled with the 
 men, women, and children, were horses, cattle, sheep, 
 pigs, poultry, dogs, cats, and pets of the feathered tribe, 
 besides goods, household furniture, carts, etc., so that no 
 words can adequately describe the scene. It was con- 
 fusion worse confounded ! 
 
 Many were the hospitable proposals made here to 
 Louis Lambert that he should remain all night, for he was 
 a general favourite, but to all these he turned a deaf ear, 
 and set out on a searching expedition, in the canoe, just 
 after the sun had gone down. 
 
 At first he made as straight as he could for the place 
 where Mr. Ravenshaw had fancied he heard the cry, but 
 on consideration came to the conclusion that, as the 
 current must have carried all floating objects considerably 
 farther down the settlement by that time, he ought to 
 change his course. Soon it grew too dark to see objects 
 distinctly, but an occasional gleam of moonshine came to 
 his aid. He passed several floating barns and cow- 
 houses, but found them empty. He also nearly ran 
 against several dead animals, but the silent Indian in the 
 bow was wary and vigilant. Hope wan ai: ia^t beginning 
 
 s 
 
 H% 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RHTR FLOOD 160 
 
 hopeless, 
 iself free 
 3ut down 
 ■ of some 
 ia friend. 
 time in 
 ,w paddle, 
 on of tlie 
 ne. Many 
 —were en- 
 izes, others 
 ' under the 
 i with the 
 ,ttle, sheep, 
 .hered tribe, 
 ^ so that no 
 It was con- 
 
 ade here to 
 ,t, for he was 
 U a deaf ear, 
 e canoe, i^st 
 
 
 [for the place 
 the cry, but 
 [that, as the 
 considerably 
 he ought to 
 Ito see objects 
 shine came to 
 Ins and cow- 
 _, nearly ran 
 Indian in the 
 ia^t beginning 
 
 to die within Louis's breast, when he observed a raven 
 circlir-^ round some floating object. 
 
 * Ho! there 's something yonder. StriivO out, old copper- 
 nose,' he exclaimed, as he directed the canoe towards it. 
 
 The light craft cut the water like a knife, and was 
 quickly alongside. 
 
 * Why, it is a canoe, bottom up. Have a care. Ha ! 
 hold on ! ' 
 
 Lambert nearly overturned his own canoe as he made 
 a sudden grasp at something, and caught a man by the 
 hair. 
 
 * Hallo ! I say, let go your canoe and hold on to 
 me,* cried Lambert, in excitement, but the man spoken 
 to made no reply, and would not let go the wrecked 
 canoe. 
 
 Lambert therefore hauled him powerfully and slowly 
 alongside until his visage was level with the gunv/ale. 
 Just then a gleam of moonlight broke forth and revealed 
 the face of Herr Winklemann ! The difficulties that now 
 beset the rescuers were great, for the poor German, 
 besides being stupefied, had grasped his canoe with tre- 
 mendous power, and could not be detached. To get an 
 active and living man out of the water into a birch canoe 
 is no easy matter ; to embark a half-dead one is almost 
 impossible ; nevertheless Lambert and his red-skinned 
 comrade managed to do it between them. Raising his 
 unconscious friend as far out of the water as possible, 
 Louis caught one of his hands and wrenched it from its 
 hold. Meanwhile the Lidian leaned out of the opposite 
 side of the canoe so as to balance it. Another violent 
 wrench freed the other hand. It also freed Winklemann's 
 spirit to some extent, and called it back to life, for he 
 exclaimed, ' Vat is dat ? ' in a tone of faint but decided 
 surprise. 
 
 H 
 
 ( 
 
*■ 
 
 170 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 '!) 
 
 111 
 
 
 »l 
 
 I 
 
 
 :'l 
 
 ' Here, lay hold of my neck/ said Lambert, in a peremp- 
 tory voice. 
 
 Winklemann obeyed. Lambert exerted all his strength 
 and heaved. The Indian did not dare to lend a hand, as 
 that would have upset vne canoe, but he leaned still 
 farther over its other side as a counterpoise. At last 
 Lambert got his friend on the edge, and tumbled him 
 inboard. At the same moment the Indian adroitly re- 
 sumed his position, and Winklemann was saved ! 
 
 * You 11 soon be all right,* said Lambert, resuming his 
 paddle. ' Haven't swallowed much water, I hope ? ' 
 
 * No, no,* said Winklemann faintly ; ' mine lunks, I 
 do tink, are free of vatter, but mine leeks are stranchly 
 qveer. I hav no leeks at all ! Tears as if I vas stop 
 short at zee vaist ! ' 
 
 Herr Winklemann said no mor'- , but was swiftly borne, 
 in a state of semi-consciousness, to his friends on the 
 Little Mountain. 
 
 il 
 
 i '. 
 
A TALE OF THE KED RIVEK FLOOD 171 
 
 peremp- 
 
 strength 
 hand, as 
 ined still 
 At last 
 bled him 
 roitly re- 
 
 iming his 
 
 lunks, I 
 stranchly 
 vas stop 
 
 tly borne, 
 Is on the 
 
 CHAPTER :? 
 
 THE RED MAN RECEIVES A VISITOR, COGITATES DEEPLY, AND 
 
 ACTS WITH DECISION 
 
 ¥E return now to the red man, who, with his captive, 
 spent the greater part of that winter on the slopes 
 of the Rocky Mountains, in a grand valley between two 
 spurs of the range which merged gradually into the prairie. 
 
 In this sequestered spot Petawanaquat could, by turning 
 to the right hand, seek the rugged haunts of the grizzly 
 bear and the Roclvy Mountain goat ; or, by turning to the 
 left, ride after the buffalo on his own undulating plains. 
 Here the Indian instructed Tony in all the mysteries of 
 the hunter's craft, showed him how to set traps for wolves 
 and foxes, and snares for rabbits, and taught him how to 
 use the gun, and how to follow the tracks of game in the 
 snow. He also made him a little bow, with a sheaf of 
 blunt-headed arrows, and a pair of snow-shoe frames, the 
 interstices of which were filled up by the red man's 
 wife. 
 
 Petawanaquat had only one wife, named Meekeye. He 
 might have had half a dozen wives if he had chosen, be- 
 cause he was a strong, able, and successful hunter, which 
 is equivalent to saying he was, for an Indian, a rich man, 
 and among the Indians there is no legal limit, we believe, 
 to the number of a man's wives, But our red man seemed 
 to think one quite enough. He was very good to her — 
 
172 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVENGE : 
 
 ) 
 
 I 
 
 M: 
 
 ; .I'M! 
 
 ill. 
 
 •i 
 
 
 I 
 
 id 
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 i ; 
 
 I 
 
 which is more than can be said, alas 1 of many white men. 
 He never failed to bring to her the tit-bits of all animals 
 slain in the chase. He never beat her if she grew weary- 
 on the march, as too many of his savage countrymen are 
 wont to do, but, on thfi contrary, relieved her of part 
 of her burden, and, as a rule, carried the heaviest part of 
 the family baggage on his own shoulders or sledge. More- 
 over, when on a visit with his furs to the stores of the fur- 
 traders, he never failed to consult Meekeye as to every 
 purchase that he made, and invariably gladdened her 
 heart with gifts of scarlet cloth and white enamelled 
 beads, and brilliant ribbons and little circular mirrors, 
 which were deemed ample in size, though hardly big 
 enough to display to advantage the point of an average 
 nose. In short, Petawanaquat was quite un-Indian and 
 chivalrous in his attentions to his squaw, who repaid him 
 with faithful service, and, above all, with loviag looks 
 from the orbs which had originated her name. 
 
 Some people may think the loving looks produced the 
 chivalry ; others that the chivalry caused the looks. 
 Whichever way it was, the result was — mutual felicity. 
 Tho red man had no family, hence Meekeye took to Tony 
 with something of the fervour of a mother. Tony soon 
 reciprocated. At first he indulged some of his mis- 
 chievous tendencies, but, being only smiled at when he 
 was naughty, found that the interest of being bad was 
 gone, and ere long gave it up. 
 
 In the presence of his new father he never dared to be 
 other than absolute perfection. Petawanaquat's solemnity 
 was too much for him. Thus it came to pass that Tony 
 was soon thoroughly broken in. Meekeye taught him to 
 make leggings and to ornament moccasins, for the boy 
 was omnivorous in his thirst for knowledge. He swal- 
 lowed everything with avidity, including immense quan- 
 
k'hite men. 
 ,11 animals 
 few weary 
 rymen are 
 iv of part 
 ist part of 
 ^e. Moro- 
 of the fur- 
 3 to every 
 dened lier 
 enamelled 
 ,r mirrors, 
 lardly big 
 m average 
 ndian and 
 repaid him 
 viiig looks 
 
 duced the 
 
 the looks. 
 
 al felicity. 
 
 i to Tony 
 
 ony soon 
 
 his mis- 
 
 when he 
 
 bad was 
 
 arcd to be 
 solemnity 
 that Tony 
 ht him to 
 the boy 
 He swal- 
 nsc quan- 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 173 
 
 titles of food, ao that his frame and mind developed 
 together in a marvellous manner. 
 
 Of course the red man did not take Tony with him on 
 his longest hunting expeditions, but he took hiiu consi- 
 derable distances from home notwithstanding, and showed 
 him the * far west ' sport in all its phases, insomuch that 
 Tony, who could scarcely sit a trotting horse in the 
 settlements, became Tonyquat the Fearless in the cour^ie 
 of time— could ride bare-backed sttvds witli ease, and 
 could send his httle arrows into the flank of a buflalo 
 with as nuich coolness, if not aa much force, as his 
 instructor. 
 
 Tony even got the length of drawing iirst blood from a 
 grizzly bear. It happouv^l thus : 
 
 He was out with Petawanaquat one day, in a narrow 
 defile of the mountains. The Indian carried his gun ; 
 the boy his bow. Tony's quiver contained two sorts of 
 arrows, one set shod with iron, and sharp, the other set 
 not only blunt, but with a lumpy wooden head, meant 
 not to pierce but to stun birds. 
 
 * Ho, look here ! ' exclaimed Tony, fitting a blunt 
 arrow to the string, and pointing up at a tree, among the 
 branches of which sat a bird resembling a rjrey hen in 
 size and colour. 
 
 Petawanaquat stopped, let the butt of his gun fall to 
 the ground, rested his hands on the muzzle, and smiled 
 ctpproval. 
 
 The arrow flew, hit the bird on its astonished eye, and 
 brought it down. 
 
 * Good ! Tonyquat will be a great chief,' said the red 
 man, with another grave nod. 
 
 ' Ho, look there ! ' whispered Tony, glaring in the 
 direction of a thicket while he fitted a ^harp arrow to his 
 bow. 
 
 i !. 
 
 
m^ 
 
 174 
 
 THE RED MAWS mC^TENGE : 
 
 li I 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 Turning quickly, the Indian saw a grizzly bear rise 
 from behind a rock and look at the hunters inquiringly. 
 Bcforo he could raise his gun he heard a twang, and next 
 moment saw an arrow quivering in the bear's neck. The 
 roar of the enraged animal and the report of his own gun 
 commingled. Another instant, and Tony found himself 
 in the midst of the tree out of which he had just brought 
 the grey bird, hurled there by Petawanaquat, who was 
 himself not a moment too soon in climbing to the same 
 place of refuge. From this point of vantage the Indian, 
 having carried his gun up with him, fired several deadly 
 shots, and killed the bear, whose claws Tony afterwards 
 wore in commemoration of the event. 
 
 This was but one of the varied and stirring adventures 
 which befell our little hero while under the care of his 
 red-skinned captor. 
 
 What passed in the m'nd of the Indian during that 
 winter Tony had little opportunity of knowing, for he 
 was remarkably taciturn, though at night, when smoking 
 the calumet over his wigwam fire, the thoughtful expres- 
 sion of his face, and occasional troubled look on liis brows, 
 suggested the idea that he was ill at ease. He frequently 
 gazed at his captive as if about to speak to him seriously, 
 but as often seemed to abandon the idea with something 
 like a sigh. 
 
 One evening, however, Petawanaquat seemed more 
 troubled than usual, and held frequent earnest consulta- 
 tions with Meekeye in an undertone, in the midst of 
 which Tony could distinguish a few words, such as * tracks,' 
 ' white strangers,^ * encampment,' etc. Before going to 
 rest the Indian smoked an extra pipe, and then said : 
 
 * Tonyquat is a brave boy ! ' 
 
 ' Yes,' answered Tony, with an air of gravity quite 
 equal to that of his red father. The few months he had 
 
bear rise 
 iquiringly. 
 , and next 
 eck. The 
 3 own gun 
 id himself 
 it brought 
 who was 
 the same 
 le Indian, 
 :al deadly 
 ifterward.s 
 
 dventurcs 
 ire of his 
 
 ring that 
 g, for he 
 smoking 
 il expres- 
 lis brows, 
 requently 
 seriously, 
 omething 
 
 ed more 
 eonsulta- 
 midst of 
 * tracks,' 
 going to 
 id: 
 
 ty quite 
 i he had 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 175 
 
 been in captivity had indeed wrought an almost miracu- 
 lous change in the child. His ideas were mu( h more 
 manly. Even his spf och had lost its childish lisp, and 
 he had begun to express himself Komewhat in the alle- 
 gorical language of the American Indian. Under the 
 influence of a will stronger than his own he had proved 
 himself an ajjt scholar. 
 
 ' Tonyqnat is a boy who keeps his word ? ' continued 
 the other, with a keen glance. 
 
 Tony turned his large eyes full on the Indian. 
 ' Has my Indian father ever found Tonyquat telling 
 lies ? ' 
 
 To this Petawanaquat said * Clood,* and smoked his 
 pipe with increasing vigour, while Tony sat with his 
 hands clasped over one knee, gazing sternly at the fire, as 
 though he were engaged in consulting on matters of life 
 and death. He glanced, however, for one instant at 
 Meekeye, to see that she observed his staid demeanour. 
 The same glance revealed to Tony the fact that Mcikeye's 
 right foot was rather near the fire, with the red-hot end 
 of a log close to it. Tony's own left foot chanced to rest 
 on the other and unburnt end of the same log. A very 
 gentle motion on his part sufficed to bring ]\leekeye's 
 toes and the fire into contact. She drew back with a 
 sudden start, but was too much of an Indian to scream. 
 Tony was enough of one to remain motionless and abs- 
 tracted like a brown statue. The slightest possible twitch 
 at one corner of Petawanaquat's mouth showed that he 
 had observed the movement, but his brow did not relax 
 as he said : 
 
 * Tonyquat must make his red father a promise. White 
 men are coming here. They travel towards the setting 
 sun. If they hear the voice of Tonyquat they will take 
 him away.' 
 
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 176 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVENGE 
 
 * Will they take me to my own father ? ' cried Tony, 
 forgetting his role in the excitement of the moment. 
 
 * Petawanaquat has said that the white strangers travel 
 towards the setting sun. Red River lies in the direction 
 of the rising sun. Would Tonyquat like to go with white 
 strangers into the mountains 1 ' 
 
 Tony was most emphatic in his denial of entertaining 
 any such desire, and declared with his wonted candour 
 that he loved Petawanaquat and Meekeye next to his 
 own father and mother. 
 
 ' If this be so,' returned the Indian, * Tonyquat must 
 be dumb when the white men speak to him. He must 
 kno'7 nothing. His voice must be more silent than the 
 waters of a lake when the wind is dead.' 
 
 Tony promised to be as dumb as a stone, as ignorant 
 as a new-born infant, and as quiet as a dead man. He 
 then questioned the Indian about the white men, but 
 obtained no further information than that Petawanaquat 
 had come on their camp unexpectedly the day before, had 
 observed them secretly from among the bushes, knew 
 that the route they were pursuing would infallibly lead 
 them to his wigwam, and that therefore he had hurried 
 home to be ready for them. He could not tell who the 
 whitp men were. They looked like traders — that was all 
 he knew, or, at least, chose to communicate. 
 
 That night Meekeye repainted Tony's neck and face 
 with considerable care ; dyed his luxuriant hair with 
 grease and charcoal ; touched up his eyebrows with the 
 same, and caused him to dirty his hands effectively with 
 mud and ashes. 
 
 Next morning, a httle after sunrise, the twinkle of bells, 
 the yelping of dogs, and the cracking of whips were heard. 
 Petawanaquat and Tony had just time to step out of the 
 tent when a cariole, somewhat in the form of a slipper- 
 
 ■P 
 
A TALE or THE RED RIVER FLOOD 177 
 
 bath, drawn by four dogs, dashed up to the door. The 
 dogs, being fresh and young, took to fighting. Their 
 driver, who wore a head-dress with horns, belaboured tlic 
 combataats and abused them in French, while a tall, 
 quiet-looking man arose from the furs of the cariole, and, 
 mounting the slope on which the Lidian stood to receive 
 him, adva.iced towards the wigwam, ^^ome minutes later 
 another team of dogs with a provision-sled an.d driver 
 came rattling up. 
 
 * What cheer ? ' said the tall man heartily, as he held 
 out his hand. 
 
 * Wat chee ? * replied Petawanaquat, grasping the hand, 
 and repeating the phrase as he had learnt it in the settle- 
 ments. 
 
 The tall man was very affable, and at once revealed the 
 object of his journey. He was a missionary, ho said, and 
 was mrJving a tour among the native tribes of that region 
 to preach the good news of salvation from sin and its 
 consequences through Jesus Christ the Son of God. 
 
 Petawanaquat listened with grave intelligence, but with 
 the reticence of an Indian. 
 
 * Some tribes of Indians, I have been told, are encamped 
 not far from this spot,* said the missionary through his 
 interpreter. 
 
 Petawanaquat admitted that such was the case, and 
 that some lodges of Indians were pitched in the mountains 
 not two days* march from his tent. 
 
 The missionary entered the wigwam and sat down. He 
 gradually introduced the subject of his mission, and 
 endeavoured to bring it home to the Indian and his wife, 
 who, however, replied in very brief sentences. He also 
 addressed Tony, but that sharp child seemed to be less 
 impressionable than a pine stump, and refused to utter a 
 word on any subject. The missionary, however, was a 
 
IW" 
 
 wsmssamm 
 
 178 
 
 THE HKD MAN'S REVEXGE 
 
 h ' I 
 
 I 
 
 Ml 
 
 
 111'^^^ 
 
 W. 
 
 true man, with the love of God burning bii.i^htly in his 
 breast. Although slightly disappointed he was not dis- 
 couraged. He spoke of Christ crucified with great 
 carncatneas, and commended the Christian virtues — among 
 others the duty of forgiving, nay, even loving, one's 
 enemies, ?ind especially of returning good for evil. He 
 also dwelt much on the wickedness of harbouring re- 
 vengeful feelings, and on the sweetness and blessedness 
 of doing good to others — enforcing his argimients on the 
 latter point by quoting the Saviour's own words, * What- 
 soever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even 
 so to them.' 
 
 Still the red man listened with stolid composure, 
 Meekeye with apparent indifference, and Tony with 
 absolute vacancy, so that the missionary, after offering up 
 a silent prayer, went on his way with a sad feehng at his 
 heart that his labour with that family of savages had been 
 in vain. He comforted himself, however, with the reflec- 
 tion that it is written, * Your labour is not in vain in the 
 Lord.' 
 
 And he was right. His labour had not been in vain, 
 though it was not given to him at that time to see the 
 fruit thereof. 
 
 We have said that Pctawanaquat had smoked and pon- 
 dered deeply in the evenings that winter over his wigwam 
 fire. His slightly enlightened mind had been busy with 
 those difficult problems about good and evil, God and 
 man, which seem to exercise all earnest souls more or less 
 in every land, savage as well as civilised. The revenge 
 which he had taken on Mr. Ravenshaw was sweet — very 
 sweet, for his indignation against that irascible old gentle- 
 man was very bitter ; justifiably so, he thought. But the 
 clergyman at Red River had enhghtened the red man's 
 conscience, and conscience being once aroused cannot 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 179 
 
 !y in his 
 not dis- 
 h great 
 —among 
 ig, one's 
 !vil. He 
 iring re- 
 jssedness 
 3 on the 
 • What- 
 ye even 
 
 nposure, 
 :iy with 
 ering up 
 ig at his 
 lad been 
 le reflec- 
 n in the 
 
 in vain, 
 see the 
 
 md pon- 
 wigwam 
 isy with 
 lod and 
 e or less 
 
 revenge 
 3t — very 
 1 gentle- 
 But the 
 d man's 
 
 cannot 
 
 easily be put to sleep again. His reasoning powers told 
 him that the revenge which he had taken was far in excess 
 of the injury which he had received. This was unjust, 
 and conscience told him that injustice was wrong. The 
 great Manitou Himself could not be unjust. Had He 
 not taken the guilt of man on Himself in the person of 
 Jesus, in order that, without injustice, He might bo the 
 juslifier of sinn<^rs ? Injustice is wrong, reiterated con- 
 science again and again ; but revenge is sweet, thought 
 the Indian. 
 
 Now this visit of the missionary had cleared the mind 
 of Petawanaquat to some extent. It was a new idea to 
 him that returning good for evil was sweeter than revenge. 
 He coupled this thought with the fact that the Saviour 
 had laid down His life for His enemies, and the result was 
 that a change, gradual but decided, was wrought in the 
 red man's sentiments. The seed thus sown by the way- 
 side fell into good ground. Unlike ordinary seed, it bore 
 fruit during the winter, and that fruit ripened into action 
 in the spring. 
 
 ' Tonyquat,* said the red man one morning, after much 
 of the snow had left the ground, ' your Indian father 
 intends to start on a long journey to-morrow.' 
 
 * Petawanaquat,' replied Tony, ' your white-faced son is 
 ready to follow.' 
 
 It must be understood that Tony's language was fig- 
 urative, for at the time he was speaking his * white ' 
 face was changed so much by paint and smoke that 
 it quite equalled that of his adopted father in dirty 
 brownness. 
 
 * Meekeye will get ready,' continued the Indian. ' Our 
 journey shall be towards the rising sun.* 
 
 The result of this order was that on the following day 
 the Indian's leather tent was taken down, wrapped up 
 
 i 
 

 180 
 
 THE RED AtAX'S REVEXOE : 
 
 
 ■1 
 
 I Ml, 
 
 i 
 
 •ill 
 
 ' ' 
 
 t. 
 
 into a bundle, and fastened to a couple of poles along with 
 the rest of the family proporty. One end of each jf these 
 poles was fastened to a hoi sc like shafts ; the other ends 
 were left to trail on the ground, the load resting between 
 these ends and the steed's tail. It was, as it were, a cart 
 without wheels or body. Meekeye mounted the horse 
 after the fashion of a man. Petawanaquat and Tony 
 together mounted another steed. Three dogs formed part 
 of the establishment. These were harnessed to little poles 
 like those of the horse, and each dragged a little load 
 proportioned to his size. Thus they left the spur of the 
 Rocky Mountains and travelled over the plains towards 
 Red River Settlement. 
 
 About the same time, and with the same destination in 
 view, and not far distant from the same region, another 
 party on horseback commenced their journey towards the 
 rising sun. 
 
 The two parties ultimately met — but these and other 
 matters we shall reserve for our next chapter. 
 
A TALV, OF THE llED KlVEil FLUUD 181 
 
 horse 
 Tonv 
 
 CHAriER XX 
 
 A TERRIBLE DISASTER AND A JOYFUL MEETING 
 
 WE left Ian Macdonald, it will be remembered, far 
 away in the western wilderness, suffering from the 
 wounds received during his memorable and successful 
 combat with a grizzly bear. These wounds wore much 
 more serious than had at first been supposed, and, despite 
 the careful nursing of Vic Ravenshaw and Michel RoUin, 
 he grew so weal*: from loss of blood that it became evident 
 to all of them that they should have to take up their abode 
 in that wild unpeopled spot for a considerable period of 
 time. They th^^efore planned and built a small log-hut 
 in a wood well stocked with game, and on the margin of 
 a little stream where fish abounded. 
 
 At first Victor resolved to ride to the nearest fort of the 
 fur-traders and fetch a doctor, or the means of conveying 
 their wounded friend to a place where better attendance 
 and shelter were to be had, but insurmountable difficulties 
 lay in the way. There were no doctors in the land ! The 
 nearest abode of civilised man was several hundred miles 
 distant, and neither he nor RoUin knew the way to any 
 place whatever. They had depended entirely on Ian as 
 a guide, and now that he was helpless, so were they ! It 
 would have been difficult for them even to have tound 
 their way back to the Red River Settlement without tbo 
 aid of the scholastic backwoodsman. They were con- 
 strained, therefore, to rest where they were, hoping from 
 
ww^ 
 
 182 
 
 THE KED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 '1 
 
 I 
 
 'l! 
 
 ;j 
 
 
 I 
 
 V 
 
 I i 
 
 i it 
 
 i: 
 
 day to day that Ian 'vould regain strength sufficient to 
 boar the fatigue of a journey. Thus the winter slowly 
 slipped away, and wild-fowl — the harbingers of spring — 
 were beginning to awake the echoes of the northern woods 
 before Ian felt himself strong enough to commence the 
 journey homewards. 
 
 That winter, with all its vicissitudes, hopes, fears, 
 adventures, and pleasures, we must pass over in absolute 
 silence, and reintroduce our three friends on the evening 
 of a fine spring day, while riding over a sweep of prairie 
 land in the direction of a thick belt of forest. 
 
 * The river must be somewhere hereabouts,* said Ian, 
 reining up on an eminence, and gazing earnestly round 
 him. 
 
 * Vas you ever here before ? ' asked RoUin. 
 
 ' Ay, once, but not at this precise spot. I don't quite 
 recognise it. I hope my long illness has not damaged my 
 memory.' 
 
 * If we don't reach the river soon,' said Victor, with 
 something of weariness in his tone, * this poor brute will 
 give in.' 
 
 Victor referred to his horse, which had been reduced by 
 some unknown disease to skin and bone. 
 
 * However, I 'm well able to walk,' he continued,, more 
 cheerfully ; * and it can't be long before we shall fall in 
 with the river, and some Indians, who will sell or lend us 
 a canoe.' 
 
 * Ah ! my cheval is not much more better dan your von,' 
 said Rollin ; and he spoke the truth, for his horse was 
 afflicted with the same disease that had attacked that 
 of Victor. lan's steed, however, was in excellent con- 
 dition. 
 
 That night the invalid horses were freed from all their 
 troubles by a pack of wolves while their owners were 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 183 
 
 con- 
 
 their 
 were 
 
 aslcop. They had been * hobbled ' so carelessly that thoj 
 had broken loose and strayed far from the encampment. 
 Being weak they fell an easy prey to their sneaking 
 enemies. 
 
 Next day, however, the three friends reached the river of 
 which they were in search, found a family of Indians there 
 who bartered with them a canoe and some provisions for 
 the remaining horse, and continued their homeward journey 
 by water. 
 
 For a time all went well. The river was in high flood, 
 for the snow-fall there, as elsewhere, had been unusually 
 heavy, but all tiiree were expert voyageurs, and succeeded 
 in steering past difficulties of all kinds, until one afternoon, 
 when good fortune seemed to forsake them utterly. They 
 began by running the canoe against a sunk tree, or snag, 
 and were obliged to put ashore to avoid sinking. The 
 damage was, however, easily remedied ; and while Ian 
 was busy with the repairs his comrades prepared a hot 
 dinner, which meal they usually ate cold in the canoe. 
 Next they broke a paddle. This was also easily replaced. 
 After that they ventured to run a rapid which almost 
 proved too much for them ; it nearly overturned the canoe, 
 and filled it so full of water that they were compelled to 
 land again, unload, and empty it. 
 
 ' Dat is too bad,' observed Rollin, with a growl of dis- 
 content. 
 
 * It might have been worse,' said Ian. 
 ' Bah ! ' returned RoUin. 
 
 * Pooh ! ' ejaculated Victor. 
 
 * Very good,' said Ian ; * I only hope the tnith of my 
 remark mayn't be proved to both of you.' 
 
 It has been asserted by the enemies of Ian Macdonald 
 that the catastrophe which followed was the result of a 
 desire on his part to prove the truth of his own remark, 
 

 JS4 
 
 THE HE\) MAN'S REVEXGE : 
 
 f ^< 
 
 ) 
 
 1 !< 
 
 I"" 
 
 f I ' 
 
 J If 
 
 Iv 
 
 )'5 
 
 
 but we acquit him of such baseness. Certain it is, how- 
 ever, that the very next rapid they came to they ran 
 straight clown upon a big stone over which the water was 
 curling in grand fury. 
 
 * Hallo ! ' shouted Tan. in sudden alarm, dipping his 
 paddle powerfully on the ii^ht. 
 
 * Ili ! ' yelled Ilollin, losing his head, and dipping wildly 
 on the same side — which was wrong. 
 
 * liook out ! ' roared Victor. 
 
 He might as well have roared ' Look in,' for any good 
 that could have come of it. There was a crash ; the canoe 
 burst up and doubled down, the bow was hurled high in 
 the air, the rest of it lay out limp, and disappeared. Rollin 
 went clean over the rock, Victor went round it, and Ian, 
 after grasping it for a second, went under it apparently, 
 for, hke the canoe, he disappeared. That rapid treated 
 these voyagers roughly. Of the three, Michel Rollin 
 appeared to sutler most. After sending him round the 
 stone in a rush of toam that caused his arms and legs to 
 go round like a mad windmill, it sucked him down, rubbed 
 his head on the boulders at the bottom, shot him up feet 
 foremost into the air, received him on its raging breast 
 again, spun him round like a teetotum, and, at last, hurled 
 him almost contemptuously upon a sandbank at its foot. 
 
 Ian and Victor also received a severe buffeting before 
 gaining the same sandbank, where they faced each other 
 in a blaze of surprise and horror ! 
 
 Unable to find words to express their feelings, they 
 turned simultaneously, and waded in silence from the 
 sandbank to the shore. 
 
 Here a consultation of the most doleful character that 
 can be imagined was entered into. 
 
 ' Everything lost,' said Ian, sitting down on a bank, 
 and wringing the water out of his garments. 
 
/ is, how- 
 ^hey rail 
 v'ater vus 
 
 pping his 
 
 nff wildlv 
 
 any good 
 the canoe 
 d high in 
 i. llollin 
 and Ian, 
 )parcntly, 
 d treated 
 el Rollin 
 ound the 
 id legs to 
 n, rubbed 
 n up feet 
 ng breast 
 st, hurled 
 ts foot, 
 ng before 
 ach other 
 
 iigs, they 
 from the 
 
 <cter that 
 
 a bank, 
 
 A TALR OF THE RED MW.V^ FLOOD 185 
 
 * Not even a gun saved/ said Victor gravely. 
 
 * No, nor von mout'ful of pemmican,' cried Rollin, 
 wildly grasping his hair and glaring. 
 
 The poor fellow seemed to hi.s friends to have gone «ud- 
 denly mad, for the glare of despair turned to a grin of wild 
 amusement, accompanied by a strange laugh, as he pointed 
 straight before him, and became, as it were, transfixed. 
 
 Turning to look in the direction indicated, they beheld 
 a small Indian boy, absolutely naked, remarkably brown, 
 and gazing at them with a look of wonder that was never 
 equalled by the most astonished owl known to natural 
 history. 
 
 Seeing that he was observed, the boy turned and fled 
 like an antelope. llollin uttered a yell, and bounded away 
 in pursuit. The half-breed could easily have caught him, 
 but he did not wish to do so. lie merely uttered an 
 appalling shriek now and then to cause the urchin to 
 increase his speed. The result was that the boy led his 
 pursuer straight to the wigwam of his father, which was 
 just what Rollin wanted. It stood but a short distance 
 from the scene of the wreck. 
 
 And now, when, to all appearance, they had reached the 
 lowest turn in the wheel of fortune, they were raised to the 
 highest heights of joy, for the Indian proved to be friendly, 
 supphed them with provisions to continue their journey, 
 and gave them a good bow and quiver of arrows on their 
 simple promise to reward him if he should visit them at 
 Red River in the course of the summer. He had not a 
 canoe to lend them, however. They were therefore con- 
 strained to complete their journey over the prairies on foot. 
 
 * You see, I said that things might be worse,' said Ian, 
 as they lay on their backs beside each other that night 
 after supper, each rolled in his blanket and gazing com- 
 placently at the stars. 
 
 1 i.il 
 
r 
 
 I 
 
 isd 
 
 TKR in:i) MAN'S UKVENdK 
 
 
 i^ 
 
 HI, 
 
 * Vos, bill, yon did not my \]\i\t lliry nii;j;lit also ho. 
 hoUor. Why ditl not- yonr j>ro|)lu'tr; mouI rnal)|n y«»n to 
 Hoo fnrthor iiiid It'll of onr I'lOHcnt slulo of comparaliv*' good 
 fortune, Mr. Wincnian ? ' asked Victor with a sigli of co.i- 
 tontrnent. 
 
 I did not i)ro[)li«'sv, Vic; I onh talked of what ini(iht 
 be.' 
 
 * Vat ia dat yon say ? vat m/V//// be ? * exclaimed Tlollin. 
 
 * Ah ! vat is is worse. Hero am me, go to bed vidout my 
 smok. Dat is most Hhockablc state I has yet arrive to.' 
 
 ' Poor fellows ! ' said Ian, in a ;orie of commiHoration. 
 
 * Yon indetnl lose everything when you lose that on which 
 your happiness dei>ends.' 
 
 * Hah ! ' ejaculated KoUin, as ho turned his back on his 
 comrades and went to sleep. 
 
 A feeling of sadness as well as drowsiness came over 
 Victor as he lay there blinking at the stars. The loss of 
 their canoe and all its contents was but a small matter 
 compared with the failure of their enterprise, for was he not 
 now returning home, while Tony still remained a captive 
 with the red man ? Tan's thoughts were also tinged with 
 sadness and disappointment on the same account. Never- 
 theless, he experienced a slight gleam of comfort as the 
 spirit of slumber stole over him, for had he not, after all, 
 succeeded in kilhng a grizzly bear, and was not the mag- 
 nificent claw collar round his neck at that very moment, 
 with one of the claw-points rendering him, so to speak, 
 pleasantly uncomfortable ? and would he not soon see 
 Elsie ? and 
 
 Thought stopped short at this point, and remained there 
 — or left him — we know not which. 
 
 Again we venture to skip. Passing over much of that 
 long and toilsome journey on foot, we resume the thread 
 of our tale at the point when our three travellers, emerging 
 
A TAI.R OF THE HKU lUVFK l-LOOD ls7 
 
 hIso bo 
 I you to 
 iv«' good 
 
 I oi COiJ- 
 
 at' niitjlu 
 
 i\ UoUin. 
 (lout my 
 rive to.* 
 isoration. 
 on which 
 
 [•k on his 
 
 ime over 
 :ie loss of 
 
 II matter 
 rfib he not 
 a captive 
 iged with 
 
 Nevcr- 
 rt as the 
 after all, 
 the mag- 
 moment, 
 to speak, 
 soon see 
 
 incd there 
 
 ;h of that 
 he thread 
 emerging 
 
 suddenly from u cliiinp of wood one day, camo unex- 
 |)e(ledly (o ihv mi^rj^in of an unknown sea ! 
 
 * Lak Vimiippg Imve huMtcd hisHoIf, an' cov.t all de 
 vorld,' exclaimed J(olliu, with a look of real alarm at liiH 
 companionH. 
 
 ' ThcKed River ha.s overflowed, and tin; land is Hooded,' 
 .said Ian, in a low solcnuj voice. 
 
 ' Surely, surely,* said Victor, in sudden anxiety, ' then* 
 nuist have been many houses destroyed, since; the water 
 has come so far, but but, father's house stands high.' 
 
 lan's face wore a troubled look as h(! rej)licd : 
 
 ' Ay, boy, but the water has (;ome more than twelve 
 miles over the plains, for I know this sjjot well. It must 
 be deep — very deep — at the Willow Creek.' 
 
 * Vat shall ve do vidout bot or canoe ? 
 
 KoUin'd question was not heeded, for at that moment 
 two canoes were seen in the distance coming from the 
 direction of Lake Winnipeg. One was paddled by an 
 Indian, the other by a squaw and a boy. They made 
 straight for the spot where our travellers were standing. 
 As they drew near, Victor hailed them. The boy in the 
 bow of the foremost canoe was observed to cease paddling. 
 As he drew nearer, his eyes were seen to blaze, and eager 
 astonishment was depicted on his painted face. When 
 the canoe touched land he leaped out, and, with a yell 
 that would have done credit to the wildest redskin in the 
 prairie, rushed at Victor, leaped into his arms, and, shout- 
 ing * Vic ! Vic ! * besmeared his face with charcoal, ochre, 
 vermilion, and kisses ! 
 
 To say that Victor was taken by surprise would be 
 feeble language. Of course he prepared for self-defence, 
 at the first furious rush, but the shout of * Vic ! ' opened 
 his eyes ; he not only submitted to be kissed, but returned 
 the embrace with tenfold interest, and mixed up the 
 
* i 
 
 ,• 1 
 
 I 
 
 f 'I 
 
 if 
 
 188 
 
 THK HKI) MAX'S HEVKNCK: 
 
 diarco.'il, ocliro. atui vonnilion with liis iiioulh and nose 
 niul Touv'h (oai'H of joy. 
 
 Oil! it was JIM amazing t^i;;!)', (Iio iiioolin;^ of IIioho 
 l)ro(!MMS. It is hard lo say wIwIImt \\u) vyoH or llio imoiiIIih 
 of (lio onlooKors opoiu'd widi'sl. IN'lMwaiuujuat. \va« (ho 
 only ono who rotaiiuHl bis coinposmo. 'V\u) v\vh of 
 Mookoyc wore luoistcMiod dospilo lior native Hioicism, but 
 her husband stood erect with a grave sad eounJenaiice, and 
 bis blanket folded, with his arms i>i classie fashion, on his 
 breast. As for Jvollin, be beeanie juid remained for some 
 time a petrifaction of amazement. 
 
 When the first burst was over, Victor turned to Peta- 
 wanaquat, and as he looked at his stern vis.'tjro a dark 
 frown settled on bis own, and he felt a clenching of his 
 lists, as he addn^ssed the Indian in bis native tongue. 
 
 * What made you take him away ? ' he (demanded in- 
 dignantly. 
 
 * Revenge,' answered the red man, with dignified calm- 
 ness. 
 
 * And what induees you now to bring him back { ' asked 
 Victor, in some surprise. 
 
 * Forgiveness,' answered Petawanaquat. 
 
 For a few moments Victor gazed at the calm counten- 
 ance of the Indian in silent surprise. 
 
 * What do you mean ? ' be asked, with a puzzled look. 
 
 ' Listen,' replied the Indian slowly. ' Petawanaquat 
 loves revenge. He has tasted revenge. It is sweet, but 
 the Indian has discovered a new fountain. The old white 
 father thirsts for bis child. Does not the white man's 
 Book say, If your enemy thirst, give him drink ? The red 
 man brings Tonyquat back in order that be may heap 
 coals of lire on the old white father's head. The Great 
 Spirit has taught Petawaua^uat that forgiveness is sweeter 
 thau revenge.' 
 
A TALK or TIIK HKI) WW'IM V]AH)\) 1H<) 
 
 n(l noso 
 
 tf lIlOHO 
 
 moiiiliH 
 
 overt of 
 irtin, but 
 nco, uiul 
 1, on hirt 
 [or some 
 
 to Pota- 
 ^ II diirlv 
 ig of bis 
 (ue. 
 ndod iii- 
 
 0(1 crtlin- 
 
 ^ * asked 
 
 counten- 
 
 l look. 
 
 anaqiiat 
 
 cot, but 
 
 )ld white 
 
 e man's 
 
 The red 
 ay heap 
 le Great 
 
 sweeter 
 
 lie h1oj)|mm1 nbrnj>tly. X'idor .slill looked at iiiiii witli 
 n j>ir/,zlcd ('X|treHsi()n. 
 
 ' Well,' lio Hitid, H?nilin«j; nlif^lilly, ' I li;iv«« no doubt that 
 my fjillirr will forgive you, now that you have brought 
 back lh«i child.* 
 
 A gh'.un, which Bcenicd to have a t(»uch of scorn in i(, 
 shot from \\\o, Indian's oyc^s as he n-joincd ; 
 
 ' When r<lawimaf|uat brings ba< k 'J'onytjuat, it is a 
 [)roof that /ic. forgives the old white father.' 
 
 This wart all that the Indian wouhl condescend to say. 
 The motives whidi luid decided Iiirn to return good for 
 evil were too ha/y and complex for him clearly to uiider- 
 Ht and, much less explain. He took refuge, then!fore, in 
 dignified silence. 
 
 Victor was too happy in the recovery of his brother [ » 
 push the investigation further, or to clidish feelings of ill- 
 will. Ho therefore went up to the Indian, and, with a 
 smile of candour on his face, held out his hand, which the 
 latter grasped aiid shook, cxclainn'ng * Wat-chee ! ' under 
 the belief that th<"se words formed an essential part of 
 every white num's salutation. 
 
 This matter had barely been settled when a man came 
 out of the wofiJs and ai)proached them. He was one of 
 the Red River settlers, but personally unknown to any of 
 them. From him they heard of the condition of the settle- 
 ment. Of course they asked many eager questions al)out 
 their own kindred after he had mentioned the chief points 
 of the disastrous flood. 
 
 ' And what of my father, »Samuel Ravenshuw ? ' asked 
 Victor anxiously. 
 
 ' What ! the old man at Willow Creek, whose, daughter 
 Is married to Lambert ? * 
 
 ' Married to Lambert ! ' exclaimed Ian, turning deadly 
 pale. 
 
 I ! 
 
fff 'f ' f* 
 
 mi 
 
 rr I 
 
 190 
 
 THE RED r»LvN'S REVENGE : 
 
 I 
 
 
 * Ay, or engaged to be, I 'm not sure which,* replied 
 the man. * Oh, he 's all right. The Willow Creek house 
 stands too high to be washed away. The family still lives 
 in it — in the upper rooms.* 
 
 * And Angus Macdonald, what of him ? * asked Ian. 
 
 * An' ma mere — my moder, ole Liz RoUin, an' olc Daddy, 
 has you hear of dem ? * demanded Rollin. 
 
 At the mention of old Liz the man's face became grave. 
 
 * Angus Macdonald and his sister,' he said, ' are well, 
 and with the Ravenshaws, I believe, or at the Little 
 Mountain, their house being considered in danger ; but 
 old Liz Rollin,* he added, turning to the anxious half- 
 breed, * has been carried away with her hut, nobody knows 
 where. They say that her old father and the mother of 
 Winklemann have gone along with her.* 
 
 Words cannot describe the state of mind into which 
 this information threw poor IMichel Rollin. He insisted on 
 seizing one of the canoes and setting off at once. As his 
 companions were equally anxious to reach their flooded 
 homes an arrangement was soon come to. Petawanaquat 
 put Tony into the middle of his canoe with Victor, while 
 Ian took the bow paddle. Michel tool' the steering paddle 
 of the other canoe, and Meekeye seated herself in the bow. 
 
 Thus they launched out upon the waters of the flood, 
 and, bidding adieu to the settlor who had given them such 
 startling information, were soon paddling might and main 
 in the direction of the settlement. 
 
 .f * 
 
* replied 
 ek house 
 still lives 
 
 A TALE OF THE 1U':D laVER FLOOD 191 
 
 an. 
 
 3 Daddy, 
 
 le grave, 
 are well, 
 le Little 
 ;er ; but 
 ■)U3 half- 
 ly knows 
 lother of 
 
 to which 
 sisted on 
 As his 
 f flooded 
 ranaquat 
 or, while 
 ig paddle 
 the bow. 
 he flood, 
 lem such 
 md main 
 
 CIIAriER XXI 
 
 RETURN OF THE LOST ONE 
 
 IT chanced that, on the morning of the arrival of Victor 
 and his comrades at the margin of the flood, rccgwish 
 went a-fishing. 
 
 That astute Indian was fond of fishing. It suited hi.s 
 tastes and habits ; it was an art which was admirably 
 adapted to his tendencies. Peegwish was, naturally as 
 well as by training, lazy, and what could be moie con- 
 genial to a lazy man than a ' gentle art ' which involved 
 nothing more than sitting on a river bank smoking a 
 pipe and awaiting a bite ? It had a spice of intellectu- 
 ality about it too, for did it not foster a spirit of medita- 
 tion, contemplation, and even of philosophical speculation 
 — when he chanced to be awake ? Moreover, it saved 
 him from harder labour, and shut the mouths of those ill- 
 natured people who objected to drones, and had a tendency 
 to reproach them, for was he not assiduously procuring 
 for men and women a portion of that nourishment without 
 which labour would be impossible ? 
 
 The peculiar action of the flood had favoured Pcegwi^li 
 in regard to his beloved art, for, whereas in former days 
 he was obliged to get up from his lair and go down to 
 the river bank to fi?;h, now he had nothing morr to do 
 than open the window and cast out his line, and Wildcat 
 was close at hand to fetch him a light when his pipe 
 chanced to go out, which it frequently did, for the red 
 
 i I 
 
192 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 1 
 
 f ■ 
 
 t * ' 
 
 f ■ 
 • ■ t 
 
 > ■ 
 
 ) 
 
 i 
 
 ' , 1 
 
 ' I'M 
 
 ' I 
 
 
 old vsavage slept much. When, therefore, we say that 
 Pcegwish went a-fishing, it must be understood that he 
 merely left his seat by the stove in the upper room at 
 Willow Creek and opened the window. 
 
 Wildcat was as fond of fishing as her brother, but there 
 were a few difficulties in her way which did not exist in his. 
 Water had to be drawn, wood to be chopped, moccasins and 
 leggings and coats to be made, as well as meals to be cooked. 
 She was, therefore, compelled to fish in moderation. 
 
 * Bring a light,' said Peegwish, in that tone of mild 
 entreaty with which he was wont to make his wants 
 known. 
 
 There being no one else in the room at the moment, 
 Wildcat obeyed. 
 
 Peegwish looked into the room for a moment, and ex- 
 tended his left hand for the piece of lighted stick ; with 
 his right hand he held his line. Suddenly that hand re- 
 ceived an amazing tug. Peegwish unintentionally scattered 
 the firebrand, dropped his pipe from his lips, and uttered 
 a shout, while with both hands he held on to the jerking 
 fine. 
 
 One of Mr. Ravenshaw's largest pigs had been swept 
 out of the outhouse lofts. Struggling with the stream, he 
 passed under the window of the storeroom, and came 
 across the line of Peegwish with his tail. Every one 
 must be familiar with the tendency of tails in general to 
 shut down when touched. The unfortunate pig obeyed 
 the natural law, and the line continued to slip until the 
 hook was reached, when, of course, the natural result 
 followed. There could be no hope of escape, for the tail 
 was remarkably tough and the line strong. Peegwish 
 held on stoutly. Wildcat lent her aid. The jerking on 
 the tail depressed the snout of the pig, whose shrieks, 
 being thus varied by intermittent gurgles, rendered the 
 
A TALK OF THE KEJ) i:i\'ER FLOOD 193 
 
 ly that 
 that he 
 oom at 
 
 it there 
 t in his. 
 uns and 
 cooked. 
 
 L. 
 
 of mild 
 I wants 
 
 loment, 
 
 and cx- 
 : ; with 
 Land re- 
 iattered 
 uttered 
 jerking 
 
 swept 
 fam, he 
 came 
 cy one 
 leral to 
 )beycd 
 itil the 
 result 
 le tail 
 jgwish 
 [ng on 
 irieks, 
 kd the 
 
 noise more appalling, and quickly drew the whole house- 
 hold to the windows. 
 
 Unfortunately there were none there but women — Mr. 
 llavenshaw and the other men being still absent with the 
 boat. The canoe hud also been sent off that morning for 
 a load of firewood, so that the only way of relieving the 
 pig was to haul him in at the window. But he was too 
 heavy to be thus treated, and as Peegwish did not wish 
 to break his line and lose his hook he could only hold on 
 in despair, while Elsie and Cora, with their mother and 
 Wildcat, stood by helpless and horrified, yet amused, by 
 the novelty of the situation and the frightful noise. 
 
 While this scene was being enacted at Willow Creek, 
 Victor, with the recovered Tony and the rest of them, 
 were drawing quickly near. 
 
 Deeply though the hearts of most of these wanderers 
 were filled with anxious fears, they could not help being 
 impressed with the scenes of desolation — deserted and 
 submerged homesteads, wreck and ruin — through which 
 they passed. At one moment the two canoes were 
 skimming over the waters of a boundless lake ; at another 
 they were winding out and in among the trees of a sub- 
 merged bit of woodland. Presently they found them- 
 selves among house tops, and had to proceed cautiously 
 for fear of sunken fences, and then out they swept again 
 over the wide sheet of water, where the once familiar 
 prairie lay many feet below. 
 
 The maple-trees were by that time in full leaf, and the 
 rich green verdure of bush and tree was bursting out on 
 all sides, when not submerged. Swallows skimmed about 
 in hundreds, dipping the tips of their 1)1 ue wiiigs in the 
 flood, as though to test its reahty, while flocks of little 
 yellow birds — like canaries, but rather larger, with more 
 black on their wings — flitted from bush to tree or from 
 
pr- 
 
 
 I 
 
 \r 
 
 
 • 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 f 
 
 t 
 
 f 
 
 
 1 
 t 
 
 194 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVEXOE : 
 
 isle to isle. The month of May in those regions is styled 
 the ' flower month/ and June the * heart-berry month,* 
 but flowers and heart-berries were alike drowned out that 
 year in Red River of the North, and none of the wonted 
 perfumes of the season regaled the noses of our voyagers 
 as they returned home. 
 
 * There they are at last ! ' exclaimed Victor, with spark- 
 ling eyes, * the elms on the knoll. D* ye see them, Tony ? 
 I do believe I see the smoking-box. But for the bushes 
 we might see the chimneys of Willow Creek.* 
 
 Tony's excitement was great, but the effect of his late 
 training was seen in the suppression of all feeling, save 
 that which escaped through the eyes. Paint and charcoal 
 concealed the flush on his cheeks effectually. 
 
 * Tonyquat sees,' he replied. 
 
 Victor received this with a loud laugh, but Tony, 
 although annoyed, did not lose his dignity, which the red 
 man in the stern of the canoe observed with a look of 
 pride and satisfaction. 
 
 Michel Rollin, in the other canoe, close alongside, was 
 observed to hold up his hand. 
 
 ' Hush ! * he said, turning his head as if to listen. ' 1 
 do hear someting — someting not meloderous.' 
 
 ' Is it melliferous, then ? * asked Vic, with a smile. 
 
 But Rollin made no reply. He was far from jesting, 
 poor fellow, at that moment. The thought of his old 
 mother and grandfather, and fears as to their fate, weighed 
 heavily on his heart, and took all the fun out of him. 
 
 * It sounds like pigs,* said Ian. 
 
 * Oui. Dey be killin' porkers,* said Rollin, with a nod, 
 as he dipped his paddle again and pushed on. 
 
 As they drew near, the excitement of the voyagers 
 increased, so did their surprise at the prolonged and 
 furious shrieking. • Gradually the vigour of their strokes 
 
is styled 
 month,* 
 out that 
 5 wonted 
 voyagers 
 
 bh spark- 
 1, Tony ? 
 le bushes 
 
 f his late 
 ing, save 
 [ charcoal 
 
 ut Tony, 
 h the red 
 a look of 
 
 ;side, was 
 
 ,sten. * 1 
 
 lile. 
 
 n jesting, 
 f his old 
 , weighed 
 im. 
 
 th a nod, 
 
 voyagers 
 iged and 
 ir strokes 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 195 
 
 was strengthened, until they advanced at racing speed. 
 Finally, they swept round the corner of the old house at 
 Willow Creek, and burst upon the gaze of its inhabitants, 
 while Peegwish and the pig were at the height of their 
 struggles. 
 
 Mrs. Ravenshaw chanced to be the first to observe 
 them. 
 
 * Ian Macdonald ! ' she shouted, for his form in bhe 
 bow of the leading canoe was the most conspicuous. 
 
 * Victor ! * cried the sisters, with a scream that quite 
 eclipsed the pig. 
 
 They rushed to another window, under which the 
 canoes were pulled up. 
 
 * Oh ! Victor, Victor,* cried Mrs. Ravenshaw, with a 
 deadly faintness at her heart ; ' you haven't found * 
 
 * Mother ! * cried Tony, casting oi! his Indian reserve, 
 and starting up with a hysterical shout, ' Mother ! * 
 
 * Tony ! * exclaimed everybody in the same breath, for 
 they all knew his voice, though they did not believe their 
 eyes. 
 
 It was only four feet or so from the canoe to the win- 
 dow. Mrs. Ravenshaw leaned over and seized Tony's 
 uplifted hands. Elsie and Cora lent assistance. A light 
 vault, and Tony went in at thd window, from which 
 immediately issued half-stifled cries of joy. At that 
 moment Peegwish uttered a terrible roar, as he fell back 
 into the room with the broken line in his hand, acci- 
 dentally driving Wildcat into a corner. A last supreme 
 effort had been made by the pig. He had broken the 
 hook, and went off with a final shriek of triumph. 
 
 Thus, amid an appropriate whirlwind of confusion, 
 noise, and disaster, was the long-lost Tony restored to his 
 mother's arms ! 
 
 Seated calmly in the stern of his canoe, Petawanaquat 
 
ir 
 
 , < 
 
 196 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVENGE : 
 
 
 I i 
 
 * 
 
 1 I 
 
 11 
 
 ! i 
 
 observed the scene with a look of profound gravity. His 
 revenge was complete ! He had returned to his enemy 
 the boy of whom he had become so fond that he felt as 
 though Tony really were his own son. He had bowed 
 his head to the dictates of an enlightened conscience. 
 Ho had returned good for evil. A certain feeling of deep 
 happiness pervaded the red man's heart, but it was accom- 
 panied, nevertheless, by a vague sense of bereavement and 
 sadness which he could not shake off just then. 
 
 Quite as calmly and as gravely sat Ian Macdonald. 
 His eyes once more beheld Elsie, the angel of his dreams, 
 but he had no right to look upon her now with the old 
 feelings. Her troth was plighted to Lambert. It might 
 be that they were already married ! though he could not 
 bring himself to believe that ; besides, he argued, hoping 
 against hope, if such were the case, Elsie would not be 
 living with her father's family. No, she was not yet 
 married, he felt sure of that ; but what mattered it ^ A 
 girl whose heart was true as steel could never be "*^on 
 from the man to v/hom she had freely given herself. ^Mo, 
 there was no hope ; and poor Ian sat there in silent despair, 
 with no sign, however, of the bitter thoughts within on 
 his grave, thoughtful countenance. 
 
 Not less gravely sat Michel Rollin in the stern of his 
 canoe. No sense of the ludicrous was left in his anxious 
 brain. He had but one idea, and that was — old Liz ! 
 With some impatience he waited until the ladies inside 
 the house were able to answer his queries about his mother. 
 No sooner did he obtain all the information they possessed 
 than he transferred Meelceye to her husband's canoe, 
 and set off alone in the other to search for the lost hut — 
 as Winklemann had done before him. 
 
 Meanwhile the remainder of the party were soon as- 
 sembled in the family room on the upper floor, doing 
 
 'V 
 
 III 
 
y. His 
 
 enemy 
 ? felt as 
 , bowed 
 isciencc. 
 of deep 
 1 accom- 
 lent and 
 
 cdonald. 
 dreams, 
 the old 
 [t might 
 ould not 
 , hoping 
 I not be 
 not yet 
 ^it« A 
 36 '»^on 
 f. No, 
 despair, 
 ithin on 
 
 of his 
 anxious 
 Id Liz ! 
 s inside 
 mother, 
 ossessed 
 
 canoe, 
 it hut- 
 
 oon aa- 
 ', doing 
 
 A TALE OF i:HK RED RIVER FLOOD 107 
 
 justice to an excellent meal, of which most of them stood 
 nmch in need. 
 
 ' Let mo wash that horrid stuff oA' your face, darling, 
 before you sit down,' said Miss Trim to Tony. 
 
 The boy was about to comply, but respect for the 
 feelings of his Indian father caused him to hesitate. Per- 
 haps the memory of ancient rebellion was roused by the 
 old familiar voice, as he replied : 
 
 * Tonyquat loves his war-paint. It does not spoil his 
 appetite.* 
 
 It was clear from a twinkle in Tony's eye, and a slight 
 motion in his otherwise grave face, that, although this 
 style of language now came quite naturally to him, he 
 was keeping it up to a large extent on purpose. 
 
 * Tonyquat ! * exclaimed Mrs. Ravenshaw, aghast with 
 surprise, * what does the child mean ? ' 
 
 ' I 'U say Tony, mother, if you Hke it better," he said, 
 taking his mother's hand. 
 
 * He 's become a redskin,' said Victor, half-amused, 
 half-anxious. 
 
 * Tony,' said Miss Trim, whose heart yearned towards 
 her old but almost unrecognisable pupil, * don't you 
 remember how we used to do lessons together and play 
 sometimes ? ' 
 
 * And fight ? ' added Cora, with a glance at Ian, which 
 caused Elsie to laugh. 
 
 * Tonyquat does not forget,* replied the boy, with 
 profound gravity. * He remembers the lessons and 
 the punishments. He also remembers dancing on the 
 teacher's bonnet and scratching the teacher's nose ! * 
 
 This was received with a shout of delighted laughter, 
 .'or in it the spirit of the ancient Tony was recognised. 
 
 But Ian Macdonald did not laugh. He scarcely spoke 
 except when spoken to. He seemed to have no appetite. 
 

 F 
 
 
 1 . 
 
 » 
 
 \i' 1 
 
 ^t.i 
 
 1/ 
 
 If I 
 
 ■) 
 
 ii 
 
 !i 
 
 
 » 1 f 
 
 1 li ( 
 
 
 198 
 
 THE RED MAX'S REVEXCE : 
 
 and his face was so pale from his long illness that ho had 
 quite the air of a sick man. 
 
 ' Come, Ian, why don't you eat ? WTiy, you look as 
 white as you did after the grizzly had clawed you all 
 over.' 
 
 This remark, and the bear-claw collar on the youth's 
 neck, drew forth a question or two, but Ian was modest. 
 He could not be induced to talk of his adventures, even 
 when pressed to do so by Elsie. 
 
 * Come, then, if you won't tell it I will,* said Victor ; 
 and thereupon he gave a glowing account of the great 
 light with the bear, the triumphant victory, and the 
 long illness, which had well-nigh terminated fatally. 
 
 * But why did you not help him in the hunt ? ' asked 
 Elsie of Victor, in a tone of reproach. 
 
 * Because he wouldn't let us ; the reason why is best 
 known to himself. Perhaps native obstinacy had to do 
 with it.* 
 
 * It was a passing fancy ; a foolish one, perhaps, or a 
 touch of vanity,' said Ian, with a smile, * but it is past 
 now, and I have paid for it. — Did you make fast the 
 canoe ? ' he added, turning abruptly to the Indian, who 
 was seated on his buffalo robe by the stove. 
 
 Without waiting for an answer he rose and descended 
 the staircase to the passage, where poor Miss Trim had 
 nearly met a watery grave. 
 
 Here the canoe was floating, and here he found one of 
 the domestics. 
 
 ' Has the wedding come off yet ? * he asked in a low 
 but careless tone, as he stooped to examine the fastening 
 of the canoe. 
 
 * What wedding ? * said the domestic, with a look of 
 surprise. 
 
 ' Why, the wedding of Mr. Ravenshaw's daughter/ 
 
: ho had 
 
 look as 
 you all 
 
 J youth's 
 3 modest. 
 Lies, even 
 
 i Victor ; 
 
 the great 
 
 and the 
 
 i ? ' asked 
 
 hy is best 
 had to do 
 
 Laps, or a 
 
 it is past 
 
 fast the 
 
 Idian, who 
 
 (descended 
 I Trim had 
 
 Ind one of 
 
 in a low 
 fastening 
 
 a look of 
 
 A TALE OF TTIE llED RIVER FLOOD l!)l) 
 
 * Oh no, Mr. Ian. It would be a strange time for a 
 wedding. But it 's all fixed to come off whenever the 
 flood goes down. And she do seem happy about it. You 
 ■see, sir, they was throw 'd a good deal together here of late, 
 HO it was sort of natural they should make it up, and the 
 master he is quite willin'.' 
 
 This was enough. Ian Macdonald returned to the 
 room above with the quiet air of a thoughtful schoolmaster 
 and the callous solidity of a human petrifaction. Duty 
 and death were the prcirinent ideas stamped upon his 
 soul. He would not become reckless or rebellious. He 
 would go through life doing his raity, and, when the 
 time came, he would die ! 
 
 They were talking, of course, about the flood when he 
 returned and sat down. 
 
 Elsie was speaking. Ian was immediately fascinated 
 as he listened to her telling Victor, with graphic power, 
 some details of the great disaster — how dwellings and 
 barns and stores had been swept away, and property 
 wrecked everywhere, though, through the mercy of God, 
 no lives had been lost. All this, and a great deal more, 
 did Elsie and Cora and Mrs. Ravenshaw dilate upon, 
 until Ian almost forgot his resolve. 
 
 Suddenly he remembered it. He also remembered 
 that his father's house still existed, though it was tenant- 
 less, his father and Miss Martha having gone up to see 
 friends at the Mountain. 
 
 * Come, Vic,' he exclaimed, starting up, * I must go 
 home. The old place may be forsaken, but it is not the 
 less congenial on that account. Come.* 
 
 Victor at once complied : they descended to the canoe, 
 pushed out from the passage, and soon crossed the flood 
 to Angus Macdonald's dwelling. 
 
 iter. 
 
t I 
 
 n 
 
 200 
 
 THE RKI) MAN'S UKVENGE : 
 
 
 CHAPTER XXTT 
 
 »): 
 
 
 ('I 
 
 ''I 
 
 
 >■'■ f 
 
 THE 
 
 ' IMPOSSIBLE ' 
 
 ACrOMPLIRHKD 
 
 dwelling Angus 
 
 Mucdonald's liouso liad 
 
 AND irlaf. a 
 -^ ^ become ! 
 
 * AVhat a home-coming!' exclaimed Tan, thinking, in 
 the bitterness of his soul, of Elsie as well as the house. 
 
 * It 'a awful ! ' said Victor, with a sympathetic glance 
 at his friend. 
 
 The desolation was indeed complete — symbolic, Ian 
 thought, of the condition of his own heart. Besides 
 having eight or ten feet of water on its walls, all the 
 low^er rooms were utterly wrecked. A heavy log, ready 
 for the saw-pit, had come down with the torrent, and, 
 taking upon it the duties of a battering-ram, had charged 
 the parlour window. Not only did it carry this bodily 
 into the room, but it forced it into the passage beyond, 
 where it jammed and stuck fast. The butt of this log, 
 projecting several feet from the window, had intercepted 
 straw and hay to such an extent that a miniature stack 
 was formed, in which all sorts of light articles of furniture 
 and debris had been caught. With the tubborn deter- 
 mination of a Celt, Angus had refused to remove his main 
 door, which faced up stream. The result was that the 
 flood removed it for him with a degree of violence that 
 had induced Miss Martha to exclaim, * The house is goin' 
 at last ! ' to which Angus had replied doggedly, * Let 
 it go. It will hef to go some day, whatever/ But the 
 
 i^,r 
 
A TALE or THE llED 1U\'EII FLOOD I'Ul 
 
 loiiso had 
 
 inking, in 
 rtouse. 
 jtic glance 
 
 iboVic, Ian 
 t. Besides 
 lis, all the 
 log, ready 
 rrcnt, and, 
 ad charged 
 this bodily 
 ge beyond, 
 f this log, 
 lintercepted 
 ture stack 
 i furniture 
 orn deter- 
 e his main 
 .3 that the 
 ilence that 
 se is goin' 
 ?dly, 'Let 
 ' But the 
 
 house had not gone. It was only, as we have said, the 
 main door which went, and was hurled through the passage 
 into the kitchen, where it charged the back door, wrenched 
 it oil, and accompanied it to Lake Winnipeg with a tail 
 of miscellaneous cooking utensils. Only shreds of the 
 back windows remained hanging by twisted hinges to 
 the frames, telling with mute eloquence of heroic rcsist- 
 ance to the last gasp. "Whatever had not been removed 
 by Angus from the ground-floor of his house had been 
 swept out at the windows and doorways, as with the 
 besom of destruction. 
 
 Paddling in through the front door, the two friends dis- 
 embarked from their canoe on the staircase, and ascended 
 to the upper floor. Here everything betokened a hurried 
 departure. Furniture was strewn about in disorder ; 
 articles of clothing were scattered broadcast, as if Miss 
 Martha and her maid had been summoned to sudden 
 departure, and had rummaged recklessly for their most 
 cherished possessions. In the principal bedroom, on the 
 best bed, stood Beauty in her native ugliness — the only 
 living thing left to do the honours of the house. 
 
 * What a brute ! * exclaimed Victor. 
 
 He seized a saucepan that stood handy, and hurled it at 
 her. Beauty was equal to the emergency ; she leaped up, 
 allowed the pan to pass under her, fled shrieking through 
 the window, and took refuge on the top of the house. 
 
 ' I 'm glad you missed her, Vic,' said Ian, in a slightly 
 rc[)roachful tone ; * she 'a an old friend of the family, and 
 a harmless thing.* 
 
 * Miss Trim would not agree with you in your opinion 
 of her,' returned Victor, with a laugh ; ' but I 'm also 
 glad I missed her. It was a sudden impulse that I couldn't 
 resist, and you know a fellow is scarcely accountable for 
 his impulses.' 
 
I*^. 
 
 hi 
 
 u 
 
 ■ 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 202 THE nv:D ]\IAX\S UKVENOIC: 
 
 ' True ; not for his impulses, hul lie is very acKoiinl.ihlo 
 for actions ivsullinji^ from inipulso. Jf you had killed 
 Beauty I .should have had ati irtesislihlc iinpul.si^ to piteii 
 
 you 
 
 at 
 
 over 
 incea 
 
 tl 
 
 le winuow 
 
 HI 
 
 were 
 
 tod 
 
 o 8o in Huch ciroum- 
 
 v^'ould you hold mo unaccountable ? 
 
 ' I 'ni not sure.' hiaid Victor, with a grim smile. * But 
 we '11 change Ihe nihject ; I don't like argument when 
 I 'm likely lo •.•;et the worst of it. It 's plain that you can 
 do no good here, I thei-efore proj)ose that we leturn to 
 Willow Creek, take the suiall boat, and go up to the 
 Mountain to see father, taking Tony and Petawaiiaquat 
 
 d 
 
 ilong Willi us 
 
 th 
 
 Ian shook hi.s licad with an expression of sadness that 
 surprised his friend. 
 
 * No, Vie, no ; my work with you in search of your 
 l)rother is done, my father's home now claims my chief 
 
 I 
 
 d( 
 
 d h( 
 
 lare. i ou an* wrong in saying l can do no good Here 
 look round at the wreck and iness. There is much to 
 be done. Now I tell you what 1 '11 do. I '11 remain 
 here all day and all night too. Yon will return home 
 and s(Mid me the little punt, if it can be spared, for I 
 shall liave to row to the outhouses a good deal, and round 
 the house too. As you see, nothing can be done without 
 a craft of some sor,. Send Pei'gwish with it, without 
 Wiklc.it, she would only be in the way.' 
 
 Victor tried to induce his friend to change his mind, but 
 Ian was immovable. Ho therefore returned to Willow 
 Creek in the canoe, and sent Peegwish back with the 
 punt — a tub-like little boat, with two small oars or 
 sculls. 
 
 Left alone, fan Macdonald leaned on the sill of a window 
 in the gable of the house, from which ho could see tho 
 house at Willow Creek, and sighed dee[)ly. ' So then,' 
 ho thought, ' ;)11 my hopes are bliglited ; my airy castles 
 
 
A TALK OF THE RED lUA ER FLOOD 203 
 
 rounlabic 
 ad killed 
 [> to pitch 
 li circum- 
 
 ilo. 'But, 
 icnt when 
 it you call 
 return to 
 lip to the 
 ixwanaquat 
 
 idncsH that 
 
 ch of ynii: 
 s my chief 
 jTood lieic ; 
 \h nnich to 
 [ 'II remain 
 turn home 
 arcd, for I 
 , and round 
 )ne witliout 
 it, without 
 
 Jh mind, but 
 to Willow 
 [k with the 
 lall oars or 
 
 lof a window 
 l)uld 8ee tho 
 • So then,' 
 airy castles 
 
 are knocked down, my beiu-hunting lias been in vain; 
 Elsie is engaged to Jjoiiis Ijambert ! ' 
 
 Thens was no bitterness in his heart now, only a feeling 
 of profound loneliness. As he raised himself with another 
 sigh, the top of the window tip[)ed oil' his cap, which fell 
 into (he water, lie can'd little for the loss, but stood 
 watching the cap as it float<Hl slowly away with the 
 current, and compared its receding form with his dwind- 
 ling joys. The curnMit, wliich was not strong there, 
 carried the cap straight to the knoll several hundred yards 
 o(T, on which stood the smoking-box oi old Sam Ravcn- 
 shaw, and stranded it there. 
 
 Tho incident turned the poor youth's mind back to 
 brighter days an' other scenes, especially to the last 
 conversation which he had held with the owner of the 
 smoking-box. Ke wjis mentally enacting that scene over 
 iigain wh(>n Feegwish pulled up to the house and passed 
 under tho window. 
 
 * Corno ah)ng, you old savage,' said Ian, with a good- 
 hinn()ur(!d nod ; ' 1 want your help. (.«o round to the 
 front and shove into tho passage. The doorway 's wide 
 enough.' 
 
 Peegwish, who was fond of Ian, rej)lied to the nod with 
 a hideous smile, in a few minutes the two were busily 
 engaged in collecting loose articles and bringing things 
 in geiKMal into order. 
 
 While thus engaged they were interrupted by Beauty 
 cackling and screaming with tremendous violence. She 
 was evidently in distress. Ruiming up a ladd(;r h'adijig 
 to the garret, Ian found that tho creature had forced her 
 way through a hole in the roof, and entangled herself in 
 a mass of cordage thrown in a heaj) along with several 
 stout ropes, or cables, which Angus had recently bouglit 
 with the intention of rigging out a sloop with which to 
 
2()4 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 M 
 
 V ' 
 
 I 
 
 traverse the great Lake Winnipeg. Setting the hen 
 free, Ian returned to his work. 
 
 A few minutes later he was again arrested suddenly, 
 but not by Beauty this time. He became aware of a 
 peculiar sensation which caused a slight throbbing of his 
 heart, and clearly proved that, although lacerated, or even 
 severely crushed, that organ was not quite broken ! 
 
 He looked round at Peegwish, and beheld that savage 
 glaring, as if transfixed, with mouth and eyes equally 
 wide open. 
 
 ' Did you feel that, Peegwish ? * 
 
 Yes, Peegwish had felt ' that,' and said so in an awful 
 whisper without moving. 
 
 * Surely — no, it cannot have been the ' 
 
 He stopped short. There was a low, grinding sound, 
 accompanied by a strange tremor in the planks on which 
 they stood, as if the house were gradually coming alive ! 
 There could be no mistake. The flood had risen suffi- 
 ciently to float the house, and it was beginning to slide 
 from its foundations ! 
 
 'Peegwish,' he said, q ickly dropping the things with 
 which he had been busy, ' is there a stout rope anywhere ^ 
 Oh, yes ; I forgot,* he aJdod, springing towards the attic. 
 ' Blessings on you. Beauty, for having guided me here ! ' 
 
 In a few seconds a stout rope or cable was procured. 
 The end of this Ian ran out at the main doorway, round 
 through the parlour window, and tied it in a trice. The 
 other end he coiled in the punt, and soon made it fast to 
 a stout elm, under whose grateful shade Angus Macdonald 
 had enjoyed many a pipe and Martha many a cup of tea 
 in other days. The tree bent slowly forward ; the thick 
 rope became rigid. Ian and Peegwish sat in the boat 
 anxiously looking on. 
 
 In that momen-t of enforced inaction Ian conceived an 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 205 
 
 the hen 
 
 iddenly, 
 
 a,re of a 
 
 ig of his 
 
 , or even 
 
 i! 
 
 \,t savage 
 
 J equally 
 
 an awful 
 
 ig sound, 
 on which 
 ng alive ! 
 sen suffi- 
 y to slide 
 
 mgs with 
 lywhere ^ 
 the attic, 
 here ! ' 
 rocured. 
 ,y, round 
 liie. The 
 it fast to 
 acdonald 
 |up of tea 
 the thick 
 the boat 
 
 Iceived an 
 
 idea ! Thought is quick, quicker than light, w^hich, we 
 believe, has reached the maximum of * express speed ' in 
 material things. By intermittent flashes, bo rapid that it 
 resembled a stream of sparks, the whole plan rushed 
 through his mind, from conception to completion. We 
 can only give a suggestive outline, as follows. The knoll, 
 the pmoking-box, the smoker, his words, * Mark what I 
 say. I will sell this knoll to your father, and give my 
 daughter to you, when you take that house, and with 
 your own unaided hands place it on this knoll ! * The 
 impossible had, in the wondrous course of recent events, 
 came just within the verge of possibility — a stout arm, a 
 strong will, coupled with a high flood — ' There is a tide 
 in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood ' — immortal 
 and prophetic bard ! There could be no chance of Elsie 
 now, but even to win the right to claim her if she had 
 been willing was better than nothing. In any case old 
 Angus and the knoll would be united ! 
 
 * Peegwish ! ' shouted Ian, turning on the unfortunate 
 ex-brewer with a flushed face and blazing eyes that caused 
 him to shrink in alarm, * can you sit still and do nothing ? ' 
 
 * Eh ? ' exclaimed Peegwish, in surprise. 
 ' Bah ! ' said Ian, seizing the sculls. 
 
 The punt whirled round, leaped over the water, dashed 
 through the doorway, and went crashing into the staircase. 
 Before Peegwish could pick himself up, Ian had vanished 
 up the stairs. The savage found him a moment later 
 wildly selecting a rope from the heap that lay on the 
 floor of the attic. As Peegwish entered, Ian suddenly 
 turned on him with a gaze of increased intensity. Had 
 the young man gone mad ? Peegwish felt very uncom- 
 fortable. He had some reason to ! Another thought 
 had flashed into lan's mind — the words ' your own un 
 aided hands * troubled him. Peegwish could be kept out 
 

 1 
 
 1 '■ t 
 
 I; 
 
 I 
 
 'li 
 
 
 r 
 
 
 ? j 
 
 206 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 n 
 
 of the boat, but he could not be kept from rendering aid 
 of some sort, in some way or other. There was but one 
 resource. 
 
 Ian si)rang on Pcegwish like a lion. The savage was 
 both bold and strong, but he was elderly, and Ian was 
 young and bolder ; besides, he had the unusual strength 
 of a half-madman at that moment. Down went the ex- 
 brewer. He struggled hard. Ian crushed him in his 
 arms, raised him, crammed him into a chair, seized a 
 pliant rope and bound him therewith, winding him and 
 the chair round and round in his haste — for there was no 
 time to tic knots — until he resembled a gigantic spool of 
 ravelled thread. Not a moment too soon ! There was 
 a snap outside ; the rope was gone ! A grind, a slide, and 
 then a lurch, as of a ship at sea. 
 
 Ian is on the staircase now, in the punt, and out upon 
 the flood with a stout rope fast to the stern and to the 
 door-post. Panting from his recent exertions, and half- 
 wild with the mingled excitement, danger, novelty, and 
 fun of the thing, he draws two or three long breaths as he 
 grasps the sculls and looks quickly round. 
 
 The house moves sluggishly, probably retarded by 
 sunken shrubs, or dragging debris connected with the 
 foundation. This is somewhat of a relief. There is time. 
 He pulls ahead till the rope tightens, and then stands up 
 in the punt to observe the situation critically. The 
 current is bearing him straight towards the knoll. So 
 far well ; but there are two slightly diverging currents on 
 right and left, caused by the knoll itself, which are so 
 strong that if the house should get fairly into either of 
 them no power that he possessed could prevent its being 
 swept, on the one hand, into the main current of the Red 
 River, on the other hand away over the flooded plains. To 
 watch with lynx eyes the slightest tendency to divergence 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 207 
 
 lering aid 
 ■i but one 
 
 vagc was 
 
 Ian was 
 
 I strength 
 
 it the ex- 
 
 [n in his 
 
 seized a 
 
 him and 
 
 ce was no 
 
 3 spool of 
 
 'here was 
 
 slide, and 
 
 out upon 
 tid to the 
 and half- 
 elty, and 
 ,ths as he 
 
 Lrdpd by 
 with the 
 e is time, 
 tands up 
 ly. The 
 nod. So 
 rrents on 
 h are so 
 either of 
 its being 
 the Red 
 ins. To 
 vergence 
 
 on the part of the house now absorbs his whole being. 
 But thought again intervenes. What if he should l)c ob- 
 served by those at Willow Creek, and tiny should send 
 assistance ? Honor ! But by good fortune all the males 
 at the Creek have departed, and none are left but women. 
 He casts one of the lynx glances in that direction — no one 
 is coming. He breathes again, freely. Suddenly the house 
 diverges a little to the right. Away flies the punt to the 
 loft, and he is just about to bend to the sculls with the 
 force of Goliath, when he perceives his mistake — the 
 divergence was to the left ! In agonies of haste he shoots 
 to the other side, where he discovers that the divergence 
 must have been in his own excited brain, for the house still 
 holds on the even tenor of its way ; and Ian, pulling straight 
 ahead, tightens the rope, and helps it on its voyage. 
 
 Presently there is a sudden, and this time a decided 
 divergence to the right — probably caused by some under- 
 current acting on the foundations. Away goes the punt 
 in the opposite direction, and now Goliath and David 
 together were babes to Ian ! Talk of horse-power. 
 Elephanto-hippopotamus-power is a more appropriate 
 term. The muscles of his arms rise up like rolls of gutta- 
 percha ; the knotted veins stand out on his flushed fore- 
 head, but all in vain — the house continues to diverge, and 
 Ian feeling the game to be all but lost, pulls with the con- 
 centrated energy of rage and despair. The sculls bend 
 like wands, the rowlocks creak, the thole-pins crack. It 
 won't do. As well might mortal man pull against 
 Niagara falls. 
 
 At this moment of horrible disappointment the house 
 touches something submerged — a post, a fence, a mound ; 
 he knows not nor cares what — which checks the diver- 
 gence and turns the house back in the right direction. 
 What a rebound there is in lan's heart ! He would cheer 
 
fl 
 
 I* 
 
 r 
 
 !i 
 
 I 
 
 f>ii 
 
 I 
 
 I'm i 
 
 
 • 1; 
 
 r t 
 
 208 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 if tliere were a cubic inch of air to spare in his labouring 
 chest — but there id not, and what of it remains must be 
 used in a tough pull to the opj^osite side, for the sheer 
 given to the building has been almost too strong. In a 
 few minutes his efforts have been successful. The house 
 is bearing steadily though slowly down in the right 
 direction. 
 
 Ian rests on his oars a few seconds, and wipes his heated 
 brow. 
 
 So— in the great battle of life we sometimes are allowed 
 to pause and breathe awhile in the very heat of conflict ; 
 and happy is it ft)r us if our thoughts and hearts go out 
 towards Him whose love is over near to bless those who 
 trust in it. 
 
 He is drawing near to the knoll now, and there seems 
 every chance of success ; but the nearer he draws to the 
 goal the greater becomes the risk of divergence, for while 
 the slack water at the head of the knoll becomes slacker, 
 so that the house seems to have ceased moving, the 
 diverging currents on either side become swifter, and their 
 suction-power more c ngerous. The anxiety of the pilot 
 at this stage, and his consequent shooting from side to 
 side, is far more trying than his more sustained efforts 
 had been. 
 
 At last the punt reaches the srnoking-box, which itself 
 stands in several feet of water, for the ground of the knoll 
 is submerged, its bushes alone being visible. There is only 
 the length of the rope now between our hero and victory ! 
 In that length, however, there are innumerable possi- 
 bilities. Even while he gazes the house bumps on some- 
 thing, slews round, and is caught by the current on the 
 right. Before Ian has time to recover from his agony of 
 alarm, and dip the sculls, it bumps again and slews to the 
 left ; a third favouring bump sends it back into the slack 
 
lis labouring 
 tins must be 
 ^1' the sheer 
 long. In a 
 The house 
 1 the ri<rlit 
 
 s his heated 
 
 are allowed 
 
 t^f conflict ; 
 
 irts go out 
 
 those who 
 
 ^ere seems 
 iws to the 
 , for while 
 BS slacker, 
 •ving, the 
 and their 
 the pilot 
 n side to 
 id efforts 
 
 ich itself 
 the knoll 
 ■e is onlv 
 victory ! 
 e possi- 
 'H sonie- 
 ; on the 
 gony of 
 s to the 
 le slack 
 
 ■""•y Ian sits in the punt^n-,,^; ^"T"'''^ "'"^ «--^l«et- 
 TWe is a sudden shocl'"^,''"'^ ^'''^<'>-«« flashing. 
 
 «nd his chair are tumbled Ld 1 /'"'"^ ^"^g^^^^ 
 
 f We has just touchT as rleTt^'l- ^"'^'de, the 
 
 box, Elsie's .summer-house' T' ^'''f~the smolcin^.- 
 
 at that moment on thp .■ ! '""/'y- flapping her wings 
 
 Macdonald's dwelli ^ i fi,Sf Tnt', T'l "'^^ ^"S" 
 
 "Pon Sam Ravenshav/s l-n^ ^ ""'' ^'"^'>'' ''"'1 «"d ftst 
 
 .J 
 i 5 ' 
 
210 
 
 THE RED MAN'S llEVEXGE : 
 
 CHAPTER XXI [I 
 
 FOTTNl) AXD SAVED 
 
 i 
 
 I"" 
 
 f''.i 
 
 ; >: 
 
 If' 
 
 "VrOW it must not be imagined that old Liz, after being 
 -L^ carried away by the flood, submitted to her fate 
 without a struggle. It was not in her nature to give in 
 without good reason. She did not sit down and wring her 
 hands, or tear her hair, or reproach her destiny, or relieve 
 her feelings by venting them on the old couple under her 
 charge. In short, she did not fall back in her distress on 
 any of the refuges of the imbecile. 
 
 Her first care was to arrange Daddy and Mrs. Winkle- 
 mann in such a manner that they could sleep with some 
 degree of comfort in their chairs. This she did by means 
 of pillows and blankets, and, after accomplishing it, sat 
 down on the wet bed to contemplate the pair. Her satis- 
 faction was soon marred, however, by the discovery that 
 Mrs. Winklemann was given to kicking in her sleep. In 
 one of the spasmodic lunges with her lower limbs she 
 gave Daddy *3 legs such a shake that the old gentleman 
 was half awakened by the surprise. 
 
 It will be remembered that the pair were seated vis-h- 
 vis in their respective arm-chairs, with a low table between 
 them, and their legs resting thereon. To prevent a recur- 
 rence of the kick Liz put a piece of broken plank between 
 them on the table, and by means of a rope wound round 
 legs and table, effectually restrained the unruly members. 
 She then returned, to her place on the soaking truckle-bed, 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 2J1 
 
 iter being 
 3 her fate 
 to give ill 
 . wring her 
 , or relieve 
 under her 
 distress on 
 
 rs. Winkle- 
 
 with some 
 by means 
 
 ing it, sat 
 Her satis- 
 
 overy that 
 sleep. In 
 limbs she 
 gentleman 
 
 ted vis-h- 
 e between 
 it a recur- 
 k between 
 nd round 
 members, 
 ickle-bed. 
 
 and, leaning her wet shoulders against the wall, endeav- 
 oured to think what was to be done when the return of 
 day should enal)le her to act. To act was easy to Liz, 
 but thought was difficult. Li attempting it she fell sound 
 asleep. Her shape helped her ; she did not rc((uire to 
 lie down. Her head merely dropped on one of her fat 
 shoulders. The rotundity of her frame rendered a collapse 
 impossible. Thus she slept and snored until daylight 
 shone through the parchment windows — until Daddy 
 awoke her with a gasping cough. 
 
 * Hough ! Hi ! Liz, there 's sumthin' wrang wi' my 
 legs ! ' 
 
 ' Hoots ! hand ycr gab ! * cried his poUte daughter, 
 leaping from her damp couch into the water, with no other 
 evidence of feeling than a sharp * Hech ! ' as the cold ele- 
 ment laved her limbs. * There 's naethin' wrang wi' yer 
 legs, only I Ve tied them to the table to keep them frae 
 tum'lin aff.* 
 
 ' Mine boy, have he comin' back ? * asked Mrs. Winkle- 
 mann, who was awakened by the conversation. 
 
 ' Na ; he 'h no come back yet, but he '11 be here afore 
 lang, nae doot. Be quiet noo, like guid bairns. I canna 
 let yer legs doon yet, for the floor 's dreedfu' wat. There ! ' 
 she added, casting loose the ropes and arranging the limbs 
 more comfortably ; * jist let them lie where they are, and 
 I '11 gie ye yer brekfists in a meenit.* 
 
 She was as good as her word. Li a few minutes the 
 submissive pair were busy with bread and cheese, which, 
 with a little cold water, was the only breakfast poor Liz 
 had to give them. 
 
 AVhile the morning meal was being dispensed the anxious 
 httle woman thrust a bite or two into her own mouth, 
 and ate as she moved about. Then she told the old people 
 she was * gauin up the lum to look aboot her.' Without 
 
1 1 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 '■"I 
 
 ' ;h 
 
 I i 
 
 ♦1; 
 
 ll"" 
 
 
 212 
 
 THE RED .AUX'S REVENGE: 
 
 more ado she dipped into the fireplace and disappeared 
 up the chimney. 
 
 Her sm'prise on reaching this point of vantage was 
 very great. The cottage was no longer driven over the 
 bosom of a wide sea, but floated quietly in a calm basin 
 surrounded by trees. During the night it had been carried 
 far down in the direction of Lake Winnipeg, and had got 
 entangled in one of the clumps of wood with which some 
 parts of that legion were studded. The hut had been 
 so completely thrust into the copse that it was quite 
 encompassed by foliage, and nothing of the surrounding 
 country was visible from the chimney-top. The only 
 thing that remained obvious to old Liz was the fact that 
 the hut still floated, and was held in position by a stout 
 branch which had caught the roof. 
 
 We have said that thought — that is, profound or con- 
 secutive thought — was a trouble to old Liz. Her mind 
 leaped in an interjectional, flashing manner. Her actions 
 were impulsive. A tall tree, a squirrel, and a bird's-eye 
 view flashed into her brain at the same moment. She 
 desired the last, and proceeded to act like the second, by 
 seizing a limb of the first, which hung conveniently at her 
 elbow. But her emulation of the squirrel was not very 
 successful, for, although a strong frame and powerful will 
 aie useful in climbing tall trees, petticoats, even when 
 short, are against that operation. It is needless to say, 
 however, that in the case of old Liz difficulties were only 
 met to be overcome. Li five or ten minutes she stood 
 with dishevelled hair, bleeding hands, and torn garments, 
 among the topmost branches of the tall tree, and surveyed 
 the world beneath with feelings of mingled surprise and 
 dismay. There was evidently no abatement of the flood. 
 On her left hand lay a boundless lake ; on her right there 
 spread out a little archipelago of trees and bushes. While 
 
A TALE OF THE RED IIIVER FLOOD 213 
 
 1 
 
 sappeaioc 
 
 itage was 
 over the 
 aim basin 
 en carried 
 d had got 
 hich some 
 had been 
 was quite 
 rrounding 
 The only 
 ! fact that 
 )y a stout 
 
 id or con- 
 Her mind 
 [er actions 
 Dird's-eye 
 lent. She 
 ,econd, by 
 tly at her 
 not very 
 veiiu\ will 
 v^en when 
 ,s to say, 
 were only 
 ^he stood 
 garments, 
 surveyed 
 prise and 
 ;he flood. 
 |ght there 
 While 
 
 she gazed her eye was arrested by two dark specks on 
 the horizon. Could they be boats ? Yes ; they moved ! 
 Clearly they must be either boats or canoes. 
 
 One of the old woman's intellectual flashes occurred at 
 this point. There was a fishing-rod in the hut below, a 
 primitive one, such as Adam might have used in Eden — 
 the branch of a tree. 
 
 Down came old Liz, much faster than she went up ; 
 slipping, scratching, rending, grasping, and clutching, 
 until she gained the chimney, down which she went un- 
 ceremoniously, alighting as formerly, with a squash which 
 not only alarmed but besprinkled the old couple. 
 
 Liz caught up the rod, tied an apron to it, and then, 
 using it as a lance, charged the fireplace. It stuck, of 
 course, but Liz was in no mood to be baffled. She bent 
 the rod powerfully and forced it up. Following it, she 
 emerged from the chimney, and, with a spirit worthy of 
 Excelsior, bore her banner to the tall tree-top, and fastened 
 it to the topmost bough with the last remnant of her torn 
 neckerchief. 
 
 It was in the morning of the day about which we now 
 write, that Victor Ravenshaw and his friends arrived at 
 the settlement. We have said that Michel Rollin set 
 off alone in a canoe in search of his mother the moment 
 he obtained sufficient information to enable him to act. 
 At first he paddled wildly over the watery plain, as if 
 mere exertion of muscle would accomplish his end, but soon 
 he began to consider that without giving definite direction 
 to his energies he could not hope for success. He there- 
 fore made straight for the mission station, where he found 
 Mr. Cockran'a family and people encamped on the stage, 
 the minister himself being away in his canoe visiting 
 some of his scattered flock, and offering them such comfort 
 as only those can who truly trust in Christ. Here he 
 
214 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 fe, 
 
 I 
 
 I ( 
 
 ♦I; 
 
 was advised to go to the Mountain, to which pla^e it was 
 probable his mother and grandfather would have been 
 conveyed if picked up by any passing boat or canoe. 
 
 Deciding to do so, he paddled away at once with dim- 
 inishing hopes and a heavy heart, for the evidences of total 
 destruction around him were terribly real. lie had not 
 gone far when a canoe appeared on the horizon. There 
 was one figure in it. As he drew near the figure seemed 
 familiar. Nearer still, and he recognised it. 
 
 * Vinklemann ! ' 
 ' Michel ! ' 
 
 The friends arrested their canoes by grasping hands. 
 ' I seek for ma mere,' said the half-breed. 
 
 * I for mine moder,' returned the German. 
 
 A hurried consultation ensued. It was of no use going 
 to the Mountain. Winklemann had just come from it, 
 having failed to find his mother. He was still suffering 
 from the effects of his recent accident, but he could not 
 wait. He would continue the search till he died. Rollin 
 was of the same mind, though neither he nor his friend 
 appeared likely to die soon. They resolved to continue 
 the search together. 
 
 Both of them were thoroughly acquainted with the Red 
 River plains in all directions, but Rollin was more versed 
 in the action of water. The greater part of his boyhood 
 had been spent in canoeing and hunting expeditions with 
 his father, from whom he inh rited the French tongue and 
 manners which showed so much more powerfully than the 
 Scotch element in his composition. After his father's 
 death he had consorted and hunted much with Peegwish, 
 who spoke Indian and French, but remarkal)ly little 
 English. Peegwish was also a splendid uanoc-man, so 
 that Rollin had come to study with great intelligence the 
 flow and effect of currents of water, whether deep or 
 
 |: Ji 
 
A TALE OF Tni: RKD KIVEU FLOOD 215 
 
 tyre it was 
 lave been 
 noc. 
 
 with diin- 
 'cs of total 
 e had not 
 )n. There 
 ire seemed 
 
 lands. 
 
 I use going 
 e from it, 
 
 II suffering 
 I could not 
 
 Rollin 
 lis friend 
 continue 
 
 the Red 
 ore versed 
 
 boyhood 
 tions with 
 )ngue and 
 
 than the 
 
 father's 
 Peegwish, 
 
 ly little 
 
 man, so 
 gence the 
 
 deep or 
 
 shallow, narrow or })road. Ilenoft whrn Winklemann 
 related pir'^iunstantially all he had done, he shook his 
 head and pivc it as his opinion that he had not gone the 
 right way to work at all, and that, according to the lie of 
 the land and the height of the flood, it was certain the 
 hut must have been carried far below that part of the 
 settlement in the direction of the lower fort. 
 
 Poor Winklemann waa so worn out with unsuccessful 
 searching that he was only too glad to follow wherever 
 Michel Rollin chose to lead. Hence it came to pass that 
 in the afternoon of the same day the searchers came in 
 view of the tall tree where old Liz had hoisted her flag of 
 distress. 
 
 * Voila ! ' exclaimed Michel, on first catching sight of 
 the ensign. 
 
 * Vat is dat ? * said his companion, paddling closer along- 
 side of his friend, and speaking in a hoarse whisper. 
 
 ' It look like a flag,* said Rollin, pushing on with in- 
 creased vigour. * There 's something like one crow below 
 it,' he added, after a short time. 
 
 * It have stranch voice for von crow,' said the 
 German. 
 
 He was right. The yell of triumphant joy uttered by 
 old Liz when she saw that her signal had been observed 
 was beyond the imitative powers of any crow. As the 
 poor creature waved her free arm, and continued to shout, 
 while her loose hair tossed wildly round her sooty face, 
 she presented a spectacle that might well have caused 
 alarm not unmixed with awe even in a manly breast ; but 
 there was a certain tone in the shouts which sent a sudden 
 thrill to the heart of Rollin, causing him, strange to say, 
 to think of lullabies and infant days ! With eyeballs 
 fixed on the tree-top, open-mouthed and breathing quick, 
 he paddled swiftly on. 
 
■U'. 
 
 \\ 
 
 '. I 
 
 I 
 
 2 *) 
 
 y y 
 
 210 
 
 THE RED MAN'S UEV'IONCE 
 
 Ml 
 
 ' ]\Iiche),' said Winklomann, in a whisper, even hoarser 
 than before, " your niodor ! ' 
 
 Rollin replied not, but gave a stentorian roar, that rolled 
 grandly over the water. 
 
 Why was it that old Jji/ Huddenly ceased her gesticu- 
 lalions, lifted her black brows in unulterable surprise, 
 opened her mouth, and became a listening statue ? Did she 
 too recognise tones which recalled other days — and the 
 puling cries of infancy ? It might liave been so. Certain 
 it is that wher the shout was repeated she broke down in 
 an cfTorl. to reply, and burst into mingled laughter and 
 tears, at the naiuc time waving her free arm more violently 
 than ever. 
 
 This was too much for the branch on which she had 
 been performing. It gave way, and old Liz suddenly 
 canic dov/n, as sailors have it, ' by the run.' She crashed 
 through the smaller branches of theiiree-top, which 
 happily broke her fall, bounded from mass to mass of the 
 thicker foliage below, and finally came down on a massive 
 bough which, nhimtiiig licr clear of the tree altogether, 
 and clear of the hut as well, sent her headlong into the 
 water. 
 
 With something like frozen blood and marrow, Michel 
 witnessed the fall. A few secciids more and his canoe 
 went crashing tlirough the leafy screen that hid the hut. 
 Old Liz was up and floundering about like a black seal, 
 or mermaid. She could not swim, but, owing to some 
 peculiarity of her reniarkal>le frame, she could not sink'. 
 He'" son was at her side in a moment, seized her, and tried 
 to kiss her. In his eagerness the canoe overturned, and 
 he fell into her arms and the water at the same time. 
 
 It was a joyful though awkward meeting. Much water 
 could not quench the love wherewith the poor creature 
 strained Michel to her heart. Wlnklemami came up in 
 
 b !;'■ 
 
A TALE 01'^ TTTE RED RIM^U FLOOD 
 
 21' 
 
 n hoarser 
 
 ,lial rolled 
 
 ^r gcHticu- 
 \ surprise, 
 I Did she 
 — and the 
 I. ( 'ortain 
 :e down in 
 ighter and 
 c violently 
 
 h she had 
 5 suddenly 
 ihc crashed 
 ;op, which 
 ^lass of the 
 
 a massive 
 altogether, 
 
 g into the 
 
 3W, Michel 
 his canoe 
 
 d the hut. 
 
 black seal, 
 
 nr to some 
 not sink. 
 and tried 
 rned, and 
 ime. 
 
 uch water 
 
 |r creature 
 
 me up in 
 
 time to rescue both, and draggid Ihein to tlic^ doorstep (A 
 the floating hut, the door of which he l)urst o[)eii with a 
 single kick, and sj)ran;j; in. 
 
 Who shall attempt to d wril)c the meeting that followed i 
 We ask the question because w(i feel uru^qual to the tusk. 
 There issued from the hut a roll of ({erman gutturals. 
 Winklemann, rushing through two feet of water, seized 
 his mother's hand and fell on his knees beside her. He 
 was thus, of course, submerged to the waist ; but he recked 
 not — not ht ! Michel and old Lii' onterf^dj dripping like 
 water-nymphs, and sat down on the soppy bed. Daddy, 
 impressed with the idea that a good practical joke was 
 being enacted, smiled benignantly like a guardian angel. 
 
 * Now den, zee night draws on. Ve must be gone,' 
 said Winklemann, turning to RoUin ; ' git zee canoes 
 ready — qveek ! ' 
 
 Both canoes were soon got ready ; blankets and pillows 
 were spread in the centre of each. Mrs. Winklemann was 
 lifted carefully into one ; Daddy, as carefully, into the 
 other. Old Liz quietly took her seat in the bow of Daddy's 
 canoe ; her son sat down in the stern, while Ilerr Winkle- 
 maim took charge of that which contained his mother. 
 
 ' No room to take any of de property to-night, ma mere,* 
 said Michel. 
 
 * Hoots ! niver heed,* replied Liz. 
 
 * No, I vill not heed. Moreover, Vcenklemann and 
 moi ve vill retoorn dcmorrow.' 
 
 As he spoke he chanced to look up and saw the apron 
 which had guided him to the spot waving gently at the 
 tree-top. In a few seconds he was beside it. Cutting the 
 staff free, he descended and stuck it in the bow of his 
 canoe as a trophy. Thus they paddied away from the old 
 home. 
 
 It was night when they reached the camp of the settlers 
 
218 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 
 
 It 
 
 I; 
 
 <1 
 
 on the Little Mountain. The homeless people were busy 
 with their evening meal, and, sad though their case was, 
 the asp(?ct of things just then did not convey the idea of 
 distress. The weather was fine ; camp-fires blazed cheer- 
 fully, lighting up bronzed and swarthy men, comely women, 
 and healthy children, with a ruddy glow, while merry 
 laughter now and then rose above the general hum, for 
 children care little for unfelt distress, and grown people 
 easily forget it in present comfort. Ruined though they 
 were, many of them felt only the warmth of the hour. 
 
 There was a shout of welcome when Winklemann'a 
 canoe was observed emerging from Burrounding darkness, 
 and a cheer burst from those who first heard the glad 
 news : * The old folk saved ! ' But that was a mere chirp 
 to the roar of congratulation that rang out when the little 
 party landed, and the rescuers strode into camp bearing 
 the rescued in their arms. 
 
pie were busy 
 heir case was, 
 ey the idea of 
 I blazed cheer- 
 omely women, 
 , while merry 
 leral hum, for 
 grown people 
 I though they 
 the hour. 
 Winklemann'a 
 ling darkness, 
 card the glad 
 3 a mere chirp 
 vhen the little 
 camp bearing 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RH ER FLOOD 
 
 219 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 A fiURPRTSTNG DISCOVERY— AND MORE 
 
 WHEN Ian Macdonald had seen his father's house 
 J fairly stranded on the knoll, and had made it fast 
 there with innumerable ropes, thin and thick, as the Lilhpu- 
 tians secured Gulliver, he bethought him that it was high 
 time to visit the Little Mountain, to which his father had 
 gone on at that time, and inform him of the amazing 
 
 Before setting off, however, common propriety required 
 that he should look in at Willow Creek in passing, not 
 ony to let them know what had occurred, if they had 
 
 Zm'Zt:z' "' '^^ ^^ ''' ' ''-'' -- -^ --^^ 
 
 First releasing Peegwish, who now regarded him as a 
 maniac, he embarked with him in the punt, and rowed 
 
 'J V \3 J. a 
 
 It was by that time approaching the afternoon. Before 
 that-mdeed before the house of Angus had gone afioat- 
 _^3ny Victor, and Petawanaquat had gone off to the Little 
 j^ountam in search of Mr. Ravenshaw. Those of the 
 family who remained behind had been so busy about their 
 various avocations, that no one had observed the sudden 
 removal of their neighbour's dwelling. 
 
 iU?T^ f!"^'- '^"'' ^''''-^ ^"^^ ^l«i«' i» a tone 
 that alarmed her sister. ' Am I dreaming ? ' 
 
 Cora looked out at the window, where the other stood 
 
I 
 
 ■ ) I 
 
 , i 
 
 li. 
 
 220 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 p 
 
 (■; 
 
 'I 
 
 I- \ 
 > I 
 
 as if petrified. ' Angus Macdonald's house on the knoll ! * 
 she screamed. 
 
 The scream brought her mother and Miss Trim hurriedly 
 into the room. They stared in speechless amazement, 
 and rubbed their eyes, but they could not rub the house 
 of Angus Macdonald off the knoll. 
 
 * There comes Ian in the punt,* said Cora ; ' he will 
 explain it.' 
 
 * He seems to be miserable enough about it if one may 
 judge from the expression of his face,' observed Miss 
 Trim. 
 
 Poor Ian was indeed profoundly miserable. The ex- 
 citement of the recent event over, his mind insisted on 
 reverting to his forlorn condition. ' So near,' he thought, 
 * and yet to miss her ! Old Ravenshaw could not refuse her 
 to me now, but of what avail is his consent without Elsie's ? 
 Ah, Lambert ! you 're a lucky fellow, and it is shameful in 
 me to wish it were otherwise when it makes Elsie happy.'' 
 
 Ian now tried to act philosophically, but it would not 
 do. In the upper room he gave the ladies a brief account 
 of his adventure. He spoke in a cold, passionless manner, 
 without looking once at Elsie. Of course he did not 
 reveal the motives that had influenced him. When he 
 had finished he rose abruptly to leave. 
 
 * Don't go yet,' said Mrs. Ravenshaw, * there 's a bit of 
 carpentering that I want done, and there is not a man left 
 at the house to do it. The last galo loosened some of the 
 shingles on the roof, and one of them slipped down to-day, 
 so that the place leaks. — Go, Elsie, and show him the 
 shingle near the attic window.' 
 
 Ian looked at Elsie, and his resolves vanished hke 
 smoke. He went meekly to the attic. 
 
 * You are much changed,' said Elsie, * since you went 
 on this trip.' 
 
he knoll ! * 
 
 a hurriedly 
 Eiidzement, 
 I the house 
 
 ; ' he will 
 
 if one may 
 erved Miss 
 
 1. The ex- 
 insisted on 
 he thought, 
 >t refuse her 
 out Elsie's? 
 shameful in 
 sie happy/' 
 would not 
 ief account 
 ss manner, 
 Ihe did not 
 When he 
 
 's a bit of 
 a man left 
 lome of the 
 [wn to-day, 
 him the 
 
 lished like 
 
 you 
 
 went 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 221 
 
 ' Changed ? Not for the worse, I hope,* said Ian. 
 
 ' Well, scarcely for the better,' returned the girl with 
 a smile. * See, here is the window, and the loose shingle 
 is close to the sill. You won't require to go out on the 
 roof. There is father's tool-box. If you want anything 
 some of us will be in the room below. You may call, or 
 come down.' 
 
 * Stay, Elsie,' said the youth, turning abruptly on her. 
 ' You say I am changed. Well, perhaps I am. I 've gone 
 through pretty severe hardships since we parted, and the 
 injuries I received on gaining this have left their mark.' 
 
 He touched, as he spoke, the splendid bear-claw collar 
 which still graced his neck. 
 
 ' I doubt not you have suffered,' returned Elsie, in a 
 softened tone, ' but you are now well, or nearly so, and 
 your reason is not a sufficient one to account for your 
 being rude to all your old friends, and taking no interest 
 in anything.' 
 
 ' Am I, then, so rude, so callous ? ' rejoined Ian, draw- 
 ing his hand across his brow. * Ah ! Elsie, if — if — but 
 what am I saying ? Forgive me ! I think that grizzly 
 must have touched my brain when he had me under his 
 paw. There can be no harm, however, in telling you that 
 a wish, lightly expressed by you long ago, has been the 
 motive power which led to the procuring of this collar. 
 Will you accept it of me now ? It is but a trifle, yet, 
 being a bad hunter, and more used to grammars than to 
 guns, it cost me no trifle of anxiety and trouble before 
 I won it. I am afraid that the hope of procuring it for 
 you had almost as much to do v/ith cheering me on uS 
 the hope of finding Tony. Nay, don't refuse it, Elsie, 
 from one who has known you so long that he feels almost 
 as if he might regard you as a sister.' 
 
 He took off thp '^'^llar as he spoke, and, with a return 
 
i: 
 
 1} 
 !! 
 
 I Hi.;! 
 
 I'' 
 
 i 
 
 4! 
 
 I ] 
 
 222 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 of his wonted heartiness, presented it to Elsie. There was 
 something in his manner, however, which induced her to 
 blush and hesitate. 
 
 * Youp kindness in searching for Tony we can never 
 forget or repay/ she said quickly, ' and — and * 
 
 She paused. 
 
 * Well, well,' continued Ian, a little impatiently ; ' I 
 did not mean to talk of Tony just now. Surely you won't 
 refuse a gift from so old a friend as I on the eve of my 
 departure for Canada ? * 
 
 * For Canada ! ' echoed Elsie, in surprise. 
 
 * Yes. I leave the instant I can get my affairs in Red 
 River settled.* 
 
 * And you return ? ' 
 ' Never ! ' 
 
 Elsie looked at the youth in undisguised astonishment. 
 She, too, began to suspect that a claw of the collar must 
 have touched his brain. 
 
 * But why hesitate ? ' continued Ian. * Surely you 
 cannot refuse me so simple a favour ! Even Lambert 
 himself would approve of it in the circumstances.* 
 
 * Lambert ! ' exclaimed Elsie, with increasing amaze- 
 ment ; * what has Lambert got to do with it ? ' 
 
 It was now lan's turn to look surprised. 
 
 * Forgive me if I have touched on a forbidden subject ; 
 but as every one in the settlement seems to know of 
 your engagement to Lambert, I thought * 
 
 * My engagement ! * interrupted Elsie. * It is Cora 
 who is engaged to Lambert.* 
 
 A sudden and mighty shock seemed to fall on Ian Mac- 
 donald. He slightly staggered, paled a little, then became 
 fiery red, leaped forward, and caught the girl's hand. 
 
 * Elsie ! Elsie ! * he exclaimed, in tones of suppressed 
 eagerness, * will- — will you accept the collar ? * 
 
 
 i' { 
 
. There was 
 duced her to 
 
 e can never 
 
 itiently ; * I 
 \y you won't 
 e eve of my 
 
 flairs in Red 
 
 stonishment. 
 ' collar must 
 
 Surely you 
 
 en Lambert 
 
 :es/ 
 
 sing amaze- 
 
 len subject ; 
 to know of 
 
 It is Cora 
 
 m Ian Mac- 
 hen became 
 I hand, 
 suppressed 
 
 going 
 
 A TALE or THE IIED RIVER FLCOD 223 
 
 He put it over her head as he spoke, and she blushed 
 deeply, but did not refuse it. 
 
 ' And, Elsie,' he added, in a deeper voice, drawing her 
 nearer, * will you accept the hunter ? ' 
 
 ' No,* answered Elsie, with such an arch smile ; ' but 
 I would accept the schoolmaster if he were not 
 away to Canada for * 
 
 She did not finish the sentence, because something shut 
 her mouth. 
 
 * You *re taking a very long time to that shingle,' 
 called Mrs. Ravenshaw from below. * Have you got 
 everything you want, Ian ? ' 
 
 * Yes,' rephed Ian promptly ; ' I 've got all that the 
 world contains.' 
 
 ' What 's that you say ? ' 
 
 ' It will soon be done now, mother,' cried Elsie, break- 
 ing away with a soft laugh, and hurrying downstairs. 
 
 She was right. A few minutes sufficed to put the loose 
 shingle to rights, and then Ian descended to the room below. 
 
 ' What a time you have been about it ! ' said Cora, 
 with a suspicious glance at the young man's face ; 'and 
 how flushed you are ! I had no idea that fixing a loose 
 shingle was such hard work.' 
 
 * Oh yes, it 's tremendously hard work,' said Ian, re- 
 covering himself ; you have to detach it from the roof, 
 you know, and it is wonderful the tenacity with which 
 nails hold on sometimes ; and then there 's the fitting of 
 the new shingle to the ' 
 
 'Come, don't talk nonsense,' said Cora; 'you know 
 that is not ^vhat kept you. You have been telling some 
 secret to Elsie. What was it ? ' 
 
 Instead of answering, Ian turned with a twinkle in his 
 eyes, and asked abruptly, 
 
 ' By the way — when does Louis Lambert return ? ' 
 
 i V 
 
I 
 
 l! 
 
 I 
 
 ^l. 
 
 \i% 
 
 I 
 
 
 .1^ 
 
 ); 
 
 
 Till-: I'vKI) MAN\S Uia'ENCE: 
 
 It. was now Cora's iurn to (IuhIi. 
 
 ' I tloii't know,' hIio saitl, bonding quickly over her 
 work ; ' how should / know ? But you havo not answered 
 my {{uestion. — Oh ! l(H)k there ! ' 
 
 8he pointed to (he doorway, wliere a huge rat was 
 seen seated, Kioking at them as if in solemn surprise at 
 the trilling nature of their conversation. 
 
 Not sorry to have a reason for esea[)ing, Ian uttered a 
 laughing shout, threw his cap at the creature, missed, and 
 rushed out of 1 he room in chase of it. Of course he did not 
 catch it ; but, continuing bis flight downstairs, he jumped 
 into the punt, pushed through the passage, and out at the 
 front door. As he passed under the windows he looked up 
 with a smile, and saw Cora shaking her little fist at him. 
 
 * You have not improved in your shooting,* she cried ; 
 * you missed the rat.* 
 
 ' Never mind,' he replied, * Lambert will fetch his 
 rifle and hunt for it ; and, I say, Cora, ask Elsie to explain 
 how shingles are put on. She knows all about it.* 
 
 He kissed his hand as he turned the corner of the house, 
 and rowed away. 
 
 A dark shadow falling over h'nn at the moment caused 
 him to turn round, and there, to his amazement, stood 
 one of nis father's largest barns ! It had been floated, like 
 many other houses, from its foundation, and, having been 
 caught by a diverging current, had been stranded on the 
 lawn at the side of Mr. Ravcnshaw's house so as to com- 
 pletely shut out the view in that direction. 
 
 Intense amusement followed lan's f'^oling of surprise. 
 His first impulse was to return and let the inmates of 
 Willow Creek know what hod occurred ; but bethinking 
 himself that they would find it out the first time they 
 chanced to look from the windows on that side of the 
 house, and observing that the day was advancing, he 
 
 Mii I 
 
A TALE OF THE UFA) lUVJOU J'LOOI) 
 
 
 y over hor 
 ot aiiHWored 
 
 go r.'ifc was 
 Kiirprisc at 
 
 11 uttorcd a 
 missed, and 
 10 he did not 
 , he jumped 
 d out at the 
 »c hH)ked up 
 1st at him. 
 * she cried ; 
 
 il fetch hia 
 ie to explain 
 it/ 
 f the house, 
 
 lent caused 
 
 ncnt, stood 
 
 oated, like 
 
 aving becu 
 
 ided on tho 
 
 as to com- 
 
 If surprise. 
 Inmates of 
 )ethinking 
 I time thev 
 Ide of the 
 incing, he 
 
 ,1 
 
 
 changed his mind and rowed away in tlie diniction of tli(; 
 j)Iains, chuckling heartily as he meditated on tho very 
 peculiar alterations which the flood had efTocted on tho, 
 properties of his father and Sanuid Jlavonwhaw, to say 
 Jiothing of the probable reaidt in regard to his own future. 
 
 A stilFish breeze sprang up soon after he left. Being a 
 fair wind, he set up a rag of sail that fortunately chan(<'d 
 to be in the punt, and advanced swiftly on his voyage to 
 the Little Mountain. 
 
 On their way to the same place, at an earlier part 
 of the day, Vi(;tor and Tony, with Petawanaquat and 
 Meekeye, touched at the n»iHsion station. Many of the 
 people were still on 'he stage, but Mrs. Cockran, findin;^ 
 that the water had almost ceased to rise, and that the 
 parsonage still stood fast, returned to the garret of her 
 old home. Here she received Victor and the recovered 
 Tony with great delight. It chanced to be about the 
 period which Tony styled feeding-time, so that, although 
 Victor was anxious to reach his father as soon as possible, 
 he agreed to remain there for an hour or so. While they 
 were enjoying the hospitality of the garret, Petawanaquat 
 was entertained in a comparatively quiet corner of the 
 stage, by a youth named Sinclair, a Scotch half-breed, who 
 had been a pupil in Ian Macdonald's school, and, latterly, 
 an assistant. 
 
 Petawanaquat had made the acquaintance of young 
 Sinclair on his first visit to Red River. They were kin- 
 dred spirits. Both were earnest men, intensely desirous 
 of finding out truth — truth in regard to everything that 
 came under their notice, but especially in reference to 
 God and religion. This grave, thoughtful disposition and 
 earnest longing is by no means confined to men of refine- 
 ment and culture. In all ranks and conditions among 
 men, from the so-called savage upwards, there have been 
 
Ii 
 
 •II 
 
 i 
 
 hh 
 
 I » 
 
 
 1 r' 
 
 '11 
 
 226 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE 
 
 found more or less profound thinkers, and honest logical 
 reasoners, w* o, but for the lack of training, might have 
 become pillars in the world of intellect. 
 
 Both Sinclair and Petawanaquat were naturally quiet 
 and modest men, but they were not credulous. They did 
 not absolutely disbelieve their opponents, or teachers ; 
 but, while giving them full credit for honesty and sincerity 
 — because themselves were honest and sincere — they 
 nevertheless demanded proof of every position advanced, 
 and utterly refused to take anything on credit. Bigoted 
 men found them * obstinate ' and * troublesome.* Cap- 
 able reasoners found them * interesting.* Sinclair pos- 
 sessed a considerable amount of education, and spoke the 
 Indian language fluently. Petawanaquat, although densely 
 ignorant, had an acute and logical mind. 
 
 To look at them as they sat there, spoon in hand, over 
 a pan of burgout, one would not have readily guessed the 
 drift of their conversation. 
 
 * It almost broke my heart,' said Sinclair, * when I 
 heard you had stolen Mr. Ravenshaw's boy, and words 
 cannot express my joy that you have repented and brought 
 him back. What induced you to steal him ? * 
 
 * My bad heart,* replied the Indian. 
 
 * Was it then your good heart that made you bring 
 him back ? ' asked Sinclair, with a keen glance at his 
 friend. 
 
 ' No ; it was the voice of the Great Spirit in Petawana- 
 quat that made him do it. The voice said, " Forgive ! 
 Return good for evil ! *' * 
 
 * Ah ; you learned these words here, and have been 
 pondering them. 
 
 * Petawanaquat heard them here ; he did not learn 
 them here,* returned the red man quietly. * Listen ! * 
 he continued with a sudden glow of animation on his 
 
 .1 » 
 
 hn 
 
lonest logical 
 , might have 
 
 -turally quiet 
 IS. They did 
 or teachers ; 
 and sincerity 
 sincere — they 
 3n advanced, 
 iit. Bigoted 
 some.* Cap- 
 Sinclair pos- 
 nd spoke the 
 lough densely 
 
 n hand, over 
 ^ guessed the 
 
 ir, ' when I 
 
 ', and words 
 
 and brought 
 
 e you bring 
 lance at his 
 
 I 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 227 
 
 countenance, ' My brother is young, but he knows much, 
 and 13 wise. He will understand his friend. In the 
 mountains I pitched my tent. It was a lonely spot. No 
 trappers or Indians came there, but one day in winter a 
 paleface came. He was a servant of the Great Spirit. 
 He talked much. I said little, but listened. The pale- 
 face was very earnest. He spoke much of Jesus. He 
 told the story of His love. His sufferings. His death. He 
 spoke of little else. When he was gone I asked Jesue to 
 forgive me. He forr ,ve. Then I was glad, but I looked at 
 lonyquat and my spirit was troubled. Then it was that 
 I heard the voice of the Great Spirit. It did not fall on 
 my ear ; it fell upon my heart like the rippling of a 
 mountain stream. It said, " Send the child back to hia 
 father. I obeyed the Voice, and I am here.' 
 
 With sparkling eyes Sinclair stretched out his right 
 hand, and, grasping that of the red man, said in a deep 
 voice-—' My brother ! ' ^ 
 
 Petawanaquat returned the grasp in silence. Before 
 either of them could resume the conversation they were 
 mterrupted by Victor shouting from a window of the 
 parsonage to fetch the canoe. 
 
 A few minutes later they were again on their way. 
 
 n Petawana- 
 , "Forgive! 
 
 I have been 
 
 d not learn 
 
 'Listen!' 
 
 ition on his 
 
\. I 
 
 228 
 
 THE RKi) MAX'S REVENGE: 
 
 Hi 1 
 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 imiNGS THINGS TO A POINT 
 
 
 •S 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 
 "ITTHILE Tony was being received at the old home, as 
 » » aheady related, and Michel Rollin and Winkle- 
 mann were rescuing their mothers, and Ian ]\racdonald 
 was busy transplanting his father's house, Mr. Samuel 
 Ravenshaw was sitting disconsolate on the Little 
 Mountain. 
 
 Lest the reader should still harbour a false impression 
 in regard to that eminence, we repeat that the Lit^^e 
 Mountain was not a mountain ; it was not even a 
 It was merely a gentle elevation of the prairie, oniy 
 recognisable as a height because of the surrounding 
 flatness. 
 
 Among the settlers encamped on this spot the children 
 were the most prominent objects in the scene, because of 
 their noise and glee and mischievous rapidity of action. 
 To them the great floods had been nothing but a splendid 
 holiday. Such camping out, such paddling in many 
 waters, such games and romps round booths and tents, 
 such chasing of cattle and pigs and poultry and other 
 live stock, and, above all, such bonfires ! It was a glorious 
 time ! No lessons, no being looked after, no restraint of 
 any kind. Oh ! it was such fun ! 
 
 It was the sight of this juvenile glee that made Mr. 
 Ravenshaw disconsolate. Seated in the opening of a tent 
 he sm{»ked his pipe, and looked on at the riotous crew with 
 
Id hojiio, as 
 .11(1 Winkle- 
 
 ]\racdoiiald 
 Mr. Samuel 
 
 the Little 
 
 ; impression 
 b the Lit^'e 
 icven a 
 :airie, oiiiy 
 3urromiding 
 
 he children 
 because of 
 
 r of action, 
 a splendid 
 in many 
 and tents, 
 and other 
 5 a glorious 
 estraint of 
 
 made Mr. 
 
 of a tent 
 
 crew with 
 
 A TALE OF 'IHK ItKD l:i\T:R FLOOT) 229 
 
 a tear in eacli eye, and ono, that had ovf^rflowod, at \\\<y 
 point of his no«e. The inore these childnMi laughed aiul 
 shouted the more did tin; old gentleman f(M^l inclined to 
 weep. There was one small boy — a half breed, with 
 piercing black eyes and cuily hair, whose powers of 
 mischief were so ^reat that he was almost equal to the 
 lost Tony. He did hia mischief quietly, and, as it were, 
 with restrained enthusiasm. For instance, this imp 
 chanced to be passing a group of Canadian bufTalo- 
 hunters seated round one of the camp-fires enjoying a 
 can of tea. One of them raised a pannikin to hia lips. 
 The imp was at hia elbow like a flash of light ; the elbow 
 was tipped, by the merest accident, and half of the tea 
 went over the hunter's legs. The awful look of hypo- 
 critical self -condemnation put on by the imp was too 
 much for the hunter, who merely ^.lughed, and told him 
 to * get along,' which he did with a yell of triumph. Old 
 Mr. Ravenshaw felt a strong desire to embrace that boy 
 on the spot, so vividly did he bring before his mind his 
 beloved Tony ! 
 
 Sometimes the older people in that miscellaneous camp 
 emulated the children in riotous behaviour. Of course, 
 in such an assemblage there were bad as well as good 
 people, and some of the former, taking advantage of the 
 unprotected state of things, went about the camp pilfer- 
 ing where opportunity ofl'ered. One of these was at last 
 caught in the act, and the exasperated people at once pro- 
 ceeded to execute summary justice. The thief was a big, 
 strong, sulky-looking fellow. He was well known as an in- 
 corrigible idler, who much preferred to live on the labours 
 of other men than to work. The captor was Baptiste 
 Warder, the half-breed chief who had acted so conspicuous 
 a part in the buffalo hunt of the previous season. 
 
 * Let 's string him up,' cried John Flett, as Warder, 
 
V ! 
 
 I 
 
 pill 
 
 ti 
 
 
 
 i^ 
 
 ) It 
 
 230 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE: 
 
 grasping tho thief's collar, led him into the middle of the 
 camp. 
 
 But there wore two objections to thia proceetliii;^. 
 First, it was deemed too Hcvcrc for the ofl'cnce, and, 
 second, there was not a tree or a post, or any convenient 
 object, whereon to hang him. 
 
 * Roast him alive ! ' suggested David Mowat, but this 
 also was laughed at as being disproportioned to the 
 ofTence. 
 
 * Duclv him ! ' cried Sam Hayes. 
 
 This was hailed as a good proposal, though some were 
 of opinion it was too gentle. However, it was agreed to, 
 with this addition, that the culprit's capote should be cut 
 to pieces. In order to accomplish the latter part of the 
 ceremony with more ease, one of the men removed the 
 capote by the simple process of ripping the back up to 
 the neck, and slitting the sleeves with a scalping-knife. 
 The man here showed a disposition to resist, and began to 
 struggle, but a quiet squeeze from Warder convinced him 
 that it was useless. He was then seized by four men, 
 each of whom, grasping an arm or a leg, carried him down 
 to the water's edge. They passed Mr. Ravenshaw in the 
 opening of his tent. He rose and followed them. 
 
 ' Serves him right,* said the old gentleman, on hearing 
 who it was, and what he had done. 
 
 ' Ay, he 's done worse than that,' said one of the men 
 who carried him. * It 's only last Sunday that he stole a 
 blanket out of old Renton'8 tent, and that, too, when Mr. 
 Cockran was holding service here ; but we '11 put a stop 
 to such doings. Now, then, heave together — one, two, 
 three * 
 
 The four powerful men hurled the thief into the air 
 with vigour. He went well up and out, came down with 
 a sounding splash, and disappeared amid shouts of 
 
litldle of the 
 
 prDcei'ding. 
 •fl'ence, uiid, 
 f convenient 
 
 'at, but this 
 »ne(l to the 
 
 li some wore 
 IS agreed to, 
 hould be cut 
 ' part of the 
 removed the 
 
 back up to 
 ;alping-knife. 
 ind began to 
 
 ivinced him 
 y four men, 
 
 d him down 
 ishaw in the 
 3m. 
 on hearing 
 
 of the men 
 it he stole a 
 o, when Mr. 
 put a stop 
 -one, two, 
 
 nto the air 
 3 down with 
 shouts of 
 
 A TALE OF THK IIEI) lll\'Ell FLOOD 2:U 
 
 laughter. He rose instantly, and with much spluttering 
 regained the shore, where he was sufl'erod to depart in 
 peace by the executioners of the law, who returned quietly 
 to their tents. - 
 
 Mr. Ravenshaw was left alone, moralising o!i the 
 depravity of human nature. The sun was sj'tting in a 
 blaze of golden light, and tipping the calm waters of the 
 flood with lines of liquid fire. Turning from the lovely 
 scene with a sigh, the old trader was about to return to his 
 tent when the sound of a voice arrested him. It came from 
 a canoe which had shot suddenly from a clump of half- 
 submerged trees by which it had been hitherto concealed. 
 
 As the canoe approached, Mr. Ravenshaw ascended 
 a neighbouring mound to watch it. Soo!i it touched the 
 shore, and three of its occupants landed — an Indian and 
 two boys. A woman who occupied the bow held the 
 frail bark steady. The Indian at once strode up towards 
 the camp. In doing so he had to pass the mound where 
 Mr. Ravenshaw was seated on a ledge of rock. He looked 
 at the trader, and stopped. At the same moment the 
 latter recognised Petawanaquat ! 
 
 If a mine had been sprung beneath his feet he could 
 not have leaped up with greater celerity. Then he stood 
 for a moment rooted to the spot as if transformed into 
 stone — with mouth open and eyes glaring. 
 
 To behold his enemy standing thus calmly before him, 
 as if they had only parted yesterday and were on the 
 best of terms, with no expression on his bronzed visage 
 save that of grave solemnity, was almost too much for 
 him ! He grasped convulsively the heavy stick which he 
 usually carried. The thought of the foul wrong done 
 him by the red man rushed into his memory with over- 
 whelming force. It did not occur to him to remember 
 his own evil conduct ! With a roar of rage worthy of a 
 
232 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 II 
 
 I 
 
 •'III 
 
 p 
 
 
 ■'II I 
 
 it 
 
 II 
 
 i I 
 
 » i I. 
 
 V 
 
 ' V' 
 
 buffalo bull he ruslicd towards him. The red man stood 
 firm. What the result would have been if they had met no 
 one can tell, for at that moment an Indian boy ran for- 
 ward and planted himself right in front of the angry man. 
 
 ' Father ! ' 
 
 Mr. Ravenshaw dropped his cudgel and his jaw, and 
 stood aghast ! The painted face was that of a savage, 
 but the voice was the voice of Tony ! 
 
 The old man shut his mouth and opened his arms. 
 Tony sprang into them with a wild cheer that ended in a 
 burst of joyful tears ! 
 
 The way in which that boy hugged his sire and painted 
 his face all over: by rubbing his own against it was a sight 
 worth ROf'ing. 
 
 It had been a concerted plan between Tony and Victor 
 that the latter was to keep a little in the background 
 while the former should advance and perplex his father 
 a little before making himself known, but Tony had 
 over-estimated his powers of restraint. His heart was too 
 large for so trifling a part. He acted up to the prompt- 
 ings of nature, as we have seen, and absolutely howled 
 with joy. 
 
 ' Don't choke him, Tony,* remonstrated Victor ; * mind, 
 you are stronger than you used to be.* 
 
 * Ha I Choke me ? * gasped Mr. Ravenshaw ; ' try it, 
 my boy ; just try it ! * 
 
 Tony did try it. But we must not prolong this scene. 
 It is enough to say that when Tony had had his face 
 washed and stood forth his old self in all respects — 
 except that he looked two or three sizes larger, more 
 sunburnt, and more manly — his father quietly betook 
 himself to his tent, and remained there for a time in 
 solitude. 
 
 Thereafter Ije came out, and assuming a free-and-easy, 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 233 
 
 [ man stood 
 
 had met no 
 
 Doy ran for- 
 
 angry man. 
 
 lis jaw, and 
 Df a savage, 
 
 d his arms. 
 ,t ended in a 
 
 and painted 
 t was a sight 
 
 y and Victor 
 ) background 
 ex his father 
 it Tony had 
 leart was too 
 the prompt- 
 utely howled 
 
 jtor ; * mind, 
 
 iw ; * try it, 
 
 g this scene, 
 lad his face 
 kl respects — 
 [larger, more 
 lietly betook 
 }r a time in 
 
 ree-and-easy. 
 
 off-hand look of composure, which was clearly hypo- 
 critical, ordered tea. This was soon got ready, and the 
 joyful party seated themselves round the camp-fire, which 
 now sent its ruddy blaze tind towering colunm of sparks 
 into the darkening sky. 
 
 Victor was not long in running over the chief outlines 
 of their long chase, and also explained the motives of the 
 red man — as far as he understood them — in bringing Tony 
 back. 
 
 * Well, Vic,' said Mr. Ravenshaw, with a puzzled look, 
 * it *s a strange way of taking his revenge of mc. But 
 after all, when I look at him there, sucking away at his 
 calumet with that pleased, grave face, I can't help thinkin' 
 that you and I, Christians though we call ourselves, 
 have something to learn from the savage. I 've been 
 mistaken, Vic, in my opinion of Petawanaquat. Anyhow, 
 his notion of revenge is better than mine. It must be 
 pleasanter to him now to have made us all so happy than 
 if he had kept Tony altogether, or put a bullet tluough 
 me. It 's a clever dodge, too, for the rascal has laid 
 me under an obligation which I can never repay — made 
 nie his debtor for life, in fact. It 's perplexing, Vic ; 
 very much so, but satisfactory at the same time.' 
 
 There were still more perplexing things in store for old 
 Samuel Ravenshaw that night. 
 
 ' But why did you not bring Ian Macdonald along 
 with you, Vic ? ' he asked. ' I expect his father here this 
 evening from Fort Garry, where he went in the morning 
 for some pemmican.' 
 
 Before Victor had time to reply, Ian himself stepped 
 out of the surrounding darkness. Just previous to this 
 the party had been joined l)y Herr Winkloniann and 
 Michel Rollin, who, after seeing their respective n\'>lhors 
 made as comfortable as possible in the circumstances, had 
 
i 
 
 '!», 
 
 
 
 ,1 
 
 ■ f 
 
 I i 
 
 i 
 
 I' 
 
 234 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 f;, 
 
 been going about the camp chatting with their numerous 
 friends. Louis Lambert had also joined the circle, and 
 Peegwish stood modestly in the background. 
 
 * Como along, Ian, we were just talking of you,' said 
 Mr. Ravenshaw heartily, as he rose and extended his 
 hand, for the disagreeables of his last meeting with the 
 young man had been obliterated by the subsequent kind- 
 ness of Ian in going off to aid in the search for Tony. 
 
 Ian returned the grasp with good will, but he soon 
 destroyed the good understanding by deliberately, and it 
 secniod unwisely, referring to the two points which still 
 rankled in the old man's breast. 
 
 * Tut, man,' said Mr. Ravenshaw, a little testily, ' why 
 drag in the subjects of the knoll and my Elsie to-night, 
 of all nights in the year ? * 
 
 * Because 1 cannot avoid it,' said Ian. * Events have 
 occurred to-day which compel me to speak of them — of 
 the knoll, at least.' 
 
 * Oh, for the matter of that,' interrupted the old gentle- 
 man angrily, ' you may speak of Elsie too, and the old 
 woman, and Cora, and all the household to boot, for all 
 that I care.' 
 
 ' I come here to claim a right,* went on Ian, in a calm 
 voice. * It is well known that Samuel Ravenshaw is a 
 man of his word ; that what he promises he is sure to 
 perform ; that he never draws back from an agreement.' 
 
 This speech took Mr. Ravenshaw by surprise. He 
 looked round until his eyes rested on Tony. Then he I 
 said, in a slightly sarcastic tone : 
 
 * ^^^lat you say is true. Even Tony knows that.' 
 
 * Tonyquat knows that what Ian says of his white 
 father is true,' said the boy. 
 
 At the name Tonyquat, which was the only word of 
 the sentence he understood, Petawanaquat cast a look 
 
IE: 
 
 their numerous 
 
 tho circle, and 
 
 d. 
 
 ig of you,' said 
 
 d extended his 
 
 eeting with the 
 
 abscquent kind- 
 
 i for Tony. 
 
 11, but he soon 
 
 iberately, and it 
 
 aints which still 
 
 tie testily, * why 
 y Elsie to-night, 
 
 . ' Events have 
 cak of them — of 
 
 d the old gentlc- 
 00, and the old 
 to boot, for all 
 
 Ian, in a calm 
 
 Ravenshaw is a 
 
 es he is sure to 
 
 an agreement.' 
 
 y surprise. He 
 
 Tony. Then he 
 
 ows that.* 
 s of his white 
 
 le only word of 
 uat cast a look 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 235 
 
 of afTcction on Tony, while his father and tho others 
 burst into a laugh at the child's sententious gravity. 
 JUit Tony maintained his Indian air, and gazed soleunily 
 at the fire. 
 
 ' Well, go on, Ian,' said the old gentleman, in some- 
 what better humour. 
 
 ' You remember our last meeting in the smoking-box 
 on the knoll ? ' continued Ian. 
 
 ' Too well,' said the other, shortly. 
 
 ' Part of what }'0u said was in the following words : 
 " Mark what I say. 1 will sell this knoll to your father, 
 and give my daughter to you, when you take that house, 
 and with your own unaided hands place it on the top of 
 this knoll ! " ' 
 
 ' Well, you have a good memory, Ian. These are the 
 words I used when 1 wished to convince you of the im- 
 possibility of your obtaining what you wanted,' said Mr. 
 Ravenshaw, with the determined air of a man who is 
 resolved not to be turned from his purpose. 
 
 * W^hat you wanted to convince me of,' rejoined Ian, 
 * has nothing to do with the question. It is what you 
 said that I have to do with.' 
 
 Again the irascible fur-trader's temper gave way as he 
 said : 
 
 ' Well, what I said I have said, and what I said I 'U 
 stick to.' 
 
 * Just so,' returned Ian, with a peculiar smile, ' and, 
 knowing this, I have come here to claim the knoll for my 
 father and Elsie for myself.' 
 
 This was such a glaring absurdity in the old gentle- 
 man's eyes that he uttered a short contemptuous laugh. 
 At that moment Angus Macdonald appeared upon the 
 scene. His look of amazement at beholding his son may 
 be imagined. Angus was not, however, demonstrative. 
 
>•, 
 
 ,' 
 
 
 
 
 It 
 
 'I 
 
 'If 
 
 If.' 
 
 I ". 
 
 •I ^ )! 
 
 236 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE 
 
 He only stepped acres the fire, and gave Ian a crushing 
 squeeze of the hand. 
 
 * It iss fery glad to see you I am, my poy, but it is 
 taken py surprise I am, whatever. An' ho ! (as his eyes 
 fell on Tony) it iss the child you hef found. Well, it iss 
 a happy father you will pe this night, Mr. Ruvnahaw. I 
 wish you choy. Don't let me stop you, whatever. It 
 wass something interesting you would pc telling these 
 chcntlemen when I came up/ 
 
 * I was just going to tell them, father/ said Ian, resting 
 a hand on his sire's shoulder, * that I have come straight 
 from Willow Creek with the news that this day I have, 
 with my own unaided hands ' — he cast a sidelong glance 
 at the old gentleman — * transported your house to Mr. 
 Ravenshaw's knoll, and have asked Elsie Ravenshaw 
 to be my wife, and been accepted.* 
 
 * Moreover,' continued Ian, in a calm, steady tone, 
 ' my father's biggest barn has, without any assistance 
 from any one, stranded itself on Mr. Ravenshaw's lawn ! * 
 
 ' Pless me, Ian, iss it jokin' ye are ? * 
 
 * No, father. It 's in earnest I am.' 
 
 Good reader, the aspect of the party — especially of old 
 Ravenshaw and Angus — on hearing these announcements 
 is beyond our powers of description ; we therefore prefer 
 to leave it to your own vivid imagination ! 
 
 \ . 
 
riT.' 
 
 E: 
 
 i Ian a crushinc: 
 
 / poy, but it is 
 lo ! (as his eyes 
 id. Well, it iss 
 . Ruvnahaw. I 
 , whatever. It 
 ic telling these 
 
 iaid Ian, resting 
 e come straight 
 lis day I have, 
 sidelong glance 
 ' house to Mr. 
 sie Ravenshaw 
 
 , steady tone, 
 any assistance 
 Lshaw's lawn ! * 
 
 ipecially of old 
 innouncements 
 berefore prefer 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 237 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 THE LAST 
 
 A ^^f'^^:^-^'^'' the flashing colo„r,s of a kaleidoseopo • 
 ■^^ like the phantoms of a dream ! Red River settle- 
 men ,s dry again, or drying ; but ah ! what a scenrof 
 week and nun 1 It looks as if the settlement hadTee„ 
 devastated by fire and sword as well as water. Brokel" 
 down houses, uprooted fenees and trees, piles of debrTs 
 beds and boxes, billets of wood and blankets, habiltaent; 
 and hay, canoles and cordage and carcasses of cattk al 
 m.xed up more or less, and cemented together with mud 
 Nearly every house in the settlemeut had been destroy d 
 Of course many a day passed after the great catastrophe 
 before Red R.ver was itself again, with its river confiLd 
 to the proper channel, and its prairies rolling with grass- 
 
 returned to their labours and their desolated houses to 
 begm the world anew. About the 1st of May the flood 
 began; by the 20th of the same month it hid reached 
 
 a ^rf ^' ""{ '^" *' ^^^ '^'^ "^*«^^ Wan to assuage 
 On that day they had made a decided fall of two ZZ' 
 
 The height to which the waters had risen above the evei 
 
 of ordinary years was fifteen feet. The flood subsided 
 
 very gradually. About the middle of June the plougb 
 
 were at work again, and the people busy sowing wha 
 
 was left to them of their seed-barle/ and potatoes 
 
 Among the busiest of the busy at that bustling time 
 
238 
 
 THE RED MAN'S RE^^NGE : 
 
 I 
 
 ' 'III 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 it'i ■' 
 
 
 was Peegwish. While others were hard at work clearing, 
 rebuilding, ploughing, and sowing, our noble savage was 
 fishing. The labour of this occupation consisted chiefly 
 in staring at his line, while he sat on a mud-heap on the 
 river bank, and smoked in the pleasant sunshine. Occa- 
 sionally he roused himself to haul out a goldeye. Wildcat 
 assisted him ably in his labours, and still more ably in 
 the after consumption of the goldeyes. Angus Macdonald 
 discovered them thus occupied, and had difficulty in 
 resisting his desire to pitch the lazy fellow into the river. 
 
 * What wass you doin' there ? ' he cried. ' Wass it 
 wastin' your time wi' small fush you will pe doin', an' 
 every wan else workin' hard ? Go an' putt the ox in the 
 cart an' haul waiter. Look sharp ! ' 
 
 Angus concluded with some deep gutturals in Gaelic 
 which we cannot translate, and Peegwish, rising hastily, 
 went off to do as he was bid. But Peegwish was a poor 
 water-drawer. The ox turned out to be more obstinate 
 than himself, and also more callous, for when it became 
 fatigued with hauling the water-barrel to and fro, it 
 stopped at the foot of the slope near a corner of the garden, 
 and refused to budge. Peegwish lashed it, but it did not 
 feel — at all events, it did not care. He tried to wheedle it, 
 but failed : he became abusive, and used bad language to 
 the ox, but without success. He was in the height of his 
 distress when Petawanaquat passed by with a load of fire- 
 wood on his shoulder. The red man having been reconciled 
 to his old enemy, had remained at Red River, partly to 
 assist him, partly to see the end of the flood, and partly 
 to be near his friend Sinclair and his adopted son Tonyquat. 
 From the latter he could not tear himself away. 
 
 The Indian stood and gazed solemnly at his brother 
 savage for some minutes, then he threw down his load, 
 and entering, the garden, cut the remains of a cabbage 
 
E: 
 
 . work clearing, 
 ble savage was 
 )iiialsted chiefly 
 Lid-hcap on the 
 mshine. Occa- 
 Jeye. Wildcat 
 I more ably in 
 giis Macdonald 
 d difficiilty in 
 [ito the river, 
 ied. ' Wass it 
 1 pe doin', an' 
 b the ox in the 
 
 Lirals in Gaelic 
 rising hastily, 
 ish was a poor 
 more obstinate 
 hen it became 
 o and fro, it 
 
 of the garden, 
 but it did not 
 
 to wheedle it, 
 ad language to 
 e height of his 
 
 a load of fire- 
 3een reconciled 
 iver, partly to 
 3d, and partly 
 son Tonyquat. 
 ray. i 
 
 it his brother ^ 
 own his load, 
 
 of a cabbage 
 
 f! 
 
 % 
 
 A TALE or TTIE RED RIVER FLOOD 230 
 
 which had survived the flood. With this he went to the 
 <«x and held it to its jiose. The animal advanced; the 
 Indian retnatod a few steps. The ox advanced again in 
 the hope of obtaining a savoury mouthful, but the Indian 
 still retreated. Thus, step by step, the slope was ascended ! 
 
 * Wah ! ' said Petawanaquat, with a grave look, as ho 
 handed the cabbage to Peegwish, who profited by the 
 lesson, and gained his ends. 
 
 * She 'a fery lazy,* muttered Angus to himself — refer- 
 ring to Peegwish — as he went up the river-bank towards 
 the knoll, where his house now stood triumphantly, 
 
 * fery lazy ; more lazy than — than ' 
 
 Failing to find a just comparison, he tailed off in ex- 
 pressive but untranslatable Gaelic. 
 
 * Goot tay to you. Muster Ruvnshaw,' said Angus, on 
 reaching the summit of the knoll. * It wass fery goot of 
 you, whatever, to let my hoose stand here.' 
 
 * Don't mention it, Angus,' said the old gentleman, 
 removing his pipe with one hand, and extending the other. 
 
 * It would be difficult to prevent it remaining where it is 
 now. Besides, I passed my word, you know, and that 
 cannot be broken. Come, sit down. I *m thankful your 
 house was so considerate as to spare my smoiring-box, 
 though it has given it a shove of a few feet to the 
 south 'ard. In other respects the house is an advantage, 
 for while it has not hurt the view, it serves to protect 
 my box from the quarter which used to be exposed to 
 east winds. But there is one stipulation I have to make, 
 Angus, before the bargain is closed.' 
 
 * An' what may that pe ? ' a°ked Angus, with a shade 
 of anxiety. 
 
 * That this smoking-box and the ground on which it 
 stands, together with the footpath leading up to it, shall 
 remain my property as long as I live.' 
 
!1 
 
 i 1! 
 
 
 ! 
 
 
 If 
 
 
 
 1, 
 
 
 1 
 
 "i 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 240 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 Angus fiinilod. He had the peculiarity of turning the 
 corners of his mouth down instead of up when he did so, 
 which gave a remarkably knowing look to his smile. 
 
 ' You shall pe fery welcome/ he said. ' And now, 
 Muster Ruvnshaw, I came here to say a word for my poy. 
 You know it iss natural that Ian will pe getting anxious 
 apout the wedding. It iss impatient he will pe, whatever. 
 He is a little shy to speak to you himself, and he will pe 
 botherin' me to ' 
 
 ' All right, Angus, I understand,* interrupted Mr. 
 Ravenshaw. * You know both he and Lambert are busy 
 removing your barn from my lawn. When that is 
 finished we shall have the weddings. My old woman 
 wants 'em to be on the same day, but nothing can be done 
 till the barn is removed, for I mean to have the dance on 
 that lawn on the double-wedding day. So you can tell 
 them that.* 
 
 Angus did tell them that, and it is a remarkable fact 
 which every one in the establishment observed, that the 
 unsightly barn, which had so long disfigured the lawn at 
 Willow Creek, disappeared, as if by magic, in one night, 
 as Cora put it, * like the baseless fabric of a vision ! ' 
 
 • ••••• I 
 
 Time passed, and changed the face of nature entirely. 
 Wrecks were swept away ; houses sprang up ; fences were 
 repaired ; crops waved on the fields of Red River as of 
 yore, and cattle browsed on the plains ; so that if a 
 stranger had visited that outlying settlement there would 
 have been little to inform his eyes of the great disaster 
 which had so recently swept over the place. But there 
 would have been much to inform his ears, for it was many 
 a day before the interest and excitement about the great 
 flood went down. In fact, for a long time afterwards 
 the flood was so much in the thoughts and mouths of 
 
 ■A 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RTVER FLOOD 241 
 
 f turning the 
 en he did ho, 
 i smile. 
 
 ' And now, 
 1 for my poy. 
 tting anxious 
 pe, whatever, 
 nd he will pe 
 
 rrupted Mr. 
 )ert are busy 
 ^hen that is 
 old woman 
 f can be done 
 the dance on 
 you can tell 
 
 larkable fact 
 ed, that the 
 the lawn at 
 [\ one night, 
 sion ! ' 
 
 • 
 
 ire entirely, 
 fences were 
 River as of 
 3 that if a 
 ;here would 
 lat disaster 
 But there 
 was many 
 It the great 
 1 afterwards 
 I mouths of 
 
 I 
 
 j 
 
 the people that they might have been mistaken for the 
 immediate descendants of those who had swarmed on thfi 
 slopes of Ararat. 
 
 Let us now present a series of pictures for the reader's 
 inspection. 
 
 The first is a little log-hut embosomed in bushes, with 
 a stately tree rising close beside it. Floweis and berries 
 bede( k the surrounding shrubbery, pleasant perfumes fill 
 the air. A small garden, in which the useful and orna- 
 mental are blended, environs the hut. The two windows 
 are filled with glass, not parchment. A rustic porch^ 
 covered with twining plants, conceals the door, and a 
 general air of tidiness marks all the surroundings. Need 
 we say more to convince the intelligent reader that this is 
 the hut of old Liz ? It occupies the spot where it was 
 deposited by the flood, the family having been allowed to 
 remain there. 
 
 Under the genius of Herr Winklemann and Michel 
 Rollin the old hut has displayed some characteristics of 
 the Ct "tus in sending forth ofEshoots from its own body. 
 An offshoot in the rear is the kitchen ; another on the 
 right is a mansion, as large nearly as the parent, in which 
 Winklemann has placed his mother, to the gveat relief of 
 Daddy, who never forgot, and with difficulty forgave, the 
 old woman's kicking habits when their legs reposed 
 to^'ether on the table. It must be added, however, that 
 the old people live on good terms, and that Mrs. Winkle- 
 mann frequently visits Daddy, and smokes with him. 
 The offshooo on the left, built by Michel, is a stable, and 
 an excrescence beyond is a cow-house. There are fowls in 
 front of the hut, and flour, sugar, pork, and tea within, so 
 it may be concluded that the families are now in comfort. 
 
 When the improvements just mentioned were completed, 
 Michel Rollin, unable to settle down, had arranged with 
 
242 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 ) 
 
 ^ 
 
 '■> I 
 
 
 H- 
 
 Peegwish and Wildcat to go off on a fishing expedition. 
 Before starting ho onlerod the hut, and .snid to "Winklc- 
 mann, who was filling his * moderns ' pipe for her : 
 
 * You vill be here ven I come back ? You vill not 
 leave the ol' peepil ? ' " 
 
 * No ; I vill stope till you retoorns. Re sure T vill 
 take care of zee old vons. Rut dere is not much fear of 
 anoder flood joost now/ 
 
 * What says he, Liz ? * asked old Daddy, with a hand 
 to his ear. * Speak oot/ 
 
 ' Oh, he 's jist haverin* aboot the flood. He says there 's 
 nae fear o* anither flood, an* I think he *s aboot right.* 
 
 * I *m no sae sure o* that,' returned Daddy, whose memory 
 for the past was much stronger than for current events. 
 * It *a been said, on the best authority, that there was a 
 seemilar flood i* the year seeventeen hunner an* seeventy- 
 sax, anither in seeventeen ninety, an' anither in aughteen 
 hunner an* nine.* 
 
 * Hoots ! baud yer gab. What div ye ken aboot 
 floods ? ' 
 
 Daddy, hearing nothing, and believing from the pleasant 
 expression of Liz's countenance that she appreciated 
 his remarks, nodded to Mrs. V'inklemann cheerily, and 
 smiled. 
 
 ' Ha ! * laughed her son ; ' you is von stranch being, 
 old Liz — ver stranch.* 
 
 Having finished the filling of his ' moder*s ' pipe and 
 lighted it for her, Herr Winklemann arose and followed 
 his friend Michel out of the hut. 
 
 Let us look at another picture. 
 
 It is a pair of cottages close to each other, and about 
 a stone's cast fi'om the farm at Willow Creek. The 
 buildings are new, and much alike in form and size. 
 There are well-tilled fields around, and fat cattle and a 
 
expedition, 
 to Wiiikle- 
 ler : 
 ou viil not 
 
 sure I vill 
 uch fear of 
 
 ith a band 
 
 lays there *.s 
 t right/ 
 ose memory 
 ent events. 
 ;here was a 
 I* seeventy- 
 n aughteen 
 
 ken aboot 
 
 be pleasant 
 
 ippreciated 
 
 erily, and 
 
 nch being, 
 
 pipe and 
 d followed 
 
 and about 
 eek. The 
 and size, 
 tie and a 
 
 I 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 243 
 
 few sheep. The insides of these mansions have not nuich 
 to boast of in the way of ornanietit, but there is enough 
 to display the influence, the good taste, and the rcfniement 
 of woman. 
 
 Immediately after the abating of the waters Ian Mac- 
 donald and Louis Lambert set to work to build these 
 houses, and you may be sure they were not long about it, 
 for the tyrannical old father-in-law elect not only com- 
 pelled them to take down the barn on the lawn before the 
 weddings, but also to build houses for their brides. 
 
 And after the knots were tied and the dance on the 
 lawn at Willow Creek was over, and the happy couples 
 were fairly established in their own homes, they kept 
 open house for a long time, and interchanged innumerable 
 visits between Bearclaw Cottage (that was lan's) and 
 Hunter's Lodge (that was Lambert's) and the Ark on 
 Ararat (that was the house of Angus) and Willow Creek, 
 insomuch that Tony was heard one day to inform Miss 
 Trim confidentially that he found it difficult to tell where 
 he lived, or which was his proper home — and Miss Trim 
 confessed that she was in much the same condition of 
 mind. 
 
 * What an amazing time we have passed through ! ' 
 said Miss Trim, referring to the flood, at one of their social 
 gatherings. 
 
 * Yes,' said Victor hastily, for he knew that Miss Trim 
 was on the point of dehvering one of her parenthetical 
 and pointless orations, ' it was indeed an amazing time ! 
 Such boating on the plains, and such camping out ! To 
 say nothing of tumbling into the water and being half 
 drowned.' 
 
 * By the way,' asked Ian, * was not poor John Flett 
 nearly drowned about the beginning of the flood ? ' 
 
 ' Of course he was,* said Mr. Ravenshaw, * and if it 
 
 I 
 
\i • ' 
 
 244 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 h 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 *L 
 
 I"" 
 
 l\ 
 
 had not been for your father he and his family would 
 have been lost altogether. Is not that bo, Angus ? * 
 
 * Well, it iss droont he would have been in all proba- 
 beelity,* said Angus, * for he was on the wrong road when 
 I met him, an' he couldn't find the right wan, whatever. 
 Shon Flett iss a good man, but he iss also foolish. You 
 see, when the watter came on him so strong that his hoose 
 began to ship away, he took two of his oxen an' he tied 
 them together wi* ropes, an* put planks on their backs, 
 which he also tied ; ay ! an* so he made a sort of livin* 
 stage, on which he sat his wife and four children ; two of 
 them wass poys and the other two wass girls, whatever. 
 The frightened craters went about the best way they 
 could, sometimes wadin* an* sometimes sweemin', an* 
 Shon, he wass leadin* them wi* a line roond their horns, 
 an* he wass wadin* an* sweemin* also. I came across 
 them wi* my poat an* took them in. That was just pefore 
 we saw the hoose on fire floatin* down the river.* 
 
 * The house on fire I * exclaimed Cora ; ' I did not hear 
 of that.* 
 
 ' No wonder,' said Lambert. * There have been so 
 many strange incidents and hairbreadth escapes during 
 the flood that we won*t likely hear about them all [or 
 many a day to come.* 
 
 * But what about the house on fire ? * asked Victor ; 
 * was any one in it ? * 
 
 * No, it was only a house that had been left somewhat 
 hastily by its owners, who must have forgot to put out 
 the fire or capsized something over it. At all events the 
 house was seen floating down stream at night, and a 
 splendid sight it was, burning furiously, with the flames 
 glitteruig in the water that swept it away.' 
 
 * How sad ! * said Elsie, whose mind dwelt on the evil 
 rather than on the, picturesque aspect of the incident. 
 
 '---*'> 3' 
 
A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 245 
 
 lily would 
 s?' 
 
 all proba- 
 road when 
 whatever, 
 lish. You 
 b his hoose 
 ,11 ' he tied 
 leir backs, 
 •t of livin' 
 n ; two of 
 whatever, 
 way they 
 'iiiin', an' 
 leir horns, 
 me across 
 ust pefore 
 
 not hear 
 
 been so 
 5s during 
 m all r )r 
 
 Victor ; 
 
 )mewhat 
 
 put out 
 
 knts the 
 
 and a 
 
 le flames 
 
 I the evil 
 kt. 
 
 ' I can't imagine what ever was the cause of the flood,' 
 remarked Mrs. Ravenshaw. 
 
 ' Well, my dear,' said her husband, in a somewhat 
 oracular tone, ' no one can certainly tell what caused it, 
 but my own opinion is that it was caused by the unusual 
 wetness of the fall. You remember how it rained ; well, 
 when the lakes and rivers were as full as they could hold, 
 and the ground was soaking like a full sponge, the winter 
 came on us suddenly and set all fast, thus preventing the 
 water getting away. Then came the snow, also unusually 
 heavy. Then came a late spring with a sudden burst of 
 warm weather, and a south wind for several days in suc- 
 cession, turning all this accumulation into water. Red 
 Lake, Otter- tail Lake, and Ld^e Travers overflowed, as 
 you know ; the Red Rivt r ice burst up and jammed against 
 the solid ice of Lake Vv'hmipeg, which stopped the current, 
 and thus caused the overflow. That 's my notion about 
 the flood. Whether it 's right or no, who can tell ? * 
 
 * Your observations, sir, are fery goot, whatever,' said 
 Angus, taking an unusually long draw at his pipe. 
 
 Turn we now to look upon one more picture. It is on 
 the shores of the great lake — Lake Winnipeg. There 
 among a tangled but picturesque mass of reeds and bushes, 
 a canoe is resting on the reeds, and, not far from it, a rude 
 structure of boughs and bark has been set up. It is open 
 in front, and before it burns a large fire, whose light, 
 however, is paled by the effulgence of the glorious sun as 
 it dips into the lake. 
 
 Petawanaquat is there, seated with a book on his knee, 
 and a dignified, yet slightly perplexed expression on his 
 fece. His friend Sinclair i« there too, teaching him to 
 read the AVord of God. Meekeye, faithful partner and 
 sympathiser with the red man, is also there ; and beside 
 them reclines our friend Tony. That child's taste for 
 
W J.! 
 
 V r 
 
 246 
 
 THE RED MAN'S REVENGE : 
 
 i\\ 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 r| 
 
 yl 
 
 t: 
 
 hunting is strong. Having been — according to Miss 
 Trim's report — a very good boy and remarJcably diligent 
 at his lessons, he has been granted a holiday and permis- 
 sion to go a-hunting with his red father. He is tired 
 after the day's hunt, and reclines placidly awaiting supper, 
 which Meekeye with downcast look prepares. 
 
 Having spent two hours over the Book that evening, 
 Petawanaquat closed it slowly and looked up. 
 
 * You find it rather difiicult to understand,' said Sinclair, 
 with a pleasant smile. 
 
 The red man rose, drew himself up, and, turning his 
 black eyes, like the eagle, on the flashing sun, stretched 
 out his hand. 
 
 * My brother,' he said, ' beholds the sun. Can he tell 
 where it comes from, or whither it goes ? No ; but he 
 understands that the Great Spirit guides its course, and he 
 is satisfied. When Petawanaquat was a child he under- 
 stood very little. He is a man now, and understands a 
 little more. When the Great Spirit takes him up yonder, 
 no doubt his mind shall be made bigger, and it shall be 
 filled. The book that the Great Spirit has sent is very 
 big. Some things in it are hard to understand, but the 
 greatest thing of all is not hard. There is but one thing 
 needful. Is not Jesus tlie one thing ? Petawanaquat 
 wishes to live for ever. To know the Great Spirit and 
 Jesus is to live for ever. Petawanaquat has lived long 
 and seen much. He has seen men torture men like evil 
 spirits. He has seen scalps torn from men and women. 
 He has seen little ones dashed against the stones. The 
 spirit of Petawanaquat has groaned within him — he knew 
 not why — perhaps the Great Spirit was speaking to him 
 in his heart. *' Shall these deeds of evil never have an 
 end ? " he asked, but there was no answer. Now, an 
 answer has come. Jesus is the S«,viour from sin. All 
 
[ig to Miss 
 ibly diligent 
 and permis- 
 He is tired 
 iting supper, 
 
 hat evening, 
 
 said Sinclair, 
 
 , turning his 
 un, stretched 
 
 Can he tell 
 No ; but he 
 course, and he 
 lild he under- 
 iinderstands a 
 im up yonder, 
 nd it shall be 
 sent is very 
 tand, but the 
 but one thing 
 Petawanaquat 
 iat Spirit and 
 as lived long 
 nien like evil 
 and women, 
 stones. The 
 im — he knew 
 saking to him 
 ever have an 
 jr. Now, an 
 \om sin. All 
 
 A TALE OF THE RED RIVER FLOOD 247 
 
 things shall be put under Him. ^Vhen that time cornea 
 all things shall be good. At present good and evil are 
 mixed.* 
 
 The red man paused a moment, with a slightly troubled 
 look, but the shadow passed like a fleeting cloud as he 
 dropped his arm, and, with an air of simple humility, sat 
 down again beside his friend. 
 
 * Petawanaquat is only a child,' he added ; ' at present 
 he is only learning. In good time he shall know all.* 
 
 The sun's last rays were still gilding the horizon and 
 flickering on t1' waves of Winnipeg when the tired hunters 
 lay down to re.-t. Gradually the camp-fire lost its ruddy 
 glow ; the evening breeze died slowly down ; one by one 
 the stars came out, and the soft curtain of night, descending 
 like a gentle spirit on the wilderness, hid the red man 
 and his comrades from mortal eyes, and wrapped them 
 in profound repose. 
 
 TA£ END