FORT LARAMIE was a military station and trading postcombined. It was a stone building in what they called a'compound' or open space, enclosed by a palisade. When wearrived there, it was occupied by a troop of mounted riflemenunder canvas, outside the compound. The officers lived inthe fort; and as we had letters to the Colonel - Somner - andto the Captain - Rhete, they were very kind and very usefulto us.
We pitched our camp by the Laramie river, four miles from thefort. Nearer than that there was not a blade of grass. Thecavalry horses and military mules1 needed all there was athand. Some of the mules we were allowed to buy, or exchangefor our own. We accordingly added six fresh ones to ourcavalcade, and parted with two horses; which gave us a totalof fifteen mules and six horses. Government provisions werenot to be had, so that we could not replenish2 our nowimpoverished stock. This was a serious matter, as will beseen before long. Nor was the evil lessened3 by my being laidup with a touch of fever - the effect, no doubt, of thosedrenches of stagnant4 water. The regimental doctor wasabsent. I could not be taken into the fort. And, as we hadno tent, and had thrown away almost everything but theclothes we wore, I had to rough it and take my chance. Somerelics of our medicine chest, together with a toughconstitution, pulled me through. But I was much weakened,and by no means fit for the work before us. Fred did hisbest to persuade me from going further. He confessed that hewas utterly5 sick of the expedition; that his injured kneeprevented him from hunting, or from being of any use inpacking and camp work; that the men were a set of ruffianswho did just as they chose - they grumbled6 at the hardships,yet helped themselves to the stores without restraint; thatwe had the Rocky Mountains yet to cross; after that, thecountry was unknown. Colonel Somner had strongly advised usto turn back. Forty of his men had tried two months ago tocarry despatches to the regiment's headquarters in Oregon.
Only five had got through; the rest had been killed andscalped. Finally, that we had something like 1,200 miles togo, and were already in the middle of August. It would befolly, obstinacy8, madness, to attempt it. He would stop andhunt where we were, as long as I liked; or he would go backwith me. He would hire fresh good men, and buy new horses;and, now that we knew the country, we could get to St. Louisbefore the end of September, and' - . There was no reasonableanswer to be made. I simply told him I had thought it over,and had decided9 to go on. Like the plucky10 fellow and staunchfriend that he was, he merely shrugged11 his shoulders, andquietly said, 'Very well. So be it.'
Before leaving Fort Laramie a singular incident occurred,which must seem so improbable, that its narration12 may betaken for fiction. It was, however, a fact. There wasplenty of game near our camping ground; and though theweather was very hot, one of the party usually took thetrouble to bring in something to keep the pot supplied. Thesage hens, the buffalo13 or elk14 meat were handed over to Jacob,who made a stew15 with bacon and rice, enough for the eveningmeal and the morrow's breakfast. After supper, when everyonehad filled his stomach, the large kettle, covered with itslid, was taken off the fire, and this allowed to burn itselfout.
For four or five mornings running the kettle was found nearlyempty, and all hands had to put up with a cup of coffee andmouldy biscuit dust. There was a good deal ofunparliamentary language. Everyone accused everyone else offilthy greediness. It was disgusting that after eating allhe could, a man hadn't the decency16 to wait till the morning.
The pot had been full for supper, and, as every man couldsee, it was never half emptied - enough was always left forbreakfast. A resolution was accordingly passed that eachshould take his turn of an hour's watch at night, till theglutton was caught in the act.
My hour happened to be from 11 to 12 P.M. I stronglysuspected the thief to be an Indian, and loaded my big pistolwith slugs on the chance. It was a clear moonlight night. Ipropped myself comfortably with a bag of hams; and concealedmyself as well as I could in a bush of artemisia, which wasvery thick all round. I had not long been on the look-outwhen a large grey wolf prowled slowly out of the bushes. Thenight was bright as day; but every one of the men was soundasleep in a circle round the remains17 of the camp fire. Thewolf passed between them, hesitating as it almost touched acovering blanket. Step by step it crept up to the kettle,took the handle of the lid between its jaws18, lifted it off,placed it noiselessly on the ground, and devoured19 the savourystew.
I could not fire, because of the men. I dared not move, lestI should disturb the robber. I was even afraid the click ofcocking the pistol would startle him and prevent my getting aquiet shot. But patience was rewarded. When satiated, thebrute retired20 as stealthily as he had advanced; and as hepassed within seven or eight yards of me I let him have it.
Great was my disappointment to see him scamper21 off. How wasit possible I could have missed him? I must have fired overhis back. The men jumped to their feet and clutched theirrifles; but, though astonished at my story, were soon at restagain. After this the kettle was never robbed. Four dayslater we were annoyed with such a stench that it was aquestion of shifting our quarters. In hunting for thenuisance amongst the thicket22 of wormwood, the dead wolf wasdiscovered not twenty yards from our centre.
The reader would not thank me for an account of themonotonous drudgery23, the hardships, the quarrellings, whichgrew worse from day to day after we left Fort Laramie. Fredand I were about the only two who were on speaking terms; weclung to each other, as a sort of forlorn security againstcoming disasters. Gradually it was dawning on me that, underthe existing circumstances, the fulfilment of my hopes wouldbe (as Fred had predicted) an impossibility; and that topersist in the attempt to realise them was to courtdestruction. As yet, I said nothing of this to him. PerhapsI was ashamed to. Perhaps I secretly acknowledged to myselfthat he had been wiser than I, and that my stubbornness wasresponsible for the life itself of every one of the party.
Doubtless thoughts akin24 to these must often have haunted themind of my companion; but he never murmured; only uttered ahasty objurgation when troubles reached a climax25, andinvariably ended with a burst of cheery laughter which onlythe sulkiest could resist. It was after a day of severetrials he proposed that we should go off by ourselves for acouple of nights in search of game, of which we were much inneed. The men were easily persuaded to halt and rest.
Samson had become a sort of nonentity26. Dysentery hadterribly reduced his strength, and with it such intelligenceas he could boast of. We started at daybreak, right glad tobe alone together and away from the penal27 servitude to whichwe were condemned28. We made for the Sweetwater, not very farfrom the foot of the South Pass, where antelope29 and black-tailed deer abounded30. We failed, however, to get near them -stalk after stalk miscarried.
Disappointed and tired, we were looking out for some snuglittle hollow where we could light a fire without its beingseen by the Indians, when, just as we found what we wanted,an antelope trotted31 up to a brow to inspect us. I had afairly good shot at him and missed. This disheartened usboth. Meat was the one thing we now sorely needed to savethe rapidly diminishing supply of hams. Fred said nothing,but I saw by his look how this trifling32 accident helped todepress him. I was ready to cry with vexation. My rifle wasmy pride, the stag of my life - my ALTER EGO7. It was neverout of my hands; every day I practised at prairie dogs, atsage hens, at a mark even if there was no game. A few daysbefore we got to Laramie I had killed, right and left, twowild ducks, the second on the wing; and now, when so muchdepended on it, I could not hit a thing as big as a donkey.
The fact is, I was the worse for illness. I had constantreturns of fever, with bad shivering fits, which did notimprove the steadiness of one's hand. However, we managed toget a supper. While we were examining the spot where theantelope had stood, a leveret jumped up, and I knocked himover with my remaining barrel. We fried him in the one tinplate we had brought with us, and thought it the mostdelicious dish we had had for weeks.
As we lay side by side, smoke curling peacefully from ourpipes, we chatted far into the night, of other days - ofCambridge, of our college friends, of London, of the opera,of balls, of women - the last a fruitful subject - and of thefuture. I was vastly amused at his sudden outburst as somestart of one of the horses picketed33 close to us reminded usof the actual present. 'If ever I get out of this d-d mess,'
he exclaimed, 'I'll never go anywhere without my own Frenchcook.' He kept his word, to the end of his life, I believe.
It was a delightful34 repose35, a complete forgetting, for anight at any rate, of all impending36 care. Each was cheeredand strengthened for the work to come. The spirit ofenterprise, the love of adventure restored for the moment,believed itself a match for come what would. The veryanimals seemed invigorated by the rest and the abundance ofrich grass spreading as far as we could see. The morning wasbright and cool. A delicious bath in the Sweetwater, abreakfast on fried ham and coffee, and once more in oursaddles on the way back to camp, we felt (or fancied that wefelt) prepared for anything.
That is just what we were not. Samson and the men, meetingwith no game where we had left them, had moved on thatafternoon in search of better hunting grounds. The resultwas that when we overtook them, we found five mules up totheir necks in a muddy creek37. The packs were sunk to thebottom, and the animals nearly drowned or strangled. Fredand I rushed to the rescue. At once we cut the ropes whichtied them together; and, setting the men to pull at tails orheads, succeeded at last in extricating38 them.
Our new-born vigour39 was nipped in the bud. We were alldrenched to the skin. Two packs containing the miserableremains of our wardrobe, Fred's and mine, were lost. Thecatastrophe produced a good deal of bad language and badblood. Translated into English it came to this: 'They hadtrusted to us, taking it for granted we knew what we wereabout. What business had we to "boss" the party if we wereas ignorant as the mules? We had guaranteed to lead themthrough to California [!] and had brought them into this"almighty fix" to slave like niggers and to starve.' Therewas just truth enough in the Jeremiad40 to make it sting. Itwould not have been prudent41, nay42, not very safe, to returncurse for curse. But the breaking point was reached at last.
That night I, for one, had not much sleep. I was soaked fromhead to foot, and had not a dry rag for a change. Alternatefits of fever and rigor43 would alone have kept me awake; butrenewed ponderings upon the situation and confirmedconvictions of the peremptory44 necessity of breaking up theparty, forced me to the conclusion that this was the right,the only, course to adopt.
For another twenty-four hours I brooded over my plans. Twomain difficulties confronted me: the announcement to themen, who might mutiny; and the parting with Fred, which Idreaded far the most of the two. Would he not think ittreacherous to cast him off after the sacrifices he had madefor me? Implicitly45 we were as good as pledged to stand byeach other to the last gasp46. Was it not mean and dastardlyto run away from the battle because it was dangerous to fightit out? Had friendship no claims superior to personalsafety? Was not my decision prompted by sheer selfishness?
Could anything be said in its defence?
Yes; sentiment must yield to reason. To go on was certaindeath for all. It was not too late to return, for those whowished it. And when I had demonstrated, as I could easilydo, the impossibility of continuance, each one could decidefor himself. The men were as reckless as they were ignorant.
However they might execrate47 us, we were still their naturalleaders: their blame, indeed, implied they felt it. Nosentimental argument could obscure this truth, and thisconviction was decisive.
The next night and the day after were, from a moral point ofview, the most trying perhaps, of the whole journey. We hadhalted on a wide, open plain. Due west of us in the fardistance rose the snowy peaks of the mountains. And theprairie on that side terminated in bluffs48, rising graduallyto higher spurs of the range. When the packs were thrownoff, and the men had turned, as usual, to help themselves tosupper, I drew Fred aside and imparted my resolution to him.
He listened to it calmly - much more so than I had expected.
Yet it was easy to see by his unusual seriousness that hefully weighed the gravity of the purpose. All he said at thetime was, 'Let us talk it over after the men are asleep.'
We did so. We placed our saddles side by side - they wereour regular pillows - and, covering ourselves with the sameblanket, well out of ear-shot, discussed the proposition fromevery practical aspect. He now combated my scheme, as Ialways supposed he would, by laying stress upon our bond offriendship. This was met on my part by the arguments alreadyset forth49. He then proposed an amendment50, which almost upsetmy decision. 'It is true,' he admitted, 'that we cannot getthrough as we are going now; the provisions will not hold outanother month, and it is useless to attempt to control themen. But there are two ways out of the difficulty: we canreach Salt Lake City and winter there; or, if you are bent51 ongoing52 to California, why shouldn't we take Jacob and Nelson(the Canadian), pay off the rest of the brutes53, and traveltogether, - us four?'
Whether 'das ewig Wirkende' that shapes our ends bebeneficent or malignant54 is not easy to tell, till after theevent. Certain it is that sometimes we seem impelled55 bylatent forces stronger than ourselves - if by self be meantone's will. We cannot give a reason for all we do; theinfinite chain of cause and effect, which has had nobeginning and will have no end, is part of the reckoning, -with this, finite minds can never grapple.
It was destined56 (my stubbornness was none of my making) thatI should remain obdurate57. Fred's last resource was anattempt to persuade me (he really believed: I, too, thoughtit likely) that the men would show fight, annex58 beasts andprovisions, and leave us to shift for ourselves. There weresix of them, armed as we were, to us three, or rather us two,for Samson was a negligible quantity. 'We shall see,' saidI; and by degrees we dropped asleep.
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mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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replenish
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| vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满 | |
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lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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ego
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| n.自我，自己，自尊 | |
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obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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plucky
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| adj.勇敢的 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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narration
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| n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体 | |
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buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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elk
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| n.麋鹿 | |
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stew
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| n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑 | |
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decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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scamper
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| v.奔跑，快跑 | |
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thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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drudgery
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| n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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nonentity
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| n.无足轻重的人 | |
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penal
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| adj.刑罚的；刑法上的 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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antelope
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| n.羚羊；羚羊皮 | |
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abounded
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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picketed
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| 用尖桩围住（picket的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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extricating
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| v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的现在分词 ) | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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jeremiad
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| n.悲欢；悲诉 | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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rigor
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| n.严酷，严格，严厉 | |
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peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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execrate
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| v.憎恶；厌恶；诅咒 | |
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48
bluffs
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| 恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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ongoing
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| adj.进行中的，前进的 | |
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brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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obdurate
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| adj.固执的，顽固的 | |
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annex
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| vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物 | |
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