MONSIEUR VIOLET (FISCLE PART-IV) - FREDERICK MARRYAT (books to read this summer txt) 📗

Tin Cup, And Two Hours Before

Sunset I Arrived at The Spot.

 

 

 

As The Weather Had Been Dry For Some Time, I Could Not Pick Any Worms,

So I Thought Of Killing Some Bird Or Other Small Animal, Whose Flesh

Would Answer For Bait. Not Falling In with Any Birds, I Determined to

Seek For A Rabbit Or A Frog. To Save Time, I Lighted a Fire, Put My

Water To Boil, Spread My Hide And Blanket, Arranged my Saddle For A

Pillow, And Then Went In search Of Bait, And Sassafras To Make Tea With.

 

 

 

While Looking For Sassafras, I Perceived a Nest Upon A Small Oak Near To

The Stream. I Climbed to Take The Young Ones, Obtained two, Which I Put

In My Round Jacket, And Looked about Me To See Where I Should Jump Upon

The Ground. After Much Turning about, I Suspended myself By The Hands

From A Hanging Branch, And Allowed myself To Drop Down. My Left Foot

Fell Flat, But Under The Soft Sole Of My Right Mocassin I Felt Something

Alive, Heaving Or Rolling. At A Glance, I Perceived that My Foot Was On

The Body Of A Large Rattle-Snake, With His Head Just Forcing Itself From

Under My Heel.

 

 

 

Thus Taken By Surprise, I Stood Motionless And With My Heart Throbbing.

The Reptile Worked itself Free, And Twisting Round My Leg, Almost In a

Second Bit Me Two Or Three Times. The Sharp Pain Which I Felt From The

Fangs Recalled me To Consciousness, And Though I Felt Convinced that I

Was Lost, I Resolved that My Destroyer Should Die Also. With My

Bowie-Knife I Cut Its Body Into A Hundred pieces; Walked away Very Sad

And Gloomy, And Sat Upon My Blanket Near The Fire.

 

 

 

How Rapid And Tumultuous Were My Thoughts! To Die So Young, And Such A

Dog'S Death! My Mind Reverted to The Happy Scenes Of My Early Youth,

When I Had A Mother, And Played so Merrily Among The Golden Grapes Of

Sunny Frances And When Later I Wandered with My Father In the Holy Land,

In Italy And Egypt. I Also Thought Of The Shoshones, Of Roche And

Gabriel, And I Sighed. It Was A Moral Agony; For The Physical Pain Had

Subsided, And My Leg Was Almost Benumbed by Paralysis.

 

 

 

The Sun Went Down, And The Last Carmine Tinges Of His Departed glory

Reminded me How Soon My Sun Would Set; Then The Big Burning Tears

Smothered me, For I Was Young, Very Young, And I Could Not Command The

Courage And Resignation To Die Such A Horrible Death. Had I Been Wounded

In The Field, Leading My Brave Shoshones, And Hallooing The War-Whoop, I

Would Have Cared very Little About It; But Thus, Like A Dog! It Was

Horrible! And I Dropped my Head Upon My Knees, Thinking How Few Hours I

Had Now To Live.

 

 

 

I Was Awakened from That Absorbing Torpor By My Poor Horse, Who Was Busy

Licking My Ears. The Faithful Animal Suspected something Was Wrong, For

Usually At Such A Time I Would Sing Spanish Ditties Or Some Indian

War-Songs. Sunset Was Also The Time When I Brushed and Patted him. The

Intelligent Brute Knew That I Suffered, And, In its Own Way, Showed me

That It Participated in my Affliction. My Water, Too, Was Boiling On The

Fire, And The Bubbling Of The Water Seemed to Be A Voice Raised on

Purpose To Divert My Gloomy Thoughts. "Aye, Boil, Bubble, Evaporate,"

Exclaimed i; "What Do I Care For Water Or Tea Now?"

 

 

 

Scarcely Had I Finished these Words, When, Turning Suddenly My Head

Round, My Attention Was Attracted by An Object Before Me, And A Gleam Of

Hope Irradiated my Gloomy Mind: Close To My Feet I Beheld Five Or Six

Stems Of The Rattlesnake Master Weed. I Well Knew The Plant, But I Had

Been Incredulous As To Its Properties. Often Had I Heard The Indians

Speaking Of Its Virtues, But I Had Never Believed them. "A Drowning Man

Will Seize At A Floating Straw." By A Violent Effort I Got Up On My

Legs, Went To Fetch My Knife, Which I Had Left Near The Dead Snake, And

I Commenced digging For Two Or Three Of The Roots, With All The Energy

Of Despair.

 

 

 

These Roots I Cut Into Small Slices, And Threw Them In the Boiling

Water. It Soon Produced a Dark Green Decoction, Which I Swallowed; It

Was Evidently A Powerful Alkali, Strongly Impregnated with A Flavour Of

Turpentine. I Then Cut My Mocassin, For My Foot Was Already Swollen To

Twice Its Ordinary Size, Bathed the Wounds With A Few Drops Of The

Liquid, And, Chewing Some Of The Slices, I Applied them As A Poultice,

And Tied them On With My Scarf And Handkerchief. I Then Put Some More

Water To Boil, And, Half An Hour Afterwards, Having Drank Another Pint

Of The Bitter Decoction, I Drew My Blanket Over Me. In a Minute Or Less

After The Second Draught, My Brain Whirled, And A Strange Dizziness

Overtook Me, Which Was Followed by A Powerful Perspiration, And Soon

Afterwards All Was Blank.

 

 

 

The Next Morning I Was Awakened by My Horse Again Licking Me. He

Wondered why I Slept So Late. I Felt My Head Ache Dreadfully, And I

Perceived that The Burning Rays Of The Sun For The Last Two Hours Had

Been Darting Upon My Uncovered face. It Was Some Time Before I Could

Collect My Thoughts, And Make Out Where I Was. At Last The Memory Of The

Dreadful Incident Of The Previous Evening Broke Upon My Mind, And I

Regretted i Had Not Died during My Unconsciousness; For I Thought That

The Weakness I Felt Was An Effect Of The Poison, And That I Should Have

To Undergo An Awful Lingering Death. Yet All Around Me, Nature Was

Smiling. Thousands Of Birds Were Singing Their Morning Concert, And, At

A Short Distance, The Low And Soft Murmuring Of The Stream Reminded me

Of My Excessive Thirst. Alas! Well Hath The Italian Bard Sung,--

 

 

 

             "Nessun Maggior Dolore

     Che Riccordarsi Del Tempo Felice

     Nella Miseria!"--Dante.

 

 

 

As I Lay And Reflected upon My Utter Helplessness, Again My Heart

Swelled and My Tears Flowed freely. Thirst, However, Gave Me The Courage

Which The Freshness And Beauty Of Nature Had Not Been Able To Inspire Me

With. I Thought Of Attempting To Rise To Fetch Some Water; But First I

Slowly Passed my Hand Down My Thigh, To Feel My Knee. I Thought The

Inflammation Would Have Rendered it As Thick As My Waist. My Hand Was

Upon My Knee, And So Sudden Was The Shock That My Heart Ceased to Beat.

Joy Can Be Most Painful; For I Felt An Acute Pang Through My Breast, As

From A Blow Of A Dagger. When I Moved my Finger Across The Cap Of My

Knee, It Was Quite Free From Inflammation, And Perfectly Sound. Again

There Was A Reaction. "Ay," Thought I, "'Tis All On The Ankle. How Can I

Escape? Is Not The Poison A Deadly One?" I Dared not Throw Away The

Blanket And Investigate Further. I Felt Weaker And Weaker, And Again

Covered my Head To Sleep.

 

 

 

I Did Sleep, And When I Awoke This Time I Felt Myself A Little

Invigorated, Though My Lips And Tongue Were Quite Parched. I Remembered

Everything; Down My Hand Slided; I Could Not Reach My Ankle, So I Put Up

My Knee. I Removed the Scarf And The Poultice Of Master Weed. My

Handkerchief Was Full Of A Dried, Green, Glutinous Matter, And The

Wounds Looked clean. Joy Gave Me Strength. I Went To The Stream, Drank

Plentifully, And Washed. I Still Felt Very Feverish; And, Although I Was

Safe From The Immediate Effects Of The Poison, I Knew That I Had Yet To

Suffer. Grateful To Heaven For My Preservation, I Saddled my Faithful

Companion, And, Wrapping Myself Closely In my Buffalo-Hide, I Set Off To

The Comanche Camp. My Senses Had Left Me Before I Arrived there. They

Found Me On The Ground, And My Horse Standing By Me.

 

 

 

Fifteen Days Afterwards I Awoke To Consciousness, A Weak And Emaciated

Being. During This Whole Time I Had Been Raving Under A Cerebral Fever,

Death Hovering Over Me. It Appears That I Had Received a Coup-De-Soleil,

In Addition To My Other Mischances.

 

 

 

When I Returned to Consciousness, I Was Astonished to See Gabriel And

Roche By My Side; The Expedition Had Returned triumphant. The Cayugas'

Villages Had Been Burnt, Almost All Their Warriors Destroyed, And Those

Who Remained had Sought A Shelter In the Fissures Of The Earth, Or In

The Passes Of The Mountains Unknown To Any But Themselves. Two Of The

Mexican Girls Had Also Been Rescued, But What Had Become Of The Others

They Could Not Tell.

 

 

 

The Kindness And Cares Of My Friends, With The Invigorating Influence Of

A Beautiful Clime, Soon Restored me To Comparative Health, But It Was A

Long Time Before I Was Strong Enough To Ride And Resume My Former

Exercise. During That Time Gabriel Made Frequent Excursions To The

Southern And Even To The Mexican Settlements, And On The Return From His

Last Trip He Brought Up News Which Caused the Indians, For That Year, To

Forsake Their Hunting, And Remain At Home. General Lamar And His

Associates Had Hit Upon A Plan Not Only Treacherous, But In open

Defiance Of All The Laws Of Nations. But What, Indeed, Could Be Expected

From A People Who Murdered their Guests, Invited by Them, And Under The

Sanction Of A White Flag. I Refer To The Massacre Of The Comanche Chiefs

At San Antonio.

 

 

 

The President Of Mexico, Bustamente, Had A View To A Cessation Of

Hostilities With Texas. The Texans Had Sent Ambassadors To Negotiate A

Recognition And Treaty Of Alliance And Friendship With Other Nations;

They Had Despatched hamilton To England To Supplicate The Cabinet Of St.

James To Lend Its Mighty Influence Towards The Recognition Of Texas By

Mexico; And While These Negotiations Were Pending, And The Peace With

Mexico Still In force, Lamar, In defiance Of All Good Faith And Honour,

Was Secretly Preparing an Expedition, Which, Under The Disguise Of A

Mercantile Caravan, Was Intended to Conquer Santa Fe And All The

Northern Mexican Provinces. This Expedition Of The Texans, As It Would

Pass Through The Territory Of The Comanches, Whose Villages, &C., If

Unprotected, Would, In all Probability, Have Been Plundered, And Their

Women And Children Murdered, Induced the Comanches To Break Up Their

Camp, And Return Home As Speedily As Possible.

Chapter XXIV

During My Convalescence, My Tent, Or I Should Say, The Lawn Before It,

Became A Kind Of General Divan, Where The Warriors And Elders Of The

Tribe Would Assemble, To Smoke And Relate The Strange Stories Of Days

Gone By. Some Of Them Appeared to Me Particularly Beautiful; I Shall,

Therefore, Narrate Them To The Reader. One Old Chief Began As Follows:--

 

 

 

"I Will Tell Ye Of The Shkote-Nah Pishkuan, Or The Boat Of Fire, When I

Saw It For The First Time. Since That, The Grass Has Withered fifteen

Times In the Prairies, And I Have Grown Weak And Old. Then I Was A

Warrior, And Many Scalps Have I Taken On The Eastern Shores Of The

Sabine. Then, Also, The Pale-Faces Living In the Prairies Were Good; We

Fought Them Because We Were Enemies, But They Never Stole Anything From

Us, Nor We From Them.

 

 

 

"Well, At That Time, We Were Once In the Spring Hunting The Buffalo. The

Caddoes, Who Are Now A Small Tribe Of Starved dogs, Were Then A Large

Powerful Nation, Extending From The Cross Timbers To The Waters Of The

Great Stream, In the East, But They Were Gamblers And Drunkards; They

Would Sell All Their Furs For The; 'Shoba-Wapo' (Fire-Water), And Return

To Their Villages To Poison Their Squaws, And Make Brutes Of Their

Children. Soon They Got Nothing More To Sell; And As They Could Not Now

Do Without The 'Shoba-Wapo,' They Began To Steal. They Would Steal The

Horses And Oxen Of The Pale-Faces, And Say 'The Comanches Did It.' When

They Killed trappers Or Travellers, They