Beck Center English Dept. University Libraries Emory University
Emory Women Writers Resource Project Collections:
Women's Genre Fiction Project

Adventures of the Merton Family, an electronic edition

by Anne Bowman [Bowman, Anne]

date: 1868
source publisher: Quaker City Publishing House.
collection: Genre Fiction

Table of Contents

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CHAPTER XXVII.
The Return of Mr. Merton and the Caciques. The Fate of the Indian Traitors. The new Converts. Departure of the Indians. The Caverns explored. The ingot of Silver. The Visit to the Plains. Conflict with the Wild Cattle. The Peccaries. Tom's Accident.

THE repose of the family was disturbed, and they rose early to remove the fearful spectacle which deformed their quiet glade. The young men were not sorry to see the three horses of the slain grazing quietly; they were fine animals, with saddle-cloths of rich skins, and would certainly prove an acquisition to their diminished stud.

The morning was stormy, and the rain fell on the youths as they dug in a remote niche of the glen the graves of their enemies; but suddenly their labor was arrested by the sound of well-known voices, and they sprung forward to welcome their expected friends.

"Is all well?" asked Mr. Merton, in an agitated voice; and, satisfied with the reply, he lifted up his hands in thankfulness.

"These men," said Paul, looking on the grim features of the dead; "have received their just punishment. They were traitors to their cacique, cowards, and base liars. Nevertheless, you, good doctor, who love to save life, may find work on the plain below, where two of the cowardly fugitives lie, stricken by the hand of God."

The family then learned that Paul had discovered the absence of the six men, who were the most disobedient and savage of the tribe; he found also that they had not only stolen from him rich skins and silver ornaments, but had also carried off Mr. Merton's faithful dog. Alarmed at their flight, as he suspected their intentions, he communicated his fears to Mr. Merton and Cangapol. They had set out at a speed which alarmed Mr. Merton.

As they drew near the foot of the mountain, they perceived a dark group, and Cangapol made ready his bow, which he | | 320 carried in preference to fire-arms; as he felt assured, he said, that the men were encamped on this spot. They soon saw that but one man was standing by the side of his horse, looking down on two recumbent figures. Paul, with the impetuosity of youth, rode up to the man, and denounced him, in the Indian tongue, as a robber and a traitor. The villain poised his spear with deadly aim against his chief, which Cangapol saw, and in a moment sent an arrow through the heart of the Indian. Mr. Merton was dreadfully shocked at this summary execution, and could never afterwards be convinced that the occasion justified the act of homicide.

On looking round, they found the other two Indians lying, apparently dying, their horses dead, and not far from them. From one of the unfortunate sufferers, Paul extorted some account of the proceedings of the previous night; he added, that in their frantic flight from the terrible puma, and more terrible fire-arms, they had rushed up the slope, not aware of the abrupt ridge of the mountain, for, guided by Wallace, they had come up by the winding path at the side, which they could not discover on their return. They had left the torches behind in their dismay, and being quite in the dark, and blinded by the tempest, they lost all control over their horses in the descent. The ground was moist and slippery with the continual rain; and the usually adroit horsemen were unable to prevent their horses from falling, and rolling down the steep mountain-side, through briers and brushwood, with fearful rapidity, till they reached the plain. One of the riders alone had been able to get clear of his horse, with little or no injury, but only to lose his life in the act of murder and treason; the others, bewildered, stunned, and lacerated, lost all consciousness; and recovered only to find their horses dead, and themselves dragged from the bushes by their uninjured companions, scarcely living, with limbs broken and lacerated, exposed to the fury of the storm through the long darkness of night, and expecting death every moment to release them from their agony.

It was impossible to remove these wretched sufferers with-out assistance: but no time was now lost; two mattresses were immediately carried down, and Lewis provided himself with medicine, bandages, and all needful appliances. He found, on examination, the fractured limbs of the men so | | 321 much swollen and inflamed, that no operation could take place at present. The men were therefore placed on mattress, and transported with all care up the difficult road, groaning with the anguish, which even Indian fortitude could not support unmoved.

All selfish considerations were waived, and the Indians admitted at once into the cave; but they were not in a state to notice where they were placed, and it was only the aid of powerful restoratives that prevented them from sinking immediately. Their limbs were dreadfully fractured, and Lewis had no hope of saving their lives, as assistance had been too long delayed. He gave them composing medicines to alleviate the pain; and Mr. Merton, with pious earnestness, endeavored to awaken them to a sense of their wickedness, and to enlighten their ignorance. In their long hours of agony, during the darkness of the night, it was impossible to conceive a human mind so steeped in apathy or ignorance, as not to have made some reflections on the past; some speculations on the future; and the men seemed to be somewhat moved by the good priest's exhortations. But life was fast passing away; and though the charitable Mr. Merton always believed some ray of light fell on the souls of the dying men, none could judge of their state but that God into whose awful presence they were summoned in a few hours.

The day was spent in serious instruction and earnest prayer, and before evening Mr. Merton was satisfied to admit his now friends into the Church of Christ, by administering the rite of baptism. Early next morning the Indians were buried; and then, dressed in their fairest robes, the whole party set out for church, where Cangapol and his son were baptized by the names of Pedro and Albert, and the ceremony of marriage performed between the new Christian and Zara. Then Mr. Merton addressed a particular discourse in Spanish to the Indians, who listened to it with earnest and devout attention.

Notwithstanding the gloomy events of the last few days, the young people would not give up the festival; and when they were all gathered round the table, which was decorated with the plate, china, and glass brought from the hidden store at Esperanza, the happy and united family forgot all their | | 322 dangers, and enjoyed Nanny's excellent dinner its much as she desired. The children were prettily dressed in white muslin frocks, made by the industrious sisters, who had also attired Zara in a rich blue silk dress,--a present to them from Mrs. Douglas; and Almagro sighed to think that his daughter, who now looked like a queen, must return to the huts of the savages.

"Do not be grieved, my father," said she; "is it not my duty to live with my husband and my child? and it is the duty of the Cacique to dwell amongst his people. See what a large work we have before us. I must teach the women to be clean and industrious; Pedro will persuade the men to become hunters or husbandmen; and when they are less savage, Mr. Merton will come to us, and teach them to he Christians."

This was a pleasant plan, and even the grave Pedro smiled at the enthusiasm of his lovely wife; nor did he altogether despair of such a result. At all events, he entreated the family to return to Esperanza in the spring; Paul and he engaging for the forbearance of their tribes. But Paul advised them to fortify their settlement, that they might be secured from the attacks of tribes from the west of the Cordillera, who not unfrequently made plundering expeditions on the Pampas. From the still ruder savages of the south, they were protected by the great distance which lay between them; and the more civilized tribes of the north were less ferocious, and, if even they wandered so far, would rather desire to traffic with the settlers than wantonly destroy them.

The Indians remained a few days longer at the rock; the two chiefs hunting with the young men, and assisting them to obtain a considerable quantity of beef, to be dried or salted for the winter, now close at hand. The friends parted with reluctance, but it was necessary the Caciques should return to their people. Zara wept bitterly, and promised to come again if the snow did not fall; but the horses of the Pampas do not like the snow. Mr. Merton wished to retain the young Albert, to lay the foundation of a better education than he could obtain at the toldos; but the parents were unwilling to part with him, as Pedro said such a measure might offend the tribe.

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Once more the family were left alone, to talk of the strange events of the last two months, and to prepare for their winter seclusion. No time was lost in bringing all the maize and wheat flour, which they ground on the spot, from Esperanza, leaving a plentiful supply of grain for seed in Spring. Candles, soap, and potatoes, were also brought from the cave; and, trusting they had now sufficient stores for themselves, they turned to consider the condition of the cattle.

It was absolutely necessary to build sheds to protect the animals from storms, for it would have been a great difficulty, as they had previously experienced, to introduce the horses through the narrow passage into the cave; and to bring the cows into the same shelter would have been impassible. They soon raised two long low huts against the face of the rock; the end of one being close to the entrance to the cave, that the access might be easy in case the snow should be deep.

These huts were formed, like those formerly built at Esperanza, of poles intertwined with bamboos and plastered with mud; the roofs thatched with dry branches, leaves, and moss. The sun was still sufficiently powerful at noonday to dry the walls in a few days; and having collected dry grass and leaves for bedding, they completed the sheds by fixing to them substantial doors, obtained from the ruins at Esperanza, which they attached to the door-posts by hinges of hide; and hide straps, by which the door was fastened every night, secured the cattle from the attacks of wild beasts.

Since the appearance of the puma, there existed a little fear in the family that more of the animals might be in the neighborhood; and to satisfy Mrs. Merton, as well as to dispel some doubts of his own, Lewis proposed to the youths an expedition through the labyrinth of caves that existed beyond their own hall. With the precaution of carrying arms, and what Nanny deemed an extravagant supply of candles, they set out to explore these extraordinary hollows of the rocks. From one opening to another they passed into a succession of caves, some totally dark; others lighted by loop-holes above, so lofty and artificial in appearance, that it was difficult to believe they were not the work of man's hand. More than once Lewis pointed out to Tom remarkable appearances on | | 324 the wall, as if the rock had been cut away by some instrument.

No animal but the birds seemed to have visited these caves, and they terminated their search by turning through a lateral opening, attracted by the murmur of water, and found the stream, which, pouring through an opening above, had worn itself a channel through the rocky caves, till winding through some unseen passage, it again appeared on the green plain before the cave. They pursued the course of the stream, and as they passed along, the light carried by Tom fell on some glittering object; he stooped to examine it, and cried out, " Lewis I verily believe this large mass lying half in the water is silver."

It really was silver; and Lewis declared that he had for some time suspected that these vast caverns were abandoned mines, probably worked by the enterprising Spaniards, when they held possessions on both sides of the Cordilleras, and forgotten in the decay and depopulation of the country.

"But what a fortunate discovery for us!" said Tom. "We have only to collect as much silver as we can transport from the spot, and our fortune is made."

Jack burst into a loud laugh, which the echoing eaves returned with a mocking derision, very mortifying to Tom. "You have forgotten the Swiss Robinson, Tom," said his brother. "It was Francis, I think, that wanted to carry away all the money from the wreck. What use in the world could we make of silver? Iron would be ten times more valuable."

"I should certainly not object to a pair of silver spurs," said Charles, "like those our friend Paul wore at his last visit. But I could not undertake to manufacture spurs, nor indeed if I had them, have I a pair of boots fit to attach them to," and Charles looked, with a sigh, at his worn-out boots.

"There were some capital bootmakers at Pedro's tolderia," said Jack; "they would have fitted you out in no time, Charley."

"I conclude the boots were merely colts' skins, dried and oiled," said Charles, with contempt.

"They had an improved plan," answered Jack. "They just drew the skin from the legs of the colt, and, fitted it upon their own legs, warm and bloody, where it remained till | | 325 worn out, a part of themselves, and a wonderful fit--Hoby himself could not succeed better. But now, Lewis, is it worth while to carry off this silver?"

Lewis left the decision to themselves, and Tom said, "Then we will take it. I acknowledge my blunder about the utility of the metal, but I should like to try the experiment of melting the silver, and moulding it into some vessel. You see the action of the water has already cleared away the earthy particles."

"Yes," said Lewis; "this appears to be a piece of virgin silver, and may be melted and used without further preparation. Had it been the amalgam, or compound of mercury and silver, in which mixed state it is usually found, we should have had to extricate the silver by a process which our present circumstances would have rendered difficult or impossible."

They continued long in the stream, carrying with them their new acquisition, till in a cave adjacent to that they had used for the horses, the little rivulet disappeared through the rock.

"My opinion is," said Lewis, "that our most important discovery to-day is that of the source of the rivulet. Now we can always procure water, in defiance of frost or storm."

The piece of silver, which weighed two or three pounds, was admired by the young ladies, and curiously examined by Mr. Merton, who said, as he put it down, "Thank God, my children that this shining metal cannot lead you into temptation. Fortunately, this lure to evil is useless to us. We have all the comforts of life without money, and money could not purchase for us the dangerous luxuries of life."

"It is clear," said Lewis, "that this mine has never been worked, to any very great extent like some in the north of the Andes; one of which is said to extend three hundred miles."

"I trust," said Matilda, "that it may never again be opened, to desecrate this peaceful spot with fires and furnaces, and people it with worn-out wretches, torn from the freedom of their hunting-grounds to labor as slaves in the mines.

The young men procured from Nanny a large iron pot, and, in one of the interior caves placed the vessel with the silver | | 326 in it, over an immense fire, which was not an extravagance as the woods supplied them plentifully with fuel. Here they melted the silver, and in moulds made by themselves, formed two drinking cups, even succeeding in placing handles upon them. Afterwards Tom engraved an inscription on each; denoting that they were presented to Mr. and Mrs. Merton by their children. These cups were by no means miracles of art [sic] they were not classical in form, nor perfect in finish, but they were proudly used by the parents, and admired even by Nanny who said, "there was some sense in making a cup that Wallace couldn't break, if he did knock it down with his tantrums." Nor was the remainder of the silver wasted, for they made saltcellars, fruit-knives, and several other petty useful little utensils.

The wild fowl occasionally visited the streamlet, and the bolas supplied the table with an agreeable change from the charqui to which they had been confined while busied with the building and melting; but they propose another hunting-day before the snow came on. This expedition was, how. ever, deferred too long, for on the morning they were to set out they arose to find the air darkened with falling snow, which already lay two feet deep on the ground. A path was soon cleared to the sheds, the cows were milked, all the animals were fed, and their masters rejoiced as they secured the doors of the snug stables, that they had been able to compose this shelter for their faithful servants.

The snow continued to fall for several days, and the little glen was so buried among the high mountains, that at this season, even the midday sun did not reach it to melt the snow. which lay four feet deep, but became so hard that they could walk over it. The young men climbed to the ridge, and looking down upon the plain, saw scattered patches of snow beneath the trees; but a large portion was uncovered, and groups of wild cattle were browsing on the stunted pasturage.

Charles was anxious for a chase, but Lewis dissuaded him, for the descent would be dangerous during the frost, and the family at home would be unhappy. The confinement to the cave was long, but they devoted many hours in the day to useful studies, perfecting themselves in the day to useful studies, perfecting themselves in languages, especially the useful Spanish. Lewis taught Tom and Matilda astron- | | 327 omy; Mary and Maria had greater enjoyment in reading history or travels; Mary had also a talent for drawing, and amused her friends with many humorous and skilful sketches.

After a month's confinement, the decrease of the snow, and a clear sky, induced Mr. Merton to consent that the party should visit the plains below; especially as the whole family were tired of salted food, and Dr. Lewis prescribed a change of diet, lest their health should suffer. They found the plains free from snow, but the air was keen, and the wild cattle were collected under the trees for shelter in rather larger herds than they liked to encounter; still they thought it would be disgraceful to return empty-handed, and were riding up towards the herd, when a ferocious old bull made a charge against Field-Marshal Jack, who was always in advance and was immediately followed by the whole herd.

The young men had proposed only to use the bolas, but had fortunately brought their rifles, and as this was no time for economy, Lewis cried, "Fire!" and they sent a volley into the midst of the astonished herd. The huge bull was wounded in the chest, but rushed on in his last agonies, gored Tom's horse frightfully, and then fell dead. The wounded horse, which was one of those belonging to the Indians, reared up, frantic with pain, and all expected he would fall back on his rider; but Tom, by a sudden jerk of the rein, brought him down on his side.

"I fear my leg is broken," said Tom to his friends, who were gathered anxiously round him; "but I am thankful to have escaped the death I expected, if the poor beast had fallen back. He is dying; put him out of his misery, Charles."

Tom was extricated, and the horse shot through the head. The herd had scampered off after the death of their champion, leaving two of their number dead on the field, which were carried off by Almagro and Charles, who hastened homeward to break the sorrowful news to the family, and to bring a mattress and board on which to carry Tom.

In the mean time, with the assistance of Jack, Lewis reduced the fracture and enveloped the limb in the bark of a tree, which they peeled for the purpose. He also bled his patient, who fortunately seemed to have received no other in- | | 328 jury beyond the broken leg; and they then sat down to wait patiently for the return of the messengers.

"We should be in a pretty condition now, Lewis," said Jack, "if another army of those four-legged warriors was to take the field against us. What would be our best plan in such a case? To make the best fight we could, as long as we could hold the ground? or to leave our poor horses to be gored, and run away on foot, carrying off our wounded hero?"

"No! no!" said Tom; "If there be any danger, you two must flee, and leave me to my fate. It is probable that these wild creatures would hardly deign to notice such a poor prostrate creature as I am, especially if Lewis will give me his brown poncho in exchange for this unlucky scarlet, which doubtless offended the eyes of that irritable old bull." Lewis laughed at Tom's precaution, but exchanged cloaks with him for fear of accidents, and had scarcely done so, when Jack cried out, "Look out, Lewis, the enemy is upon us!"

Lewis did look out, and saw approaching a herd of hog-shaped, frightful dark animals, with long snouts, bristly backs and apparently no tails. There were not more than twenty of them, which rather abated the alarm of Lewis, for these animals, the peccaries or javalies, are dangerous when associated in numbers. With their large sharp tusks and formidable strong jaws, they will attack man or beast, and frequently gore the legs of the horses dreadfully.

"Don't be alarmed, dear Tom," cried Jack, "we will face the enemy and protect you. The bolas or the rifle, Lewis?"

"The rifle, by all means, Jack," answered his friend, "and we may need Tom's rifle as well, for these creatures have the hoggish nature, and are as obstinate as they are courageous. Wait till they are near, for we must not waste a charge. They have not seen us yet, for they are grubbing in the ground for root. We must try to carry home some pork for Nanny; but at this season I fear it will be poor."

The leader of the herd, attracted either by its natural antagonist, the horse, or by the scarlet poncho, now grunted forth its orders to the rest, and set out in a waddling trot to-wards the foe. Lewis and Jack, marking their victims, fired, and the general and his aide-de-camp fell. But this did not | | 329 arrest the course of the herd, which moved on with dogged resolution. The friends fired the second barrels, and two more were killed. The herd only grunted and screamed in a more angry tone, and came on to within twenty yards of their opponents.

"Lewis," cried Tom, "do you take my gun, and let Jack run up that beach tree. I have my spear, and can keep the beasts off me for a little time."

Lewis took the gun, fired both barrels, and then prepared to drive off the animals with the butt-end, if possible, Jack assisting him with a spear. But the obstinate peccaries surrounded them; and they were in great alarm for Tom, when fortunately they saw their friends approaching. They cried out aloud to them to hasten their speed; and the good horsemen galloped on, and, speedily reaching the spot with loud shouts they fired a volley on the ignoble, hoggish crew. The beasts, as much alarmed at the cries of their antagonists as at the destruction caused by their weapons, finally took to flight, with loud grunts of vexation at their discomfiture.

The first words were congratulations at their escape, then succeeded irresistible laughter at the nature of their enemies, in which even the suffering Tom joined, though he confessed he had been in mortal terror.

"Come, Charley," said Jack, "help to get this poor wounded fellow upon the mattress, and let us retreat before we have any more assailants; though how we shall dare to show out faces to the girls I cannot tell, after crying out for help against an attack of swine."

"I can assure you, Jack," said Tom, "that the white-lipped peccary, Dicotyles labiatus, is by no means an enemy to be slighted, however you may loathe its nature. Yet its food is less disgusting than that of the domestic hog, being fruits, grains, and herbs when they can be obtained, and at this season, the roots which lie in the earth. It is said they will, in scarcity, cat fish, or oven reptiles, but that scarcity can never exist in this land of plenty. Would it not be desirable, Lewis, before you carry off the spoil, to remove the offensive gland, which will otherwise taint the flesh."

Lewis, with the assistance of Almagro, who had met with the animal before in his rambles, carefully extracted the par- | | 330 ticular gland from the loins of the animal, which secretes a filthy fluid, of a nature so inodorous, that it almost vies with the zorillo in keeping all the animals aloof from it.

The ground was strewed with the slain. The fierce old leader was abandoned as uneatable; of the remainder, six of the youngest were selected, tied in pairs, and suspended across the horses of Charles and Almagro, who carried Tom. Lewis rode by his side to see that all went on well, and Jack led the laden horses. The difficulty in getting the litter through the wood caused Tom much suffering; and many tears were shed by the family, who came to meet him, at the sight of his weak and fainting condition. But once laid on his own bed and a cordial given him he revived, and begged that no one would be distressed for by God's help, his good friend Dr. Lewis would soon cure him. "And, after all, mamma," added he, "it is better that I rather than Jack should be compelled to lie in bed for a month. Jack would have been wretched in confinement; but with books, and such employment as I can accomplish, I believe I shall rather enjoy my lazy life."

"And you see, my dear Mr. Merton," said Lewis, "I shall not loose my art for want of practice in the wilderness. I have had several patients, and tolerable success."

"You are very charitable, my son," said the good man, "to sacrifice the pleasures of the world to live here amid privations, dangers, and the dullness of solitude. I dare not expect you always to remain with us."

"I shall certainly not run away," replied Lewis; "see! Mrs. Merton and the young ladies actually look alarmed at the idea of losing such an important personage as the family apothecary."

"The family friend, rather," exclaimed Matilda. "Never leave us, dear Dr. Lewis. If you go, we will all go; without you Esperanza would indeed be a wilderness."

Lewis was much affected at the earnestness of his friends, to whom he was greatly attached; he had no ties to attract him elsewhere, and in this salubrious air was in much better health than he had been before he left England. He was not only content but determined to continue one of the family.

While Tom was left to repose, the rest assisted in removing | | 331 the rough thick skin of the peccaries; though Jack declared it to be a perfect waste of time, for the hide must be useless.

"I shall use some of the bristles for drawing-brushes," said Mary.

"The bristles, with a little ingenuity," said Lewis, "may be formed into several useful brushes. Nanny constantly bemoans her want of brushes, and we must try to make some. Neither is the skin to be despised, Jack; it will make excellent saddles. We must cure and clean all the hides, for we shall need stout leather when we begin to work at Esperanza."

The pork was certainly not equal to the well-fed pork of Westmoreland; but it was an agreeable change of food; some hams were salted for curing, and the fat melted for domestic purposes; and after this large supply of meat there was no more hunting for some weeks.

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