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diff --git a/2712-h/2712-h.htm b/2712-h/2712-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ec50e60 --- /dev/null +++ b/2712-h/2712-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1226 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + A Drift from Redwood Camp, by Bret Harte + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Drift from Redwood Camp, by Bret Harte + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Drift from Redwood Camp + +Author: Bret Harte + +Release Date: May 25, 2006 [EBook #2712] +Last Updated: March 4, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DRIFT FROM REDWOOD CAMP *** + + + + +Produced by Donald Lainson; David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + A DRIFT FROM REDWOOD CAMP + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + by Bret Harte + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + They had all known him as a shiftless, worthless creature. From the time + he first entered Redwood Camp, carrying his entire effects in a red + handkerchief on the end of a long-handled shovel, until he lazily drifted + out of it on a plank in the terrible inundation of '56, they never + expected anything better of him. In a community of strong men with sullen + virtues and charmingly fascinating vices, he was tolerated as possessing + neither—not even rising by any dominant human weakness or ludicrous + quality to the importance of a butt. In the dramatis personae of Redwood + Camp he was a simple “super”—who had only passive, speechless roles + in those fierce dramas that were sometimes unrolled beneath its + green-curtained pines. Nameless and penniless, he was overlooked by the + census and ignored by the tax collector, while in a hotly-contested + election for sheriff, when even the head-boards of the scant cemetery were + consulted to fill the poll-lists, it was discovered that neither candidate + had thought fit to avail himself of his actual vote. He was debarred the + rude heraldry of a nickname of achievement, and in a camp made up of + “Euchre Bills,” “Poker Dicks,” “Profane Pete,” and “Snap-shot Harry,” was + known vaguely as “him,” “Skeesicks,” or “that coot.” It was remembered + long after, with a feeling of superstition, that he had never even met + with the dignity of an accident, nor received the fleeting honor of a + chance shot meant for somebody else in any of the liberal and broadly + comprehensive encounters which distinguished the camp. And the inundation + that finally carried him out of it was partly anticipated by his passive + incompetency, for while the others escaped—or were drowned in + escaping—he calmly floated off on his plank without an opposing + effort. + </p> + <p> + For all that, Elijah Martin—which was his real name—was far + from being unamiable or repellent. That he was cowardly, untruthful, + selfish, and lazy, was undoubtedly the fact; perhaps it was his peculiar + misfortune that, just then, courage, frankness, generosity, and activity + were the dominant factors in the life of Redwood Camp. His submissive + gentleness, his unquestioned modesty, his half refinement, and his amiable + exterior consequently availed him nothing against the fact that he was + missed during a raid of the Digger Indians, and lied to account for it; or + that he lost his right to a gold discovery by failing to make it good + against a bully, and selfishly kept this discovery from the knowledge of + the camp. Yet this weakness awakened no animosity in his companions, and + it is probable that the indifference of the camp to his fate in this final + catastrophe came purely from a simple forgetfulness of one who at that + supreme moment was weakly incapable. + </p> + <p> + Such was the reputation and such the antecedents of the man who, on the + 15th of March, 1856, found himself adrift in a swollen tributary of the + Minyo. A spring freshet of unusual volume had flooded the adjacent river + until, bursting its bounds, it escaped through the narrow, wedge-shaped + valley that held Redwood Camp. For a day and night the surcharged river + poured half its waters through the straggling camp. At the end of that + time every vestige of the little settlement was swept away; all that was + left was scattered far and wide in the country, caught in the hanging + branches of water-side willows and alders, embayed in sluggish pools, + dragged over submerged meadows, and one fragment—bearing up Elijah + Martin—pursuing the devious courses of an unknown tributary fifty + miles away. Had he been a rash, impatient man, he would have been speedily + drowned in some earlier desperate attempt to reach the shore; had he been + an ordinary bold man, he would have succeeded in transferring himself to + the branches of some obstructing tree; but he was neither, and he clung to + his broken raft-like berth with an endurance that was half the paralysis + of terror and half the patience of habitual misfortune. Eventually he was + caught in a side current, swept to the bank, and cast ashore on an + unexplored wilderness. + </p> + <p> + His first consciousness was one of hunger that usurped any sentiment of + gratitude for his escape from drowning. As soon as his cramped limbs + permitted, he crawled out of the bushes in search of food. He did not know + where he was; there was no sign of habitation—or even occupation—anywhere. + He had been too terrified to notice the direction in which he had drifted—even + if he had possessed the ordinary knowledge of a backwoodsman, which he did + not. He was helpless. In his bewildered state, seeing a squirrel cracking + a nut on the branch of a hollow tree near him, he made a half-frenzied + dart at the frightened animal, which ran away. But the same association of + ideas in his torpid and confused brain impelled him to search for the + squirrel's hoard in the hollow of the tree. He ate the few hazel-nuts he + found there, ravenously. The purely animal instinct satisfied, he seemed + to have borrowed from it a certain strength and intuition. He limped + through the thicket not unlike some awkward, shy quadrumane, stopping here + and there to peer out through the openings over the marshes that lay + beyond. His sight, hearing, and even the sense of smell had become + preternaturally acute. It was the latter which suddenly arrested his steps + with the odor of dried fish. It had a significance beyond the mere + instincts of hunger—it indicated the contiguity of some Indian + encampment. And as such—it meant danger, torture, and death. + </p> + <p> + He stopped, trembled violently, and tried to collect his scattered senses. + Redwood Camp had embroiled itself needlessly and brutally with the + surrounding Indians, and only held its own against them by reckless + courage and unerring marksmanship. The frequent use of a casual wandering + Indian as a target for the practising rifles of its members had kept up an + undying hatred in the heart of the aborigines and stimulated them to + terrible and isolated reprisals. The scalped and skinned dead body of Jack + Trainer, tied on his horse and held hideously upright by a cross of wood + behind his saddle, had passed, one night, a slow and ghastly apparition, + into camp; the corpse of Dick Ryner had been found anchored on the + river-bed, disembowelled and filled with stone and gravel. The solitary + and unprotected member of Redwood Camp who fell into the enemy's hands was + doomed. + </p> + <p> + Elijah Martin remembered this, but his fears gradually began to subside in + a certain apathy of the imagination, which, perhaps, dulled his + apprehensions and allowed the instinct of hunger to become again + uppermost. He knew that the low bark tents, or wigwams, of the Indians + were hung with strips of dried salmon, and his whole being was new + centered upon an attempt to stealthily procure a delicious morsel. As yet + he had distinguished no other sign of life or habitation; a few moments + later, however, and grown bolder with an animal-like trustfulness in his + momentary security, he crept out of the thicket and found himself near a + long, low mound or burrow-like structure of mud and bark on the + river-bank. A single narrow opening, not unlike the entrance of an + Esquimau hut, gave upon the river. Martin had no difficulty in recognizing + the character of the building. It was a “sweathouse,” an institution + common to nearly all the aboriginal tribes of California. Half a religious + temple, it was also half a sanitary asylum, was used as a Russian bath or + superheated vault, from which the braves, sweltering and stifling all + night, by smothered fires, at early dawn plunged, perspiring, into the + ice-cold river. The heat and smoke were further utilized to dry and cure + the long strips of fish hanging from the roof, and it was through the + narrow aperture that served as a chimney that the odor escaped which + Martin had detected. He knew that as the bathers only occupied the house + from midnight to early morn, it was now probably empty. He advanced + confidently toward it. + </p> + <p> + He was a little surprised to find that the small open space between it and + the river was occupied by a rude scaffolding, like that on which certain + tribes exposed their dead, but in this instance it only contained the + feathered leggings, fringed blanket, and eagle-plumed head-dress of some + brave. He did not, however, linger in this plainly visible area, but + quickly dropped on all fours and crept into the interior of the house. + Here he completed his feast with the fish, and warmed his chilled limbs on + the embers of the still smouldering fires. It was while drying his + tattered clothes and shoeless feet that he thought of the dead brave's + useless leggings and moccasins, and it occurred to him that he would be + less likely to attract the Indians' attention from a distance and provoke + a ready arrow, if he were disguised as one of them. Crawling out again, he + quickly secured, not only the leggings, but the blanket and head-dress, + and putting them on, cast his own clothes into the stream. A bolder, more + energetic, or more provident man would have followed the act by quickly + making his way back to the thicket to reconnoitre, taking with him a + supply of fish for future needs. But Elijah Martin succumbed again to the + recklessness of inertia; he yielded once more to the animal instinct of + momentary security. He returned to the interior of the hut, curled himself + again on the ashes, and weakly resolving to sleep until moonrise, and as + weakly hesitating, ended by falling into uneasy but helpless stupor. + </p> + <p> + When he awoke, the rising sun, almost level with the low entrance to the + sweat-house, was darting its direct rays into the interior, as if + searching it with fiery spears. He had slept ten hours. He rose + tremblingly to his knees. Everything was quiet without; he might yet + escape. He crawled to the opening. The open space before it was empty, but + the scaffolding was gone. The clear, keen air revived him. As he sprang + out, erect, a shout that nearly stunned him seemed to rise from the earth + on all sides. He glanced around him in a helpless agony of fear. A dozen + concentric circles of squatting Indians, whose heads were visible above + the reeds, encompassed the banks around the sunken base of the sweat-house + with successive dusky rings. Every avenue of escape seemed closed. Perhaps + for that reason the attitude of his surrounding captors was passive rather + than aggressive, and the shrewd, half-Hebraic profiles nearest him + expressed only stoical waiting. There was a strange similarity of + expression in his own immovable apathy of despair. His only sense of + averting his fate was a confused idea of explaining his intrusion. His + desperate memory yielded a few common Indian words. He pointed + automatically to himself and the stream. His white lips moved. + </p> + <p> + “I come—from—the river!” + </p> + <p> + A guttural cry, as if the whole assembly were clearing their throats, went + round the different circles. The nearest rocked themselves to and fro and + bent their feathered heads toward him. A hollow-cheeked, decrepit old man + arose and said, simply:— + </p> + <p> + “It is he! The great chief has come!” + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + He was saved. More than that, he was re-created. For, by signs and + intimations he was quickly made aware that since the death of their late + chief, their medicine-men had prophesied that his perfect successor should + appear miraculously before them, borne noiselessly on the river FROM THE + SEA, in the plumes and insignia of his predecessor. This mere coincidence + of appearance and costume might not have been convincing to the braves had + not Elijah Martin's actual deficiencies contributed to their unquestioned + faith in him. Not only his inert possession of the sweat-house and his + apathetic attitude in their presence, but his utter and complete + unlikeness to the white frontiersmen of their knowledge and tradition—creatures + of fire and sword and malevolent activity—as well as his manifest + dissimilarity to themselves, settled their conviction of his supernatural + origin. His gentle, submissive voice, his yielding will, his lazy + helplessness, the absence of strange weapons and fierce explosives in his + possession, his unwonted sobriety—all proved him an exception to his + apparent race that was in itself miraculous. For it must be confessed + that, in spite of the cherished theories of most romances and all + statesmen and commanders, that FEAR is the great civilizer of the savage + barbarian, and that he is supposed to regard the prowess of the white man + and his mysterious death-dealing weapons as evidence of his supernatural + origin and superior creation, the facts have generally pointed to the + reverse. Elijah Martin was not long in discovering that when the Minyo + hunter, with his obsolete bow, dropped dead by a bullet from a viewless + and apparently noiseless space, it was NOT considered the lightnings of an + avenging Deity, but was traced directly to the ambushed rifle of Kansas + Joe, swayed by a viciousness quite as human as their own; the spectacle of + Blizzard Dick, verging on delirium tremens, and riding “amuck” into an + Indian village with a revolver in each hand, did NOT impress them as a + supernatural act, nor excite their respectful awe as much as the less + harmful frenzy of one of their own medicine-men; they were NOT influenced + by implacable white gods, who relaxed only to drive hard bargains and + exchange mildewed flour and shoddy blankets for their fish and furs. I am + afraid they regarded these raids of Christian civilization as they looked + upon grasshopper plagues, famines, inundations, and epidemics; while an + utterly impassive God washed his hands of the means he had employed, and + even encouraged the faithful to resist and overcome his emissaries—the + white devils! Had Elijah Martin been a student of theology, he would have + been struck with the singular resemblance of these theories—although + the application thereof was reversed—to the Christian faith. But + Elijah Martin had neither the imagination of a theologian nor the insight + of a politician. He only saw that he, hitherto ignored and despised in a + community of half-barbaric men, now translated to a community of men + wholly savage, was respected and worshipped! + </p> + <p> + It might have turned a stronger head than Elijah's. He was at first + frightened, fearful lest his reception concealed some hidden irony, or + that, like the flower-crowned victim of ancient sacrifice, he was exalted + and sustained to give importance and majesty to some impending martyrdom. + Then he began to dread that his innocent deceit—if deceit it was—should + be discovered; at last, partly from meekness and partly from the animal + contentment of present security, he accepted the situation. Fortunately + for him it was purely passive. The Great Chief of the Minyo tribe was + simply an expressionless idol of flesh and blood. The previous incumbent + of that office had been an old man, impotent and senseless of late years + through age and disease. The chieftains and braves had consulted in + council before him, and perfunctorily submitted their decisions, like + offerings, to his unresponsive shrine. In the same way, all material + events—expeditions, trophies, industries—were supposed to pass + before the dull, impassive eyes of the great chief, for direct acceptance. + On the second day of Elijah's accession, two of the braves brought a + bleeding human scalp before him. Elijah turned pale, trembled, and averted + his head, and then, remembering the danger of giving way to his weakness, + grew still more ghastly. The warriors watched him with impassioned faces. + A grunt—but whether of astonishment, dissent, or approval, he would + not tell—went round the circle. But the scalp was taken away and + never again appeared in his presence. + </p> + <p> + An incident still more alarming quickly followed. Two captives, white men, + securely bound, were one day brought before him on their way to the stake, + followed by a crowd of old and young squaws and children. The unhappy + Elijah recognized in the prisoners two packers from a distant settlement + who sometimes passed through Redwood Camp. An agony of terror, shame, and + remorse shook the pseudo chief to his crest of high feathers, and blanched + his face beneath its paint and yellow ochre. To interfere to save them + from the torture they were evidently to receive at the hands of those + squaws and children, according to custom, would be exposure and death to + him as well as themselves; while to assist by his passive presence at the + horrible sacrifice of his countrymen was too much for even his weak + selfishness. Scarcely knowing what he did as the lugubrious procession + passed before him, he hurriedly hid his face in his blanket and turned his + back upon the scene. There was a dead silence. The warriors were evidently + unprepared for this extraordinary conduct of their chief. What might have + been their action it was impossible to conjecture, for at that moment a + little squaw, perhaps impatient for the sport and partly emboldened by the + fact that she had been selected, only a few days before, as the betrothed + of the new chief, approached him slyly from the other side. The horrified + eyes of Elijah, momentarily raised from his blanket, saw and recognized + her. The feebleness of a weak nature, that dared not measure itself + directly with the real cause, vented its rage on a secondary object. He + darted a quick glance of indignation and hatred at the young girl. She ran + back in startled terror to her companions, a hurried consultation + followed, and in another moment the whole bevy of girls, old women, and + children were on the wing, shrieking and crying, to their wigwams. + </p> + <p> + “You see,” said one of the prisoners coolly to the other, in English, “I + was right. They never intended to do anything to us. It was only a bluff. + These Minyos are a different sort from the other tribes. They never kill + anybody if they can help it.” + </p> + <p> + “You're wrong,” said the other, excitedly. “It was that big chief there, + with his head in a blanket, that sent those dogs to the right about. Hell! + did you see them run at just a look from him? He's a high and mighty + feller, you bet. Look at his dignity!” + </p> + <p> + “That's so—he ain't no slouch,” said the other, gazing at Elijah's + muffled head, critically. “D——d if he ain't a born king.” + </p> + <p> + The sudden conflict and utter revulsion of emotion that those simple words + caused in Elijah's breast was almost incredible. He had been at first + astounded by the revelation of the peaceful reputation of the unknown + tribe he had been called upon to govern; but even this comforting + assurance was as nothing compared to the greater revelations implied in + the speaker's praise of himself. He, Elijah Martin! the despised, the + rejected, the worthless outcast of Redwood Camp, recognized as a “born + king,” a leader; his power felt by the very men who had scorned him! And + he had done nothing—stop! had he actually done NOTHING? Was it not + possible that he was REALLY what they thought him? His brain reeled under + the strong, unaccustomed wine of praise; acting upon his weak selfishness, + it exalted him for a moment to their measure of his strength, even as + their former belief in his inefficiency had kept him down. Courage is too + often only the memory of past success. This was his first effort; he + forgot he had not earned it, even as he now ignored the danger of earning + it. The few words of unconscious praise had fallen like the blade of + knighthood on his cowering shoulders; he had risen ennobled from the + contact. Though his face was still muffled in his blanket, he stood erect + and seemed to have gained in stature. + </p> + <p> + The braves had remained standing irresolute, and yet watchful, a few paces + from their captives. Suddenly, Elijah, still keeping his back to the + prisoners, turned upon the braves, with blazing eyes, violently throwing + out his hands with the gesture of breaking bonds. Like all sudden + demonstrations of undemonstrative men, it was extravagant, weird, and + theatrical. But it was more potent than speech—the speech that, even + if effective, would still have betrayed him to his countrymen. The braves + hurriedly cut the thongs of the prisoners; another impulsive gesture from + Elijah, and they, too, fled. When he lifted his eyes cautiously from his + blanket, captors and captives had dispersed in opposite directions, and he + was alone—and triumphant! + </p> + <p> + From that moment Elijah Martin was another man. He went to bed that night + in an intoxicating dream of power; he arose a man of will, of strength. He + read it in the eyes of the braves, albeit at times averted in wonder. He + understood, now, that although peace had been their habit and custom, they + had nevertheless sought to test his theories of administration with the + offering of the scalps and the captives, and in this detection of their + common weakness he forgot his own. Most heroes require the contrast of the + unheroic to set them off; and Elijah actually found himself devising means + for strengthening the defensive and offensive character of the tribe, and + was himself strengthened by it. Meanwhile the escaped packers did not fail + to heighten the importance of their adventure by elevating the character + and achievements of their deliverer; and it was presently announced + throughout the frontier settlements that the hitherto insignificant and + peaceful tribe of Minyos, who inhabited a large territory bordering on the + Pacific Ocean, had developed into a powerful nation, only kept from the + war-path by a more powerful but mysterious chief. The Government sent an + Indian agent to treat with them, in its usual half-paternal, + half-aggressive, and wholly inconsistent policy. Elijah, who still + retained the imitative sense and adaptability to surroundings which belong + to most lazy, impressible natures, and in striped yellow and vermilion + features looked the chief he personated, met the agent with silent and + becoming gravity. The council was carried on by signs. Never before had an + Indian treaty been entered into with such perfect knowledge of the + intentions and designs of the whites by the Indians, and such profound + ignorance of the qualities of the Indians by the whites. It need scarcely + be said that the treaty was an unquestionable Indian success. They did not + give up their arable lands; what they did sell to the agent they refused + to exchange for extravagant-priced shoddy blankets, worthless guns, damp + powder, and mouldy meal. They took pay in dollars, and were thus enabled + to open more profitable commerce with the traders at the settlements for + better goods and better bargains; they simply declined beads, whiskey, and + Bibles at any price. The result was that the traders found it profitable + to protect them from their countrymen, and the chances of wantonly + shooting down a possible valuable customer stopped the old indiscriminate + rifle-practice. The Indians were allowed to cultivate their fields in + peace. Elijah purchased for them a few agricultural implements. The + catching, curing, and smoking of salmon became an important branch of + trade. They waxed prosperous and rich; they lost their nomadic habits—a + centralized settlement bearing the external signs of an Indian village + took the place of their old temporary encampments, but the huts were + internally an improvement on the old wigwams. The dried fish were banished + from the tent-poles to long sheds especially constructed for that purpose. + The sweat-house was no longer utilized for worldly purposes. The wise and + mighty Elijah did not attempt to reform their religion, but to preserve it + in its integrity. + </p> + <p> + That these improvements and changes were due to the influence of one man + was undoubtedly true, but that he was necessarily a superior man did not + follow. Elijah's success was due partly to the fact that he had been + enabled to impress certain negative virtues, which were part of his own + nature, upon a community equally constituted to receive them. Each was + strengthened by the recognition in each other of the unexpected value of + those qualities; each acquired a confidence begotten of their success. + “He-hides-his-face,” as Elijah Martin was known to the tribe after the + episode of the released captives, was really not so much of an autocrat as + many constitutional rulers. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Two years of tranquil prosperity passed. Elijah Martin, foundling, + outcast, without civilized ties or relationship of any kind, forgotten by + his countrymen, and lifted into alien power, wealth, security, and + respect, became—homesick! + </p> + <p> + It was near the close of a summer afternoon. He was sitting at the door of + his lodge, which overlooked, on one side, the far-shining levels of the + Pacific and, on the other, the slow descent to the cultivated meadows and + banks of the Minyo River, that debouched through a waste of salt-marsh, + beach-grass, sand-dunes, and foamy estuary into the ocean. The headland, + or promontory—the only eminence of the Minyo territory—had + been reserved by him for his lodge, partly on account of its isolation + from the village at its base, and partly for the view it commanded of his + territory. Yet his wearying and discontented eyes were more often found on + the ocean, as a possible highway of escape from his irksome position, than + on the plain and the distant range of mountains, so closely connected with + the nearer past and his former detractors. In his vague longing he had no + desire to return to them, even in triumph in his present security there + still lingered a doubt of his ability to cope with the old conditions. It + was more like his easy, indolent nature—which revived in his + prosperity—to trust to this least practical and remote solution of + his trouble. His homesickness was as vague as his plan for escape from it; + he did not know exactly what he regretted, but it was probably some life + he had not enjoyed, some pleasure that had escaped his former incompetency + and poverty. + </p> + <p> + He had sat thus a hundred times, as aimlessly blinking at the vast + possibilities of the shining sea beyond, turning his back upon the nearer + and more practicable mountains, lulled by the far-off beating of + monotonous rollers, the lonely cry of the curlew and plover, the drowsy + changes of alternate breaths of cool, fragrant reeds and warm, spicy sands + that blew across his eyelids, and succumbed to sleep, as he had done a + hundred times before. The narrow strips of colored cloth, insignia of his + dignity, flapped lazily from his tent-poles, and at last seemed to slumber + with him; the shadows of the leaf-tracery thrown by the bay-tree, on the + ground at his feet, scarcely changed its pattern. Nothing moved but the + round, restless, berry-like eyes of Wachita, his child-wife, the former + heroine of the incident with the captive packers, who sat near her lord, + armed with a willow wand, watchful of intruding wasps, sand-flies, and + even the more ostentatious advances of a rotund and clerical-looking + humble-bee, with his monotonous homily. Content, dumb, submissive, vacant, + at such times, Wachita, debarred her husband's confidences through the + native customs and his own indifferent taciturnity, satisfied herself by + gazing at him with the wondering but ineffectual sympathy of a faithful + dog. Unfortunately for Elijah her purely mechanical ministration could not + prevent a more dangerous intrusion upon his security. + </p> + <p> + He awoke with a light start, and eyes that gradually fixed upon the woman + a look of returning consciousness. Wachita pointed timidly to the village + below. + </p> + <p> + “The Messenger of the Great White Father has come to-day, with his wagons + and horses; he would see the chief of the Minyos, but I would not disturb + my lord.” + </p> + <p> + Elijah's brow contracted. Relieved of its characteristic metaphor, he knew + that this meant that the new Indian agent had made his usual official + visit, and had exhibited the usual anxiety to see the famous chieftain. + </p> + <p> + “Good!” he said. “White Rabbit [his lieutenant] will see the Messenger and + exchange gifts. It is enough.” + </p> + <p> + “The white messenger has brought his wangee [white] woman with him. They + would look upon the face of him who hides it,” continued Wachita, + dubiously. “They would that Wachita should bring them nearer to where my + lord is, that they might see him when he knew it not.” + </p> + <p> + Elijah glanced moodily at his wife, with the half suspicion with which he + still regarded her alien character. “Then let Wachita go back to the + squaws and old women, and let her hide herself with them until the wangee + strangers are gone,” he said curtly. “I have spoken. Go!” + </p> + <p> + Accustomed to these abrupt dismissals, which did not necessarily indicate + displeasure, Wachita disappeared without a word. Elijah, who had risen, + remained for a few moments leaning against the tent-poles, gazing + abstractedly toward the sea. The bees droned uninterruptedly in his ears, + the far-off roll of the breakers came to him distinctly; but suddenly, + with greater distinctness, came the murmur of a woman's voice. + </p> + <p> + “He don't look savage a bit! Why, he's real handsome.” + </p> + <p> + “Hush! you—” said a second voice, in a frightened whisper. + </p> + <p> + “But if he DID hear he couldn't understand,” returned the first voice. A + suppressed giggle followed. + </p> + <p> + Luckily, Elijah's natural and acquired habits of repression suited the + emergency. He did not move, although he felt the quick blood fly to his + face, and the voice of the first speaker had suffused him with a strange + and delicious anticipation. He restrained himself, though the words she + had naively dropped were filling him with new and tremulous suggestion. He + was motionless, even while he felt that the vague longing and yearning + which had possessed him hitherto was now mysteriously taking some unknown + form and action. + </p> + <p> + The murmuring ceased. The humble-bees' drone again became ascendant—a + sudden fear seized him. She was GOING; he should never see her! While he + had stood there a dolt and sluggard, she had satisfied her curiosity and + stolen away. With a sudden yielding to impulse, he darted quickly in the + direction where he had heard her voice. The thicket moved, parted, + crackled, and rustled, and then undulated thirty feet before him in a long + wave, as if from the passage of some lithe, invisible figure. But at the + same moment a little cry, half of alarm, half of laughter, broke from his + very feet, and a bent manzanito-bush, relaxed by frightened fingers, flew + back against his breast. Thrusting it hurriedly aside, his stooping, eager + face came almost in contact with the pink, flushed cheeks and tangled + curls of a woman's head. He was so near, her moist and laughing eyes + almost drowned his eager glance; her parted lips and white teeth were so + close to his that her quick breath took away his own. + </p> + <p> + She had dropped on one knee, as her companion fled, expecting he would + overlook her as he passed, but his direct onset had extracted the feminine + outcry. Yet even then she did not seem greatly frightened. + </p> + <p> + “It's only a joke, sir,” she said, coolly lifting herself to her feet by + grasping his arm. “I'm Mrs. Dall, the Indian agent's wife. They said you + wouldn't let anybody see you—and I determined I would. That's all!” + She stopped, threw back her tangled curls behind her ears, shook the + briers and thorns from her skirt, and added: “Well, I reckon you aren't + afraid of a woman, are you? So no harm's done. Good-by!” + </p> + <p> + She drew slightly back as if to retreat, but the elasticity of the + manzanito against which she was leaning threw her forward once more. He + again inhaled the perfume of her hair; he saw even the tiny freckles that + darkened her upper lip and brought out the moist, red curve below. A + sudden recollection of a playmate of his vagabond childhood flashed across + his mind; a wild inspiration of lawlessness, begotten of his past + experience, his solitude, his dictatorial power, and the beauty of the + woman before him, mounted to his brain. He threw his arms passionately + around her, pressed his lips to hers, and with a half-hysterical laugh + drew back and disappeared in the thicket. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Dall remained for an instant dazed and stupefied. Then she lifted her + arm mechanically, and with her sleeve wiped her bruised mouth and the + ochre-stain that his paint had left, like blood, upon her cheek. Her + laughing face had become instantly grave, but not from fear; her dark eyes + had clouded, but not entirely with indignation. She suddenly brought down + her hand sharply against her side with a gesture of discovery. + </p> + <p> + “That's no Injun!” she said, with prompt decision. The next minute she + plunged back into the trail again, and the dense foliage once more closed + around her. But as she did so the broad, vacant face and the mutely + wondering eyes of Wachita rose, like a placid moon, between the branches + of a tree where they had been hidden, and shone serenely and impassively + after her. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + A month elapsed. But it was a month filled with more experience to Elijah + than his past two years of exaltation. In the first few days following his + meeting with Mrs. Dall, he was possessed by terror, mingled with flashes + of desperation, at the remembrance of his rash imprudence. His + recollection of extravagant frontier chivalry to womankind, and the swift + retribution of the insulted husband or guardian, alternately filled him + with abject fear or extravagant recklessness. At times prepared for + flight, even to the desperate abandonment of himself in a canoe to the + waters of the Pacific: at times he was on the point of inciting his braves + to attack the Indian agency and precipitate the war that he felt would be + inevitable. As the days passed, and there seemed to be no interruption to + his friendly relations with the agency, with that relief a new, subtle joy + crept into Elijah's heart. The image of the agent's wife framed in the + leafy screen behind his lodge, the perfume of her hair and breath mingled + with the spicing of the bay, the brief thrill and tantalization of the + stolen kiss still haunted him. Through his long, shy abstention from + society, and his two years of solitary exile, the fresh beauty of this + young Western wife, in whom the frank artlessness of girlhood still + lingered, appeared to him like a superior creation. He forgot his vague + longings in the inception of a more tangible but equally unpractical + passion. He remembered her unconscious and spontaneous admiration of him; + he dared to connect it with her forgiving silence. If she had withheld her + confidences from her husband, he could hope—he knew not exactly + what! + </p> + <p> + One afternoon Wachita put into his hand a folded note. With an instinctive + presentiment of its contents, Elijah turned red and embarrassed in + receiving it from the woman who was recognized as his wife. But the + impassive, submissive manner of this household drudge, instead of touching + his conscience, seemed to him a vulgar and brutal acceptance of the + situation that dulled whatever compunction he might have had. He opened + the note and read hurriedly as follows:— + </p> + <p> + “You took a great freedom with me the other day, and I am justified in + taking one with you now. I believe you understand English as well as I do. + If you want to explain that and your conduct to me, I will be at the same + place this afternoon. My friend will accompany me, but she need not hear + what you have to say.” + </p> + <p> + Elijah read the letter, which might have been written by an ordinary + school-girl, as if it had conveyed the veiled rendezvous of a princess. + The reserve, caution, and shyness which had been the safeguard of his weak + nature were swamped in a flow of immature passion. He flew to the + interview with the eagerness and inexperience of first love. He was + completely at her mercy. So utterly was he subjugated by her presence that + she did not even run the risk of his passion. Whatever sentiment might + have mingled with her curiosity, she was never conscious of a necessity to + guard herself against it. At this second meeting she was in full + possession of his secret. He had told her everything; she had promised + nothing in return—she had not even accepted anything. Even her + actual after-relations to the denouement of his passion are still shrouded + in mystery. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, Elijah lived two weeks on the unsubstantial memory of this + meeting. What might have followed could not be known, for at the end of + that time an outrage—so atrocious that even the peaceful Minyos were + thrilled with savage indignation—was committed on the outskirts of + the village. An old chief, who had been specially selected to deal with + the Indian agent, and who kept a small trading outpost, had been killed + and his goods despoiled by a reckless Redwood packer. The murderer had + coolly said that he was only “serving out” the tool of a fraudulent + imposture on the Government, and that he dared the arch-impostor himself, + the so-called Minyo chief, to help himself. A wave of ungovernable fury + surged up to the very tent-poles of Elijah's lodge and demanded vengeance. + Elijah trembled and hesitated. In the thraldom of his selfish passion for + Mrs. Dall he dared not contemplate a collision with her countrymen. He + would have again sought refuge in his passive, non-committal attitude, but + he knew the impersonal character of Indian retribution and compensation—a + sacrifice of equal value, without reference to the culpability of the + victim—and he dreaded some spontaneous outbreak. To prevent the + enforced expiation of the crime by some innocent brother packer, he was + obliged to give orders for the pursuit and arrest of the criminal, + secretly hoping for his escape or the interposition of some circumstance + to avert his punishment. A day of sullen expectancy to the old men and + squaws in camp, of gloomy anxiety to Elijah alone in his lodge, followed + the departure of the braves on the war-path. It was midnight when they + returned. Elijah, who from his habitual reserve and the accepted etiquette + of his exalted station had remained impassive in his tent, only knew from + the guttural rejoicings of the squaws that the expedition had been + successful and the captive was in their hands. At any other time he might + have thought it an evidence of some growing scepticism of his + infallibility of judgment and a diminution of respect that they did not + confront him with their prisoner. But he was too glad to escape from the + danger of exposure and possible arraignment of his past life by the + desperate captive, even though it might not have been understood by the + spectators. He reflected that the omission might have arisen from their + recollection of his previous aversion to a retaliation on other prisoners. + Enough that they would wait his signal for the torture and execution at + sunrise the next day. + </p> + <p> + The night passed slowly. It is more than probable that the selfish and + ignoble torments of the sleepless and vacillating judge were greater than + those of the prisoner who dozed at the stake between his curses. Yet it + was part of Elijah's fatal weakness that his kinder and more human + instincts were dominated even at that moment by his lawless passion for + the Indian agent's wife, and his indecision as to the fate of his captive + was as much due to this preoccupation as to a selfish consideration of her + relations to the result. He hated the prisoner for his infelicitous and + untimely crime, yet he could not make up his mind to his death. He paced + the ground before his lodge in dishonorable incertitude. The small eyes of + the submissive Wachita watched him with vague solicitude. + </p> + <p> + Toward morning he was struck by a shameful inspiration. He would creep + unperceived to the victim's side, unloose his bonds, and bid him fly to + the Indian agency. There he was to inform Mrs. Dall that her husband's + safety depended upon his absenting himself for a few days, but that she + was to remain and communicate with Elijah. She would understand + everything, perhaps; at least she would know that the prisoner's release + was to please her, but even if she did not, no harm would be done, a white + man's life would be saved, and his real motive would not be suspected. He + turned with feverish eagerness to the lodge. Wachita had disappeared—probably + to join the other women. It was well; she would not suspect him. + </p> + <p> + The tree to which the doomed man was bound was, by custom, selected + nearest the chief's lodge, within its sacred enclosure, with no other + protection than that offered by its reserved seclusion and the outer + semicircle of warriors' tents before it. To escape, the captive would + therefore have to pass beside the chief's lodge to the rear and descend + the hill toward the shore. Elijah would show him the way, and make it + appear as if he had escaped unaided. As he glided into the shadow of a + group of pines, he could dimly discern the outline of the destined victim, + secured against one of the larger trees in a sitting posture, with his + head fallen forward on his breast as if in sleep. But at the same moment + another figure glided out from the shadow and approached the fatal tree. + It was Wachita! + </p> + <p> + He stopped in amazement. But in another instant a flash of intelligence + made it clear. He remembered her vague uneasiness and solicitude at his + agitation, her sudden disappearance; she had fathomed his perplexity, as + she had once before. Of her own accord she was going to release the + prisoner! The knife to cut his cords glittered in her hand. Brave and + faithful animal! + </p> + <p> + He held his breath as he drew nearer. But, to his horror, the knife + suddenly flashed in the air and darted down, again and again, upon the + body of the helpless man. There was a convulsive struggle, but no outcry, + and the next moment the body hung limp and inert in its cords. Elijah + would himself have fallen, half-fainting, against a tree, but, by a + revulsion of feeling, came the quick revelation that the desperate girl + had rightly solved the problem! She had done what he ought to have done—and + his loyalty and manhood were preserved. That conviction and the courage to + act upon it—to have called the sleeping braves to witness his + sacrifice—would have saved him, but it was ordered otherwise. + </p> + <p> + As the girl rapidly passed him he threw out his hand and seized her wrist. + “Who did you do this for?” he demanded. + </p> + <p> + “For you,” she said, stupidly. + </p> + <p> + “And why?” + </p> + <p> + “Because you no kill him—you love his squaw.” + </p> + <p> + “HIS squaw!” He staggered back. A terrible suspicion flashed upon him. He + dashed Wachita aside and ran to the tree. It was the body of the Indian + agent! Aboriginal justice had been satisfied. The warriors had not caught + the MURDERER, but, true to their idea of vicarious retribution, had + determined upon the expiatory sacrifice of a life as valuable and innocent + as the one they had lost. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + “So the Gov'rment hev at last woke up and wiped out them cussed Digger + Minyos,” said Snapshot Harry, as he laid down the newspaper, in the + brand-new saloon of the brand-new town of Redwood. “I see they've + stampeded both banks of the Minyo River, and sent off a lot to the + reservation. I reckon the soldiers at Fort Cass got sick o' sentiment + after those hounds killed the Injun agent, and are beginning to agree with + us that the only 'good Injun' is a dead one.” + </p> + <p> + “And it turns out that that wonderful chief, that them two packers used to + rave about, woz about as big a devil ez any, and tried to run off with the + agent's wife, only the warriors killed her. I'd like to know what become + of him. Some says he was killed, others allow that he got away. I've heerd + tell that he was originally some kind of Methodist preacher!—a kind + o' saint that got a sort o' spiritooal holt on the old squaws and + children.” + </p> + <p> + “Why don't you ask old Skeesicks? I see he's back here ag'in—and + grubbin' along at a dollar a day on tailin's. He's been somewhere up + north, they say.” + </p> + <p> + “What, Skeesicks? that shiftless, o'n'ry cuss! You bet he wusn't anywhere + where there was danger of fighting. Why, you might as well hev suspected + HIM of being the big chief himself! There he comes—ask him.” + </p> + <p> + And the laughter was so general that Elijah Martin—alias Skeesicks—lounging + shyly into the bar-room, joined in it weakly. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Drift from Redwood Camp, by Bret Harte + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DRIFT FROM REDWOOD CAMP *** + +***** This file should be named 2712-h.htm or 2712-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/1/2712/ + +Produced by Donald Lainson; David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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