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CHAPTER VI
A FARMER’S LIFE IN THE WOODS. (CONTINUED.)

My comrade attacked by ague – Removal to a new locality – Snakes in the woods – Grinding corn – “Lying” Bahrens – Repeated attacks of ague – Sassafras tree – “An epileptic breakfast” – Night in the forest – The panther – Visit to Hilger – Shooting by torchlight – A distillery – A backwoods politician – Clearings – New farm – Illness, and want of medical aid – Negro children – Two American speculators – Bad characters in Arkansas – Removal to a new farm at Oiltrove bottom – White river – A gallant buffalo hunter – Home-sickness – Unhealthy swamps – Bear-hunting in companies.

On the 8th of July, I had killed a fawn. The flesh was very delicate, and we had made a hearty feast on it, when Uhl complained of headache and sickness, and though he had frequently boasted of his sound constitution, and maintained that he should never be ill, he began to feel some doubts on the subject. Next day he was very ill, and on the third, about noon, his sickness declared itself as a regular attack of ague. I did all I could to relieve him, but in our loneliness we had little to comfort an invalid. Towards evening he got better, and longed for some blackberries. I took a tin dish, and went to a place about eighty paces from our house, where they grew in quantities; there had formerly been a field here, and the thorns grew thick about the overthrown trees. I was plucking some of the ripest berries from one of the largest bushes, in which I had once or twice heard something move; but as all the cows and calves were near me, and I supposed it proceeded from some of them, I had not taken much notice of the fact, when suddenly the bush opened, and a large, powerful wolf walked deliberately forth; he looked steadily at me, and seemed inclined to declare war. I raised my foot to give him a kick with my heavy fisherman’s boot, for I had no weapon; but he seemed to think better of it, and walked away slowly towards the jungle. I hastened to the house, seized my rifle, and followed his trail; but too late, for he had taken to flight.

July 11th. Uhl was so far recovered as to be able to go to Saint’s, where he could receive better care, and for some time I was alone in my hermitage. I felt very comfortable, having no cares or troubles, paid attention to my charge, supplied them plentifully with salt, and constantly went out shooting, bringing home young turkeys, which were just large enough to be eaten. In the evening, when all was still, I sat in front of the house, by a blazing fire, playing my zither, and was very happy without seeing a human face.

On July 17th I went to Saint’s to see Uhl, and to get some flour and coffee. Uhl was better, and free from fever, but weak. I did not return, as Saint required my assistance. Saint then proposed that, for the summer and autumn, we should move further west, and pitch our camp near Brushy lake, about six miles from Saint’s, where there was better pasture, so that when once the cattle had been driven there, they would not be likely to stray. I was pleased with the plan, as there was more game there, and we only waited Uhl’s recovery to put it in execution.

On July 22nd Uhl felt tolerably well, so we started in company with a long Kentuckyman, who happened to be there, to have a look at the country, and to fix on a place for our tent. As it was late in the afternoon when we started, it was almost dark when we arrived. We were deceived in our expectations of finding game, and had to go hungry to sleep, having brought no provisions with us, except a morsel of bread and a couple of onions. We had made sure of killing a deer before dark, but had reckoned without our host. It was a beautiful night, mosquitoes excepted; we had nothing to wish for beyond a good supper. A bright fire was soon blazing up, for notwithstanding the heat of the days the nights were cold.

Our American friend, Jim by name, was very much afraid of snakes, which abounded in this neighborhood. He could not rest quiet, and repeated a number of stories of this person or that having been bitten by snakes in the night. I let him talk on, while I made preparations to go to sleep.

Half asleep, I still heard the snake stories, till, overpowered by fatigue, Morpheus took me softly in his arms; but there were snakes hanging about me, and some of them grew to an immense size, till at last it seemed as if a very wicked-looking one came straight towards me, crawled under my left knee, and there coiled himself down – yet he kept fidgeting as if he could not make himself quite comfortable. I awoke, and lay for a moment quite still; Jim was yet telling his snake stories to Uhl, who was listening attentively, when I positively felt something move under my knee, and hearing of nothing else, thinking of nothing else, of course I supposed it must be a snake. I dared not raise myself slowly for fear of pressing on the snake, when he would certainly have bitten me. I sprang up as quickly as I could, and at once burst away from my couch: my two comrades, with their brains full of all sorts of monsters, no sooner saw me start up so suddenly, than they followed my example, as if they had been fired from a gun, and we looked at each other in dismay.

I examined the place where I supposed the snake to be, and found a little twig of about eight or nine inches growing out of the ground, and which had been under my knee. We all laughed heartily at our fright, and were soon fast asleep.

Our appetites next morning were very sharp. In the course of a couple of hours Jim shot a squirrel, which afforded but a meagre breakfast for three people. After breakfast we tried again, and with better success on my part, for, happening to espy a deer in the jungle, I knocked him over, and we returned to S.’s well laden with venison. Although we had found several spots suitable for our tent, we had not fixed on any one in particular, and we were well pleased with the place altogether, notwithstanding snakes and mosquitoes.

Hitherto we had always eaten maize bread, because, although S. could grind wheat, he had no means of bolting it; and as it was stacked in the field he decided on sending it to a mill about fifteen miles distant. The wheat was in sheaves, but there was neither barn nor thrashing floor, neither flail nor winnowing machine, nothing to clean it from the straw; however, we set to work Arkansas fashion. The weather was bright and dry, the road before the door as hard as a stone, but dusty: a space about thirty feet in diameter was fenced in, and swept as clean as possible; the sheaves were unbound and laid in a circle, every two sheaves with their ears together, one with the straw to the centre, the other with the straw outwards; six horses were mounted, and ridden round and round, while two men kept shaking down fresh corn; when it had been well trodden out, it had to be sifted.

I had probably worked rather too hard, caught another attack of ague, and was obliged to lie down till evening, when I felt somewhat better. This evening we were visited by a friend of S.’s, or neighbor, as he called himself, though living at a distance of twenty-five miles; but there was neither house nor road between the two. He was called Jim Bahrens, but S. whispered to me that he was nicknamed “lying Bahrens,” and indeed Munchausen would have been obliged to hide his face before him. He was very talkative and amusing; amongst other things, he told us that he had but a small tract of land, but that it was the best and most fertile in the whole world; that he could grow every thing on it, except corn beans (the common garden bean), because the corn grows so fast, that it drags the beans out of the earth. He invited us to come and see him, telling us that he could kill as much game in a day as would weigh 1000 pounds for that he lived among large herds both of buffaloes and deer. We promised to come, and see all these wonders.

On the 1st of August, Uhl told me that he wished to go, being tired of this sort of life; and, indeed, I must allow that I myself was rather sick of it. I was so weak that I could hardly crawl, and saw so many sickly faces around me, that I could not try to persuade him to remain. We divided our property, for hitherto we had had all things in common, and on the same day he marched off to the west. I had no time to indulge in sorrowful thoughts, for the ague attacked me again; having brought some medicine with me from Cincinnati, I took an emetic, and then a dose of quinine, which succeeded in subduing it.

On August 3rd, I felt better, and decided in the afternoon on driving to the mill; but the grain had first to be cleaned. This, without a machine, was rather a difficult matter, but the sharp Americans know how to manage it. Two of the stoutest fellows hold a blanket by the four corners; a third stands on a chair with a sieve full of grain, which he shakes, not too fast, nor too long at a time, while the two with the blanket make as much wind as they can, by working it up and down; the chaff is blown away, while the wheat falls to the ground, and is at once gathered into the sack, though not quite so clean as it would be with our system.

By two o’clock we were able to start, the cart being drawn by oxen, and, owing to their slow discreet pace, it was pitch dark when we arrived at the mill. At so late an hour grinding was out of the question; we lighted our fire, broiled our supper, and laid down in the wagon to sleep till daylight. But the night was so beautiful, the stars shining so mildly down upon us, the wind blowing so soft and warm through the green branches, that we could not sleep, but went on talking. Both my companions were Americans, one of them a strict Methodist, and there was nothing more natural than that we should talk of the stars, then of heaven, then of religion; and as we entertained very different views, our conversation degenerated into a hot dispute, which was put an end to about midnight by a heavy shower of rain, that forced us to seek shelter for ourselves and our sacks.

Next day we began to grind, and slow work it was, for we had to turn the mill with our own oxen, who had no idea of inconveniencing themselves; however, we managed to reach home the same night. The season was now far enough advanced for the leaves of Indian corn to be stripped and laid up as fodder for the winter. This plant, in the southern States, will grow to a height of eleven or twelve feet, and often bears three cobs: the white sort is the best for bread, the yellow, containing more sugar, is best for fodder and for whiskey.

On the 15th of August I received a letter from Uhl, telling me that he was with my old acquaintance, the Rhenish-Bavarian, at Little Red river, and that he was going to join Turowski in farming. I had too lively a remembrance of the kindness of old Hilger not to take a walk to visit him; therefore, as soon as our fodder was all in, I prepared for my journey, and early on the 20th of August I shouldered my rifle, and, with one of S.’s dogs by my side, set off in the hottest season of the year through the dried swamp. The atmosphere was sultry in the extreme, but by evening I had reached the bank of White river, a distance of thirty-two miles, where I passed the night.

I was ferried across at daybreak, and had forty miles to go to reach the Little Red river. The south bank of the White is one of the most fertile in America, on which account it rejoices in the name of “Oiltrove bottom.” Some say that the soil is better than that of the American bottom opposite St. Louis; and this is my opinion, having seen from sixty to seventy bushels of maize to the acre, and pumpkins larger than a man can lift. Trees grow to an enormous size, some of the trunks of the sassafras trees measuring from five to six feet in diameter; pawpaw trees are also very numerous. This last is a small tree bearing a fruit about four or five inches long, and two to two and a half inches thick, having a soft sweetish pulp, with numbers of oily kernels. Generally speaking, the Americans do not value it much, though some are very fond of it. It was not at all to my taste; its bark is very tough, and is useful for a variety of purposes, amongst others for ropes. The valley of the White river is full of these trees, and of the thick American canes, or reeds, which form impenetrable thickets, and are the favorite haunts of bears. Just now this fruit was quite out of favor, and even the pigs would no longer eat it, when a distiller of the name of Magnus tried its qualities, and extracted such a superior spirit from it, that he declared he would not sell a drop of it, but keep it all for his own drinking.

Not to lose time, I had set off in the morning without breakfast, and by the time I had walked six miles had a very respectable appetite. Looking out for a house, I espied one about an hundred paces from the path. The door was open, and the family were just sitting down to breakfast; nothing better could be wished for. I sprang over the fence, and asked a stout pale man if I could have something to eat by paying for it; on receiving the expected answer I joined the company. Maize bread, coffee, and bacon, the usual breakfast in this part of the world, was spread out on the table, and I was preparing to set to with a will, when the man sitting by my side, after looking at me with a mournful expression, asked if I had ever in my life seen a man who was subject to epilepsy. Now such a question could be nowhere more out of place than when addressed to a hungry man sitting down to a good breakfast, so I answered shortly, “Yes, sir.” “Well then,” said he, “don’t be surprised if you see me attacked before breakfast is over, for at times it comes on very suddenly.” If any one had told me that the meat on the table, instead of good pork, was a piece of salted negro, it could not have taken away my appetite more effectually than did this grave announcement. I looked at the man in astonishment: he was very pale, and looked serious, and not at all given to joking. I looked at his wife, who was pale almost to transparency: I looked at the children, who were also deadly pale, but more dirty than transparent. I gulped down the cup of coffee in despair, gave the dog, who probably had not heard the observation, or cared nothing for it, the bread off my plate, which he eagerly took, paid my quarter dollar, the usual price for a breakfast, and continued my journey.

For some time I kept the broad road towards Batesville, then struck off to the left through the forest, and, going tolerably fast, arrived before sunset at the plantation of a widow named Pace, where I intended to pass the night, having still ten miles to go to Little Red river, and no other house near the path. The roof reflected the last beams of the setting sun; my stomach, which had received nothing but the coffee since the previous evening, was beginning to rejoice, when we both found ourselves wofully disappointed – the lady was not at home. The slaves dared not admit any stranger to sleep there. I should not have cared about a roof to sleep under, for the nights were fine and warm, if only I could have obtained something to eat; but this could not be, and I was obliged to employ the fine warm night in walking on to the place of my destination.

After the sun had gone down, my light-colored, well-trodden path was illuminated by the nearly full moon, for I had left the darker lowlands some hours ago, and was traversing dry, but not very fruitful, hills, through the midst of fir-trees. About two miles short of the river, I gained the crest of the hills that divide the waters of the White and Little Red rivers, just as the moon was setting, and my limbs felt as if they were hung with lead. I had gone seventy miles since the previous morning without tasting a regular meal, which was more than flesh and blood could bear for any length of time, and at last I was so overcome by fatigue that I sank down exhausted under a tree without even lighting a fire. The poor dog lay by my side, resting his head on my arm. I might have slept about three hours, for the first gleam of approaching day was lighting up the eastern sky, when I was awakened by the loud, angry bark of the dog. I jumped up, rifle in hand, but could see nothing and hear nothing: I cheered on the dog, but in vain: he would not move from my side, and only barked louder and louder. I fancied he might have scented wolves, and was about to lie down again, when I distinctly heard a rustling in the bush, although there was not a breath of wind. I approached the place cautiously with both barrels cocked, but could discover nothing; and as it was still dark, and no trail perceptible, I could do no more, so lay down again for another short sleep, when I suddenly heard the short piercing roar of a panther, which those who have once heard never forget. My dog answered it with a slight whimper, and crept closer to my side. I now knew the character of my nightly visitor; and tolerably sure that, once frightened away, he would be in no hurry to return, I was soon asleep, and remained so till awakened by the cold air which always precedes the rising sun.

As beautiful a panorama as I had ever beheld lay spread out before me. A sea of forest as far as the eye could reach, in every shade of color, from the darkest green to light blue – the Little Red river winding through the midst of it, while a light downy mist hung about the tips of the trees on its banks. To the west and south-west, the distant mountains cut sharply in a mass of blue against the lighter morning sky. Hills overgrown with pines rose above the darker extent of oak, like islands floating in a deep green sea, as the sun’s rays were reflected from the dewy leaves. Light vapor rising here and there from the valleys, curling over the forest, and vanishing into air, revealed the site of human habitations hidden in the woods. I sat long, lost in contemplation of the lovely scene, and again the question pressed itself upon me – “Why must I enjoy it alone?” Then I remembered my visitor of the past night, and, shaking off all mournful thoughts, looked out for the trail; and there, hardly twenty paces from my bivouac, were the marks of the large round paws of the beast impressed in the loose sand. He had probably tried to creep up to me without being discovered, but the dog had spoiled his sport.

Refreshed by sleep, I hastened down the hill, found a canoe, which took me over the river, and soon the well-known friendly abode of the Rhenish-Bavarian shone invitingly before me. It seemed almost as if it was my home, from which I had been long, long absent, and that all its dear inmates would rush joyfully forward to embrace me. Alas for our dreams!

Hilger and his wife welcomed me with a hearty shake of the hand. I soon felt myself at home and happy with these kind people, and I was not a little delighted with the breakfast, which quickly adorned the table, and which did not taste amiss after my long fast.

Hilger had made vast improvements in his condition since I was here two years ago. He had bought the land, had a pair of horses, several head of cattle and pigs, and lived happy and independent in the circle of his family, which, in the mean time had been increased by the birth of a little prince. His two sons, of fifteen and thirteen, were nice lads, and worked hard with their father to make their way in the world happily and honestly.

Uhl came in in the afternoon from a place belonging to Von G., about two miles off. He looked very pale and wretched, still suffering severely from ague. I was delighted to pass a short time here among Germans, where I could speak my mother-tongue to my heart’s content, and live like a man. Peaches and watermelons grow here in great abundance, and were a treat which I had long been deprived of.

On the second day I went down the river to Von G.’s, who kept the ferry, and in whose house I had passed the night two years ago, on my first arrival. He received me kindly and hospitably. He was a keen sportsman and capital shot, and was extremely lucky in shooting by torchlight, a practice in which he had acquired such perfection as often to shoot three or four deer in a night. On one night when I went out with him, he shot a noble buck, hitting him right in the heart, although he could not see his body, and could only judge of his position by the light reflected from his eyes, and by their movement. I shall describe this sort of shooting more particularly hereafter. I also attempted it, but without success, from want of practice, having yet to learn all the fine touches. We saw the eyes of three wolves, but they were frightened by the fire, and would not come near us.

My health was still far from good; and being one day wet through by a sudden shower, I was again attacked by ague, and obliged to lie fallow for a couple of days. As my illness came on at Von G.’s, he kindly asked me to remain with him till I was better. I gratefully accepted the invitation, and recovered in a few days, when I took a hearty farewell of all my kind friends here, and returned to my marshes.

On the fourth of September I crossed White river, and went on to Little Cash river, passing a distillery, where they made maize whiskey, but sold very little of it, as the three young men, who carried on business in company, drank most of it themselves.

The Cash was so shallow that I crossed it along a fallen tree, and, as it began to rain, I stopped for the night at the house of a man named Harriot. We had finished our simple supper, and were sitting comfortably by a blazing fire, which was crackling up the chimney, when my host, looking at me sideways, cleared his throat, and brought his chair a little nearer to mine, then giving the quid of tobacco in his cheek an extra turn, put to me the unexpected question – “How’s the king of Spain?” I was rather disconcerted at first, and thought he wanted to make fun of me, but when I saw by his countenance, that he was in downright earnest, I replied gravely, that according to the last accounts which I had received His Majesty was suffering from a severe cold; – whereupon he expressed his sincere regret, and then inquired after all the other crowned heads in Europe. As we proceeded in our conversation, I found that by the king of Spain he meant Gustavus Adolphus: he placed Francis the Second of Austria on the throne of France; England was ruled by Constantine the Great; and Germany was presented to Louis Philippe. I was much amused with his wild fantasies. In the meanwhile he kept paying earnest devotion to the whiskey bottle, offering it to me at the same time. I took a little at first, but latterly only put it to my lips for show. The nearer we approached the bottom of the bottle, the wilder danced their majesties across the magic lantern of his imagination. And as we were taking into consideration the case of Russia, which, by our united endeavors, had become a republic, his head began to nod, and his chin had hardly touched his breast when he began to snore. His wife, a simple soul, who had been brought up in the woods, had listened to us with astonishment, and was still holding her mouth open as I turned to seek my bed.

My dreams transported me to my native land – not to the royal palaces I had just left, but to my home, with its much-loved forms. On the 5th of September, I arrived again at Saint’s, and indulged my body with some necessary repose, shattered as it was by so many attacks of the ague. On the 9th, Saint commenced his Indian corn harvest, which lasted till the 11th, and I gave my assistance. The cobs were simply broken away from the stems, and cast into a cart which carried them to the building prepared to receive them. When this work was done, we began another – namely, to clear about half an acre more land, and sow it with turnips.

The western settlers, and particularly those in the south-western states, are not very fond of hard work; in those wild regions they prefer rearing cattle and shooting, to agriculture, and are loth to undertake the hard work of felling trees and clearing land. To make the labor as light as possible, yet still to increase their fields, they generally clear a small space every autumn, and ploughing it very slightly, sow it with turnips, which answer best for new ground. Next year it is fenced in and added to the field.

When about to make a clearing, the American looks out for the largest and straightest oaks, which he fells, and slits into poles, from ten to twelve feet long, for fencing. When he thinks he has enough for this purpose, the rest is cut up and piled; next, the trees which have a diameter of eighteen inches and under, are felled, at about half a yard from the ground, and cut into lengths, while the larger trees are girdled all round with the axe, and very soon die. The shrubs and bushes are then rooted up with a heavy hoe, and, with the help of the neighbors who are invited for the purpose, the whole, except the poles for the fence, is rolled into a heap and set on fire.

As soon as the land is cleared of all that can be easily removed it is fenced in and ploughed. This last work is very severe, and gives the ploughman and cattle many a rough shake, as the ploughshare, catching in the roots, has constantly to be lifted out of the ground, or to be moved out of the way of the standing stumps. These stumps give the fields a very extraordinary appearance; it takes from six to ten years before they rot away entirely. It sometimes happens that the trees killed by girdling are blown down amongst the growing crops, and the settler has a great deal of trouble in removing them.

The land about Saint’s farm, when not inundated, was very fertile, and required little labor. It produced splendid oaks, black and white hickory, and sassafras, which last, though covering the land with bushes, often grows to a large tree. Creepers of all sorts abounded in the woods, amongst which were three sorts of wild vines, the first producing a purple summer grape, which ripens in July, and resembles the cultivated grape, except in being smaller and somewhat sour; the second, winter grapes, also dark, and not ripe till they have been touched by the frost, – properly speaking it is not a grape, and the berry is more like a currant; last and best are the muscadines. These do not grow in bunches, but more like cherries, four or five on a stem; they are purple, with a thick skin, and a very agreeable taste, but if indulged in too freely, they are said to produce ague, an opinion in which I agree. Indeed, some of my attacks must be laid to their account; quantities of muscadines grew where we were at work, and I ate a great many of them. They ripen in September, and when they fall, they are greedily sought for by pigs, bears, opossums, raccoons, and turkeys.

As we had had hard work for some days, I resolved on taking a holiday, and riding to the gunsmith’s, about twelve miles off, to get some repairs to my rifle. When I awoke in the morning, I had a dreadful head-ache, but I got up, and mounted the horse, hoping to drive away the pain with the fresh morning air. I had hardly gone a mile, when I was seized with such a giddiness, that I could with difficulty keep my seat. I galloped back as fast as possible, and crept shivering under my buffalo-skin, but the ague crept in with me and kept me there all that day and night. The next morning I was so much worse, that I thought my last hour was approaching. I took one of the emetics I had brought with me from Cincinnati, but without effect; the fever changed from cold to hot, and increased every hour. On the nights of the 16th and 17th of September, I was delirious; what I may have said I know not, as they told me that I spoke German.

Saint could not procure a doctor. The nearest lived twenty miles off, and was seldom at home: this probably saved my life, for had I fallen into the hands of one of these American quacks, I might have prepared for my last journey. Saint happened to have some pills in the house, made by J. Sappington, and gave me one. Whether it was from the pill, or my own good constitution, I was better on the 18th, and could move about the house, and enjoy a little food, after my four days’ fast; I was very weak for a long time. I must ever remember with gratitude the kind interest with which these worthy Americans attended and nursed the poor stranger.

It was by no means agreeable to remain ill in the swamps, having shortly before heard accounts of burials, which left it out of all doubt that some of the poor creatures supposed to be dead had been buried alive. Mrs. S. spoke of one case in particular, on the St. Francis river, where the ground was so wet and swampy, that the man’s comrades, for they were out on a shooting excursion, put the body into a canoe, and brought it down to the place where the Saints then lived, and where the land was dry. On account of the greater heat in the southern States, they do not stand on so much ceremony with a dead body, as is the case in the north: so, as soon as they could after landing, they placed it in a grave, which they dug with the assistance of the inhabitants of the place. Mrs. S. assured me that she had never seen such a corpse. His limbs were quite pliant, and almost warm, and his cheeks still red; but the cold earth soon covered him, and nothing was ever said on the subject.

By the 29th September I was pretty well again, and helped S. to get in the corn from the more distant field; but as it came on to rain, I was none the better for it. On the first October an old man from Tennessee came with his son to the marshes to buy cattle. We mounted to drive them together that they might see them, for at this season, when the grass is everywhere in abundance, the beasts do not remain in one place, but are one day here, the next day there. There cannot be a better place in the world for cattle than the marshes. In summer the woods are filled with pea-vine as high as the knees, as well as with the finest grass, wild oats, and wild rye; in the winter the evergreen canebrakes afford the finest pasture for cattle and deer, and winter grass grows in many parts of the marshes.