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The Huge Hunter

E >> Edward S. Ellis >> The Huge Hunter



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The Huge Hunter; OR, The Steam Man of the Prairies.

EDWARD S. ELLIS


HAPTER I. THE TERROR OF THE PRAIRIES.

HAPTER II. 'HANDLE ME GENTLY.'

HAPTER III. A GENIUS.

HAPTER IV. THE TRAPPER AND THE ARTISAN.

HAPTER V. ON THE YELLOWSTONE.

HAPTER VI. THE MINERS.

HAPTER VII. THE STEAM MAN ON HIS TRAVELS.

HAPTER VIII. INDIANS.

HAPTER IX. THE STEAM MAN AS A HUNTER.

CHAPTER X. WOLF RAVINE.

CHAPTER XI. THE STEAM MAN ON A BUFFALO HUNT.

CHAPTER XII. THE GRIZZLY BEAR.

CHAPTER XIII. AN APPALLING DANGER.

CHAPTER XIV. THE HUGE HUNTER.

CHAPTER XV. THE ATTACK IN THE RAVINE.

CHAPTER XVI. THE REPULSE.

CHAPTER XVII. HOMEWARD BOUND.

CHAPTER XVIII. THE ENCAMPMENT.

CHAPTER XIX. THE DOINGS OF A NIGHT.

CHAPTER XX. THE CONCLUDING CATASTROPHE.

CHAPTER I. THE TERROR OF THE PRAIRIES.

'HOWLY vargin! what is that?' exclaimed Mickey McSquizzle, with
something like horrified amazement,

'By the Jumping Jehosiphat, naow if that don't, beat all natur'!'

'It's the divil, broke loose, wid full steam on!'

There was good cause for these exclamations upon the part of the
Yankee and Irishman, as they stood on the margin of Wolf Ravine, and
gazed off over the prairie. Several miles to the north, something like
a gigantic man could be seen approaching, apparently at a rapid gait
for a few seconds, when it slackened its speed, until it scarcely
moved.

Occasionally it changed its course, so that it went nearly at right
angles. At such times, its colossal proportions were brought out in
full relief, looking like some Titan as it took its giant strides over
the prairie.

The distance was too great to scrutinize the phenomenon closely; but
they could see that a black volume of smoke issued either from its
mouth or the top of its head, while it was drawing behind it a sort of
carriage, in which a single man was seated, who appeared to control
the movements of the extraordinary being in front of him.

No wonder that something like superstitious have filled the breasts of
the two men who had ceased hunting for gold, for a few minutes, to
view the singular apparition; for such a thing had scarcely been
dreamed of at that day, by the most imaginative philosophers; much
less had it ever entered the head of these two men on the western
prairies.

'Begorrah, but it's the ould divil, hitched to his throttin 'waging,
wid his ould wife howlding the reins!' exclaimed Mickey, who had
scarcely removed his eyes from the singular object.

'That there critter in the wagon is a man,' said Hopkins, looking as
intently in the same direction. 'It seems to me,' he added, a moment
later, 'that there's somebody else a-sit-ting alongside of him, either
a dog or a boy. Wal, naow, ain't that queer?'

'Begorrah! begorrah! do ye hear that? What shall we do?'

At that instant, a shriek like that of some agonized giant came home
to them across the plains, and both looked around, as if about to flee
in terror; but the curiosity of the Yankee restrained him. His
practical eye saw that whatever it might be, it was a human
contrivance, and there could be nothing supernatural about it.

'Look!'

Just after giving its ear-splitting screech, it turned straight toward
the two men, and with the black smoke rapidly puffing from the top of
its head, came tearing along at a tremendous rate.

Mickey manifested some nervousness, but he was restrained by the
coolness of Ethan, who kept his position with his eye fixed keenly
upon it.

Coming at such a railroad speed, it was not long in passing the
intervening space. It was yet several hundred yards distant, when
Ethan Hopkins gave Mickey a ringing slap upon the shoulder.

'Jerusalem! who do ye s'pose naow, that man is sitting in the carriage
and holding the reins?'

'Worrah, worrah! why do you ax me, whin I'm so frightened entirely
that I don't know who I am myself?'

'Its Baldy.'

'Git out!' replied the Irishman, but added the next moment, 'am I
shlaping or dhraming? It's Baldy or his ghost.'

It certainly was no ghost, judging from the manner in which it acted;
for he sat with his hat cocked on one side, a pipe in his mouth, and
the two reins in his hands, just as the skillful driver controls the
mettlesome horses and keeps them well in hand.

He was seated upon a large pile of wood, while near nestled a little
tramp-backed, bright-eyed boy, whose eyes sparkled with delight at the
performance of the strange machine.

The speed of the steam man gradually slackened, until it came opposite
the men, when it came to a dead halt, and the grinning 'Baldy,' as he
was called, (from his having lost his scalp several years before, by
the Indians), tipped his hat and said:

'Glad to see you hain't gone under yit. How'd you git along while I
was gone?'

But the men were hardly able to answer any questions yet, until they
had learned something more about the strange creation before them.
Mickey shied away, as the timid steed does at first sight of the
locomotive, observing which, the boy (at a suggestion from Baldy),
gave a string in his hand a twitch, whereupon the nose of the
wonderful thing threw out a jet of steam with the sharp screech of the
locomotive whistle. Mickey sprung a half dozen feet backward, and
would have run off at full speed down the ravine, had not Ethan
Hopkins caught his arm.

'What's the matter, Mickey, naow! Hain't you ever heard anything like
a locomotive whistle?'

'Worrah, worrah, now, but is that the way the crather blows its nose?
It must have a beautiful voice when it shnores at night.'

Perhaps at this point a description of the singular mechanism should
be given. It was about ten feet in hight, measuring to the top of the
'stove-pipe hat,' which was fashioned after the common order of felt
coverings, with a broad brim, all painted a shiny black. The face was
made of iron, painted a black color, with a pair of fearful eves, and
a tremendous grinning mouth. A whistle-like contrivance was trade to
answer for the nose. The steam chest proper and boiler, were where the
chest in a human being is generally supposed to be, extending also
into a large knapsack arrangement over the shoulders and back. A pair
of arms, like projections, held the shafts, and the broad flat feet
were covered with sharp spikes, as though he were the monarch of
base-ball players. The legs were quite long, and the step was natural,
except when running, at which time, the bolt uprightness in the figure
showed different from a human being.

In the knapsack were the valves, by which the steam or water was
examined. In front was a painted imitation of a vest, in which a door
opened to receive the fuel, which, together with the water, was
carried in the wagon, a pipe running along the shaft and connecting
with the boiler.

The lines which the driver held controlled the course of the steam
man; thus, by pulling the strap on the right, a deflection was caused
which turned it in that direction, and the same acted on the other
side. A small rod, which ran along the right shaft, let out or shut
off the steam, as was desired, while a cord, running along the left,
controlled the whistle at the nose.

The legs of this extraordinary mechanism were fully a yard apart, so
as to avoid the danger of its upsetting, and at the same time, there
was given more room for the play of the delicate machinery within.
Long, sharp, spike-like projections adorned those toes of the immense
feet, so that there was little danger of its slipping, while the
length of the legs showed that, under favorable circumstances, the
steam man must be capable of very great speed.

After Ethan Hopkins had some what familiarized himself with the
external appearance of this piece of mechanism, he ventured upon a
more critical examination.

The door being opened in front, showed a mass of glowing coals lying
in the capacious abdomen of the giant; the hissing valves in the
knapsack made themselves apparent, and the top of the hat or
smoke-stack had a sieve-like arrangement, such as is frequently seen
on the locomotive.

There were other little conveniences in the way of creating a draft,
and of shutting it off when too great, which could scarcely be
understood without a scrutiny of the figure itself.

The steam man was a frightful looking object, being painted of a
glossy black, with a pair of white stripes down its legs, and with a
face which was intended to be of a flesh color, but, which was really
a fearful red.

To give the machinery an abundance of room, the steam man was
exceedingly corpulent, swelling out to aldermanic proportions, which,
after all, was little out of harmony with its immense hight.

The wagon dragged behind was an ordinary four-wheeled vehicle, with
springs, and very strong wheels, a framework being arranged, so that
when necessary it could be securely covered. To guard against the
danger of upsetting it was very broad, with low wheels, which it may
be safely said were made to 'hum' when the gentleman got fairly fender
way.

Such is a brief and Imperfect description of this wonderful steam man,
as it appeared on its first visit to the Western prairies.

CHAPTER II. 'HANDLE ME GENTLY.'

WHEN Ethan Hopkins had surveyed the steam man fully, ha drew a long
sigh and ex-claimed:

'Wal, naow, that's too had!'

'What's that?' inquired Bicknell, who had been not a little amused at
his open-mouthed amazement.

'Do you know I've been thinking of that thing for ten years, ever
since I went through Colt's pistol factory in Hartford, when I was a
youngster?'

'Did you ever think of any plan!'

'I never got it quite right, but I intended to do it after we got
through digging for gold. The thing was just taking shape in my head.
See here, naow, ain't you going to give a fellow a ride?'

'Jis' what I wanted; shall I run it for you?'

'No, I see how it works; them 'ere thingumbobs and gimcracks do it
all.'

'Johnny, hyar, will tell yer 'bout it.'

The little humpback sprung nimbly down, and ran around the man,
explaining as well as he could in a few moments the manner of
controlling its movements. The Yankee felt some sensitiveness in being
instructed by such a tiny specimen, and springing into the wagon,
exclaimed:

'Git eout! tryin' to teach yer uncle! I knowed how the thing would
work before you were born!'

Perching himself on the top of the wood which was heaped up in the
wagon, the enthusiastic New Englander carefully looked over the
prairie to see that the way was clear, and was about to 'let on
steam,' when he turned toward the Irishman.

'Come, Mickey, git up here.'

'Arrah now, but I never learnt to ride the divil when I was home in
the ould country,' replied the Irishman, backing away.

But both Ethan and Baldy united in their persuasions, and finally
Mickey consented, although with great trepidation. He timidly climbed
upon the wagon and took his seat beside the Yankee, looking very much
as a man may be supposed to look who mounts the hearse to attend his
own funeral.

'When yer wants to start, jist pull that 'ere gimcrack!' said Baldy,
pointing to the crook in the rod upon which his hand rested.

'Git eout, naow! do you think you're goin' to teach me that has
teached school fur five year in Connecticut?'

There were some peculiarities about the steam man which made him a
rather unwieldy contrivance. He had a way of starting with a jerk,
unless great skill was used in letting on steam; and his stoppage was
equally sudden, from the same cause.

When the Irishman and Yankee had fairly ensconced themselves on their
perch, the latter looked carefully round to make sure that no one was
in the way, and then he tuned the valve, which let on a full head of
steam.

For a second the monster did not stir. The steam had not fairly taken
'hold' yet; then he raised one immense spiked foot and held it
suspended in air.

'That's a great contrivance, ain't it?' exclaimed Ethan,
contemptuously.

'Can't do nothin' more than lift his foot. Wait till you see more!
he's goin' to dance and skip like a lamb, or outrun any locomotive you
ever sot eyes on!'

'Bad luck to the loikes of yees, why d' yees go on?' exclaimed the
irate Irishman, as be leaned forward and addressed the obdurate
machine. 'Are yees tryin' to fool us, bad luck to yees'

At this instant, the feet of the steam man began rising and falling
with lightning like rapidity, the wagon being jerked forward with such
sudden swiftness, that both Ethan and Mickey turned back summersets,
rolling heels over head off the vehicle to the ground, while the
monster went puffing over the prairie, and at a terrific rate. Baldy
was about to start in pursuit of it, when Johnny, the deformed boy,
restrained him.

'It won't run far; the steam is nearly out.'

'Be jibbers! but me head is caved in!' ex-claimed the Irishman, rising
to his feet, rubbing his head, and looking at his hand to see whether
there was blood upon it.

'Jerusalem! I thought she had upset or busted her b'iler!' said the
Yankee, looking around him with a bewildered air.

The two spectators were laughing furiously, and they could scarcely
stand the trick which had been played upon them.

'Let your old machine go to blazes!' muttered Ethan. 'If it acts that
way, I don't want nothin' to do with it.'

In the mean time the steamer had gone rattling over the prairie, until
about a quarter of a mile distant, when it rapidly slackened, and as
quickly halted.

'What's the matter wid it now?' asked Mickey; 'has it got the cramps
and gi'n out?'

'The steam is used up!' replied the dwarf, as he hurried after it; 'we
can soon start it again!'

All four made all haste toward the stationary figure; but the light
frame and superior activity of little Johnny brought him to it
considerably in advance of the others. Emptying a lot of wood from the
wagon, he was busily engaged in throwing it into his stomach when the
other two came up. His eyes sparkled, as he said:

'Jump up there, and I'll give you all a ride!'

The three clambered up and took their seats with great care, Mickey
and Ethan especially clinging as if their life depended on it.

Johnny threw in the fuel until the black smoke poured in a stream from
the hat. Before leaving it, he opened two smaller doors, at the knees,
which allowed the superfluous cinders and ashes to fall out. The water
in the boiler was then examined, and found all right. Johnny mounted
in his place, and took charge.

'Now we are ready! hold fast!'

'Begorrah. if I goes I takes the wagon wid me,' replied Mickey, as he
closed his teeth and hung on like death.

The engineer managed the monster with rare skill, letting on a full
head of steam, and just as it made a move shutting it off, and letting
it on almost immediately, and then shutting off and admitting it
again, until it began moving at a moderate pace, which, however,
rapidly increased until it was going fully thirty miles an hour.

Nothing could be more pleasant than this ride of a mile over the
prairie. The plain was quite level, and despite the extraordinary
speed attained, the wagon glided almost as smoothly as if running upon
a railroad. Although the air was still, the velocity created a stiff
breeze about the ears of the four seated on the top of the wood.

The hight of the steam man's head carried the smoke and cinders clear
of those behind, while the wonderful machinery within, worked with a
marvelous exactness, such as was a source of continued amazement to
all except the little fellow who had himself constructed the
extraordinary mechanism. The click of the joints as they obeyed their
motive power was scarcely audible, and, when once started, there was
no unnevenness at all in its progress.

When the party had ridden about a half-mile, Johnny described a large
circle, and finally came back to the starting, checking the progress
with the same skill that he had started it. He immediately sprung
down, examined the fire, and several points of the man, when finding
everything right, he opened his knee-caps and let cinders and ashes
drop out.

'How kin yeou dew that?' inquired Ethan Hopkins, peering over his
shoulder.

'What's to hinder?'

'How kin he work his legs, if they're holler that way and let the fire
down 'em?'

'They ain't hollow. Don't you see they are very large, and there is
plenty of room for the leg-rods, besides leaving a place for the draft
and ashes?'

'Wal, I swan, if that ain't rather queer. And you made it all out of
your head naow?' asked the Yankee, looking at the diminutive inventor
before him.

'No, I had to use a good deal of iron,' was the reply of the
youngster, with a quizzical smile.

'You mean you got up the thing yourself?' 'Yes, sir,' was the quiet
but proud reply of the boy.

'Jingo and Jerusalem! but your daddy must be fond of you!' exclaimed
the enthusiastic New Englander, scanning him admiringly from head to
foot.

'I haven't any father.'

'Your mother then.'

'I don't know about that.'

'Say, you, can't yer tell a feller 'bout it?'

'Not now; I haven't time.'

As the steam horse was to rest for the present, he was 'put up.' The
engineer opened several cavities in his legs and breast, and different
parts of his body, and examined the machinery, carefully oiling the
various portions, and when he had completed, he drew a large oil skin
from the wagon, which, being spread out, covered both it and the steam
man himself.

CHAPTER III. A GENIUS.

HAVING PROGRESSED thus far in our story, or properly having began in
the middle, it is now necessary that we should turn back to the proper
starting point.

Several years since a widow woman resided in the outskirts of St.
Louis, whose name was Brainerd. Her husband had been a mechanic, noted
for his ingenuity, but was killed some five years before by the
explosion of a steam boiler. He left behind him a son, hump-backed,
dwarfed, but with an amiable disposition that made him a favorite with
all with whom he came in contact.

If nature afflicts in one direction she frequently makes amends in
another direction, and this dwarf, small and misshapen as he was, was
gifted with a most wonderful mind. His mechanical ingenuity bordered
on the marvelous. When he went to school, he was a general favorite
with teachers and pupils. The former loved him for his sweetness of
disposition, and his remarkable proficiency in all studies, while the
latter based their affection chiefly upon the fact that he never
refused to assist any of them at their tasks, while with the
pocket-knife which he carried he constructed toys which were their
delight. Sonia of these were so curious and amusing that, had they
been securer by letters patent, they would have brought a competency
to him and his widowed mother.

But Johnny never thought of patenting them, although the principal
support of himself and mother came from one or two patents, which his
father had secured upon inventions, not near the equal of his.

There seemed no limit to his inventive powers. He made a locomotive
and then a steamboat, perfect in every part, even to the minutest,
using nothing but his knife, hammer, and a small chisel. Ho
constructed a clock with his jack-knife, which kept perfect time, and
the articles which he made were wonderfully stared at at fairs, and in
show windows, while Johnny modestly pegged away at some new idea. He
became a master of the art of telegraphy without assistance from any
one using merely a common school philosophy with which to acquire the
alphabet. He then made a couple of batteries, ran a line from his
window to a neighbor's, insulating it by means of the necks of some
bottles, taught the other boy the alphabet, and thus they amused
themselves sending messages back and forth.

Thus matters progressed until he was fifteen years of ago, when he
came home one day, and lay down on the settee by his mother, and gave
a great sigh.

'What is the matter?' she inquired. 'I want to make something.'

'Why, then, don't you make it?'

'Because I don't know what it shall be; I've fixed up everything I can
think of.'

'And you are like Alexander, sighing for more worlds to conquer. Is
that it?'

'Not exactly, for there is plenty for one to do, if I could only find
out what it is.'

'Have you ever made a balloon?' The boy laughed.

'You were asking for the cat the other day, and wondering what had
become of her. I didn't tell you that the last I saw of her was
through the telescope, she being about two miles up in the clouds, and
going about fifty miles an hour.'

'I thought you looked as though you knew something about her,' replied
the mother, trying to speak reprovingly, and yet smiling in spite of
herself.

'Can't you tell me something to make?' finally asked the boy.

'Yes; there is something I have often thought of, and wonder why it
was not made long ago; but you are not smart enough to do it, Johnny.'

'Maybe not; but tell me what it is.'

'It is a man that shall go by steam!' The boy lay still several
minutes without speaking a word and then sprung up. 'By George! I'll
do it!' And he started out of the room, and was not seen again until
night. His mother felt no anxiety. She was pleased; for, when her boy
was at work, he was happy, and she knew that he had enough now, to
keep him engaged for months to come.

So it proved. He spent several weeks in thought, before be made the
first effort toward constructing his greatest success of all. He then
enlarged his workshop, and so arranged it, that he would not be in
danger of being seen by any curious eyes. He wanted no disturbance
while engaged upon this scheme.

From a neighboring foundry, whose proprietor took great interest in
the boy, he secured all that he needed. He was allowed full liberty to
make what castings he chose, and to construct whatever he wished. And
so he began his work.

The great point was to obtain the peculiar motion of a man walking.
This secured, the man himself could be easily made, and dressed up in
any style required. Finally the boy believed that he had hit upon the
true scheme.

So he plied harder than ever, scarcely pausing to take his meals.
Finally he got the machine together, fired up, and with feelings
somewhat akin to those, of Sir Isaac Newton, when demonstrating the
truth or falsity of some of his greatest discoveries, he watched the
result.

Soon the legs begin moving up and down, but never a stop did they
advance! The power was there, sufficient to run a saw-mill, every
thing seemed to work, but the thing wouldn't go!

The boy was not ready to despair. He seated himself on the bench
beside the machine, and keeping up a moderate supply of steam,
throwing in bits of wood, and letting in water, when necessary, he
carefully watched the movement for several hours.

Occasionally, Johnny walked slowly back and forth, and with his eyes
upon the 'stately stepping,' endeavored to discover the precise nature
of that which was lacking in his machine.

At length it came to him. He saw from the first that it was not merely
required that the steam man should lift up its feet and put them down
again, but there must be a powerful forward impulse at the same
moment. This was the single remaining difficulty to be overcome. It
required two weeks before Johnny Brainerd succeeded. But it all came
clear and unmistakable at last, and in this simple manner:

(Ah! but we cannot be so unjust to the plodding genius as to divulge
his secret. Our readers must be content to await the time when the
young man sees fit to reveal it himself.)

When the rough figure was fairly in working order, the inventor
removed everything from around it, so that it stood alone in the
center of his shop. Then he carefully let on steam.

Before he could shut it off, the steam man walked clean through the
side of his shop, and fetched up against the corner of the house, with
a violence that shook it to its foundation. In considerable
trepidation, the youngster dashed forward, shut off steam, and turned
it round. As it was too cumbersome for him to manage in any other way,
he very cautiously let on steam again, and persuaded it to walk back
into the shop, passing through the same orifice through which it had
emerged, and came very nigh going out on the opposite side again.

The great thing was now accomplished, and the boy devoted himself to
bringing it as near perfection as possible. The principal thing to be
feared was its getting out of order, since the slightest
disarrangement would be sufficient to stop the progress of the man.

Johnny therefore made it of gigantic size, the body and limbs being no
more than 'Shells,' used as a sort of screen to conceal the working of
the engine. This was carefully painted in the manner mentioned in
another place, and the machinery was made as strong and durable as it
was possible for it to be. It was so constructed as to withstand the
severe jolting to which it necessarily would be subjected, and finally
was brought as nearly perfect as it wag possible to bring a thing not
possessing human intelligence.

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