He Exhibited
The Outline Of A Good Horse, But His Eyes Were Sunk In The Sockets,
And Every One Of His Ribs Could Be Counted.
There were certain marks
too about his shoulders, which could be accounted for by the
circumstance, that during Tete Rouge's illness, his companions had
seized upon the insulted charger, and harnessed him to a cannon along
with the draft horses.
To Tete Rouge's astonishment we recommended
him by all means to exchange the horse, if he could, for a mule.
Fortunately the people at the fort were so anxious to get rid of him
that they were willing to make some sacrifice to effect the object,
and he succeeded in getting a tolerable mule in exchange for the
broken-down steed.
A man soon appeared at the gate, leading in the mule by a cord which
he placed in the hands of Tete Rouge, who, being somewhat afraid of
his new acquisition, tried various flatteries and blandishments to
induce her to come forward. The mule, knowing that she was expected
to advance, stopped short in consequence, and stood fast as a rock,
looking straight forward with immovable composure. Being stimulated
by a blow from behind she consented to move, and walked nearly to the
other side of the fort before she stopped again. Hearing the by-
standers laugh, Tete Rouge plucked up spirit and tugged hard at the
rope. The mule jerked backward, spun herself round, and made a dash
for the gate. Tete Rouge, who clung manfully to the rope, went
whisking through the air for a few rods, when he let go and stood
with his mouth open, staring after the mule, who galloped away over
the prairie. She was soon caught and brought back by a Mexican, who
mounted a horse and went in pursuit of her with his lasso.
Having thus displayed his capacity for prairie travel, Tete Rouge
proceeded to supply himself with provisions for the journey, and with
this view he applied to a quartermaster's assistant who was in the
fort. This official had a face as sour as vinegar, being in a state
of chronic indignation because he had been left behind the army. He
was as anxious as the rest to get rid of Tete Rouge. So, producing a
rusty key, he opened a low door which led to a half-subterranean
apartment, into which the two disappeared together. After some time
they came out again, Tete Rouge greatly embarrassed by a multiplicity
of paper parcels containing the different articles of his forty days'
rations. They were consigned to the care of Delorier, who about that
time passed by with the cart on his way to the appointed place of
meeting with Munroe and his companions.
We next urged Tete Rouge to provide himself, if he could, with a gun.
He accordingly made earnest appeals to the charity of various persons
in the fort, but totally without success, a circumstance which did
not greatly disturb us, since in the event of a skirmish he would be
much more apt to do mischief to himself or his friends than to the
enemy.
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