Books: On the Pampas

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Produced by Robert Prince, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

[Illustration: Pampas. THE FIGHT WITH THE PUMA]

ON THE PAMPAS OR THE YOUNG SETTLERS

BY

G. A. HENTY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.

Mrs. Hardy's Resolution

CHAPTER II.

The Start

CHAPTER III.

A New Life

CHAPTER IV.

The Pampas

CHAPTER V.

The Settler's Home

CHAPTER VI.

A Tale of the Mexican War

CHAPTER VII.

Seth Continues His Narrative of the Mexican Adventure

CHAPTER VIII.

Farm Work and Amusements

CHAPTER IX.

Neighborly Visits and Advice

CHAPTER X.

The Lost Cattle

CHAPTER XI.

Quiet Times

CHAPTER XII.

A Steady Hand

CHAPTER XIII.

The Indian Attack

CHAPTER XIV.

Terrible News

CHAPTER XV.

The Pampas on Fire

CHAPTER XVI.

At the stake

CHAPTER XVII.

Rescued

CHAPTER XVIII.

And last

CHAPTER I.

MRS. HARDY'S RESOLUTION.

"What are you thinking of, Frank?" Mrs. Hardy asked her husband one
evening, after an unusually long silence on his part.

"Well, my dear, I was thinking of a good many things. In the first
place, I think, I began with wondering what I should make of the
boys; and that led to such a train of thoughts about ourselves and
our circumstances that I hardly knew where I was when you spoke to
me."

Mr. Hardy spoke cheerfully, but his wife saw at once that it was
with an effort that he did so. She put down the work upon which she
was engaged, and moved her chair nearer to his by the fire. "It is
a serious question, Frank, about the boys. Charley is fifteen now,
and Hubert fourteen. I wonder myself sometimes what we shall do
with them."

"There seems no opening here in England for young fellows. The
professions are crowded, even if they were not altogether beyond
our means; and as to a clerkship, they had better have a trade, and
stick to it: they would be far happier, and nearly as well paid.
The fact is, Clara," and here Mr. Hardy paused a little, as if to
gain courage to say what he feared would be very disagreeable to
his wife--"the fact is, we are altogether too crowded here. The
best thing for the children, by far, and I think the best thing for
ourselves, would be to emigrate."

Mrs. Hardy gave a little sigh, but said nothing, and sat looking
quietly into the fire, as her husband went on: "You see, my dear, I
am just, and only just, earning enough for us to live upon. Nor is
there any strong probability of an increase of business. The boys,
as you say, are growing up, and I see no prospect of giving them a
fair start in life. Abroad it is altogether different: we can buy
land and stock it for next to nothing. We should live roughly,
certainly; but at least there is no fear for the future, and we
should start our boys in life with a fair certainty of success.
Still, Clara, I do not of course mean that I have made up my mind
upon the subject. It is far too serious a matter to decide upon
hastily. I only threw out the suggestion; and if you, after
thinking it over, are against it, there is an end of the matter."

Mrs. Hardy was silent for a little, and a tear sparkled on her
cheek in the firelight; then she said, "I am not surprised, Frank,
at what you have said. In fact I have expected it for some time. I
have observed you looking over books upon foreign countries, and
have seen that you often sat thoughtful and quiet. I guessed,
therefore, what you had in your mind. Of course, dear, as a woman,
I shrink from the thought of leaving all our friends and going to
quite a strange country, but I don't think that I am afraid of the
hardships or discomfort. Thousands of other women have gone through
them, and there is no reason why I should not do the same. I do
think with you that it would be a good thing for the boys, perhaps
for the girls too; and that, when we have got over the first
hardships, we too should be happier and more free from care than we
are now. So you see, Frank, you will meet with no opposition from
me; and if, after deliberation, you really determine that it is the
best thing to do, I shall be ready to agree with you. But it is a
hard thought just at first, so please do not say any more about it
to-night."

Mr. Hardy was an architect, as his father had been before him. He
had not, however, entered the office at the usual age, but when
eighteen had gone out to the United States, to visit an uncle who
had settled there. After spending some time with him, the love of
adventure had taken him to the far West, and there he had hunted
and shot for nearly three years, till a letter, long delayed on the
way, entreated him to return to England, as his father's health was
failing. He at once started for England, and found that his father
was in a feeble state of health, but was still able to carry on the
business. Frank saw, however, that he was unequal to the work, and
so entered the office, working hard to make up for lost time. He
was a good draughtsman, and was shortly able to take a great burden
off his father's shoulders.

He had not been long at home, however, before he fell in love with
Clara Aintree, the daughter of a clergyman; and his father making
over to him a share in the business, they were married just as
Frank attained his twenty-fourth year, his wife being about
nineteen. Two years after the marriage Mr. Hardy senior died, and
from that time Frank had carried on the business alone.

B--- was a large provincial town, but it scarcely afforded
remunerative employment for an architect; and although Mr. Hardy
had no competitor in his business, the income which he derived from
it was by no means a large one, and the increasing expenses of his
family rendered the struggle to make ends meet yearly more severe.
His father had been possessed of a small private fortune, but had
rashly entered into the mania of railway speculation, and at his
death had left about fifteen thousand dollars to his son. This sum
Frank Hardy had carefully preserved intact, as he had foreseen that
the time might come when it would, for his children's sake, be
advisable to emigrate. He had long looked forward to this, but
had abstained from taking any step until his sons were of an age to be
able to make themselves useful in a life in the bush or upon the
prairies.

Frank Hardy, at the time our story begins, was about forty. He was
a tall, active man, and the life he had led in America when young
had hardened his muscles, and given him the full use of every
faculty.

Mrs. Hardy was five years younger than her husband, and scarcely
looked thirty years old. She was a high-spirited woman, well fitted
to be her husband's companion in the dangers and hardships of a
settler's life.

The subject of emigration once started, was frequently continued,
and presently books and maps began to be consulted, and the
advantages and disadvantages of the various countries and colonies
to be debated. Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Hardy agreed that the
Argentine Republic, in its magnificent rivers, its boundless extent
of fertile land, in its splendid climate, its cheap labor, and its
probable prospects, offered the greatest advantages.

The decision once arrived at, it was determined to announce it to
the children, who had up to this time no idea of the great change
decided upon. Breakfast was over, and the boys, whose holidays had
just begun, were about to leave the table, when their father said:
"Wait a moment, boys; there is something we want to talk to you
about."

The boys resumed their seats. "Your mamma and I have been wondering
what you boys are to become, and we do not see any openings likely
to occur here. Now, what should you say to us all emigrating?"

"What, going abroad, papa!" they both exclaimed joyously.

"Yes, boys, settling in the backwoods or in the prairies."

"Oh, that would be jolly," Charley said, "I know, I papa, having
fights with Indians, and all that sort of thing. Oh, it would be
glorious!"

"Well, Charley," his father said, smiling, "I do not know that we
shall have fights with Indians, nor do think it would be very jolly
if we did. But we should have to rough it, you know; you boys
would have to work hard, to help me in everything, and to look after
the cattle and sheep."

"What fun! what fun!" the boys both shouted; "we should like it of
all things in the world."

"And what do you think of it, Maud and Ethel?" their mamma asked
the two little girls, who were looking very surprised, but rather
doubtful as to the pleasure of the fights with Indians which their
brothers had spoken so delightedly about. "You will have to be two
very useful little women, and will have to help me just as the boys
will have to help your papa. Very likely we may not be able to get
a servant there, and then we shall have to do everything."

"That will be fine, mamma," said Maud, who was rather over twelve,
while her sister was just eleven. "I don't think I could cook, but
you should cook, and I could scrub and do all the hard work, and
Ethel could wash up, and lay the table, and that sort of thing.
That would be fine, mamma."

Ethel, who almost always agreed with her elder sister, did so now,
and the four young ones became quite uproarious in their plans for
making themselves useful. At last Mr. Hardy called for order.

"Now silence all, and listen to me. This affair is a serious
business; and although I hope and believe that we shall all enjoy
our life very much, still we must prepare for it, and look upon it
in earnest, and not as a sort of game. I have business here which I
cannot finish before another eight or nine months. Let us all make
the most of our time before we start. In the first place, the
language of the people among whom we are going is Spanish, and we
must all learn to speak it well before we leave. For the next three
months we will work together at grammar and exercises, and then I
will try and get some Spanish teacher to live in the house, and
speak the language with us until we go. In the next place, it will
be well that you should all four learn to ride. I have hired the
paddock next to our garden, and have bought a pony, which will be
here to-day, for the girls. You boys have already ridden a little,
and I shall now have you taught in the riding school. I went
yesterday to Mr. Saris, and asked him if he would allow me to make
an arrangement with his head gardener for you to go there to learn
gardening. He at once agreed; and I have arranged with the gardener
that you are both to be there every morning at six o'clock, and are
to work until nine. At nine you will come in to breakfast. From
breakfast to dinner you will have to yourselves, except upon the
days you take riding lessons; and I should wish you to spend this
time at your usual studies, except Latin, which will be of no use
to you. From two till half-past four you are to learn carpentering.
I have made an agreement with Mr. Jones to pay him so much to take
you as a sort of apprentices for the next nine months. In the
evening we will all work together at Spanish. It will be hard work;
but if you want to be of any real use to me, it is absolutely
necessary that you should be able to use a spade and to do rough
carpentering. As the time draws on, too, I shall ask one of the
farmers near to let you go out with his men and get some notion of
plowing. Well, what do you say to all that?"

Hubert looked a little downcast at this recital of the preparatory
work to be gone through, but Charley said at once, "It sounds
rather hard, papa, but, as you say, we shall have to work hard out
there, and it is much better to accustom one's self to it at once;
besides, of course, we should be of no use at all to you unless we
knew something about work."

"And what are we to learn, mamma?" Maud asked.

"Not a very great deal, my dear," Mrs. Hardy said. "Spanish to
begin with, then cooking. I shall teach you at any rate, to make
simple dishes and puddings, and to boil vegetables properly. I
shall myself practice until I am perfect, and then I shall teach
you. Besides that, it will be as well for you to learn to attend to
poultry; and that is all I know of at present, except that you must
both take pains to improve yourselves at sewing. We shall have to
make everything for ourselves out there."

"I suppose we shan't do any more regular lessons, mamma?"

"Indeed you will, Maud. You do not imagine that your education is
finished, do you? and you cannot wish to grow almost as ignorant as
the poor Indians of the country. You will give up the piano, and
learn Spanish instead of French, but that will be all the
difference; and I shall expect you both to make as much progress as
possible, because, although I shall take you both out there, and
shall teach you whenever I find time, your lessons must of
necessity be short and irregular. And now you can all go out into
the garden and talk the matter over."

"But you have not told us yet where we are going to, papa," Charley
said.

"We are going to farm upon the bunks of one of the great South
American rivers--probably the Parana, in the Argentine Republic."

Mr. and Mrs. Hardy watched their children from the window. They
went out in a group to the summer-house in the corner of the
garden, all talking excitedly. Then Maud ran back again to the
house, and in a minute or two returned with the schoolroom atlas,
and opening it upon the table, they all clustered over it in eager
consultation.

Mrs. Hardy turned to her husband with a smile. "You will have to
get up the subject, Frank, so as to be able to answer the
innumerable questions you will be asked."

"I shall always refer them to you."

There was quite a talk in B--- when it was known that Mr. Hardy was
going to emigrate with his wife and family. He, and his father
before him, had been so long established in the town that there
were few people who did not know him, more or less.

Emigration in the year 1851 was far less common than it is now, and
the interest was proportionately greater. Charley and Hubert became
quite popular characters among their late schoolfellows, who,
whenever they met them, would always stop to have a talk about the
distant country to which they were going. The boys, however, had
now but little time for talking; for upon the week after their
father had first told them of his intention, they had set-to
regularly at the work he had laid down for them. They rose every
morning at five, had a slice of bread and a cup of milk, and were
off to the gardener's, where they worked hard until half-past
eight. Mr. Hardy had requested that they should be specially
instructed in the raising of vegetables, and in the planting and
pruning of fruit-trees. The culture of flowers could be of no
utility. The digging made the boys' backs ache at first, and
blistered their hands, but they stuck to it manfully, and soon
became accustomed to the work, returning to breakfast with glowing
cheeks and tremendous appetites.

In the afternoon they might be seen in the carpenter's shop with
their coats and waistcoats off, working away with saw or plane.

Although both made good progress in both pursuits, yet their tastes
differed; Charley preferring the carpentering, while Hubert was the
gardener's most promising pupil. The former was therefore
christened the head carpenter by his sisters, while the latter was
promoted to the post of chief gardener.

Four or five months of this work made a visible difference in the
boys' appearance. They both widened out across the shoulders, their
arms became strong and muscular, and they looked altogether more
healthy and robust. Nor did their appearance belie them; for once
when spending a holiday in the cricket-field with their former
schoolfellows, wrestling matches being proposed after the game was
over, they found that they were able to overcome with ease boys
whom they had formerly considered their superiors in strength.

In the meantime Mr. Hardy had succeeded in obtaining the services
of a young Spanish lady, who had come to England to learn the
language, as governess; and of an evening the whole family worked
at Spanish, and made such progress that they were soon able to
establish the rule that no other language should be spoken at
mealtimes. The girls here soon surpassed their brothers, as they
had the advantage of morning lessons in the language, besides which
young children can always pick up a language sooner than their
elders; and they had many a hearty laugh at the ridiculous mistakes
Charley and Hubert made in their efforts to get through a long
sentence. In six months, however, all could speak with tolerable
fluency.

Maud and Ethel were as amused and as diligent at learning household
work as their brothers were in their departments, and might have
been seen every afternoon in the kitchen, in their little white
pinafores, engaged in learning the mysteries of cooking.

One day, after they had been so engaged for about four months, Mrs.
Hardy said at breakfast: "I am going to try an experiment. I have
given the cook leave to go out for the day. Mr. and Mrs. Partridge
are coming to dinner, and I intend handing over the kitchen to the
girls, and letting them make their first essay. We are going to
have soup, a leg of mutton with potatoes and spinach, a dish of
fried cutlets, and a cabinet pudding. I shall tell Sarah to lift
any saucepan you may want on or off the fire, but all the rest I
shall leave in your hands. The boys will dine with us. The hour
will be half-past five, punctually."

The little girls' eyes flashed with pleasure, and they quite
colored up at the thought of the importance and difficulty of the
task before them. At lunch the boys pretended to eat an extra
quantity, saying that they felt very doubtful about their dinner.
In the afternoon Mrs. Hardy felt strongly tempted to go into the
kitchen to see how things were getting on; but she restrained
herself, resolving to let Maud and Ethel have entirely their own
way.

The dinner was a great success, although the soup was rather hot,
from Ethel, in her anxiety, having let too much pepper slip in; and
the cabinet pudding came up all over the dish, instead of
preserving its shape, it having stuck to the mold, and Maud having
shaken it so violently that it had come out with a burst and broken
up into pieces, which had caused a flood of tears on the part of
the little cook. It did not taste any the worse, however. And when
the little girls came in to dessert in their white frocks, looking
rather shy, and very scorched in the face, from their anxious
peeping into pots to see that all was going on well, they were
received with a cheer by the boys; and their friends were not a
little astonished to hear that the dinner they had partaken of had
been entirely prepared and cooked by these little women.

After four months' gardening, Mr. Hardy placed the boys with a
farmer who lived a mile distant, and made an arrangement for them
to breakfast there, so that they now remained at work from six in
the morning until twelve. Here they obtained some idea of
harnessing and driving horses, of plowing, and of the other farming
operations.

They now only went four days a week to the carpenter's, for their
papa had one day said to them when they were alone with him before
dinner: "Do not put on your working clothes this afternoon, boys; I
am going to take you out with me, but do not say anything about it
at dinner. I will tell you why afterward."

Rather surprised, they did as he told them, wondering where they
could be going. Their father said nothing on the subject until they
reached the town, which was a quarter of a mile distant from their
house. Then he said: "Now, boys, you know we are going out to a
country of which a great portion is still unsettled; and as land is
a good deal cheaper at a short distance from the inhabited parts,
we shall perhaps have no one within many miles of us. Now it is
just possible that at first the Indians may be disposed to be
troublesome. I do not suppose that they will, but it is just as
well to be prepared for everything. There is no reason why you boys
should not be able to shoot as straightly as a man, and I have
therefore bought two carbines. They are the invention of an
American named Colt, and have a revolving breech, so that they fire
six shots each. There is a spare chamber to each, which is very
quickly shifted in place of the one discharged; so that each of you
could fire twelve shots in a very short time. They will carry up to
five hundred yards. They are a new invention, but all accounts
agree that they are an excellent one. I have obtained leave from
Mr. Harcourt, who lives three miles from here, to put up a target
at the foot of some bare hills on his property, and we will walk
over there twice a week to practice. I used to be considered a
first-rate shot with a rifle when I was a young man in America, and
I have got down a rifle for my own use. I do not want you to speak
about what we are doing to your mamma, or indeed to any one. We
shall keep our rifles at a cottage near where we shoot, and no one
need know anything about it. It is not likely that we shall have
any trouble with the Indians, and it is of no use making your mamma
uncomfortable by the thought of the probability of such a thing."

As Mr. Hardy spoke the boys were ready to dance with delight, and
this was increased when they turned into the gunsmith's shop, and
were shown the arms which their father had bought for this
expedition.

Mr. Hardy had already an excellent double-barreled gun, and he had
now purchased a long and heavy rifle carrying a conical ball. In
addition to the boys' carbines, he had bought them each a light
double-barreled gun. Besides these were two brace of Colt's
revolving pistols. These were all new; but there were in addition
two or three second-hand double-barreled guns for the use of his
servants, in case of necessity, and three light rifles of the sort
used for rook-shooting. Altogether, it was quite an armory. The
carbines were in neat cases; and the boys carried these and a box
of cartridges, while Mr. Hardy took his rifle; and so they started
off to their shooting ground.

Here their father instructed them in the use of their revolving
carbines, and then, after some practice with caps only, allowed
them to fire a few shots each. The firing was certainly rather
wild, owing to the difficulty they felt at first of firing without
shutting their eyes; but after a few weeks' practice they became
very steady, and in three or four months could make pretty certain
of a bull's-eye at three hundred yards. Of all this Mrs. Hardy and
the girls knew nothing; but there was not the same secrecy observed
with reference to their shotguns. These they took home with them,
and Mr. Hardy said that he understood that the plains of South
America swarmed with game, and that, therefore, it was well that
the boys should learn how to shoot. He insisted, however, that only
one gun should be taken out at a time, to diminish the danger of
accidents. After that the boys took out their guns by turns when
they went to work of a morning, and many a dead blackbird soon
attested to their improving skill.

CHAPTER II.

THE START.

It was nearly a year after he had made up his mind to emigrate
before Mr. Hardy was able to conclude all his arrangements. Then
came the great business of packing up. This is no trifling matter
when a family of six persons are going to make a move to a new
country. Mr. Hardy had at first thought of taking portable
furniture with him, but had been told by a friend who knew the
country that every requisite could be obtained at Buenos Ayres, the
capital of the Argentine Republic, at a far less price than he
could convey such heavy articles from England. Still the bulk of
luggage was very large; and the boys, who had now left off their
farming and carpentering lessons, worked at home at packing-cases,
and had the satisfaction of turning their new acquirements to a
useful purpose. In addition to the personal baggage, Mr. Hardy was
taking with him plows and agricultural implements of English make,
besides a good stock of seeds of various kinds. These had been sent
on direct by a sailing ship, starting a fortnight before
themselves. When their heavy baggage was packed up it too was sent
off, so as to be put on board the steamer by which they were to
sail; and then came a long round of visits to bid farewell to all
their friends. This was a sad business; for although the boys and
their sisters were alike excited and delighted at the thought of
the life before them, still they could not but feel sorrowful when
the time came to leave all the friends they had known so long, and
the house they had lived in ever since they could remember.

This over Mrs. Hardy and the children went to Liverpool, where they
were to embark; while Mr. Hardy remained behind for a day or two,
to see to the sale of the furniture of the house. The day after he
joined the family they embarked on board the Barbadoes, for Rio and
Buenos Ayres. Greatly were the girls amused at the tiny little
cabin allotted to them and their mother--a similar little den being
taken possession of by Mr. Hardy and the boys. The smartness of the
vessel, and the style of her fittings, alike impressed and
delighted them. It has not been mentioned that Sarah, their
housemaid, accompanied the party. She had been left early an
orphan, and had been taken as a nursemaid by Mrs. Hardy. As time
went on, and the little girls no longer required a nurse, she had
remained as housemaid, and having no friends, now willingly
accompanied them. Mr. Hardy had, to her great amusement, insisted
upon her signing a paper, agreeing, upon her master's paying her
passage, to remain with him for a year; at the end of which time
she was to be at liberty to marry or to leave them, should she
choose.

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