diff options
Diffstat (limited to '41877-h/41877-h.html')
| -rw-r--r-- | 41877-h/41877-h.html | 8293 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 8293 deletions
diff --git a/41877-h/41877-h.html b/41877-h/41877-h.html deleted file mode 100644 index 79c6567..0000000 --- a/41877-h/41877-h.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8293 +0,0 @@ -<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?> -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC '-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN' 'http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd'> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<head> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> -<meta name="generator" content="Docutils 0.8.1: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/" /> -<style type="text/css"> -/* -Project Gutenberg common docutils stylesheet. - -This stylesheet contains styles common to HTML and EPUB. Put styles -that are specific to HTML and EPUB into their relative stylesheets. - -:Author: Marcello Perathoner (webmaster@gutenberg.org) -:Copyright: This stylesheet has been placed in the public domain. - -This stylesheet is based on: - - :Author: David Goodger (goodger@python.org) - :Copyright: This stylesheet has been placed in the public domain. - - Default cascading style sheet for the HTML output of Docutils. - -*/ - -/* ADE 1.7.2 chokes on !important and throws all css out. */ - -/* FONTS */ - -.italics { font-style: italic } -.no-italics { font-style: normal } - -.bold { font-weight: bold } -.no-bold { font-weight: normal } - -.small-caps { } /* Epub needs italics */ -.gesperrt { } /* Epub needs italics */ -.antiqua { font-style: italic } /* what else can we do ? */ -.monospaced { font-family: monospace } - -.smaller { font-size: smaller } -.larger { font-size: larger } - -.xx-small { font-size: xx-small } -.x-small { font-size: x-small } -.small { font-size: small } -.medium { font-size: medium } -.large { font-size: large } -.x-large { font-size: x-large } -.xx-large { font-size: xx-large } - -.text-transform-uppercase { text-transform: uppercase } -.text-transform-lowercase { text-transform: lowercase } -.text-transform-none { text-transform: none } - -.red { color: red } -.green { color: green } -.blue { color: blue } -.yellow { color: yellow } -.white { color: white } -.gray { color: gray } -.black { color: black } - -/* ALIGN */ - -.left { text-align: left } -.justify { text-align: justify } -.center { text-align: center; text-indent: 0 } -.centerleft { text-align: center; text-indent: 0 } -.right { text-align: right; text-indent: 0 } - -/* LINE HEIGHT */ - -body { line-height: 1.5 } -p { margin: 0; - text-indent: 2em } - -/* PAGINATION */ - -.title, .subtitle { page-break-after: avoid } - -.container, .title, .subtitle, #pg-header - { page-break-inside: avoid } - -/* SECTIONS */ - -body { text-align: justify } - -p.pfirst, p.noindent { - text-indent: 0 -} - -.boxed { border: 1px solid black; padding: 1em } -.topic, .note { margin: 5% 0; border: 1px solid black; padding: 1em } -div.section { clear: both } - -div.line-block { margin: 1.5em 0 } /* same leading as p */ -div.line-block.inner { margin: 0 0 0 10% } -div.line { margin-left: 20%; text-indent: -20%; } -.line-block.noindent div.line { margin-left: 0; text-indent: 0; } - -hr.docutils { margin: 1.5em 40%; border: none; border-bottom: 1px solid black; } -div.transition { margin: 1.5em 0 } - -.vfill, .vspace { border: 0px solid white } - -.title { margin: 1.5em 0 } -.title.with-subtitle { margin-bottom: 0 } -.subtitle { margin: 1.5em 0 } - -/* header font style */ -/* http://dev.w3.org/csswg/css3-fonts/#propdef-font-size */ - -h1.title { font-size: 200%; } /* for book title only */ -h2.title, p.subtitle.level-1 { font-size: 150%; margin-top: 4.5em; margin-bottom: 2em } -h3.title, p.subtitle.level-2 { font-size: 120%; margin-top: 2.25em; margin-bottom: 1.25em } -h4.title, p.subtitle.level-3 { font-size: 100%; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; font-weight: bold; } -h5.title, p.subtitle.level-4 { font-size: 89%; margin-top: 1.87em; margin-bottom: 1.69em; font-style: italic; } -h6.title, p.subtitle.level-5 { font-size: 60%; margin-top: 3.5em; margin-bottom: 2.5em } - -/* title page */ - -h1.title, p.subtitle.level-1, -h2.title, p.subtitle.level-2 { text-align: center } - -#pg-header, -h1.document-title { margin: 10% 0 5% 0 } -p.document-subtitle { margin: 0 0 5% 0 } - -/* PG header and footer */ -#pg-machine-header { } -#pg-produced-by { } - -li.toc-entry { list-style-type: none } -ul.open li, ol.open li { margin-bottom: 1.5em } - -.attribution { margin-top: 1.5em } - -.example-rendered { - margin: 1em 5%; border: 1px dotted red; padding: 1em; background-color: #ffd } -.literal-block.example-source { - margin: 1em 5%; border: 1px dotted blue; padding: 1em; background-color: #eef } - -/* DROPCAPS */ - -/* BLOCKQUOTES */ - -blockquote { margin: 1.5em 10% } - -blockquote.epigraph { } - -blockquote.highlights { } - -div.local-contents { margin: 1.5em 10% } - -div.abstract { margin: 3em 10% } -div.image { margin: 1.5em 0 } -div.caption { margin: 1.5em 0 } -div.legend { margin: 1.5em 0 } - -.hidden { display: none } - -.invisible { visibility: hidden; color: white } /* white: mozilla print bug */ - -a.toc-backref { - text-decoration: none ; - color: black } - -dl.docutils dd { - margin-bottom: 0.5em } - -div.figure { margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 3em } - -img { max-width: 100% } - -div.footer, div.header { - clear: both; - font-size: smaller } - -div.sidebar { - margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em ; - border: medium outset ; - padding: 1em ; - background-color: #ffffee ; - width: 40% ; - float: right ; - clear: right } - -div.sidebar p.rubric { - font-family: sans-serif ; - font-size: medium } - -ol.simple, ul.simple { margin: 1.5em 0 } - -ol.toc-list, ul.toc-list { padding-left: 0 } -ol ol.toc-list, ul ul.toc-list { padding-left: 5% } - -ol.arabic { - list-style: decimal } - -ol.loweralpha { - list-style: lower-alpha } - -ol.upperalpha { - list-style: upper-alpha } - -ol.lowerroman { - list-style: lower-roman } - -ol.upperroman { - list-style: upper-roman } - -p.credits { - font-style: italic ; - font-size: smaller } - -p.label { - white-space: nowrap } - -p.rubric { - font-weight: bold ; - font-size: larger ; - color: maroon ; - text-align: center } - -p.sidebar-title { - font-family: sans-serif ; - font-weight: bold ; - font-size: larger } - -p.sidebar-subtitle { - font-family: sans-serif ; - font-weight: bold } - -p.topic-title, p.admonition-title { - font-weight: bold } - -pre.address { - margin-bottom: 0 ; - margin-top: 0 ; - font: inherit } - -.literal-block, .doctest-block { - margin-left: 2em ; - margin-right: 2em; } - -span.classifier { - font-family: sans-serif ; - font-style: oblique } - -span.classifier-delimiter { - font-family: sans-serif ; - font-weight: bold } - -span.interpreted { - font-family: sans-serif } - -span.option { - white-space: nowrap } - -span.pre { - white-space: pre } - -span.problematic { - color: red } - -span.section-subtitle { - /* font-size relative to parent (h1..h6 element) */ - font-size: 100% } - -table { margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-spacing: 0 } -table.align-left, table.align-right { margin-top: 0 } - -table.table { border-collapse: collapse; } - -table.table.hrules-table thead { border: 1px solid black; border-width: 2px 0 0 } -table.table.hrules-table tbody { border: 1px solid black; border-width: 2px 0 } -table.table.hrules-rows tr { border: 1px solid black; border-width: 0 0 1px } -table.table.hrules-rows tr.last { border-width: 0 } -table.table.hrules-rows td, -table.table.hrules-rows th { padding: 1ex 1em; vertical-align: middle } - -table.table tr { border-width: 0 } -table.table td, -table.table th { padding: 0.5ex 1em } -table.table tr.first td { padding-top: 1ex } -table.table tr.last td { padding-bottom: 1ex } -table.table tr.first th { padding-top: 1ex } -table.table tr.last th { padding-bottom: 1ex } - - -table.citation { - border-left: solid 1px gray; - margin-left: 1px } - -table.docinfo { - margin: 3em 4em } - -table.docutils { } - -div.footnote-group { margin: 1em 0 } -table.footnote td.label { width: 2em; text-align: right; padding-left: 0 } - -table.docutils td, table.docutils th, -table.docinfo td, table.docinfo th { - padding: 0 0.5em; - vertical-align: top } - -table.docutils th.field-name, table.docinfo th.docinfo-name { - font-weight: bold ; - text-align: left ; - white-space: nowrap ; - padding-left: 0 } - -/* used to remove borders from tables and images */ -.borderless, table.borderless td, table.borderless th { - border: 0 } - -table.borderless td, table.borderless th { - /* Override padding for "table.docutils td" with "!important". - The right padding separates the table cells. */ - padding: 0 0.5em 0 0 } /* FIXME: was !important */ - -h1 tt.docutils, h2 tt.docutils, h3 tt.docutils, -h4 tt.docutils, h5 tt.docutils, h6 tt.docutils { - font-size: 100% } - -ul.auto-toc { - list-style-type: none } -</style> -<style type="text/css"> -/* -Project Gutenberg HTML docutils stylesheet. - -This stylesheet contains styles specific to HTML. -*/ - -/* FONTS */ - -/* em { font-style: normal } -strong { font-weight: normal } */ - -.small-caps { font-variant: small-caps } -.gesperrt { letter-spacing: 0.1em } - -/* ALIGN */ - -.align-left { clear: left; - float: left; - margin-right: 1em } - -.align-right { clear: right; - float: right; - margin-left: 1em } - -.align-center { margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto } - -div.shrinkwrap { display: table; } - -/* SECTIONS */ - -body { margin: 5% 10% 5% 10% } - -/* compact list items containing just one p */ -li p.pfirst { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } - -.first { margin-top: 0 !important; - text-indent: 0 !important } -.last { margin-bottom: 0 !important } - -span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 1 } -img.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; max-width: 25% } -span.dropspan { font-variant: small-caps } - -.no-page-break { page-break-before: avoid !important } - -/* PAGINATION */ - -@media screen { - .coverpage, .frontispiece, .titlepage, .verso, .dedication, .plainpage - { margin: 10% 0; } - - div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage - { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } - - .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } -} - -@media print { - div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } - div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } - - .vfill { margin-top: 20% } - h2.title { margin-top: 20% } -} - -</style> -<title>THE LURE OF THE MISSISSIPPI</title> -<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> -<meta name="PG.Title" content="The Lure of the Mississippi" /> -<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Roger Frank" /> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> -<meta name="DC.Creator" content="D. Lange" /> -<meta name="DC.Created" content="1917" /> -<meta name="PG.Id" content="41877" /> -<meta name="PG.Released" content="2013-01-19" /> -<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> -<meta name="DC.Title" content="The Lure of the Mississippi" /> - -<link href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" rel="schema.DCTERMS" /> -<link href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators" rel="schema.MARCREL" /> -<meta content="The Lure of the Mississippi" name="DCTERMS.title" /> -<meta content="lure.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" /> -<meta content="en" scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" name="DCTERMS.language" /> -<meta content="2013-01-19T19:02:00.674689+00:00" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.modified" /> -<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher" /> -<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights" /> -<link href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41877" rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" /> -<meta content="D. Lange" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> -<meta content="2013-01-19" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.created" /> -<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport" /> -<meta content="EpubMaker 0.3.20a5 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator" /> -<style type="text/css"> -.pageno { position: absolute; right: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.pageno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.lineno { position: absolute; left: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.lineno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.toc-pageref { float: right } -pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } -</style> -</head> -<body> -<div class="document" id="the-lure-of-the-mississippi"> -<h1 class="center document-title level-1 pfirst title"><span class="x-large">THE LURE OF THE MISSISSIPPI</span></h1> - -<!-- this is the default PG-RST stylesheet --> -<!-- figure and image styles for non-image formats --> -<!-- default transition --> -<!-- default attribution --> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="align-None container language-en pgheader" id="pg-header" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>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 </span><a class="reference internal" href="#project-gutenberg-license">Project Gutenberg License</a><span> -included with this eBook or online at -</span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a><span>.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container" id="pg-machine-header"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>Title: The Lure of the Mississippi -<br /> -<br />Author: D. Lange -<br /> -<br />Release Date: January 19, 2013 [EBook #41877] -<br /> -<br />Language: English -<br /> -<br />Character set encoding: UTF-8</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-start-line"><span>*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>THE LURE OF THE MISSISSIPPI</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Roger Frank.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container titlepage"> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>THE LURE OF THE MISSISSIPPI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>BY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>D. LANGE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="center line"><span class="smaller">AUTHOR OF “ON THE TRAIL OF THE SIOUX,” “THE SILVER ISLAND</span></div> -<div class="center line"><span class="smaller">OF THE CHIPPEWA,” “LOST IN THE FUR COUNTRY,”</span></div> -<div class="center line"><span class="smaller">“IN THE GREAT WILD NORTH,” AND “THE</span></div> -<div class="center line"><span class="smaller">LURE OF THE BLACK HILLS”</span></div> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>ILLUSTRATED BY W. L. HOWES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="center line"><span>BOSTON</span></div> -<div class="center line"><span>LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.</span></div> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>Published, October, 1917</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="center line"><span>COPYRIGHT 1917, BY D. Lange</span></div> -<div class="center line"><span>THE LURE OF THE MISSISSIPPI</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="center line"><span>Norwood Press</span></div> -<div class="center line"><span>BERWICK & SMITH CO.</span></div> -<div class="center line"><span>NORWOOD, MASS.</span></div> -<div class="center line"><span>U. S. A.</span></div> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure illustration margin" style="width: 79%" id="figure-55"> -<img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="“Come out, you white men, and fight!”" src="images/illus-fpc.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">“Come out, you white men, and fight!”</span></div> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<p class="left pfirst"><span class="larger">FOREWORD</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left pfirst"><span>The story told here has for its scenic background the Mississippi -River and its fine northern tributary, the Minnesota, the “Sky-tinted -Water” of the Sioux Indians.</span></p> -<p class="left pnext"><span>The story opens in the spring of 1861. The Civil War has begun. -Lincoln has called for 75,000 volunteers, while to regiments and -batteries of the small regular army orders have been issued to hurry -to Washington as fast as possible.</span></p> -<p class="left pnext"><span>Colonel John C. Pemberton embarks his battery on the </span><em class="italics">Fanny Harris</em><span>, -at Fort Ridgely on the Minnesota River. Hundreds of sullen -Indians watch the troops leave, and visions of regaining their rich -hunting grounds in the Minnesota valley arise in the minds of the -starving savages, who have been brooding for several years over real -and fancied wrongs.</span></p> -<p class="left pnext"><span>Within a year of the departure of the soldiers, a furious Indian war -sweeps over the young State of Minnesota, while on the Mississippi -from Cairo to New Orleans Federal and Confederate fleets and armies -battle for the control of the Great River. On this historical -background move the characters of the story: Barker, the old trapper; -Tatanka, the Sioux scout; Tim and Bill Ferguson, two Southern boys; -and their doubtful friend, Cousin Hicks.</span></p> -<p class="left pnext"><span>At Vicksburg, in the summer of 1863, we meet again the former Colonel -John C. Pemberton, now a general in the Confederate army, stubbornly -defending the besieged city against the Federal army under General -Grant.</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="left line"><span>D. Lange.</span></div> -<div class="left line"><span>St. Paul, Minnesota,</span></div> -<div class="left line"><span>June, 1917.</span></div> -</div> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="id1"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><span>Contents</span></h2> -<div class="container contents"> -<ul class="compact simple toc-list"> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-ion-board-the-fanny-harris" id="id9">CHAPTER I—ON BOARD THE <em class="italics">FANNY HARRIS</em></a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-iiin-great-anxiety" id="id10">CHAPTER II—IN GREAT ANXIETY</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-iiiplain-talk-and-ugly-rumors" id="id11">CHAPTER III—PLAIN TALK AND UGLY RUMORS</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-ivthe-breaking-of-the-storm" id="id12">CHAPTER IV—THE BREAKING OF THE STORM</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-vthrough-a-deserted-land" id="id13">CHAPTER V—THROUGH A DESERTED LAND</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-vidangerous-traveling" id="id14">CHAPTER VI—DANGEROUS TRAVELING</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-viion-the-great-river" id="id15">CHAPTER VII—ON THE GREAT RIVER</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-viiiafter-the-wreck" id="id16">CHAPTER VIII—AFTER THE WRECK</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-ixhunting-bees-and-driving-fish" id="id17">CHAPTER IX—HUNTING BEES AND DRIVING FISH</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xcatching-a-monster" id="id18">CHAPTER X—CATCHING A MONSTER</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xiafter-wild-geese" id="id19">CHAPTER XI—AFTER WILD GEESE</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xiiin-a-winter-camp" id="id20">CHAPTER XII—IN A WINTER CAMP</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xiiifishing-through-the-ice" id="id21">CHAPTER XIII—FISHING THROUGH THE ICE</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xivsigns-of-spring" id="id22">CHAPTER XIV—SIGNS OF SPRING</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xvat-inspiration-point" id="id23">CHAPTER XV—AT INSPIRATION POINT</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xvismelling-the-storm" id="id24">CHAPTER XVI—SMELLING THE STORM</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xviisouthward-at-last" id="id25">CHAPTER XVII—SOUTHWARD AT LAST</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xviiiin-the-sunken-lands" id="id26">CHAPTER XVIII—IN THE SUNKEN LANDS</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xixpast-island-number-ten" id="id27">CHAPTER XIX—PAST ISLAND NUMBER TEN</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxon-to-vicksburg" id="id28">CHAPTER XX—ON TO VICKSBURG</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxiwherein-old-enemies-meet" id="id29">CHAPTER XXI—WHEREIN OLD ENEMIES MEET</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxiithe-old-trappers-secret" id="id30">CHAPTER XXII—THE OLD TRAPPER’S SECRET</a></p> -</li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-xxiiithe-last-days-of-vicksburg" id="id31">CHAPTER XXIII—THE LAST DAYS OF VICKSBURG</a></p> -</li> -</ul> -</div> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="id2"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><span>Illustrations</span></h2> -<div class="container loa lof"> -<ul class="compact simple toc-list"> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><span class="first"><a class="reference internal" href="#figure-55" id="id3">“Come out, you white men, and fight!”</a></span></li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><span class="first"><a class="reference internal" href="#figure-56" id="id4">With his right hand he raised the man’s head above the current.</a></span></li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><span class="first"><a class="reference internal" href="#figure-57" id="id5">“Walking is good, on you can ride on a log, the water is fine.”</a></span></li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><span class="first"><a class="reference internal" href="#figure-58" id="id6">The two men bought a boat of the trader.</a></span></li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><span class="first"><a class="reference internal" href="#figure-59" id="id7">“It is a forest of ghost trees,” Tatanka murmured.</a></span></li> -<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><span class="first"><a class="reference internal" href="#figure-60" id="id8">“Take him out of our lines to that open field.”</a></span></li> -</ul> -</div> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-ion-board-the-fanny-harris"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id9"><span>CHAPTER I—ON BOARD THE </span><em class="italics">FANNY HARRIS</em></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>There came through the night loud crashing -and rumbling sounds, and a confusion of -men’s voices from the steep road leading -down from Fort Ridgely to the boat-landing -on the Minnesota River.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All afternoon, big William Ferguson and -his ten-year-old brother, Timothy, had -watched the six-mule teams of the United -States Army trot down the steep narrow road -with guns, caissons and army supplies, for -Colonel Pemberton had been ordered to leave -the Sioux frontier in Minnesota and rush his -battery and men to Washington as fast as -possible. Fort Sumter had been fired on. -President Lincoln had called for 75,000 volunteers, -and from north and west, the scattered -detachments and batteries of the regular army -were rushed to Washington. The long-threatened -Civil War had begun.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But in those days, Minnesota was a long -way from the Atlantic coast, for the railroads -had only just touched the Mississippi River. -The soldiers at Fort Ridgely had to travel -five hundred miles by steamboat to La Crosse, -and in order to make all possible haste, they -continued by torchlight the loading of guns, -caissons, ammunition, horses, and stores.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the liveliest day little Tim Ferguson -and his big brother, Bill, had ever seen. Bill -had at last gone to sleep, wrapped in his -blanket, with his head resting on a coil of -rope, but the active Tim had never tired of -watching the soldiers loading the big guns, -and the carpenters and engineers repairing -the boat for the fast and dangerous downriver -trip on the flooded, winding Minnesota.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the crash of timbers and the shouts -of men rang through the night, he shook his -sleeping brother, calling:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Get up, Bill, get up! A mule team has -rolled down the bluffs; I told you they would. -Come along, Bill!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim had guessed right. Among the trees -lay the wagon and mules, while boxes of shells -and hard-tack were scattered through the -brush. Had it not been for the trees and -brush, men, mules and wagon would have -rolled straight into the swollen river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He’s sure a goner,” remarked one of the -men, as he cut the traces of Old Harmony, the -biggest mule of the battery. The neck of the -mule was caught between two trees and his -tongue was hanging out of his mouth full -length. However, no sooner was he released, -than he got up, shook himself, scrambled up -the bluff and did not stop until he reached -the corral, where he uttered one of those bugle-calls -which had earned him the name of -Old Harmony. But soldiers are accustomed -to accidents of this kind, and within half an -hour, Old Harmony’s Six were once more -hitched to the big army-wagon. Both drivers -and mules were a little more careful to keep -the road and, by the light of glaring and smoking -torches and blazing bonfires, the loading -of the boat was rapidly finished.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When reveille sounded at daybreak, the -men marched into the mess-hall at Fort -Ridgely for their last breakfast in Minnesota.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There had been little sleep at the post during -the night. Had a painter like Catlin been -present, he could have left us some fine dramatic -canvases.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Opposite the side of the fort which faced -the open prairie away from the river, some -six or seven hundred Sioux Indians were encamped. -Only the squaws and the little children -rolled up in their blankets in the tepees -that night. Some of the men sat smoking -around their camp-fires, but most of them sat -on the river bank watching the boatmen and -the soldiers working in the red glare of the -torches and bonfires. They had heard that -the white people were having a war amongst -themselves. Now they knew that the story -was true. The soldiers were going away on -the steamer, and with the soldiers were going -most of the big guns, against whose terrible -thunder, balls, and canister no Indian braves -have ever been able to keep up their courage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“If the soldiers go away and take the big -guns, we can get back the land along our -river. We have been cheated out of it, and -the Whites have never paid us for it,” a middle-aged -warrior remarked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We can do more,” added a fierce-looking -young man, known as the Boaster; “we can -drive all the Whites out of Minnesota. But -we shall keep their horses and their squaws -and we shall make big feasts of their oxen. -The Winnebagoes will help us. We shall -make peace with the Chippewas and they will -help us.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We shall have our villages again at Kaposia -and at Wabasha, on the Great River, -and the Whites will have to stay on the other -side of the Great River. This is our country -and Manitou will send back the buffalo and -the elk, and the deer will become numerous -again. We shall have plenty of meat and -skins as in the days of our fathers before the -Whites had poisoned the land with their -plows, for the black soil which the plows turn -up is bad medicine for buffalo and elk and -deer.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the shadows of the trees began to be -reflected on the grayish current, the last -morning blast of the </span><em class="italics">Fanny Harris</em><span> echoed -over the flooded valley. The three howitzers -left at the fort fired a salute, the few remaining -men cheered their departing comrades -and the soldiers on board replied with a ringing -hurrah for Abe Lincoln and Fort Ridgely. -Then the pilot rang a bell, the hawsers were -drawn on board, the big stern-wheel churned -the water to a white foam, the heavily-laden -steamer backed into the current, turned -around slowly, and headed down stream for -Fort Snelling near St. Paul.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On board, besides the soldiers, were Bill -and Tim Ferguson, Sam Baker, a trapper, -and Black Buffalo, an Indian scout.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Ferguson brothers were Southern boys -from Vicksburg, who had come North with a -man they called Cousin Hicks, and with whom -they lived in a squatter’s cabin a few miles -below Fort Ridgely. Hicks, about whose -business in the Indian country there were -many conflicting rumors afloat, had been -away for a week visiting the Indians on the -upper Minnesota, and in his absence Baker -and Black Buffalo had invited the Ferguson -boys to go with them to Fort Snelling and St. -Paul.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trip of the </span><em class="italics">Fanny Harris</em><span> from Fort -Ridgely to La Crosse was never forgotten by -any one on board. The </span><em class="italics">Fanny Harris</em><span> being -a stern-wheeler, was naturally difficult to -steer in a strong current. The Minnesota is -one of the most twisted and crooked rivers in -the West. In April, 1861, the water was so -high that the placid, winding river had grown -a mile wide, flooding its valley from bluff to -bluff, and in many places the water flowed -with a rushing current, crossing the river bed -at all angles and making innumerable short -cuts across fields, marshes, and woods.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Back her up,” the pilot’s bell would sound -as he tried to round one of the countless -points or bends. But it was impossible to -back the heavy boat against the current. The -engineers could not even stop her. The best -they could do was to check her speed and let -her drift flanking around the wooded points, -where trees and boughs raked her whole -length, tearing down stanchions, guards, and -gingerbread work with a deafening crash.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At other times, she would plunge straight -into the timber, bending the smaller willows -and other brush like so many reeds and tearing -good-sized trees by the roots out of the -soft mud, but before she could be again gotten -into clear water, a big cottonwood bough had -torn away another joint of her chimneys and -smashed another part of her pilot-house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But all this time, Colonel Lantry, who had -been in supreme command ever since the boat -had left Fort Snelling, stood on deck with the -captain, or at the wheel with the pilots.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Keep her going, keep her going! Keep -your wheel turning!” were the only orders -he gave to captain or pilot as he dodged trees -and falling timbers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We must get to Washington, before the -Rebels get there!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We’ll never get there,” vowed an old artilleryman -who had been through the Mexican -war with this same battery. “This is worse -than a battle. We’ll never get there. We’ll -be swimming around with the muskrats and -roosting on the drift-wood and haystacks -with them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I’d rather be in a battle where I can use -my piece, than sail through the timber in this -blooming tub on this beastly twisted river!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Toward evening the steamer again crashed -into the timber and a willow tree, springing -back as the side of the boat had passed it, -tore away several planks or buckets from the -wheel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Boys, it’s for the rat-houses now,” called -out the old gunner as the boat stopped with a -crash.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Colonel Lantry coolly repeated his -usual: “Keep her going, Captain; keep her -going! The Government will build you a -new boat!” However, with a broken wheel -she could not keep going.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Take the anchor over to the other shore,” -Captain Faucette ordered three men. “Then -pass the line around the capstan and we’ll -pull her back into open water. Well tie up -here for the night and repair the wheel.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Repairing the wheel was hard and dangerous -work. With one hand the men worked at -screwing down and unscrewing bolts and -nuts, with the other hand they hung on to -dripping, slippery planks and beams.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Careful men, careful,” Captain Faucette -cautioned them. “Any man that goes overboard -into this icy current is lost.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By the light of lanterns and torches, the -men worked with a will. One bucket was just -being lifted into place, when there was a -scramble and a plunge—“Man overboard!” -The cry arose and at once there was a confusion -of hurrying feet and calling voices.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim, the Indian, and the trapper were just -eating supper, while Bill had been watching -and helping the men. Bill ripped off his coat. -“Hold up the torches!” he called, and sprang -after the man, who was just disappearing behind -the wheel. The icy flood almost choked -him, but he struck out after the man. By -the glare of the torches he caught a glimpse -of him bobbing up and being carried toward a -mass of driftwood. He seized the back of -the man’s shirt, pulled him to the driftwood, -and tried to climb up, but it would not support -his weight. He hooked his left arm around -an overhanging willow, and with his right -hand he raised the man’s head above the current.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Bring a boat, quick!” he called. “I can’t -hold on long. I’m all numb!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a few minutes, Mattson, the unfortunate -carpenter, and Bill were safe on board -and Colonel Lantry took charge of them.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure illustration margin" style="width: 91%" id="figure-56"> -<img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="With his right hand he raised the man’s head above the current." src="images/illus-010.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">With his right hand he raised the man’s head above the current.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Here,” he said to two soldiers, “turn -this man over on his face and bring him to. -You know how.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then to the men: “On with your work, -men. We must reach Fort Snelling to-morrow -night.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill had slipped away to his corner on the -coil of ropes. His teeth chattered and his -hands felt so numb that he could hardly -wriggle out of his wet and sticky garments.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When he was once more in dry clothes, he -hurried to the mess-room and asked the cook -for the hottest tea he had.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The cook did not have to be told.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I’d give you something better,” he said, -“if I had it, but the hot milk is all gone. The -captain is in a deuce of a hurry, so we -went right by Mankato and St. Peter without -stopping.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After two cups of hot tea, sweetened with -plenty of brown sugar, Bill’s teeth stopped -rattling, but set themselves with a will into -the meal of ham, potatoes, and bread placed -before the hungry boy, who had not yet had -his supper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While Bill was eating, Colonel Lantry came -around.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where did you learn it, boy?” he asked. -“It was a neat piece of work.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Oh, I learned it at Vicksburg,” Bill replied. -“We boys used to swim across the -river, but there the water is warm.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“At Vicksburg,” the officer repeated. -“You are not going to Vicksburg! You are -too young to enlist. You had better stay in -Minnesota. There’s likely to be hell at -Vicksburg before this war is over.”</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-iiin-great-anxiety"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id10"><span>CHAPTER II—IN GREAT ANXIETY</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The words of the Colonel had aroused a -train of thoughts in the boy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Was there really going to be war at Vicksburg? -The boys had heard talk of war, but -not until they had watched the loading of the -guns and the embarking of the soldiers and -had heard the pressing orders of the keen, -straight army officer to “keep her going,” to -“push her through,” had this war talk meant -anything to them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim was almost too young to understand -such things, but to Bill the war had suddenly -become a fearful reality. Fortunately, these -big guns were not going to Vicksburg; they -were going to Washington, which was a long, -long way from Vicksburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>From the talk of the men and from newspapers -which had occasionally fallen into -Bill’s hands, the boys had learned that during -the previous winter their own State, -Mississippi, had left the Union, and that Alabama, -Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana, had -likewise followed the lead of South Carolina, -which had seceded a few days before -Christmas.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By this time almost everybody on the boat -was asleep, except the carpenters and engineers, -who were still working to put the -steamer into first-class running shape.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Bill’s mind turned from the great -problem and puzzle of national events to more -personal problems, which in a vague manner -he had often tried to solve.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Why had his mother never told him anything -about his grandfather in Tennessee, -except that he was a very good man, who -lived on a large plantation, and had many -slaves? Why had he and Tim never visited -their grandfather? Many boys of Vicksburg -spent months at a time on the plantations of -their grandfathers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>What kind of a man was their cousin, -Hicks, really?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Both Bill and Tim liked Trapper Barker -very much and even Black Buffalo, although -he was an Indian, and spoke only a broken -English, they liked, but they had begun to -feel that there was something mysterious -about Cousin Hicks. He didn’t try to make -a farm. He had bought no farm horses nor -oxen like the other settlers. He had only -planted a little corn and a few potatoes and -beans and he let the boys do the work in the -small field, while with a light team and wagon -he visited around amongst the Indians and -Whites. Why didn’t he stay at home and -work like the German and Irish and Yankee -settlers?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Had he only gone to Minnesota so that Tim -might grow big and strong in the northern -climate? Tim had often been sick at Vicksburg, -but now he was as strong and active as -any small boy of his age; however, Cousin -Hicks seemed to take little interest in Tim’s -health.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last the troubled boy fell asleep and all -his puzzles were forgotten until the clear call -of the bugler: “We can’t get them up—we -can’t get them up in the morning!” echoed -over the flooded valley. It seemed to Bill -that he had slept only a five minutes, although -it was now full daylight. The ruddy sheen -of the rising sun was reflected in a broad -streak of red from the swirling, rushing and -gliding waters, while masses of black smoke -were curling from the chimneys of the boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Fanny Harris</em><span> had filled up with coal -before she left St. Paul, because the wood-yards -were flooded and much of the cord-wood -piled up for sale at the different landing -places had drifted down stream.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The second day’s travel was much like the -first, but contrary to the expectation of the -artillerymen, the boat did reach the Fort -Snelling landing in the evening, having made -more than three hundred miles in two days.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her appearance, however, was more like -that of a wreck than of a safe ship. Had -there been any turn-bridges in those days, -they would not have had to open for her. -Only six feet were left of her tallest smokestack, -while the other projected only a yard -above the deck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Colonel Lantry would not stop for repairs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“How are her hull and engine?” he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“All sound, sir,” replied Captain Faucette.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Then we shall cast off at daylight,” he -ordered. “You can patch her up at La -Crosse.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At La Crosse the soldiers, guns, and horses -were transferred to railroad cars. Col. John E. Pemberton -accompanied his men to Washington, -where he resigned and entered the -service of the Confederate States.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The four civilian travelers left the -</span><em class="italics">Fanny Harris</em><span> at Fort Snelling, and stayed a few -days at Snelling and St. Paul, till Barker and -Black Buffalo had finished their trading.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At these two places, the excitement was as -great as it had been at Fort Ridgely. Fort -Snelling had been made the recruiting station -for the State, and from all over the -State men were responding to the call of -President Lincoln. Hundreds of men were -encamped in tents and rapidly constructed -shacks, because the old stone barracks could -not hold them all. Captain Acker’s company -was already complete and before the end of -the month the First Minnesota Regiment was -mustered in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the frontier town of St. Paul, the excitement -was as great as at Fort Snelling. -Everybody talked war, while at the river -front two dozen boats were hastily loading -and unloading. Mixed with the excited white -people were a number of silent, stolid-looking -Indians, both Chippewa and Sioux. They -were found in the stores, on the streets and at -the boat landing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The town seemed full of soldiers from all -parts of the State. Some of the men of the -</span><em class="italics">Fanny Harris</em><span> had deserted the boat at Fort -Snelling, because they were afraid if they -waited they might not be able to get in on the -75,000 President Lincoln had called for.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the first up-river boat, the two lads and -their friends started back for Fort Ridgely. -They were all in a sad mood. Bill could not -help thinking of the words of the officer, in -regard to Vicksburg, while Barker and Black -Buffalo were turning over in their minds the -looks and the talk of the Sioux, who in the -red glare of torches and bonfires, had been -watching the loading of cannons and other -preparations for the departure of the soldiers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Black Buffalo especially seemed in a sullen -mood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Who is the white boys’ cousin?” he asked -Barker, when the two were sitting alone on -the rear deck after dinner, while the boys -were watching immense flocks of geese, -ducks, and cormorants that were now going -north over the flooded valley.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He pretends to be their friend,” replied -the trapper, “but I am, like yourself, much -puzzled by his actions and behavior. He does -nothing for the boys. He talks of finding a -good squatter’s homestead for them, but -even Bill is much too young to hold a piece of -land till it is surveyed and opened for settlement.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He is not their friend,” Black Buffalo uttered -gruffly. “I see him often talking with -bad Indians and bad white men. I do not like -him; he is a bad man. He sells rum to the -Indians, when he thinks no eyes see him, and -he talks against the good work of the missionaries.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We should keep our eyes on him. He -means to do some harm to the boys.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What harm could he do to them?” Barker -asked, trying to conceal his own fears -and the anxiety he had often felt about the -relation of the two boys to their supposed -cousin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We must watch him,” he said to Black -Buffalo; “there is something strange about -him. He can talk well, but his eye is unsteady.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Yes,” replied the Indian, “his words do -not tell you what is in his heart.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the middle of the afternoon, the engine -broke down and the boat tied up near the -present town of Belle Plaine, about fifty miles -above St. Paul.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While the engineers were repairing the machinery, -the two boys and their friends went -out in two small boats to hunt ducks and geese -on the flooded marshes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They landed on a small island of high land -and the men chose a convenient blind behind -some bushes. The boys had no guns and had -just gone along to watch the fun and to bring -in the ducks which the hunters would drop, -but they found some unexpected and exciting -hunting for themselves.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“See the rabbit, see the rabbit!” Tim cried. -“He is sitting on a stump with water all -around him.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys were surprised to find that the -rabbit did not try to get away as they approached.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He’s dead,” said Tim.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, he isn’t,” laughed Bill, “I see his -nose move; he is breathing.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Some brush had drifted against the stump -and the rabbit had eaten it as far as he had -been able to reach.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the boys lifted the rabbit into the -boat, they had another surprise, for nestled -under his fur they discovered a black meadow -mouse that had also sought refuge on the -stump when the water had risen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Take him off,” Tim begged, “he’ll freeze -to death on the stump,” and Bill took him off -and placed him under the rabbit, who was -quietly squatting under the seat as if he belonged -there.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the boys returned to the brush-and-grass-covered -island, they discovered four -more rabbits, who, however, were more lively -than the one on the stump. They ran about -in a most puzzling zigzag fashion and one -even tried to swim across a channel to another -piece of dry land. But the boys caught them -all and put them in the boat, from which they -did not try to escape.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While they were chasing the rabbits the -boys made another discovery. The island -was alive with black meadow-mice; there were -hundreds of them. Every tuft of dead grass, -every bush, every pile of dead leaves was -crowded with them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Oh, Tim,” teased Bill, “let’s row back to -the boat and get some pie for all your pets.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Tim had caught the twinkle in his -brother’s eye. “Ah, you can’t fool me,” he -came back. “Don’t you think I know that -these wild mice have plenty of grass and -brush to eat till the water goes down?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It did not take the boys long to decide what -to do with the rabbits.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“If we could only keep them,” was Tim’s -wish. “We would have as much fun with -them as we had with our rabbits at Vicksburg.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No use; we can’t keep them,” Bill argued. -“We would have to stay at home every day or -let them out, and if we let them out, they will -eat up our garden and Cousin Hicks will kill -them. There are too many rabbits at our -shack now.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So the boys rowed their catch of game -ashore. When the boat touched land, the -stupid rabbits became lively at once. They -hopped out of the boat and, true to their instinct -for hiding, disappeared at once; some -into a hole and others under a pile of brush.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On their way back the boys, quite excited -about this new way of hunting, peeped into a -hollow log.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“There’s an animal in it!” exclaimed Tim.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look out!” Bill warned him, “maybe it’s -a skunk. If you catch a skunk, you can’t go -back on the boat.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It’s no skunk,” replied Tim. “It’s a -gray animal. It’s a coon. Let’s catch him.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill poked the animal with a stick and before -he had time to warn his younger brother -to look out for the coon’s teeth and claws, -Tim had grabbed the creature by the neck, -dropped him in the boat and thrown his coat -over the snarling animal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look at him,” Tim cried. “Doesn’t he -look funny, peeping out from under my coat?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“My, but he is thin! I bet he is cold and -starved. Let us take him to the hunters and -give him something to eat.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mr. Barker, what does a coon eat!” -Tim shouted as they approached the men. -“We’ve caught one.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Anything, except wood,” the trapper told -them. “Give him a piece of duck-meat. We -have ducks enough for the whole boat.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When Tim offered the raccoon a piece of -duck-meat, he took it, soused it in the water -in the boat, devoured it greedily and began -whining for more. He ate several other -pieces in the same way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Why does he wash his meat?” the boys -asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It’s just his queer way,” the trapper told -them. “You give him a piece of fresh pie, -and he’ll souse it in a mudhole before he -eats it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“A coon’s a queer fellow. My German -neighbors call him ‘washbear,’ on account of -his peculiar habits. I had a tame coon once, -but he died from eating a pan of boot-grease.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Why didn’t you watch him?” asked Tim.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You can’t watch a coon,” the trapper -laughed, “he’s always in some mischief. I’d -rather watch ten boys than one coon.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the four days it took the boat to reach -Fort Ridgely the boys had plenty of time to -ask the trapper about the war.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It won’t last long, that’s what I think,” -the trapper told them. “When the Confederates -see that Abe Lincoln has 75,000 soldiers, -they will quit.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Will they fight at Vicksburg?” asked Bill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, you needn’t worry, boys. They’ll -soon fix it all up at Washington and the soldiers -will come home.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The officer said it would be hell at Vicksburg,” -Tim remarked, “and it would be a big, -long war.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That’s what some of the army officers -think,” the trapper admitted, “but most other -people don’t think so.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Black Buffalo was as much puzzled by the -war between the white people as the boys.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Do the people from this country want to -go south,” he asked, “just as the Chippewas -from the North want to come into our Sioux -country?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, that isn’t it,” the trapper explained. -“The white people of the South want to keep -their black slaves, and they wish to have a -country and a president of their own. They -don’t like Abe Lincoln.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When on the evening of the fourth day, the -steamer whistled for the Fort Ridgely landing, -the boys were glad to get off the boat, -but felt very uneasy about the reception -Cousin Hicks would give them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I wish we could go back to Vicksburg,” -Tim whispered to his brother. “I am homesick.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Come on, boys,” Mr. Barker called in his -pleasant, manly voice. “I’ll stay at your -shack to-night, and if your cousin is at home, -I’ll have a visit and a talk with him. Don’t -forget your coon, Tim; I guess you will have -to carry him if you want to take him home.”</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-iiiplain-talk-and-ugly-rumors"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id11"><span>CHAPTER III—PLAIN TALK AND UGLY RUMORS</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Cousin Hicks was at home and greeted the -boys with apparent heartiness. To Barker -he was friendly, but did not invite him to -stay over night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You need not go to any trouble,” the -trapper told him. “We have had our supper -on the boat, and I will just spread my blanket -on the floor for the night. You know a seasoned -trapper can sleep anywhere.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Yes, do make yourself at home,” Hicks -said now. “I am glad you took the boys with -you to St. Paul. It is a bit lonesome for them -here, and I have to be away a good deal.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next morning Hicks walked along the -prairie road with Barker, and the trapper -knew that Hicks had something to say to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When they were no longer within sight of -the shack, Hicks began:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It would suit me just as well, Barker, if -you wouldn’t take those lads away from my -place. I’m their guardian and I reckon I -can look after them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I’m glad to hear you say that, Mr. Hicks. -I always thought the boys ought to have a -guardian. But I want to tell you that, in my -opinion, you have done blessed little guarding.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Just the same,” Hicks replied, his Southern -accent becoming more pronounced, “it -would suit me just as well if you and yours -wouldn’t meddle in my business.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now look here, Hicks,” the trapper -turned on him with his gray eyes flashing, -“this isn’t a matter of business at all. You -claim to be the friend or guardian of these -two boys, and you not only neglect them, but -you expose them to great danger.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where’s the danger, and what...?” -Hicks started, his anger plainly rising.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Hicks,” the trapper cut him short, “don’t -pretend to me that you don’t know. You -know as well as I do that a storm is brewing -here and that the Indians may break into murder -and war almost any day. It would not -have surprised me if they had broken out before -the </span><em class="italics">Fanny Harris</em><span> had reached La -Crosse.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“All the same,” retorted Hicks, trying to -straighten his lank and stooped body, “you -and yours will let those boys alone in the future.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker felt this was a threat. “Good,” he -replied. “If that’s your trump card, I’ll -play mine. Hicks, if any harm comes to those -lads, I’ll hunt you down and make you pay for -it. Remember that! Your duty is to take -those lads home to Vicksburg and you can -come back with a load of rum, if you want to. -We’re through. Good morning.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The two men stood facing each other a -moment. A whirling gust blew off the old -gray hat of Hicks, and he hurriedly caught -it and put it on again. Then, without a word, -he turned and with a slouching gait started -to go back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Something about Hicks had startled Barker. -For a moment he stood thinking. Had -he not seen this man years ago? Then he -leaned against an old gnarly bur-oak. Hicks -turned as if he would come back, but when -he saw the trapper watching him, he changed -his mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, Hicks,” the trapper thought, “your -game won’t work on me. You can’t plug me -in the back and bury me in the brush in the -ravine.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But where had he met this man before? He -lit his pipe and thought. Now it flashed upon -him. Ten years ago, when he had been trapping -and hunting wild turkeys in the valley -of the Wabash, in Indiana, he had met a man -he had never forgotten. The man was under -arrest for murder and the sheriff stopped -over night with him in Barker’s cabin. The -next day he broke away and had never been -heard from. He had black hair then, dark -eyes, and a small red scar stood out sharply -on his white forehead.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That man was Hicks!” the trapper exclaimed. -“I never forgot that scar.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Why has he brought those boys into the -Indian Country?” Barker asked himself. -“How could any parents trust their boys to a -man of his kind?” But Hicks could be very -pleasant, and he was a good talker. He had -made many friends among both Whites and -Indians. He seemed to have some money -and was a liberal spender. Nevertheless, -after turning over in his mind all he knew -about Hicks, Barker could not make up his -mind why Hicks and the boys were here and -why Hicks so absolutely neglected the boys -he had evidently promised to look after.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A week later Barker met the boys at a -slough, where both he and the lads sometimes -went for a mess of wild ducks and the trapper -decided to see what he could find out -about Cousin Hicks. The boys being asked, -told freely what they knew.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cousin Hicks was some distant relative of -their mother. He had lived at Vicksburg -about a year and had often visited at their -home and had sat many hours chatting with -their father in his little store. The boys had -gone north with him, so they could squat on -some good land, and because Tim was often -sick at Vicksburg. As soon as their parents -could sell their store, they would also come -north, because they had heard and read about -the boom in Minnesota lands and what big -crops of wheat it would raise. The boys liked -it in Minnesota, only Tim got homesick at -times. Cousin Hicks was not mean to them, -only he didn’t work and didn’t stay at home, -but he never worked much in Vicksburg, -either.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There had been some trouble and a lawsuit -between their two grandfathers in Tennessee -and the boys had never been to see them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That was all the boys knew. It did not -help Barker much, but he felt more sure than -ever that Hicks was playing some crooked -game and he decided to watch things, no matter -what might be the outcome.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When fall came, the boys had eaten all the -corn in their garden and in order to have -something to live on during the winter, they -went to a large slough to gather wild rice in -the way they had learned of the Indians.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As the winter passed, bad news came for -the lads from the South. Their father wrote -that the war was getting worse and that on -account of it he could not hope to sell his -store, but that the boys might as well stay in -Minnesota.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The war had indeed, by this time, assumed -immense proportions, both in the East and in -the West near the Mississippi River. In the -West, Grant had captured the important -points of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson and -had fought the terrible two days’ battle of -Shiloh. After this battle, most Northerners -became convinced that the Confederacy -would not suddenly collapse after one or two -battles.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By the first of July, 1862, the land forces, -under Grant and two fleets of gunboats, the -lower under Admiral Farragut, and the upper -under Commodore Henry Davis, had -obtained control of the Mississippi River, except -for a stretch of river between Vicksburg -and Port Hudson, a distance of two hundred -miles.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By far the most important and strongest -point on the river still held by the Confederates -was Vicksburg. It is located on the -east side of the river on high land with -wooded hills about two hundred feet high directly -to the east of the city. The cities of -St. Louis, Cairo, Memphis, and New Orleans -were all held by the Union forces. It was of -great importance for the Union forces to capture -Vicksburg, because the capture of this -city would give them complete control of the -great river and would cut the Confederacy in -two, cutting off their supply of grain and -meat from Arkansas and Texas. If Vicksburg -could be taken, the Confederacy would -be blockaded on the Atlantic, the Gulf of -Mexico, and on the Mississippi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The task of taking this important city fell -to General Grant, and it proved a most difficult -undertaking. The heavy batteries of -guns placed in all favorable positions could -not be silenced by the Federal gunboats. The -city was also defended by a garrison of several -thousand men, and on July 15th, the -iron-clad Confederate ram, </span><em class="italics">Arkansas</em><span>, coming -out of the Yazoo River, just above Vicksburg, -ran through and practically defeated the -whole fleet of Commodore Davis. For several -days this one Confederate gunboat held -both Admiral Farragut’s fleet and the fleet of -Commodore Davis at bay until both withdrew, -one up, the other down, the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The fight of the </span><em class="italics">Arkansas</em><span> under its fearless -Captain I. N. Brown, is one of the most -heroic chapters in naval warfare.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Why the Federals allowed this formidable -ram six weeks to be completed and armed at -Yazoo City, within fifty miles of their own -upper fleet, has thus far remained a mystery. -On the fifteenth of August, Bill and Tim -Ferguson, after an interval of several months, -received the following letter from their -father at Vicksburg:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>“</span><span class="small-caps">My dear boys:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You have probably read or heard about -the fighting that has been going on here. -Your mother and I live in a cave now and we -are getting used to the screeching and bursting -of shells, which the Federal gunboats -throw into the city. But now our one little -iron-clad </span><em class="italics">Arkansas</em><span> has driven off both the upper -and lower Federal fleet. Think of that! -and last night your mother and I slept at -home once more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You boys would like to see the </span><em class="italics">Arkansas</em><span>. -She looks like a scow with an iron house boat -built on it. The house-boat part has slanting -sides in every direction. Captain Brown, -her commander, built her at Yazoo City; -Brown had thousands of railroad rails bent -into shape and with these he completely covered -her sides and where he could not use -rails, he used boiler-plate. If we only had -a few more Browns and </span><em class="italics">Arkansases</em><span>, we -would soon chase the whole Yankee fleet into -the canebrakes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Most people here are still very hopeful -that no serious attempt will be made by Grant -and the Northern fleet to take Vicksburg, but -I fear they are mistaken.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Our fleet was so hopelessly smashed at -Memphis that we have only a few vessels left, -while the Federals seem to have no end of -gunboats and transports. It may be that the -Gibraltar of the Great River can not be -taken, but I feel sure that Grant and Sherman -and Admiral Porter now commanding the -Federal fleet above Vicksburg, are going to -try it. When that time comes, Vicksburg -will be a bad place to live in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mother would like to send you some -turkeys and chickens, but as that is impossible, -she hopes that you may really enjoy the -wild ducks and geese that you have written -about.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We are very glad that you are far away -from this fearful and sad war and we wish -you to stay north till peace has come again.”</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The writer did not know that at the very -time he wrote these words, two thousand -Sioux were encamped on the Minnesota -River, within a few hours’ ride of his boys, -and were ready at almost any moment to rush -into a war much more cruel than that being -waged on the Great River, where only armed -men fought against armed men.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-ivthe-breaking-of-the-storm"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id12"><span>CHAPTER IV—THE BREAKING OF THE STORM</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Men who have lived outdoors and know the -moods of nature fear the breaking of a storm -that has been long brewing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Indian War which broke over the summery -plains and valleys of Minnesota on Monday -morning, August 18, 1862, swept over a -large section of the State with the rush and -fury of a long-brewing storm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For several years the Sioux had been gathering -a store of hatred and desire of revenge -for real and fancied wrongs. On Sunday, the -17th of August, a few young Indians in an -accidental quarrel with some farmers in -Meeker county killed some cattle and murdered -several whites. Under ordinary conditions -this would have ended in the surrender -and punishment of the criminals, but now -it was the signal for three thousand Sioux -warriors to rush into a carnival of murder -and rapine, which swept over the frontier settlement -as a tornado rushes through the -forest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At daybreak on the 18th, Black Buffalo -knocked on the cabin of Trapper Barker.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Get up, my friend,” he called, “the war -has begun. You must flee, or you will be murdered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I have just learned that Chief Little Crow -has told the warriors to kill all white people -they can find, and the warriors have started -in large and small parties in all directions. -Some people at the Lower Agency, near the -big Indian camp, have already been killed. -Make haste, Mehunka, or you will be killed.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Do all the Indians want the war?” asked -Barker, as he hurriedly dressed himself for -flight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No,” said Black Buffalo. “Many of us, -Little Paul, John Other Day, myself, and -many others think this war is foolish and will -only bring tears and mourning to our women -and children, and ruin to our whole people, -but we are powerless to stop the madness of -Little Crow and the young men.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I have an extra saddle-horse,” said -Barker as he was ready to mount. “We must -warn Bill and Tim.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You are right, Mehunka; I have brought -an extra horse. The white boys should come -with us, if they are willing.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They must come with us!” exclaimed -Barker, “whether they will or not.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Perhaps the lanky white man will not let -them,” Black Buffalo suggested. “He -wishes to keep the boys here. I do not know -why. He would not mourn if harm came to -them. He does not love them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Lanky Hicks be cursed!” Barker exclaimed -in Sioux. “I shall point my rifle at -his head, if he refuses to let them go; he -should have taken them home long ago.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill and Tim were just eating their simple -breakfast of wild rice and maple syrup when -they saw two horsemen coming at a gallop.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look, Bill,” cried Tim, “here comes Mr. -Barker and Tatanka! Hurrah! We’ll go -and hunt ducks on the slough to-day. It’s so -long since they have visited us.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But when Barker hastily jumped off his -horse and entered the cabin before the lads -could cry, “Come in,” to his knock, they knew -that their two friends had not come to invite -them to go hunting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Good morning, my lads,” Barker greeted -them. “Where is Cousin Hicks?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We don’t know,” answered Bill. “We -haven’t seen him since Friday.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Put on your hoots, roll up your coats and -blankets, and come along,” the trapper continued. -“The Sioux have gone to war and -are killing the people all around. You must -not lose a minute; a bunch of them may show -up almost any moment.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When all were ready to mount, Tim asked, -“What about Cousin Hicks? Will the warriors -get him?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill thought he saw a flash of anger in the -dark eyes of Tatanka at the mention of -Cousin Hicks, and the Indian said something -in Sioux which the boys did not understand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the trapper laughed and remarked:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I thought you were a Christian, Tatanka?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I am,” replied Black Buffalo in Sioux, -“but not when I see that man.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If the boys had not implicitly believed -Barker and Tatanka, they would have thought -their story some crude joke, for as they -started their horses at an easy gait, they saw -no sign of war or Sioux warriors. The dew -still lay heavy on the tall grass in the swales, -while many kinds of butterflies, white, yellow, -blue, and tawny red, were sipping their morning -draught of honey from goldenrods and -wild sunflowers, and from the fragrant milkweeds -and purple lead-plants.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now and then, a meadow-lark warbled its -cheerful song from a knoll or rock, while the -little striped gophers chased each other or sat -like horse-pins in front of their holes and -scolded vociferously at the passing riders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What are they saying?” Tim asked of the -trapper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They are talking bad talk at Meetcha, your -raccoon,” Barker replied, with a smile. -“You let Meetcha catch one. Manetcha is a -brave animal near his hole.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim let Meetcha try it, but every time he -came within a few feet of a chattering, scolding -gopher, the little striped creature turned -a somersault and shot into his hole.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Take him up, Tim,” said the trapper after a -few minutes; “we have not much time -to hunt gophers.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They now started their horses at a run for -the two nearest settlers and gave them the -warning.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Get away as quick as you can. Don’t -follow the road to Fort Ridgely or New Ulm, -or you’ll be ambushed there in the timber. -Keep a sharp lookout and hide in the grass -or brush or corn, if you see Indians. Don’t -trust any; they are all on the warpath now.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Without waiting for the settlers to move, -the four horsemen started at a brisk gallop -for a third settler at the head of a wooded -ravine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Keep away from the timber,” Tatanka -cautioned them. “Indians like to hide when -they fight.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The riders approached the cabin carefully -over the prairie. The door was standing -open.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys still felt as if the whole story was -a bad hoax, but now the two men stopped their -horses, examined the caps on their guns, and -then Tatanka carefully crept up to the shanty -through some scrub-oaks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What is Tatanka afraid of?” asked Tim.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He is afraid,” Barker explained, “that -some Indians have seen us and are hiding in -the house or behind it.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now Tatanka appeared in front of the -shanty and motioned the others to come. In -the house everything was confusion. The -table was turned over and the broken dishes -were scattered and tumbled about on the floor. -Every pane in the one small window was -smashed and in the hazel-brush just behind -the little home, Jim Humphrey, the owner, -lay dead, his hands still gripping the handle -of an ax.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The brutes have taken Jim’s wife and -daughter with them,” murmured Barker. -“Boys,” he continued, “you stand watch -while Tatanka and I cover poor Humphrey’s -body with green twigs and earth. We dare -not wait to do more.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>What had thus far seemed like a horrible -dream to the boys, had now become a ghastly -reality. They were face to face with the horrors -of savage warfare.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next cabin, two miles northeast, was on -fire and six men, three on horseback and three -on a farm-wagon, were coming toward them. -The four fugitives halted. “What are -they!” Barker asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They are Indians,” Tatanka decided at -once. “We must make a run for the clump -of poplars north of us.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the center of the round clump of poplars -and thick brush, they tied their horses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They can’t see them here,” Tatanka -stated. “Now, we must lie down near the -edge of the brush, but so that they cannot see -us, and don’t waste your powder. We may -have to stay here for a long time.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Indians had all turned off the road and -were approaching the thicket.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Give them a shot, Bill,” said Barker. -“They are only a quarter of a mile away. -It’s going to be a fight for our lives.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two of the Indians returned Bill’s fire, but -their balls or shot fell short.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I think they have nothing but old trader -guns. In that case, we may be able to beat -them off,” remarked Barker.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Indians took the team out of range. -Then, three of them on horseback, and three -on foot, they surrounded the grove.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One of the Indians on foot waved his -blanket and shouted:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Come out, you white men, and fight. You -are squaws, you are rabbits.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The horsemen slowly rode around the -copse, while it became evident that the other -three were trying to crawl up through the -grass to a small clump of hazel-brush.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Keep cool, boys,” the trapper admonished. -“Don’t waste powder; hit your mark. -Anybody can hit the prairie.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What do they want of us?” asked Tim, -who had tied his coon to a tree. “We have -nothing.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“My lad,” laughed the trapper, “we have -good horses and guns and four extra-fine -scalps, and they want to play great heroes in -camp to-night.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two hours passed without a shot being -fired. The sun had grown hot, the heat-cats -began to run up the south-facing hill, and Bill -and Tim found this tedious waiting and -watching the hardest kind of work they had -ever done. Barker and Tatanka did not seem -to mind it. They kept their eyes on the -enemy but chatted and joked quietly in the -most unconcerned manner, as if being besieged -by Indians were a most ordinary thing -to them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I don’t think they are a bit afraid,” said -Bill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I’m not afraid,” Tim answered, “as long -as the Indians don’t come into our bush. But -I’m hungry and awfully thirsty.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I think I can find water,” said Bill. “I’m -awfully thirsty, too. You watch my Indian a -little while.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In half an hour Bill came back. “Tim,” he -reported, with joy, “go to the big poplar near -the horses. I’ve dug a well there with my -hands and knife. The water isn’t very good, -but it will give you a drink.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim went and told the men about Bill’s -well, and both took turns to get a drink.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Oh!” remarked Tatanka, with a grin, -“Bill has found good water. He is a good -Indian soldier.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A little later, Tatanka crept rapidly forward -to an outlying willow-bush where he -quietly rose on his knees and fired. The -bragging Indian jumped out of the grass and -tried to run away, but he staggered and fell.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the Indian on the white horse came on -a gallop to carry off the wounded man, but -Tatanka fired again and the white horse fell -dead, but the dismounted rider helped the -wounded man to get out of range, before Tatanka -could load and fire again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While this had been going on, the two other -mounted Indians had come racing along as if -they would run straight into the copse, and -both Tim and Barker fired at them. The trapper’s -mark reared and plunged for the open -prairie, and the other rider also threw his -pony around, for Tim’s bullet had gone singing -close over his head. When they had run -some hundred yards, both Indians turned and -fired, but as the defenders had kept well under -cover, the balls flew wild among the thick -poplars.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Indian warriors have seldom held out long -against men who made a brave stand. When -the Sioux saw that they were getting the -worse of the fight, they all withdrew to the -wagon and started westward.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka now ran out into the open, waved -his blanket and shouted, “You are squaws. -You are gophers. Run to your holes.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then turning to Barker, he said, “Come, -brother, we scare them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before the boys knew what Tatanka meant, -the two men were racing after the Indians as -fast as the horses could go.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the Indians saw them coming, they -whipped their horses into a gallop and disappeared -over a rise on the prairie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker and Tatanka did not follow their -routed enemies over the rise, but returned at -once to their poplar fort.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After the four defenders had taken a drink -out of Bill’s well, they all sat down in the -shade on the edge of the thicket where the -poplar leaves rustled pleasantly in the summer -breeze.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now, friends,” the trapper said, “it is -time for a little lunch. Here is a piece of -cornbread left over from my breakfast. It -isn’t much, but we all get a bite. In the -meantime, keep your eyes on the prairie and -look out for Indian heads.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I think we should stay here until dark,” -Tatanka suggested, “and then start for Shakopee -or Fort Snelling. Indians do not fight -during the night. The sky is going to be clear -and we can travel by the stars. It is very -dangerous to travel in daylight.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You are right, my friend,” the trapper replied, -“but I am almost afraid to stay here. -Our enemies may come back with more men to -drive us out, or larger bodies of Indians may -accidentally find us. Our horses have no -water and we cannot leave the thicket if we -are surrounded. I think we should find a better -place, even if it is dangerous to travel by -daylight.”</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-vthrough-a-deserted-land"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id13"><span>CHAPTER V—THROUGH A DESERTED LAND</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Before they left their hiding-place, Tatanka -tied some small poplar twigs to his head -and climbed the highest tree in the grove.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I can see not a man nor horse,” he reported. -“Our enemies have left. Even if -the men were hiding in the grass, I would be -able to see their wagon and horses.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The nearest places of safety are Fort -Ridgely and New Ulm,” declared the trapper. -“Should we not try to reach one or the -other?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They are not safe now,” objected Tatanka, -after a brief silence. “I have heard -the young warriors brag that a thousand of -them could easily rush both of these places. -We could surely not get into either place -on horseback. We might crawl into them at -night. If you try to go there on horseback, -I shall not go with you.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Perhaps you are right,” granted the trapper. -“I do not wish to lose my two fine -horses. Let us try to reach the small lake -and timber north of here. We can water our -horses there and the patch of timber is large -enough so that a small party can not surround -us. And if the worst should happen, -we can abandon our horses and slip away on -foot after dark.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When they were ready to move, Bill found -little Tim hunting about anxiously through -the brush.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I can’t find the coon,” he cried. “He -was there before we sat down to eat our cornbread, -but now he has chewed off the string -I tied him with and he is gone.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The men laughed, but together with Bill -they began to beat the brush and the weeds -for the lost raccoon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Little gray Meetcha will be hard to find,” -commented Tatanka. “He may have gone -back to the woods near the river. His kind -does not love the prairie like Hoka, the -badger, who digs the striped gophers out of -their holes.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After some more searching Bill called out:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Oh, come here, Tim. Here’s your fool -coon. He’s washing a frog in my well.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By the time Tim arrived, Meetcha had not -only washed but also eaten his frog.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You little fool,” Tim cried, as he gently -boxed Meetcha’s ears, “the Sioux will cut off -your tail and boil you in the pot if you run -away from us. Haven’t you heard that war -has begun?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meetcha snarled and struck at Tim with -his short fore-paws, but Tim placed his pet -in front of him on the saddle and men and -boys started slowly for the small lake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, before they entered the woods, -they halted the horses in an isolated thicket -and Tatanka alone crept slowly through the -grass and tall weeds into the woods.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where is he?” asked Bill, when Tatanka -had gone a few rods. “I can’t even see the -grass move, except by the little puffs of -wind.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Of course you can’t.” Barker laughed. -“Tatanka would not be a good scout if he -could not vanish in the tall grass.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Black Buffalo was gone a long time and -Bill and Tim began to think that he would -not come back or that he had been killed. -But the trapper only smiled and said: “You -boys don’t know what patience is. A good -scout or a good hunter must be able to wait -a long time, sometimes a whole day.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When Tatanka did return he came into the -thicket from the other side and was standing -before them without either of the boys -having seen him approach.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where did he come from?” Tim asked, -his big blue eyes showing his surprise, but -the trapper only smiled and said, “He’s our -scout, lads.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The scout reported that he had gone carefully -through the whole patch of timber, and -that neither in the timber nor on the lake -shore had he seen any fresh sign of Indians -or horses. “But I did see fresh deer sign,” -he concluded. “A buck lives in those woods, -but I did not see him.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Feeling sure now that they would not fall -into an ambush, the four friends rode into the -woods to find a suitable spot, where they -might conceal themselves till nightfall.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They first watered their horses, taking care -to conceal them behind some overhanging -linden branches, so that they might not be seen -from the other side of the lake. Both the -trapper and Tatanka agreed that it was not -at all likely that any Indians would be in hiding -on the shore of this small lake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They are scattered in all directions, killing -people and making booty,” Barker gave -as his opinion. “But it would not surprise -me if toward evening some of those marauding -parties would come along to stop here for -the night.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The afternoon furnished again a great trial -of patience for the boys. For a while, the -care of their horses and catching frogs for -Meetcha occupied them. Then they picked a -few choke-cherries, but these did not allay -their growing hunger, and the trapper would -not let them pick the laden bushes on the outside -of the timber.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It would be gross carelessness,” he said, -“to betray our presence in that way. The -man who wishes to carry his scalp out of an -Indian war must not take chances. I’m also -afraid that you boys would get sick if you -filled up on choke-cherries; you had better -starve awhile.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As the heat of the day decreased, the mosquitoes -became very annoying. Both lads -were tired and sleepy from the excitement -of the day, but there could be no thought of -sleeping. They had to keep off the hungry -insects with pieces of green brush.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Indian and Barker had each gone to -one end of the timber to watch for unbidden -guests, while the boys were on guard in the -middle of the margin of the timber.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When at last the sun was approaching the -horizon, it seemed to the lads that it was several -days since Mr. Barker had told them to -roll up their blankets and come away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the sun was turning red, Tatanka -came back from his watch and gave the call -of Bob-White. The boys at once forgot all -fatigue and ran to their horses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Indians, from the east,” Tatanka whispered. -“We must get away. I will take -Mehunka’s horse to him.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trapper, although nearly sixty years -old, sprang into the saddle like a young man, -when his three friends met him at the western -point of the timber.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before they doubled a low hill, which would -hide the lake from their view, Tatanka -stopped behind some box-elder bushes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look,” he said as he pointed eastward, -“there they are.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A dozen Indians, some on horseback and -others on a stolen farm-wagon, were just -stopping to make camp at the eastern end of -the timber, a quarter of a mile away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Won’t they follow us!” asked Bill. -“They might easily find our trail.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No,” grunted Tatanka, with plain contempt. -“See what they are doing.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One of the men was pouring something out -of a jug and each took a drink out of a tin -cup.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“See,” continued the scout—“they have -found a jug of whiskey. They won’t see any -trail. If they were in the Chippewa country, -they would be scalped.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Have they any white captives?” asked -Barker.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, let the dogs alone,” and with those -words, he led the way around a low hill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The four travelers rode slowly and silently -over the prairie. The sounds of the summer -night began to fill the air. Overhead a pair -of night-hawks, swooping with a loud whirr -close by the heads of the horses and uttering -their harsh “Paint, paint,” followed the -riders. In the scattered groves which they -passed, some little tree-frogs piped their -monotonous trill, while the undefinable songs -of crickets and grasshoppers filled the air, -seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An hour they had been riding almost in -silence, when there was a thud and a sprawl -on the grass. Little Tim’s eyes had closed -in sleep and he had fallen off his horse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We must find a place to spend the night,” -said the trapper. “The little fellow is all -in.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, I’m awake now,” piped up little Tim, -as he picked up Meetcha and climbed back in -the saddle. “I can ride all right now, Mr. -Barker.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The first house they reached had been burnt -and the ruins were still smoldering.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka dismounted and examined the -place for wounded or hidden fugitives, but -there was only the silence of death and desolation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A few miles farther, they came to a cabin -in a small natural grove.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That’s Dickman’s place,” the trapper told -his companions. “He has a fine field of corn -and his wife is a good housekeeper. Let us -see what we can find.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The door stood open and most of the windows -in the two-room cabin were broken.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Ugh,” grunted the Indian, “the thieves -have been here. We shall find nothing to -eat.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Wait a minute,” said Barker. “Let me -look in the smoke-house in the hollow; perhaps -the robbers didn’t find it. Here, boys,” he -laughed, as he returned with a ham and a -side of bacon, “this will help us out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now, Tim, get some green corn and, Bill, -you go and milk the two cows in the yard. -They must have been in the woods when the -Sioux raided the place. Tatanka may listen -for bad sounds, but I think we are safe here -and we shall soon have a real supper.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a few minutes Barker had closed the -door, hung a blanket over the two windows, lit -a candle and started a fire in the kitchen -stove. Soon the corn was boiling and slices -of bacon sizzled in the pan. Bill came in with -a pail of milk and Tatanka came in and reported, -“No Dakotahs here.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No supper ever tasted so good to Bill and -Tim, and the trapper-cook kept putting slices -of bacon in the pan, while his hungry guests -helped themselves as quick as the white slices -curled and browned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After supper the lads spread their blankets -on the floor, tied Meetcha in the small woodshed -and found a gunny-sack for him to sleep -on.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After the two men had watered the horses -at a near-by pond, tied them in the straw-shed, -and provided them with plenty of hay, -they sat down on the grass to smoke.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The boys are asleep,” remarked Tatanka, -as he filled his pipe a second time with a mixture -of killikinnick and tobacco.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They are my boys now,” replied Barker, -“and I shall look after them. I can’t understand -that man Hicks. I declare if I -don’t almost believe he wanted the lads to get -killed. I’d like to break his crooked old -bones.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He is a bad man,” Tatanka assented. -“He hides some evil plan in his heart, but I -cannot tell what it is.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He does have some evil plan,” exclaimed -the trapper as he struck the ground with his -fist. “I reckon he will try to take the boys -away from me, if he can find us.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He is a coward,” continued the Indian; -“he will not come alone, he will bring other -bad men to help him. We must be on our -guard.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Tatanka,” said Barker, “I don’t know -yet what I shall do, but Hicks will not get -these lads unless he can take them from me. -Will you stand by me?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Tatanka never deserted a friend,” the -Indian replied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We must sleep now,” said the trapper -after a long silence. “We may have another -fight to-morrow.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I sleep in the shed with the horses,” remarked -the Indian, as he bade his friend -good-night. “The Dakotahs might come and -steal them, if we do not watch.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trapper went into the house, set a -strong pole against the door and spread his -blanket near the boys.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-vidangerous-traveling"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id14"><span>CHAPTER VI—DANGEROUS TRAVELING</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Great Dipper had swung only halfway -around the Polar Star when Tatanka -rapped at the cabin door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“My friend,” he called, “I think we should -saddle our horses and ride away. At daybreak -the bands of Dakotahs will again start -to kill all white men they can find and to -burn their houses. We should travel a good -stretch before the sun rises, and, may be, in -that way we can leave behind us the part of -the country to which the war has spread.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trapper, like most men who have -lived much alone in a wild country, was a -light sleeper and was awake at once.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Yes,” he replied, “we should travel a -good stretch by starlight. Perhaps we can -thus avoid falling in with any more Sioux -warriors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We must take these lads to St. Paul before -that man, Hicks, can find out where we -have gone, and try to overtake us. He will -not hesitate to set the Sioux on our trail, if -he learns which way we have gone.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim and Bill had to be shaken out of a -sound sleep.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Come along, lads,” Barker told them; -“before the sun rises the Sioux will again be -scouring the country. We must travel by -night as far as we can.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While the boys were getting ready, Tatanka -and the trapper planned the day’s -journey.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We should strike out northeast for Shakopee -on the Minnesota River,” advised Tatanka. -“I used to camp and hunt there, when -I was a boy, but it is now a white man’s -town, and I do not think that Little Crow’s -warriors will reach it. They will first try to -take Fort Ridgely and New Ulm beyond the -great elbow of the Wakpah Minnesota.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It is a good plan,” assented the trapper. -“Our two guns are loaded with balls that -carry a great distance. Let us put buckshot -into the guns of the boys. If we are attacked, -we will fire our own guns first and use the -buckshot only if the Sioux come close up.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It is good,” said Black Buffalo. “If all -white people were prepared like we are, the -warriors of Little Crow would not take many -scalps.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The morning was chilly. The grass and -flowers of the prairie were heavy with dew -and the little voices of the night had all grown -silent, only a lost dog, bereaved of his master, -could be heard barking and howling in the -distance. They passed a slough, where the -tall rushes and grasses and the pools of open -water were covered with a gray patchy -blanket of fog, out of which rang the loud -quacking calls of wild ducks and the low, retiring -notes of hundreds of coots. From the -blackbirds and swallows which the boys knew -were roosting in the marsh by the thousand, -came not a sound, but from the grass near the -margin of the slough came the liquid, pebbly -song of a marsh-wren.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Listen, Bill,” whispered Tim, “there’s -the little bird that never sleeps.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Oh, I guess he sleeps, all right,” replied -Bill, “only he is so little that he can sleep -enough in snatches.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We must ride faster,” said Tatanka. -“The stars are getting small and the eastern -sky will soon be gray, then the Dakotahs will -come out of their camps.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The four travelers wrapped themselves in -their blankets, and let the willing horses fall -into an easy gallop.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys were glad, when, at last, a big red -ball pushed slowly over the distant wooded -bluffs of the Minnesota, but Barker and -Tatanka reined in their horses and approached -the crest of every rise with the utmost -caution. After traveling an hour or -more, in this way, Barker and Tatanka -stopped and dismounted in a small grove of -oaks on a high knoll, after they had made sure -that no tracks led into the patch of timber.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Here we eat breakfast,” Barker told the -boys.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Why don’t we hide in a hollow where we -can’t be seen?” asked Bill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka laughed at this question. “In -a hollow,” he replied, “Dakotahs see us first; -on a hill, we see them first.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To the surprise of the boys, the Indian even -started a fire and on several green sticks began -to fry slices of bacon and ham.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Won’t the Indians see the fire!” asked -Tim.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Not this fire,” Bill told him. “Don’t you -see that Tatanka breaks from the trees only -the driest sticks that don’t make a bit of -smoke!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim and Meetcha were very hungry and -Meetcha crept, with quivering nostrils very -close to the hot slices of meat, which the Indian -was laying down on some oak leaves, but -Tatanka struck him a sharp blow with a -switch and called, “Raus!” in a loud gruff -voice, so the little raccoon scrambled away in -a great hurry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What did he say!” asked the boys. “He -talked German to Meetcha,” Barker laughed. -“He learned it from his neighbors. It -means, ‘Get out.’”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Meetcha must learn not to steal,” said -Tatanka, with a smile. “He is a little thief. -Tim should let him run in the woods. He -will make much trouble.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The four travelers enjoyed a hearty breakfast -after their morning ride.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Boys,” remarked the trapper, “if we eat -at this rate, we shall live on the smell of -hambone to-morrow, unless we make Shakopee tonight.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There were no dishes to wash and Meetcha -had to eat the scraps without washing them, -although to the delight of both men and boys, -he went through the motions with every piece -he ate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the meal was over, Tatanka sat for -a while and smoked in silence, while Barker -and the boys scanned the prairie from the -margin of the grove.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A mile to the south some dark objects were -moving in the direction of the wooded knoll, -but they could not tell what they were. -The boys thought they saw Indians on horseback, -but as Barker did not agree with them -they called Black Buffalo. After he had -looked a minute he said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Ox-team and white men. We must wait -for them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“How can they get away from the Indians -on an ox-team?” asked Bill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They can’t,” explained Barker, “except -by a lucky accident. If any Indians see them, -they are lost.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the ox-team came within half a mile -of the knoll, Tatanka pointed to the west.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look,” he said, “now we must fight.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three Indians on horseback were coming -across the prairie directly toward the white -men, who tried to whip the oxen into a run so -as to reach the wooded knoll.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Get on your horses,” commanded Barker, -and the four riders threw themselves quickly -between the team and the Sioux.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the trapper fired a shot at the Sioux, -the three Indians turned and then dispersed -themselves around the team. They fired their -guns, but the bullets all fell short.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the wagon were two men and several -women and children, and the party had been -traveling all night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Indians followed the team for an hour, -but as the party kept to the open prairie, the -Sioux at last fell behind and gave up the -pursuit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the middle of the afternoon, the party -reached Henderson, where the owner of the -team stayed with friends, while the four -horsemen rode rapidly on to Shakopee, which -they reached late in the evening.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The news of the outbreak had already -reached the town and the people were much -excited, although no hostile Indians had been -seen in the neighborhood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the following day, Wednesday, August -20th, the four horsemen saw no hostile Indians. -There were no telegraph lines in -those days west and southwest of St. Paul, -but the news of the outbreak had reached St. -Paul by special messenger, on Tuesday, the -day after it started.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker and his party did not follow the -usual road from Shakopee to St. Paul, but -traveled along old Indian trails and by-paths -with which Barker was well acquainted. -Near the old inn which stood just west of the -Bloomington bridge across the Minnesota, -they rested in the woods until evening, for -it was Barker’s intention to reach St. Paul -after dark.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I doubt not,” explained the trapper to -Tatanka, “that Hicks, if he is alive, is already -on our trail. He is certainly going to -look for the boys and myself at St. Paul, and -he will most likely strike the road between this -place and St. Paul. If we travel on this -road in the daytime, we shall meet so many -people that it would be an easy thing to follow -us. Everybody would remember you -and me and the small boy with the raccoon, so -we must stay here, until after dark.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was shortly after midnight on Thursday -morning, that the travelers reached St. Paul. -Old Joe, the hostler, at one of the outlying -taverns, was not a little surprised to see his -friend Barker appear at this hour of the -day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Hello, Sam,” he exclaimed, as he shook -the old man’s hand, “I’m powerful glad to -see you. Only last night I was saying to the -boys, ‘This time they surely got Sam’s scalp.’ -Mighty glad I am, they didn’t.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The horses were soon put in their stalls -and Meetcha was locked up in an empty grain-box -with some kitchen scraps and a pan of -water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He will wash bones, wash bones, until daylight.” -Tatanka laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now, Joe,” said Barker, as the men were -seated in the small lobby of the tavern and -after the boys had gone to bed, “here is a -chance for you to show that you are my -friend. Don’t tell anybody that we are here. -A lanky, squint-eyed cuss with a scar on his -forehead may show up inquiring for us. -Don’t put him on.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Old Joe is no sieve,” replied the hostler. -“You can depend on me.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the men exchanged the news of the -Indian war and the war down South.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The news of the outbreak had reached St. -Paul on Tuesday, Governor Ramsey had at -once appointed Henry H. Sibley of Mendota, -to assume command of a force of men to -march against the Indians, and Sibley was -already on his way with more than a thousand -men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker soon learned that a freighter, the -</span><em class="italics">Red Hawk</em><span>, was due to start down river for -Galena some time Friday evening. The boat -could take but very few passengers, but -through his acquaintance with the mate, the -trapper arranged for passage for himself and -the boys.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When he told Tatanka about his plans, the -Indian did not seem to hear him, but his dark -eyes wandered down the bend of the river, -where the great stream sweeps southward in -a magnificent curve, below the high white -cliffs of the Indian Mounds and the long-lost -Carver’s Cave.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After a long silence, the impassive face of -Tatanka lit up as with the fire of youth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I wish to go with you and the white boys,” -he said; “I wish to see once more the Great -River, where my fathers fought the Ojibways, -and the Winnebagoes. I wish to see once -more the long shining Lake Pepin, and its -bold high rocks. There I lived when I was a -little boy, before the first fire-canoe came up -the Great River. My father killed many deer -and my mother caught great fish, many kinds -of fish in the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Wakadan, the bass, the alligator-fish, the -big buffalo-sucker that has no teeth, but has -strength to run through a net, Tamahe, the -pickerel, that has sharp teeth and is the wolf -among fish, and the large black paddle-fish, -besides many, many little fish, black and -golden, and silver, which were caught only by -the small boys.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“My brother, you will need me and I will -go with you and fight with you if the bad -white man comes to take away your boys.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“And I will travel along the Great River -and be happy as I was when I listened to the -the waves of Lake Pepin many winters ago.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“There our people never went hungry and -all were happy, but now the dark clouds hang -over all my people. The soldiers will drive -them away from the Minnesota to the Bad -Lands of the West, where the timber and the -grass are poor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Once more, I will travel on the Great -River and then I will join my people far -west, and my friends will bury my bones -where the hungry wolves can not reach -them.”</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-viion-the-great-river"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id15"><span>CHAPTER VII—ON THE GREAT RIVER</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The day before their departure south was -a very busy one for both men and boys.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When Barker told the boys at breakfast -that they would all start down the river in -the evening, it was only the strange place and -people that kept the boys from shouting and -turning somersaults.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Are you going with us all the way to -Vicksburg? And is Tatanka going?” Tim -asked, big-eyed with suppressed excitement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We are both going,” Barker told them, -“if we can get through. We should not have -much trouble until we get to Memphis. Below -Memphis, the river is full of gunboats and -the country full of fighting armies. I don’t -know how we shall manage there. We’ll have -to see, when we get there.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The four travelers could now take their -horses no farther, and although they disliked -to part with the animals there was nothing -else to do. Old Joe, the hostler, paid them -a fair price for the animals and again pledged -his secrecy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“There’s a good market now for horses,” -he told his friends, “and I’ll sell them in a -few days. If any inquisitive gent comes -around, I’ll send him about his own business.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After dark the four friends went on board -the </span><em class="italics">Red Hawk</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You lads keep quiet in your cabin,” -Barker told the boys, “till the boat has -started. Tatanka and I will do a little scouting -till we have cast off.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The two men took a position behind some -boxes and bales of freight. The landing was -lit by several glaring torches, so that the two -scouts could see clearly every person moving -about, but they could not be seen themselves -from the landing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The deck-hands were just throwing on the -last sticks of cord-wood and carrying on -board the last sacks of wheat, when a stranger -appeared and spoke to the captain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Can you carry another passenger?” -Barker heard him ask. “I have blankets and -can sleep on the deck.”</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure illustration margin" style="width: 84%" id="figure-57"> -<img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="“Walking is good, on you can ride on a log, the water is fine.”" src="images/illus-074.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">“Walking is good, on you can ride on a log, the water is fine.”</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Not another soul,” replied the captain. -“Get off the gang-plank, you’re in the way.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“But I must get to St. Louis,” the man -argued.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I don’t care what you must do,” the -captain replied gruffly. “Walking is good, or -you can ride on a log, the water is fine. Now -get off the gang-plank. This boat leaves in -five minutes.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Hicks,” whispered Tatanka. “Bad man -Hicks,” as the man slouched back up town. -“I’d like to throw my ax at him.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It’s a good thing that I described Hicks -to the captain,” Barker chuckled. “The captain -recognized him all right.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the </span><em class="italics">Red Hawk</em><span> gave a long whistle, -the pilot pulled the bell at the engine, there -was a great hissing of steam and the big -stern-wheel noisily churned the brown water -of the Mississippi. Slowly the heavily-laden -boat backed into mid-stream, again the pilot -rang the bell, and the boat made a half-turn -and was headed down-stream.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys came out of their cabin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“How can the pilot find his way?” asked -Bill, “when the night is so pitch-dark?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“A good pilot knows the river by heart,” -Barker told the boys. “He knows it by day -and by night, and up-stream and downstream.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the present time it is comparatively -easy to pilot a steamboat on the Mississippi. -Hundreds of wing-dams, built by the government -engineers, keep the current in the same -channel, and numerous guideboards and -lights on shore tell the pilot where to steer -his boat. In addition to this, the modern -boats are all provided with powerful headlights -and search-lights.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the time of the Civil War wing-dams, -guideboards, shore-lights, and search-lights -were all unknown. The safety of the Mississippi -steamers depended entirely on the -pilots. Their accurate knowledge of the -river, their skill in handling the wheel, their -quick decision in moments of danger, brought -every year hundreds of boats safely back and -forth between the ports of St. Paul and St. -Louis.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As the </span><em class="italics">Red Hawk</em><span> was gliding by the magnificent -groves of cottonwoods, which begin -to line the Mississippi just below the Indian -Mounds at St. Paul, the trapper and his three -friends were quietly sitting on the upper deck -in front of the pilot-house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was little talk, for all were absorbed -in the running of the boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now the boat seemed to be headed into an -absolutely black wall, which proved, however, -to be only the dense shadow caused by the -forest or by a high rocky bank. Had the -pilot not had the nerve to steer straight into -the black shadow, he would have wrecked his -boat among the snags on a sandbar, where -the safe channel seemed to run.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the end of three hours the boat stopped -at Prescott, at the mouth of the St. Croix, one -of the two navigable tributaries of the upper -Mississippi, near St. Paul and Minneapolis, -almost two thousand miles from the Gulf -of Mexico. Here the river grew wider and -deeper, so that the pilot could pick his way -with a little less anxiety, but to the four -fugitives from the Sioux country, the mystery -continued.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At one moment the boat was headed into a -dark forest of tall cottonwoods and maples, -and a little later the boys felt sure she would -crash against a solid wall of rock, and then -suddenly the river seemed to come to an end.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We’ve lost the river, we’re in a big -slough,” Tim whispered as he held firmly -to Meetcha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But always just in time, the wheel turned -just enough and the boat glided safely past -trees and cliffs, past sandbars and snags, and -around every bend and turn.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The four travelers began to feel a little -more at ease now. Tatanka lit his red pipe, -Barker treated himself to a cigar which his -friend Joe had slipped into his pocket, while -the boys began to feel sleepy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The smokers had taken only a few puffs -when a messenger came. “The captain,” he -said, “wishes you to smoke somewhere else. -The light from your pipe and cigar bothers -the pilot, so he can’t see where he is steering.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The boy is lying,” Tatanka murmured.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, he is not,” Barker dissented. “I -have often heard the pilots say that on a -dark night like this, the light from a pipe or -cigar annoys them so much that they cannot -steer right. We must find another place.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not long before all four of the friends -sought their beds. The boat stopped for -more freight at Red Wing; and at Lake City, -at the head of Lake Pepin, it was delayed -until noon by some necessary repairs on the -engine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The first mate who took charge of the boat -at noon was in doubt whether he should wait -for a threatening storm to pass before he -started down the lake, but the captain was -impatient.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We have already lost five hours,” he remarked. -“Start her off, she is well built, a -little wind won’t hurt her. I am in a hurry -with that war freight.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lake Pepin is only a widened Mississippi. -On account of long bars of silt and sand -which the Chippewa River has thrown across -the Mississippi, the river has backed up till -it fills the whole valley, two miles wide, and -twenty miles long. On this long, deep body -of water, the wind and waves attain a terrific -sweep, and many a boat, safe enough on the -river, has met disaster on Lake Pepin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While the </span><em class="italics">Red Hawk</em><span> was lying at Lake -City, a strong wind had been blowing from -the south toward great masses of clouds that -were rising in the north. When she headed -down the lake the wind died down, but half an -hour later it broke with a gale from the north, -carrying before it whirling clouds and sheets -of swishing rain that hid from view the high -bluffs on either side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Almost at once, as if by the magic of a -demon, the lake was in an uproar with a -smashing sea of foaming, toppling white-capped -waves, which together with the raging -wind, threatened to throw the </span><em class="italics">Red Hawk</em><span> -out of her course into the trough of the -waves.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The pilot strained every nerve and muscle -to keep her headed toward the foot of the -lake. He signalled to the engineer for full -steam ahead, because a boat at high speed is -more easily steered than one at low speed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For a while, all went well. Then a sharp -snap was heard at the engine. The wheel -stopped turning at once, and the boat swung -helpless into the trough of the sea, while big -splashing waves began to break over the low -sides of the vessel and into the hold.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The Wakon, the bad spirit, will swallow -the ship,” Tatanka murmured. “We must -all try to swim ashore.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One of the piston-rods had broken and one -engine alone could not turn the big stem-wheel, -but Captain Allen did not mean to give -up his boat without a fight. In five minutes -the carpenters were at work spiking together -two long wide planks. A heavy rope, twice -as long as the planks, was tied to each end of -the planks. To the middle of this rope the -ship’s hawser was fastened, and the sea -anchor was ready.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Heave her over,” commanded the captain, -and within a few minutes the boat swung -around with her bow to the wind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was high time. For the waves had put -out the fires, and the pumps had stopped -working.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A little longer and she would have filled -and sunk in thirty feet of water. As it was, -she drifted fast before the wind, and in a -little more than half an hour she crashed -against the rocks on the Wisconsin shore, -where storm and waves broke her to pieces.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-viiiafter-the-wreck"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id16"><span>CHAPTER VIII—AFTER THE WRECK</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Although the </span><em class="italics">Red Hawk</em><span> and her cargo -were a complete loss, all on board reached -land safely. With the wreckage of the boat, -the men built a fire to dry themselves and -from a box of bread and bacon which the -waves threw ashore, they made a frugal supper. -The four travelers for the South had -saved their guns and blankets and all spent -the night near a big fire as best they could.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next day, Tatanka built a tepee, using -blankets and canvas instead of the deerskins -and buffalo skins he had learned to use when -he was a boy. The company was indeed -much in need of some kind of shelter because -little Tim was not at all himself. He tried -bravely not to “lie down,” as he said, but -his head ached, his face was flushed and at -times he had a high fever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I fear the boy will be sick,” said Tatanka. -“I will fix him a tea.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim had the dislike of most small boys -for medicine, but he drank down a large -cupful of hot tea made by steeping some green -plants in hot water. Then Tatanka covered -him up with several blankets to produce -sweating.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It is good medicine,” the Indian remarked. -“It is the way our women cure their -children, and the missionaries also say it is -good medicine.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After a few days, the four travelers moved -to a permanent camp a little way below the -foot of Lake Pepin and about a mile below -Reed’s Landing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At this place were several stores, and the -landing owed its existence to the fact that -early in spring goods were delivered here and -hauled by wagon to the head of the lake, where -they were loaded on other steamers for shipment -to St. Paul. For the ice sometimes remains -in Lake Pepin two weeks longer than -in any other part of the upper river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker and Black Buffalo had intended to -take the next boat to St. Louis, but Little Tim -grew so sick that it was impossible to move -him, and the men decided that they would -have to take care of the sick boy as well as -they could.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He has the long fever,” declared Tatanka, -“and he will be sick a long time. May be till -the Mississippi freezes over.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim did have a long sickness. He had no -pain, he had no appetite, and his small body -often burnt with a high fever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If a doctor could have been consulted, he -would have said that Tim had a fairly mild -case of typhoid fever, but there was no doctor -within fifty miles of Reed’s Landing. Barker -and Tatanka had both seen cases like Tim’s -and felt that in time the little fellow would get -well again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We shall stay here till the Great River -freezes over,” said Tatanka, after a week had -passed. “A sick boy cannot travel.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka built another tepee, which he and -Bill occupied, while the trapper slept in the -first tepee with the sick boy. The two men -bought a boat of the trader and finished a -canoe the trader had begun. They also built -of logs and rough boards a shack for winter -use, doing the work whenever they had plenty -of time.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure illustration margin" style="width: 89%" id="figure-58"> -<img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="The two men bought a boat of the trader." src="images/illus-084.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">The two men bought a boat of the trader.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>“A tepee,” Tatanka said, “is a good house -in summer and fall, but in winter it is too -cold for white people, who are not used to -it.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Both the trapper and Black Buffalo did all -they could to make the sick boy comfortable. -They gathered wild cherries and gave him the -juice to drink; they made soup of prairie -chicken, grouse, and wild duck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You must drink the good soup,” said -Barker, “for when the lake freezes up you -and Bill must go skating and you must be -big and strong when we get home to Vicksburg.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not difficult for the trapper and the -Indian to secure enough food, for both of -them knew how to gather the wild foods of -woods, river, and marsh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not getting to be the time when the -great waves of bird life roll southward, and -as the Mississippi and its grand winding bottoms -are one of the great highways of the -winged millions, there was an endless procession -of flocks coming and going.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When little Tim had a good day and the -weather was mild, the trapper carried the -sick boy to a spot where he could see the shining -river and the wooded bluffs, gorgeous in -autumn colors, for no river in the world surpasses -the upper Mississippi in the almost inconceivable -profusion of autumn flowers and -in the gorgeous effects of mixed and blended -green, gold, orange, reds, and crimson, all -painted on a canvas far too vast for any -human artist and almost too grand for human -eye to drink in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And above all this beauty on earth, spread -the blue sky, with fleecy white clouds floating -eastward.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Uncle Barker,” the boy would ask, “what -are the birds almost touching the clouds?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I can hear their call,” the old trapper answered, -glad that Tim was beginning to take -an interest in things, “I think they are martins, -the kind that nested in the hollow trees at -Fort Ridgely and in the big house the soldiers -had built for them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Near the tepees stood an immense hollow -elm. Around this tree a small flock of swifts -gyrated in wide, noisy circles every evening.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What are they doing!” asked Bill. -“Where are they going?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka smiled. “The Indian boys -know,” he answered. “If your eyes are -sharp, you can tell.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Bill watched. Every time the swarm -sailed, noisily chirping, over the big tree, -some of the birds suddenly turned their wings -against the air, and dropped into the dark -hollow like so many stones. After half an -hour the last bird had dropped to its sleeping-perch -and Bill thumped the tree with his -ax; he laid his ear to the tree and heard a -great humming as of a hundred swarms of -bees, and a few of the birds came out and -fluttered about.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Don’t disturb them, Bill,” the trapper -urged. “They have been on the wing all day -and we should let them rest. Some people -say they have no feet, but they have, only -they are very small and the swifts use them -merely for clinging to walls of hollow trees -at night. It is a queer way of sleeping, but -the best they can do, for they never sleep in -any other way.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nowadays not many swifts sleep in hollow -trees, for most of these natural homes of the -bears, raccoons, and swifts are gone, but the -light-winged swifts have found other sleeping-places; -they roost by thousands in chimneys -of court-houses, churches, and schools. -And before white men light their fires, when -the days begin to grow cold, the swifts have -assembled in great flocks on the Gulf of Mexico, -whence they go to spend the winter in -Central and South America.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill took great delight in bringing his sick -brother a handful of the most beautiful flowers -of the bottom forest, the scarlet lobelia, -or cardinal flower. Tim was not alone in enjoying -these dazzling red flowers. A flock of -humming-birds soon found them and came to -them several times every day. Within reach -of the boys’ hands, the little bird gems hung -motionless on invisible wings. ‘At times they -perched, and preened their delicate plumage -for ten minutes at a time. Tim laughed for -the first time, when two of the midgets of the -air had a fight. They squeaked like mice, as -they threatened angrily to spear each other -with their long sharp bills.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They are funny little things,” Tim said, -as he turned over and went to sleep.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The boy will get well,” remarked -Tatanka. “When a sick person laughs, he gets -well again.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One warm day rather late in September, -the trapper proposed a new kind of hunting -to Bill. “Let us go on a bee hunt,” he said; -“Tatanka will stay with Tim.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill had never heard of a bee hunt, and -wanted to know what Mr. Barker wanted to -do with the bees.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We don’t want the bees,” the trapper explained; -“we want to get some honey, and -in order to do that we have to find the nest -of a swarm of wild honey-bees.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trapper made a little box of bark and -caught a bee, after it had worked for quite a -while on a clump of goldenrod.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In an open place, he let the bee go. “Now, -watch,” he said to Bill, “and point your -finger in the direction it flies and run after -it as far as you can follow it.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill did not know why he should run after -the bee, but he followed through grass and -weeds until he tumbled over a hidden log.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker laughed when Bill picked himself -out of the weeds.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That’s fine,” he commented. “My eyes -are getting a little dull on such small creatures -and I can’t run as fast as I once could, -so I took you along to do the spying and the -running. You see, we know now that this -bee goes east from here to reach its home.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The two hunters now walked a few hundred -yards in the same direction and then caught -another bee. Again Bill saw the liberated insect -make a straight line eastward.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In this manner, they proceeded until they -came close to the bluffs on the Wisconsin side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We’re on their line, all right,” Barker -expressed himself gleefully. “If it doesn’t -end at some settler’s bee-hive, we ought to -find our bee-tree pretty soon.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next bee surprised Bill by going directly -west; but the trapper clapped his hands -and called: “We’ve passed the tree, so we’ll -just work back carefully and watch for a -good-looking hollow tree. If we can’t find it, -we shall have to run a cross-line, which is -sure to find it.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But they found the wild bees, at the next -trial, without running a cross-line. “Here -they are, here they are!” Bill called, as he -stood under a big white-oak.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Hundreds of black bees were entering and -leaving a knot-hole about six feet above the -ground.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It’s a big swarm,” Barker told the boy; -“and they are in a good place for us. Sometimes -they go into a hollow limb thirty feet -high, where you can’t get at them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“To-morrow, we’ll come back and get some -honey. Now let’s go home and tell Tim and -Tatanka about our luck.”</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-ixhunting-bees-and-driving-fish"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id17"><span>CHAPTER IX—HUNTING BEES AND DRIVING FISH</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Tatanka was not enthusiastic about the -prospect of a bee hunt.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The Indians,” he told his friends, “do -not like the little black honey-flies. They call -them white men’s flies, because they came into -our country with the white man. We like -Tumahga-tanka, the big bumblebee, that -builds his cells in an old mouse-nest on the -ground. But Tumahga-tanka is like the Indians: -he gathers only very little honey food, -just for a day or two. Only our small boys -hunt them and take their little honey in the -evening when their wings are cold and stiff so -they cannot fly on the naked body of the boys -and sting them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The little honey-flies are like white men. -They gather much honey for many days of -rain and for all the moons of winter. They -make a store in a big tree and fill it with -honey, so they can stay at home and eat -honey till the maple buds break and till the -wild plums and wild strawberries hang out -their white flowers. They are like white men, -who work all the time and gather big houses -full of corn and meat and make big woodpiles -for the winter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Tumahga-tanka is like the Indian. He -travels much, he often sleeps among the flowers -at night, and he is always poor and hungry -like the Indian.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where do the bumblebees go in winter,” -asked Tim, “if they do not gather enough -honey to live on?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka did not know. “Perhaps they -sleep like Mahto, the bear, or like Meetcha, -the bear’s little brother.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Will you go with us?” asked Barker, -“when we go to get the honey?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Yes, I will go with you,” Tatanka promised. -“But I do not like to fight the little -black bees. They are as many as leaves on a -tree, and they will get very angry and will -sting when you come to rob them of their -food.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Why shouldn’t we go at night, when they -can’t see us and when it is too cool for them -to fly much?” asked Bill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No,” said Barker, “we shall go in daylight, -when we can see what we are doing.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The sun was already several hours high, -next morning, when the bee-hunters were -ready.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Under a clump of sumachs Barker prepared -himself for the raid. He tied a piece of mosquito -netting over his hat and face. The -sleeve of his hunting-shirt he tied firmly to -his wrists, and he put on his buckskin hunting-gloves.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now, I’m ready,” he laughed. “You can -sit down and watch me.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With a saw, he had procured from the -trader at Reed’s Landing, he rapidly made -two cuts in the tree, one near the ground and -the other just below the knot-hole entrance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The bees came pouring out of the knot-hole. -Hundreds and thousands of them buzzed -madly about the trapper’s head; they crawled -all over him, trying to find a spot where they -could sting the robber of their treasure-house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Some of the angry bees discovered the two -spectators and Meetcha. Bill let out a yell -and ran. Tatanka tried to fight them off, -but some got into his hair. He gave a ringing -Sioux warwhoop and tumbled after Bill -in a most ludicrous manner. Little gray -Meetcha had been watching the fun as if -puzzled at the strange behavior of his master. -But now a mad bee buzzed right into -the hairs of his ear. Meetcha seemed to listen -a second, then he began to paw his ears frantically -and to roll in the grass. Now he sat -up again, as if to listen. Some more bees -were after him. Again he pawed his ears -wildly, and rolled on the grass as if he were -performing in a circus. Then he scampered -hurriedly after Bill and Tatanka.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When Barker had finished his cross-cuts -with the saw, he began to use his sharp ax -vigorously and with the aid of an iron wedge, -such as wood-cutters use, he split a large slab -out of the hollow tree.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was the wild bee hive, full of great -irregular combs of honey, white, yellow, and -brown!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The hunter gave a yell. “Come on, boys,” -he shouted; “get your honey. We could fill -a wash-tub full. The biggest lot of wild -honey I ever saw.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The bees had almost stopped swarming -about the hunter and had settled in black -masses on the broken combs and were gorging -themselves on the dripping honey.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill and Tatanka would not come near the -tree.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I am not afraid to fight the Chippewas,” -remarked Tatanka, “but I do not like the little -black bees.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker filled a birch-bark bucket with honey -and then put the slab again in place on the -tree.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I left them enough for the winter,” he -told his friends. “It would not be right to -rob the little creatures of all, because it is so -late in the season now that they could not -gather another supply for the winter.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Little Tim enjoyed very much the story -Bill told him of the bee hunt, and he laughed -heartily when his brother told how Meetcha -had fought the angry bees. However, although -Tim was now well on the road to -recovery, it was quite evident that he could -not go on the long journey to Vicksburg before -winter, and Barker and Tatanka made -their preparations to winter in the river bottom -below Lake Pepin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trapper had bought a gill-net about -fifty feet long and on the first warm day after -the bee hunt, he proposed a fishing trip to -Beef Slough, one of the sluggish side-channels -of the Mississippi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One who has never seen the Great River is -apt to imagine that, like smaller rivers, it has -only one channel, but below the mouth of the -St. Croix, it generally flows in one main channel -and one or more side-channels. The -steamboats naturally take the main channel, -but hunters, canoeists, and fishermen often -find their best sport on the side-channels, or -sloughs, as they are often called..</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill was in a flutter of excitement when he -and Barker arrived at Beef Slough, for he -had never fished with a gill-net. The trapper -first cut two stout poles, to each of which he -tied one end of the net. He next set the net -across the slough so that it reached almost -from side to side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A gill-net really consists of three nets. -The net in the middle has small meshes and is -made of rather fine twine, the two nets on the -outside have very large meshes, a foot or -more square. When a fish runs against the -middle net, the fine meshes catch him behind -the gills and hold him, or, if he is very big -and strong, he makes a pocket of the small net -in trying to push through it and thus gets tangled -up and caught.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After Barker had set the net, he told his -boy companion: “Now, Bill, we’ll make a big -drive.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill did not know what Barker meant by -making a drive for fish. He had heard of -the Indians driving buffalo, but he did not -get much time to think about the new kind of -drive.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Take that long pole and get into the boat -with me,” the trapper told him, as he paddled -up the slough a little way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now,” he ordered, as he turned around -and started back toward the net, “beat the -water with that pole and make as much noise -as you can.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Very soon the two men could see streaks in -the smooth water. “Oh, I see,” exclaimed -Bill, as he splashed the water to right and -left, “we’re trying to drive them into the net. -There, we’ve got one! See the float go down. -There’s another one. Watch the big one! -He isn’t going in. Look at him. See him -run along the net. Look at him! He’s run -around the net and is going down the river -like a streak!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He is a big old buffalo-sucker,” the trapper -laughed. “He is too wise to be caught in -a gill-net.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Say, Mr. Barker,” the boy asked, “can -fish think?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I reckon some of the old ones can,” Barker -answered. “Well never catch that big -fellow. I think he weighs fifteen pounds, I -reckon his nose has touched a net before.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The net was literally filled with fish of -many kinds, suckers, pickerel, pike, bass, big -sunfish, and fierce-looking gars.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We don’t want those alligators,” the boy -remarked, when the trapper threw several of -the gars into the boat. “They have a long -snout and are covered with horny plates just -like alligators,” the boy continued. “They -surely would be alligators if they had legs. I -couldn’t eat them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That’s all right,” Barker laughed. ”You -needn’t. Most white men throw them away, -but I learned from the Indians how to fix -them. You pour boiling water on their plates -and they come off in big pieces. Their meat -has a fine flavor and they don’t have any -sharp little bones like pickerel and most of the -suckers. I think you’ll eat them after they -are smoked or fried.”</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xcatching-a-monster"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id18"><span>CHAPTER X—CATCHING A MONSTER</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Bill helped Tatanka and Barker to smoke -the fish they had caught and then was ready -for another trip.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Can’t we go again, before it gets too -cold?” he asked. “Let us go again, Mr. -Barker, this meat won’t last long. I just -wish Tim could go, too!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The old trapper himself had also caught -the fever. “I reckon, boy,” he admitted, -“we ought to make another haul or two, but -the next time we’ll take a seine. Did you -ever fish with a seine! It is more fun than -with a gill-net, but we must go soon, before -the water gets too cold, for in seining, the -fisherman gets as wet as the fish.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the next warm day, Barker remarked at -breakfast: “Bill, this looks like a good day. -I guess we’ll be off right away.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The two fishermen rode down stream to a -place where a deep bayou or slough joined -the main river. They started to seine half -a mile up the bayou. One end of the seine -was tied to a stout pole driven into the bottom -of the bayou. The other end, they swung -around in a half-circle, Bill rowing the boat -and the trapper managing the seine from the -stern of the boat. They caught all kinds of -fish in the same manner that boys and fishermen -catch minnows. Their troubles began -when they started to make a haul in a strong -current in deep water near the mouth of the -bayou. The net caught on a submerged -stump and could not be pulled off against the -current.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I reckon we’re stuck,” said Barker, as he -found it impossible to move the seine either -one way or the other.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Let me dive in and fix it,” begged the boy, -as he began to strip. Barker thought the -water was too cold, but Bill said he wouldn’t -mind it, and it wouldn’t take long to try it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill splashed some water over himself and -then swam quickly to the spot where the net -was caught. He dived, opened his eyes and -could see clearly every mesh of the net as it -was held fast by the current over a sharp -stump. He lifted it off quickly and threw it -over the stump down stream and struck out -for shore. His skin was blue and his teeth -chattered as he hurriedly got into his clothes. -Then he ran back and forth on the sand a few -minutes to get warm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now, Mr. Barker,” he said, “let’s make -the haul and see what we get out of this deep -hole. There ought to be some big ones in it.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Both men slowly pulled the seine through -the deep hole, where by means of small leads -attached to the lower edge of the seine, the -big drag-net swept the bottom, driving all -deep-water fish before it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As the bag-like middle part of the seine -slowly crept into shallower water on a rising -sandbank, there was a great stir in the enclosed -pool. Big fish of several kinds came -to the surface. Some showing a silvery flash -for just a moment, dived again to the bottom -in their attempt to escape, others, bolder or -made more desperate, shot with a loud splash -over the seine back into free water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill pulled as he had never pulled on anything -before.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Pull, Mr. Barker, pull!” he shouted. -“We’ve got a wagon-load of big ones, but -they’re breaking away.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The old trapper pulled as hard as Bill, but -he didn’t hear what Bill called to him, for the -fish in their last desperate effort to escape -made a deafening confusion and noise with -splashing, jumping and flapping about. The -big bag was alive with a wildly struggling -mass of fish of all sizes; and so heavy was -the catch that the two fishermen could not -move the net another inch.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Drop the rope,” commanded the old man, -“and throw them out on the sand.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As Bill sprang into the shallow water, a big -flopping fish, the like of which he had never -seen before, got between his legs and laid him -sprawling flat on his stomach amongst the -madly struggling fish. In a moment Bill was -on his feet again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Help me, Mr. Barker, help me,” he called. -“I can’t hold him; he’ll get away!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Grab him in the gills!” the trapper -shouted, as much excited as his boy friend.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The black giant was just splashing into -open water when Bill threw himself forward -and caught him firmly in the gills.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Catch him, Mr. Barker, catch him!” Bill -spluttered as he blew the water out of his -nose and mouth. “I can’t lift him.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By their united effort, they dragged the -monster on shore.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We’ve caught a whale, a real whale,” Bill -shouted, and danced around like a wild Indian. -“What is it, Mr. Barker! Is it a -whale?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It is a paddle-fish, but sure a big one, I -reckon,” the trapper told him as he dragged -the ungainly monster into the grass. “He -must weigh a hundred pounds, and he measures -six feet, if he measures an inch.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sorting the fish and loading them into the -boat took some time, and when the work was -done, the two fishermen could not help laughing -at each other. Their clothes were dripping -wet and covered with mud and fish-scales -all over, but they had a boat-load of -fish.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That’s all a part of fishing,” Barker remarked, -with his quiet smile. “It is a saying -among us trappers that dry fishermen and -wet hunters have had poor luck. I guess our -luck was worth getting soaked for.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before they started for camp all small fish -or fish not wanted were put back in the water. -Bill had already learned the maxim of the -old trapper: “Never waste any of God’s -wild bread and meat. What you do not need -to-day, you may want badly to-morrow.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I have seen the days,” the old man had -often told the boys, “when I was mighty -glad to dip a mess of minnows out of a spring-hole -in winter, and I have many times thanked -the Good Lord that porcupines can’t run as -fast as deer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“One winter while I was trapping in -upper Michigan I lost my gun while crossing -a treacherous stream, and if I could not have -killed porcupines, fool-hens, and snowshoe -rabbits with a club, I should have had to pull -out of the country and leave my traps and -furs.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When they arrived at camp, Tim was wild -at the sight of the giant paddle-fish, and the -boys found that the odd paddle-shaped snout -of the fish was almost half the length of the -fish.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What does he do with his big paddle?” -Tim wanted to know. But neither the -Indian nor the trapper could answer the question.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Have they a paddle when they are just -hatched?” Bill asked, but neither Tatanka -nor Barker had ever seen a paddle-fish less -than a foot long.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The life of the paddle-fish or spoonbill is a -mystery to this day, and little more is known -of it now than was known to Indians and -whites when Bill and Tim camped on Lake -Pepin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The armor-plated gars and paddle-fish are -found only in the Mississippi and its tributaries, -while bass and pickerel and eel are -found in most waters flowing into the North -Atlantic, both in America and Europe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Both gar and spoonbill are still caught in -Lake Pepin. A European fish, the German -carp, has become naturalized in the Mississippi -basin and many carloads of it are -shipped to Eastern markets every year. -However, the game fish of the old days are -still all there and will never become scarce, -if good fish and game laws are wisely administered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the days of Barker and Tatanka, fishing -with any kind of net or tackle was lawful, but -to-day both commercial fishermen and anglers -have to observe the laws, or our lakes -and streams will become fished out; for the -resources and gifts of nature are not inexhaustible, -and the number of men and boys -who go fishing increases each year.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For fishing, camping, and canoeing, for -grand scenery, for house-boating, motor-boating, -for trees, flowers, and birds and for -all kinds of water creatures such as clams, -crayfish and muskrats, the Mississippi, the -“Everywhere River” of the Chippewa Indians, -has no equal on the northern hemisphere -and is surpassed only by the Amazon -of South America.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the Itasca Forest of Minnesota, the Mississippi -begins as a tiny stream, which sometimes -loses itself in a tamarack swamp, and -which the beaver people, the little animal engineers, -can easily dam with mud and brush. -When it leaves Itasca, it is large enough to -carry a canoe. But the rippling little creek -grows rapidly by receiving the water from -many lakes and streams and long before -it reaches Minneapolis, where it furnishes -power to grind the wheat grown over half a -continent, it is a stately navigable river, -whose enormous volumes of flood-water only -the most skillful engineer can control.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xiafter-wild-geese"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id19"><span>CHAPTER XI—AFTER WILD GEESE</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Late in October, when one of the last boats -was stopping at Reed’s Landing, Barker and -Tatanka were watching the boat from a -small window in the store.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look, brother,” the Indian whispered; -“there is the bad white man.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On deck stood Hicks with two companions -talking and gesticulating. Hicks evidently -wanted to get off the boat, but the other two -men persuaded him to stay on board.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The steamer stopped only a few minutes to -take on cargo and passengers before it proceeded -on its way to St. Louis.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He has hunted for us in Minnesota a long -time,” Barker laughed. “Now, I think we -are rid of him for a while. I suppose he has -made up his mind that we have gone on to -Vicksburg and he is going to follow us. Well, -let him go. By this time the parents of the -boys must have the letters which the boys and -I sent them through a friend in a Missouri -regiment, and they will not be worried by any -lies Hicks may tell them. But I would just -like to find out why he was so anxious to keep -these boys in Minnesota and expose them to -the scalping-knives of the Indians.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After the men had completed their purchases, -they returned to their camp, but they -said nothing to the boys about Hicks and his -companions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The southward flight of ducks and geese -and other water fowl was now at its height, -and the campers had added a liberal supply of -wild ducks to their store of smoked fish.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The first ducks to go south were the blue-winged -teals, small birds which whizzed over -the camp in immense flocks at the rate of sixty -or more miles an hour. A little later, the -northern ducks, blue-bills, and mallards had -come down in immense flocks. But Tatanka -and Barker were waiting for still larger -game.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We ought to get some geese,” the Indian -suggested, and one evening as they were -watching the flight of a long line of great -honking geese, they saw two or three hundred -of them settle on a long sandbar a mile -below their camp. “Yon and Bill must rise -early,” said the Indian. “Perhaps you can -get some of them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Long before daybreak next morning, Barker -awakened the soundly sleeping boy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Get up, Bill!” he called. “We’ll have a -cup of coffee and then we’ll try our luck at -the geese.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Very quietly, without waking Tim, the two -hunters slipped out of camp and got into -their boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Soon they glided silently down stream. A -mist was hanging over the river and large -drops of moisture were falling off the trees -along shore. Bill was shivering with cold -and excitement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“My, but it is dark and the water looks awfully -cold and gloomy,” whispered Bill. “I -would be afraid to go down the river alone. -Listen!” he said under his breath, “I think -I heard a wolf howl.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No,” the trapper quieted him, “the big -wolves have left this country. Listen again.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The sounds were nearer now. “Oh, it is a -big hoot-owl. Several of them. They are -answering each other.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They make a noise like ghosts,” he continued, -as a deep guttural, “Whoo-who-whooo,” -came from a maple thicket close by. -“My hair is trying to stand up under my cap, -though I know they never attack anything but -rabbits and woodchucks.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The two hunters were now paddling along -a side-channel which entered the main river -near the point where they expected to find -the geese.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Be very quiet,” Barker cautioned the boy. -“Geese not only have sharp eyes, but their -hearing is very acute. If they hear any suspicious -sounds there will be a grand flapping -of wings and the whole flock will be off to -some other place.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The wind was coming from the south, and -for that reason the hunters had landed north -of the sandbar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mr. Barker,” asked the boy, “can geese -and ducks smell the hunter!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I don’t know,” replied the trapper. “I -never thought of it and never heard it said -that they could. Moose and deer and wolves -can smell a man a mile off, and they can hear -a man’s talk a quarter of a mile away; but I -don’t think that birds are guided by scent at -all.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Do the sleeping geese put somebody on -guard!” the lad inquired.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I don’t think they have any system of -guards, but some of them are always standing -with their heads up, and the old ganders -are most watchful. If one goose becomes -alarmed, they all go.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You must only whisper now. I think we -are getting pretty close to them. Step carefully, -so you don’t break any sticks. All wild -creatures take alarm at the snapping of sticks. -I suppose they think a wolf or some other -beast of prey is after them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trapper went cautiously to the edge of -the timber and looked down stream.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I can’t see the sandbar yet,” he told his -companion. “We must creep along a little -farther. We have to be ready at daybreak, -for soon after they will all go to feed on some -shallow water, or most likely on some stubble-field -beyond the bluff.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“These Canada geese feed much like tame -geese, they like to pick the ears of grain out -of the stubble and they like all kinds of young -green stuff. In early spring they are very -fond of grazing on young winter wheat and -rye.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Couldn’t you tame them?” asked the boy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Yes, very easily,” the trapper told him, -“but they don’t breed till they are at least -two years old, and they will fly away in the -fall unless their wings are clipped.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mallard ducks are easily tamed, too, but -they will also fly away in fall if their wings -are not clipped. I think most of our tame -ducks came from wild mallards, a long time -ago.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Is it true,” the boy wanted to know, “that -ducks and geese cannot fly in August?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Yes, that’s no foolish tale. Ducks and -geese lose all their big wing-feathers at the -same time, so that for about two weeks in -August they cannot fly. I have come upon -a flock of a thousand ducks that spattered -about like mud-hens. But their big feathers -grow very fast, and they have remarkably -strong muscles. I think at this time of the -year, in October, they can fly a thousand miles -without resting.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For some time, the hunters continued to -pick their way slowly and silently, now -through the tall dripping sawgrass, then in -the dark shadow of dense river-bottom maples.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again the trapper crept out into the open, -while Bill held his breath waiting for the return -of his friend.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I can’t see them yet,” the old man reported, -“but I can hear them cackle. We -had better wait here till it is light enough -to shoot.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Daylight seemed a very long time coming, -but at last the stars began to fade behind the -Wisconsin bluffs, while the woods on the -Minnesota hills began to stand out like long -black streaks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now,” whispered Barker, “look at your -gun. It is time to begin our stalk. Don’t -shoot blindly into the flock, but aim at your -bird and take it from below or behind. We -must not drop any bird crippled, and let it -get away. That is poor sportsmanship.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Without another word, the two hunters -crept along for a hundred yards. Barker -stepped slowly behind a willow-bush and motioned -the boy to follow him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A large flock of big dark birds were sitting -and standing within easy range. Many were -still asleep with their heads under-their wings, -some were preening their feathers and half -a dozen stood watchful with their long necks -erect.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One big old gander became restless. He -seemed to be looking and listening in the direction -of the hunters. He stood still a few -seconds. Then he uttered a loud honk and -with a great thunderous flapping of their big -wings, the while flock rose in the gray morning -air.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Both hunters fired twice, and four of the -big birds dropped before they could get under -way. Three fell on the sand dead, but -the fourth turned and fell into the brush some -hundred yards below them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mark the spot,” ordered Barker, “and -load your gun. Be quick, or we’ll lose it.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They hurried to the spot where the goose -had dropped into the bushes. A few -scattered feathers were there, but no bird.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now we must circle around to find that -goose,” Barker told his companion. “It -can’t have gone far.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For half an hour they searched the whole -neighborhood with the greatest care, but not -a trace did they discover of the wounded bird.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I reckon we have to give it up,” the trapper -said at last. “It beats me how a wild -creature can hide itself. Perhaps the goose -got back into the water and is now swimming -down the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I have known a wounded duck to dive and -bite itself fast to some bottom weeds and die -without coming up.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka had a big breakfast ready when -the hunters reached camp and after breakfast -Bill and Barker dressed and smoked their -game.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We had better keep this meat for winter,” -the trapper suggested, “for until it freezes -up, we can get all the fresh meat we want.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim, who used to amuse himself for hours -at a time by playing with Meetcha, was in -great anxiety, because the pet raccoon had -once more mysteriously disappeared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill and Barker and the Indian looked in -every place, where Meetcha was accustomed -to dig for grubs or hunt for frogs, but he -was not to be found.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He has gone to find a sleeping-place for -the winter,” Tatanka told his friends. “He -feels that it is growing cold.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka’s guess proved true, for on the -second day, Meetcha was found curled up and -fast asleep in a hollow log a quarter of a mile -from camp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We’ll fix him,” said Tatanka, as he cut -off the branches of the hollow basswood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meetcha woke up, but recognizing his -friends, did not come out of the log.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now help me carry the log home.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim clapped his thin hands with joy when -the three coon-hunters arrived at camp and -laid the log down in a sheltered spot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One end of the log was naturally closed, and -Tim filled the other end with dry leaves. In -this way Meetcha followed the custom of his -tribe and went into winter quarters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On warm days he came out again, but -whenever the weather turned cold and -stormy, he crawled back into his hollow log.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xiiin-a-winter-camp"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id20"><span>CHAPTER XII—IN A WINTER CAMP</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The last days of October were cold and -windy and it seemed as if the north wind -drove all wild birds before it. Thousands -of robins and little yellow-patched birds, the -hardy myrtle-warblers, filled the timber on -the river islands. Long dark clouds of different -kinds of blackbirds passed southward, -great whitish gulls came drifting along from -somewhere, and the black terns, dull colored -in summer, had donned their white autumn -plumage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I believe I saw 500,000 ducks to-day,” -said the trapper as he returned to camp one -evening with all the mallards he could carry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The birds are going fast, and it will soon -be winter. We must cut a lot of wood and -pull our boats up to a high place, so they will -not freeze in. These woods may be under -water next spring and we may need our boats -in a hurry.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Early in November came one of those cold -rain-storms that mark sharply the end of Indian -summer which often prolongs the warm -season far into autumn.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the first day that all four campers -stayed in the shack, which the trapper and -the Indian had during the preceding week -transformed into a real cozy cabin. Chunks -of ash, elm, maple, and cottonwood slowly -burning in the old sheet-iron stove which -Barker had set up in the middle of the room -kept the cabin dry and warm, while the large -spattering drops of rain beat a tattoo on the -roof.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The few stray leaves that had until now -adhered to their branches were swept away. -The river-bottom trees assumed their sharp, -undraped silhouettes of winter, and from the -bluffs all the bright autumn colors had vanished.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The summer birds had gone. Only a few -hardy chickadees, woodpeckers, and nuthatches -that defy even the coldest northern -winter had remained behind the migrating -hosts.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By the middle of November the lake was -frozen over.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With the beginning of cold weather little -Tim’s health rapidly improved. Soon he was -strong enough to go sliding on the ice; and -when Barker had a blacksmith at the landing -make a pair of skates for each of the boys -the joy of the lads was unbounded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They skimmed lightly over the frozen -sloughs, where the trees and banks sheltered -them from the wind. From these trips they -returned with flushed cheeks and ravenous -appetites and many stories of what they had -seen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had chased pickerel and other fish -under the clear ice, they had seen a muskrat -swim along with an air bubble attached to his -nose, and they had watched clams slowly -plowing their furrow in the sand as they -withdrew from the shallower banks into deep -water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Mississippi and its tributaries harbor -a large variety of clams whose shells are -now used for pearl buttons. The boys were -curious about the habits and life of these -quiet creatures that were always nearly -buried in mud and sand and moved about by -queer little jerks. When Tim was still too -weak to move about much, he had amused -himself for hours dropping clams, which Bill -had caught, back into the water, and watching -how each shell, slowly opening, put out a sort -of white, fleshy foot; slowly righted itself, -and crawled away into deep water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What do clams eat and how do they -spawn?” the boys wanted to know, but on -these questions neither trapper nor Indian -had any information.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Clams do indeed lead a strange life. They -cannot run after their food, so they just open -their shells a bit to allow the water to run -through, in order to catch any small particles -of food the water may contain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The young clams just hatched are so small -that the naked eye can scarcely see them. -They have no shell at all and swim about very -actively. As soon as possible they attach -themselves to the gills of several kinds of fish. -The fish do not like it, but they have no way -of escaping from the very minute creatures. -Embedded in the gills of fish the young clams -live for some weeks looking like small pimples. -When they have grown a tiny shell -they drop to the bottom of the river or lake -and begin to live in the usual way of clams. -That is the curious life-history of the river -clam.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While the skating lasted the boys were -well occupied. The camp was run on the -plan of two meals a day. Barker and the -Indian set a few traps for muskrats and -minks, tidied up the cabin, cooked the meals, -washed dishes, and cut wood. In all these -occupations the lads gladly took a hand. At -times they went the round of the traps with -the men. When the weather was fine they -went on skating trips up and down the glassy -ice of the sloughs, which reflected like a mirror -the boys at play and the trees on shore.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One who has skated only on artificial rinks -and ponds does not know the thrill of traveling -on a smooth winding river or on the -transparent expanse of a frozen lake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim tired very easily, but he grew visibly -stronger every day. His fever had entirely -disappeared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Their Cousin Hicks, the boys seemed to -have forgotten, at least they never spoke of -him. They were happy and content in the -care of their two friends.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trapper, on the other hand, had become -so attached to the lads that he once remarked -to Tatanka: “I don’t see how I can -ever tear myself away from these lads. It -would be hard for me to give them up to their -parents, but if that man Hicks ever shows -up to claim them, I tell you I’ll fight him to a -finish.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where do you think, my friend, that bad -white man has gone?” Tatanka asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The old trapper thought a moment. He -had often asked himself the same question. -“Down-river,” he replied then. “He will -inquire about us of steamboat men and hotel -men. And he is likely to go clear down to -Vicksburg. He has some evil design on the -lads, but I’ll be hanged if I can figure out -what it is. I can only think that for some -reason he wants to keep them away from -Vicksburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He lost our trail at St. Paul or he would -have been upon us long ago. I was on the -lookout for him every day until we saw him -go down-river lately. For the present we are -rid of him, but he has some very strong reason -for wanting possession of those boys, and -I think we’ll fall in with him somewhere after -we start south.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About the Indian war in Minnesota, the -boys and their friends were well informed. -Barker and the Indian had in no way exaggerated -the danger. The enraged Sioux had -killed about eight hundred white people, and -if the trapper and Tatanka had not taken the -boys away, the lads would surely have lost -their lives. At the beginning of winter, the -Indian war was over. The whole Sioux tribe -had been driven from the State of Minnesota. -A good many Indians had been captured by -General Sibley and all white captives had -been released.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was much more difficult for Barker and -the boys to get a clear idea about the war on -the Mississippi River near Vicksburg. They -had received no letters from Vicksburg since -they had camped at the foot of Lake Pepin, -and all they really knew was that Grant was -trying to take Vicksburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The city of Vicksburg lies under a high bluff -on the east bank of the Mississippi. By December, -1862, the Confederates had lost control -of the Mississippi River, except for a -stretch of two hundred miles between -Vicksburg and Port Hudson, both of which -points they had strongly fortified. By holding -this stretch of the great river, they -controlled the mouth of the Red River and -could secure large supplies and thousands of -men from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lowlands of the Mississippi at Vicksburg -are about forty miles wide, and many -streams and bayous wind this way and that -way through vast marshes and forests.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In December, 1862, Grant tried to attack -Vicksburg from the north by way of the Mississippi -Central Railway, but the bold Confederate -cavalry commander, Van Dorn, destroyed -all his supplies at Holly Springs, and -Grant was compelled to give up this plan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After this plan had failed, Grant tried several -others, his object being to secure possession -of the wooded hills directly east of -Vicksburg. For the present he was baffled by -the geographical character of the country, -which was excellently suited for defense by -resolute men who knew every channel, but -which presented almost insuperable obstacles -to an invading army.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xiiifishing-through-the-ice"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id21"><span>CHAPTER XIII—FISHING THROUGH THE ICE</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>As is usually the case in Minnesota, the -fine outdoor skating came to a close toward -the end of November through storms and -snow-falls.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If the lads had not lived in company with -such men as the trapper and Tatanka, time -would have hung heavily on their hands. On -many days the weather was very cold and the -snow had become so deep in the woods that -traveling was very difficult.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After they had been shut up in the cabin -for three days by a bad storm, Tatanka one -morning began to carve something out of a -piece of soft basswood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What are you making?” Tim asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Watch and see,” said Tatanka, as he continued -slowly to cut away small white shavings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Soon the boys saw that Tatanka was making -a wooden fish about six inches long. -When the figure was ready, the Indian cut -small pieces of tin out of a tobacco-can and -these he tacked to his wooden minnow to -serve as fins.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“There, my little brothers,” he uttered -with a smile, “you have a good minnow. He -will fool the pickerel and the bass when they -are hungry. I put a little piece of lead on -him and you pull him up and down in the -water, and pickerel and bass think he is a real -fish. They come to eat him. May be you -catch them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After Tatanka had made two more wooden -minnows he and the lads went to a deep quiet -place in a slough to fish.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At first they cut a small hole in the ice. -Then, by the aid of a few poles and some -blankets, Tatanka built a small dark tent over -the hole.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now, then,” he said, “we go in and fish. -May be we catch them, may be not. If the -fish don’t come, we go home. May be they -come to-morrow.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The tent was entirely dark, but the boys -were surprised to find that after their eyes -had adjusted themselves to the darkness in -the tent the water did not appear dark, but -was pervaded by a soft light, enabling them -to see clearly even insects and small fish -which swam past, and they could plainly see -their decoy minnow to a depth of four feet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka took the string of the decoy in his -left hand. In his right hand he held a spear, -and the three fishermen seated themselves on -a log.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You sit still,” Tatanka told them. -“Don’t jump. Fish have no ears, but they -can feel every little noise in the water.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed a long time to the boys before -anything happened. Then Tatanka bent over -quickly, thrust his spear into the hole and -brought up a large flapping pickerel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“May be we caught him,” he spoke with a -laugh. “Now, Bill, you catch him. This is -the way Indians catch plenty fish in winter -when they cannot find deer.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again Bill waited a long time. At last he -saw some big fish. With a beating heart he -dropped his spear and would have lost it, if it -had not been tied by a string to his arm, but -he caught no fish.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka laughed. “You get much -excited,” he said, “like white man. Keep cool -like Indian. May be you catch him next -time.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next time Bill showed that he could -keep cool, and he brought up a fine large -bass. The fish were getting more numerous -and Bill added another and another to his -catch. Sometimes several fish or even a -small school of them came together. Very -soon Bill could tell when a school was coming, -because their bodies shut out a part of -the light before they reached the hole and -made the water look dark, as if a cloud were -passing over.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After Bill had fished a while, Tim also -learned to fish like an Indian and brought up -several fine fish.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now we go home,” Tatanka suggested, -after a while. “I think Tim is hungry.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That night each man ate for supper a big -bass, which Barker had fried in bacon fat and -corn meal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After this day, the boys often went fishing -by themselves and supplied the camp with -all the fresh fish the four men cared to eat. -They found that all the fish, bass and pike, -pickerel and suckers, tasted remarkably good, -for all fish are good if they have been caught -in cold, clear water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One warm morning, the genial old trapper -took down the gill-net.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You lads come with me,” he said. “I can -catch more fish in a day than you and Tatanka -can catch in a week. Yesterday you -fished all day and caught one little sunfish.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, Mr. Barker, it was a big one,” Tim -piped out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It was only a poor sunfish,” Barker replied. -“We’ll starve if I don’t help you -catch fish. Take both axes and our shovel.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When they arrived at the spot Barker had -selected, he stepped off a line and told the -boys to shovel the snow from half a dozen -spots, while he and Tatanka began to cut -holes through the ice. The first hole he cut -about eight feet long and then he cut smaller -holes about ten feet apart, but all in a straight -line.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the holes were cut, he asked the boys -to shovel the slush out of them as much as -possible, while he went and cut a long straight -pole.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I know, I know how he is going to do it,” -Tim exclaimed. “But we’ll have to make all -the holes longer, so they will run together.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You wait,” said Bill. “I won’t cut any -more holes.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the long pole was ready, Barker tied -one end of the net to it and pushed pole and -net into the first long hole and under the ice -toward the second hole.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To the other end of the net a rope was attached.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“There,” he told Bill, “you take hold of -this rope and see that the net does not get -tangled.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When Bill had taken charge of his end of -the net, the trapper pushed the pole under the -ice to the next hole and in the same manner -he pushed and pulled it along to the last opening. -Here he pulled the pole out and drove -the end of it into the soft bottom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now, Bill,” he suggested, “you had better -tie your rope to a log, so they can’t run -away with your end of the net. You know -there are some big fish in the Mississippi.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As the men had nothing to do for a while, -they sat down under a warm sunny bank, -where Barker built a fire, under the dry -stump of a stranded cottonwood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“White man’s fire,” Tatanka muttered -good-naturedly, as he backed away from the -growing heat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Yes, white man’s fire is what we want to-day,” -the trapper replied. “The Great River -furnishes us plenty of big wood, but the little -dry sticks are buried under the snow.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then to the delight of the boys the trapper -drew a small tin pail out of his pack-sack, together -with some cornbread and a big piece of -bacon for each one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“There, lads,” he said, “you warm the -cornbread and fry the bacon while I make -tea.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It took some time before enough snow was -melted for tea, for even on a big fire snow and -ice melt very slowly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I forgot to dip water out of one of our -net-holes,” the trapper remarked, “but we -have plenty of time to melt snow and ice.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys cut some green maple twigs, and -on these as an improvised grate they heated -the bread and fried the bacon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I’m glad you brought something to eat, -Mr. Barker,” Tim remarked thankfully. “I -was getting very hungry. You called us so -early this morning.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I did,” replied Barker, “because the fish -run most during the warm part of the day.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Do they know when the air is warm!” -asked Bill. “How can they know down in -the water?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Can’t tell, lads,” Barker smiled. “You -lads ask a lot of hard questions. I reckon -they can tell whether it is storming or -whether the sun is shining.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After the meal, Tatanka smoked in silence, -with a far-away look on his face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What is it our brother is thinking of?” -Barker asked him in Sioux. “His face is sad -and his eyes heavy.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I was thinking of my people,” Tatanka -replied, after a few moments of silence. -“Not long ago they lived on this great river. -Now they are driven away from their river, -Minnesota, where deer used to be plentiful, -and where elk, ducks, and geese live still in -great flocks, and the muskrats build many -little houses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“But my people will never come back. -They must now live in the country of short -grass and small trees on the River Missouri. -A few more years they will hunt buffaloes, -but the white people are fast killing all the -buffaloes and making robes out of their skins.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“When the buffalo are gone, we shall starve -or become beggars, or we must learn to live -like white men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“A spirit tells me I ought to return to my -people.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You cannot return now,” Barker told him -in Sioux. “We need you. If the bad white -men find us, they may steal the boys and kill -me, if you leave us. You must stay with us -and go with us to the city, where the white -people have the big war.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I shall stay with you,” Tatanka promised, -after a pause, “but I’m homesick for my people.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A flock of chickadees had been attracted by -the smoke and the fire. They hopped boldly -on the ground and picked up the crumbs of -bread, and one even took a bath in a little pool -of snow-water collected under the bank by the -combined beat of the fire and the sun.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The little birds bring good luck,” -remarked Tatanka. “May be the big guns will -not kill us, when we go south,” he added -pensively.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the fishermen approached their net, -they saw by the movement of the poles that -they had made a good catch. The net was -fairly alive with pickerel, pike, bass, and -suckers, but they caught no gars or paddle-fish.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Why don’t we catch some of those queer -fish?” Bill asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Don’t know,” replied the trapper. “You -never see those in winter. May be they go -south to live in warmer water.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the evening, the men dressed all the fish -they had caught. They did not smoke them -as they had done with the fish caught in warm -weather, but they placed them on frames of -sticks in a brush shed. This shed was their -store-house. The brush protected the frozen -fish from thawing in the sun, and in this way -the men kept a good supply of fresh fish always -on hand.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xivsigns-of-spring"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id22"><span>CHAPTER XIV—SIGNS OF SPRING</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Winter held on obstinately until the middle -of March.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last, one fine morning, Tatanka announced, -“I smell spring. The little nuthatches -and the little woodpeckers are calling -and I saw two crows flying north. That -means spring is coming and the ice will soon -float down stream in big white blocks.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys found another sign of spring. -The flowing of the sap. Tatanka called it the -bleeding of the trees. At the time when the -frost is not yet out of the ground, when -spring has not quite conquered winter, soft -maple, box-elder, birch, and sugar-maple begin -to bleed; that is, the sap begins to drip -out of some fresh wound. A squirrel may -have cut the bark, a bird picked a bud, snow or -wind or the falling of dead branches may -have bruised the bark or torn away some -twigs. It is from these wounds that the sap -begins to drip.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sharp eyes can find these drippings in the -forest, and it is easy to discover small dark -patches of sap on city streets and walks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mr. Barker,” the boys asked, “can’t we -make some sugar and syrup?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Go ahead with it, laddies,” the old trapper encouraged them. “A can of maple -syrup and some real maple sugar would taste -good to me.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys had grown up in a country where -the sugar-maple, a northern tree, does not -grow and had only the vaguest idea about -sugar-making; so they asked Tatanka to show -them how to make maple-sugar, a bit of woodcraft -which white men have learned from the -Indians.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Each boy took a tin pail and Tatanka took -two big pails and an ax. Tim soon found a -large box-elder and Bill sighted a big soft-maple, -a river-bottom maple, from which the -sap was dripping. But Tatanka laughed at -them saying, “No good, no good; ’most all -water. Good sugar trees grow on high land.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka knew the trees in winter as well as -in summer, and when the three sugar-makers -had reached the Minnesota bluffs he soon -found two big sugar-maples. Into each tree -he made an upward cut and put a chip into -the cut. The sap began at once to run along -the chips and dripped into the pails below. -In an hour the small pails were filled and -Tatanka replaced them with his large -buckets.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now you build a fire and boil your sap,” -he told the boys. “Slow, over Indian fire; -no white man’s fire.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys were surprised to see how much -of the sap boiled away before they had a -thick sweet syrup. Tatanka from time to -time poured some more sap into their pails -so that each boy at last had a pailful of maple-syrup.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About noon the boys were hungry, but Tatanka -would not hear of going to camp for -lunch.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“When you make sugar, you make sugar -all day. You drink sap, you eat syrup, and -sugar. That is the way the Indians make -sugar, plenty good sugar. We go home when -it gets cold, then the sap stops flowing.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They did stay all day, and the lads helped -Tatanka boil his sap down to a good thick -syrup.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the evening Mr. Barker’s biscuits and -Tatanka’s maple syrup made the best supper -the lads had ever eaten. After the meal, Tatanka -made some real maple-sugar by boiling -down the syrup in a big frying-pan, but -little Tim fell asleep before the syrup began -to sugar and Bill was disappointed because -he could eat only a few small pieces, although -Barker and Tatanka told him that he might -eat the whole panful if he cared for it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It’s the same as with the honey,” Bill -mourned. “I thought I could eat a piece as -big as Mr. Barker’s fist, and then I could only -eat a spoonful.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A week later, about the first of April, the -ice below Lake Pepin began to move.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There is something mysterious in the -spring break-up of a big river. A warm, -south wind begins to melt the snow. So rapidly -it vanishes from open fields and from -south-facing bluffs that you wonder where it -went. But in the woods the white covering -lingers for weeks. After several days of -warm weather, the unbroken ice on the river -is covered with a few inches of water, but -there are no signs of a break-up. Still the -slush and water on the ice is the sign that the -sleeping river is awaking.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Over night the creeks have become swollen, -their turbid floods rush into the river, -whose icy covering although still two or three -feet thick has lost the brittleness and strength -of winter. The creeks and brooks and countless -bubbling, gurgling rills creep under the -ice. With a slow, but resistless power, the -power of a hydraulic press, they lift the frozen -mass from its moorings on shore. The -sleeping river yawns and stretches itself; -the ice begins to move, slowly at first, then -rapidly. The river is awake, alive once more. -In a day or two, the great rafts and masses -of ice have passed south, the river is open; it -is spring.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Friends, it is time to move,” Barker observed next morning. “In a day or two our -camp will be flooded.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Within a few hours everything was packed. -Barker and Tatanka each handled a paddle, -Bill took his seat in the stern to steer, while -little Tim, wrapped in an Indian blanket, -watched for hidden snags from his seat in the -bow. Meetcha, who had come out of his log -about two weeks before, was allowed to -remain with his four-footed friends in the -woods. Tim had become convinced that they -could not take him along any farther.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When evening came, they had left the long -lake far behind them and now carried their -large canoe up on high land at the mouth of -a spring brook several miles below the quiet -little river town of Minneiska, White Water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no time to set up a tent. The -travelers raked together a bed of dry leaves, -spread their blankets over them, rolled themselves -into other blankets, and used their -tent-canvas as extra covering.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Boys, make a night-cap out of your handkerchiefs,” -Barker advised the lads, “for the -morning will be biting crisp.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While they were eating breakfast next -morning, they saw a flock of cranes, real -cranes, not the common blue herons of our -marshes, rise from a sandbar. With a spiraling -noisy flight, they arose against the -face of the high bluff and disappeared over -the timber, six hundred feet above the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where are they going?” asked Tim. -“Why don’t they fly north up the river!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They have gone to feed on the young winter-wheat -of the settlers on the upland,” the -trapper informed them, his eyes kindling with -the fire of the pioneer hunter. “If you are -willing to climb the high bluffs we may be -able to find them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka, like a real Indian, was willing, -and the boys, like all real boys, were eager to -go.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Each man take a blanket,” ordered Barker, -as he put a day’s rations into his pack-sack, -and in addition to his gun he also took -an ax.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What’s that for!” asked Bill, with his -usual curiosity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“To chop their heads off,” Tim spurted. -“Bill, you ask lots of fool questions.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The men laughed aloud. “One string to -this crane hunt,” the old trapper told them. -“The fellow that asks one of those ’tarnal -botheration questions hikes back to the river -and watches the boat till the rest of us come -back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Keep your eyes and ears open, but your -mouths shut tight. That’s the rule for a -crane-hunt. Now walk slow. Those hills -are higher than they look.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For a little while they traveled up the ravine -of one of those small streams which run -in large numbers into the west banks of the -Mississippi. On the upper river, from St. -Paul into Iowa, the hills and bluffs on the -west bank are densely wooded, while those of -the east bank are covered with a scrubby -growth and show many patches covered only -with grasses and other prairie plants, which -are fitted to endure intense sunlight, great -heat and long spells of drought. Some -patches of prairie, however, are also found -amongst the bluffs on the west bank.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was on one of those bare patches of hillside -that the lads, with great joy, picked their -first spring flowers, the wild crocus, or pasque -flower, of the Prairie States.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>From Illinois to Montana, and northward -far into Canada, the wild crocuses spring out -of the sear grass or the burnt prairie, while -ice and snow still linger in shaded spots. -Like millions of living amethysts, scattered -broadcast over a continent, but far more beautiful -than dead stones, they smile at the sky -and the sun before the drought and hot winds -of summer can wither their petals, and before -rank grasses and weeds can cut off the sunlight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the robins have come back and the -crocuses are out, the boys and girls of the -Prairie States and Provinces know that -spring has come.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The prairie crocuses do not take time, like -most other flowers to grow leaves first. The -brown woolly buds push out of the soil as -soon as the snow is gone. After a few warm -days they cover the bare patches of dry river -bluffs and all the stony ridges and moraine -hills, which the great glaciers left behind -many thousand years ago. They make early -flower-gardens along the right-of-way of the -railroads, although the section men burn the -grass and the prairie flowers every fall. -Fires cannot harm the sleeping roots and -buds of the crocuses in the ground.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the prairie grasses begin to grow -in May and June, the crocuses find time to -produce large whorls of pretty cut-up leaves, -and the winds of summer scatter their long -seeds.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They are not really the first flowers of the -Northern States; that honor belongs to the -dark purple spathe-like sheaths of the skunk-cabbage, -which grow in the black muck near -brooks and spring-holes, under the tasseled -alders and red killikinnick. But it takes a -sharp-eyed naturalist to find these strange -underground flowers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Many different trees the lads also discovered -in these upland woods. There were the -trees of the large fragrant buds, shellbark -and pig-nut hickory, black-walnut, and butternut; -and from the dead rustling leaves the -lads picked many a well-seasoned nut, which -the squirrels, gray and red, had lost or forgotten. -There were several kinds of oaks, -bur-oaks, black oaks and white oaks; and from -the dark oaks the trunks of canoe-birches -stood out in pure white. In the river bottom -the lads had often cut for their evening -camp-fires the slender trunks of the river -birch with its tousled curls of light brown -bark, but of this curious birch they did not -find a tree in the upland woods.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After the four men had followed the little -stream for half a mile, they struck off to -their right up a steep slope; where they often -became entangled in vines of wild grape and -bitter-sweet. Tim was soon out of breath -and had to rest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mr. Barker,” asked Bill, “did you say -the bluffs were six hundred feet high! They -must surely be a mile high.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Keep still,” Tim urged him; “you’ll have -to go back to the boat.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After much hard climbing, they came to a -wide ridge, which sloped gently upward toward -the river and they followed it in that -direction. The ridge was covered with great -spreading white oaks two or three hundred -years old. Bold gray squirrels were chasing -one another along the big horizontal boughs. -A woodchuck that had been feeding on a -patch of new grass sat up to look at the invaders -of his solitude and then hurried into -his hole. From a distance came the strange -drumming of a grouse, while a woodpecker -sounded his peculiar rattle on a dead branch.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the edge of the woods, they came to a -bare spot, which ended abruptly on the top -of a hundred-foot cliff.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Don’t go too near the rim,” Barker -warned the boys, as they ran ahead. “If you -go over, you’ll get smashed on the rocks below.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Here we’re going to camp for the night,” -the trapper said, as he and Tatanka placed -their packs on the ground.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“When are we going to hunt cranes?” Bill -almost blurted out, but he checked himself -just in time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It wouldn’t be any fun to sit alone all -night at the boat,” he whispered to Tim, -“with the rest of you camping on the grandest -spot I have ever seen. I think Mr. -Barker has some fun up his sleeve, but I -can’t figure out what it is.”</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xvat-inspiration-point"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id23"><span>CHAPTER XV—AT INSPIRATION POINT</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>“I can’t look over, I get dizzy!” Tim said -to Bill. “Look at the river. It surely looks -a mile below.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Lie down,” Bill told him. “Then you -can’t tumble off.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys amused themselves by dropping -stones over the cliff and counting the seconds -till they struck amongst the trees below. Tim -claimed he could throw a stone into the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Ah! you can’t do it, Tim,” Bill objected. -“The river is a quarter of a mile away as the -crow flies.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I’ll pick a good sailer-rock,” Tim persisted, -“and you’ll see.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But although Tim did his best, his rock -seemed to come sailing back to the sloping -bluff.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Guess you are right,” admitted Tim, a -little crestfallen; “the rivet is pretty far -away.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka stood gazing in silence over the -sublime panorama. The river appeared to -come like a broad glassy channel out of the -blue hazy distance in the north. Just below -the point it was half a mile wide and Tatanka -could easily distinguish the deep dark channel -from the light brown sandbars near shore.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Like a wonderful picture the valley spread -out below the hunters. Dark groves of elms -stood out clearly from long stretches of cottonwood -in light gray. The swelling and -bursting buds of the bottom maples showed -great dashes of a dark ruddy red, while vast -stretches of gray and brown marshes were -dotted with brighter patches of orange willow -and of bright red killikinnick.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“My people once lived here,” said Tatanka, -at last. “They loved this land. It is rich -and beautiful, and at that time many red deer -and elk and black bear lived in these woods. -The big game is gone now. The white settlers -have too many guns and too many dogs. -They drive the deer away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It is good that Manitou gave wings to the -ducks and the geese, so the white hunters can -not kill them all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Our people will never come back to this -land. Our trails will grow over with weeds, -and the graves of our fathers will be forgotten. -Our people must learn to plow the -field and raise cattle and horses like white -men!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The old trapper also was carried back to -his boyhood as he stood gazing over the river, -the bayous, and islands, and to the hills two -miles away on the Wisconsin side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I used to think,” he said to his friend, -“that the Wabash and the Illinois were great -rivers, but they are just little crawling creeks -compared with the Mississippi, and they can -show no great woods and grand hills and -cliffs like the Mississippi. If these woods -were mine, I would build my house on this -point and every morning I would see the sun -rise over the hills yonder. In the winter I -would watch the snow-storms rush down the -valley; and in the sultry summer nights I -would watch the lightning play between the -hills, over the river and among the tree-tops, -and hear the thunder roll and echo from bluff -to bluff.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Are you not afraid of thunder and -lightning?” asked Tatanka. “My people are -afraid of it and will not travel in a storm.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I used to be afraid, when I was a boy,” -Barker continued, “but since that time I -have lived so much alone in the forest and on -the rivers that I no longer fear a thunderstorm; -but I never make my camp near tall -trees.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>White people who go down the Mississippi -in boats do see some fine scenery, but the real -grandeur of Mississippi River scenery is revealed -only from good vantage-points on the -crest of the bluffs. For those sufficiently -strong and Venturesome to climb to those -points, nature spreads out her grandest panoramas -found in the inhabited part of the -globe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Many Americans have made long trips to -see the beauties of the Rhine and the Danube; -the far grander beauty of the Mississippi is -to our own people still an unexplored country. -There are awaiting those who would -go and see a thousand Inspiration Points on -the upper Mississippi and ten thousand miles -of semi-tropical wilderness, cane-brake, forest, -lakes, and bayous on the lower river and -its southern tributaries. Most Americans -know the Mississippi only as a crooked black -line on the map.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When Barker and Tatanka had finished -drinking in the landscape, as they called it, -the trapper told the lads that they might run -about as they pleased till four o’clock.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“At that time,” he added, “the hunting -will begin.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What are we going—?” Bill started, but -he checked himself just in time, to the great -delight of Barker and Tatanka.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Come on, Tim,” he sang out, “Let’s take -a hike to the prairie. I’ll be sent home, if -I hang around here all day.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Don’t chase any geese or cranes, boys,” -Barker called after them. “If you see any -on the fields, don’t disturb them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys discovered that from the place, -where they started, the open prairie was only -about half a mile away. As they carefully -skirted along the edge of the timber, they saw -several large flocks of geese and cranes feeding -on open fields of young winter-wheat. On -one field they could distinguish a boy who had -evidently been told to drive the cranes off the -wheat-field. He was a small boy and was having -a sorry time of it. He had no gun, but -tried to scare them away with a stick.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I bet his mother wouldn’t let him take a -gun,” remarked Tim.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“May be his people are too poor to buy a -gun,” suggested Bill. “Settlers in a new -country don’t have much money and they need -all kinds of things for a new farm.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boy walked from one end of the field -to the other. When he arrived at the east -end, the cranes flew to the west end, but the -boy could not make them leave the field.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The longer the boy tried to drive them -away, the bolder they became.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I’ll bet they know the boy hasn’t a gun,” -Tim exclaimed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now a very big crane defied the boy altogether. -He walked boldly toward the boy, -spreading his wings and uttering a loud -croak.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look, look,” exclaimed Tim, “he’s going -to bite the boy. Let’s run and help him.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, we mustn’t,” argued Bill. “Mr. -Barker said we shouldn’t scare the cranes. -If that kid runs away from a crane, he deserves -to be bitten.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I would run,” Tim acknowledged, “if I -had no gun.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boy was now actually running away -with the crane after him, but falling over a -furrow and seeing that he could not run away -from the fighting crane, he picked up his stick -and went hard at his pursuer. At this unexpected -attack, the crane ran away, napped his -wings and arose to join the flock at the other -end of the field.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boy started for home, looking back -from time to time as if afraid that the big bird -might be after him again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I wouldn’t herd cranes,” said Tim, “if -they didn’t give me a gun.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys returned to camp in good time -and about four o’clock the hunting actually -began, for the big Canada geese began to fly -over the timber to their resting place on a -long sandspit below Inspiration Point.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“One rule,” Mr. Barker called, “about this -hunt. Don’t fire at any bird that is too far -off. We don’t want to leave any wounded -birds in the woods. Tim, you come with me. -I’ll tell you when to fire.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The hunters walked back half a dozen rods, -so they would not drop any birds below the -cliff, and placed themselves about fifty yards -apart on a line parallel to the crest of the -bluff.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Half a dozen geese soon came flying just -above the tops of the old oaks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Aim at the last one,” Barker told Tim. -“Take it from behind!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim brought down a large fat goose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Good work!” exclaimed the trapper. -“Your shot went right in between the feathers. -If you had fired at the bird from in -front, the shot might have glanced off the -heavy coat of feathers. ‘Always aim at a -single bird,’ is also a good rule in wing-shooting. -If you just fire wildly at the whole flock, -you are likely to miss them all.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker at once took up Tim’s goose, saying, -“That will just furnish us a good supper -with some bacon and corn bread.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After the goose had been picked and drawn, -he put a slender green pole through it, which -he laid on two forked sticks close to a hot -fire. When one side was partly cooked, he -turned the other side to the fire. In this -way he prepared a savory meal of wild goose -roasted on the spit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When it grew too dark to shoot, the hunters -came in with six geese. Bill had had the bad -luck of merely winging a bird, so that he was -compelled to follow his game for nearly an -hour. A wild goose is so protectively colored -that among dead leaves and brush it can make -itself almost as invisible as a sparrow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When Bill finally captured his bird, it was -almost dark and he had forgotten to watch the -direction to camp; he was lost.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He fired two shots in quick succession.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“There is Big Boy,” Tatanka laughed. -“He is lost, Tim; shoot twice, so he can find -home. He is hungry.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two shots fired close together means, “I’m -lost,” to hunters and woodsmen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course Bill was not far from camp and -he came home in time for supper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Bill,” his younger brother teased him, -“the next time you run after a goose, hang a -cowbell on your neck, so we can tell where -you go.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker and the Indian had built a lean-to -and a warm camp-fire with back-logs of green -oaks. For the fire itself they had cut a big -pile of green white-birch.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look here, boys,” Barker told them after -supper, “we sleep between the log-fire and -the lean-to. Any man that wakes up puts a -few logs on the fire. In that way I think -we’ll keep warm.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They sat late around the camp-fire and -when, at last, they were ready to roll in, -Tatanka walked out to the point, below which -river and valley spread out in a strange light.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look, my friend,” he called. “The whole -sky is burning. It is growing daylight. The -world is burning up.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As they stepped away from the fire, they all -saw the strange appearance of the sky. It -was indeed growing daylight, although it was -still before midnight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Great streamers and bundles of whitish and -reddish light were shooting up from all points -on the horizon toward the zenith. Some -streamers flickered, swayed and died out, but -others took their places and for half an hour -it was light enough to read. The river, the -bottom forest, even the Wisconsin bluffs could -be plainly seen. The men could even see their -canoe amongst the willows below.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The world is coming to an end,” Tatanka -muttered, overcome by his superstitious -fears.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, it isn’t,” Barker explained to him. -“We are seeing a grand display of northern -lights, the greatest I have ever seen, although -I have seen them many, many times. This is -something many city people never see, because -they are always cooped up in houses.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In an hour it was dark again, and the tired -hunters rolled up in their blankets before -the fire.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Make a night-cap out of your handkerchiefs,” -Barker advised the boys. “The -night is going to be chilly and your heads and -ears will get cold if they are not covered.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Early in the morning they started for the -field, where the boy had herded the cranes. -The birds were there again, and it was not -hard to get within range, although they were -much more wary of the hunters than they had -been of the small boy with his stick. When -the great birds arose, all four fired and each -man brought down his bird.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As Bill ran to pick up his game, the trapper -called to him, “Look out, Bill; he isn’t -dead!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Bill was too eager to take warning. -The bird suddenly straightened out his long -neck and shot his sharp beak right into Bill’s -face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The young hunter staggered and cried out -with pain and surprise. The crane had cut -a deep gash in Bill’s cheek and the blood ran -freely down his face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At first his three friends laughed at him, but -when they saw how badly Bill was wounded, -Tatanka quickly chewed a handful of choke-cherry -twigs and put them on the wound to -stop the bleeding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus ended the crane-hunt near Inspiration -Point.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xvismelling-the-storm"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id24"><span>CHAPTER XVI—SMELLING THE STORM</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Inspiration point was the first camp at -which the lads had enjoyed the magnificent -panoramic view of the great river and its -valley and where they had tasted the joy of -roaming about freely through upland forests -and fields.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Some camps one finds so attractive that it is -hard to break away, and after one has at last -rolled up tents and blankets, memory involuntarily -returns to the scene.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads enjoyed the camp at Inspiration -Point so much that they begged Mr. Barker -to stay there at least another night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I don’t know, boys,” the old man objected -mildly. “It may not be so pleasant to-night. -I think we are going to have rain.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where can the rain come from?” the boys -questioned. “There isn’t a cloud in the -sky.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Not yet,” the old trapper admitted, “but -clouds will come soon enough. I sort of feel -and smell rain in the air.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys laughed, “Ah, you’re just fooling -us,” they insisted. “You can’t smell rain like -you smell flowers or skunks.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They ran over to Tatanka who, leaning -against an old oak, was gazing down the -valley where a large, high, rocky island arose -like a flat-topped mountain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I climbed to an eagle’s nest on that mountain -when I was a boy,” he told the lads. -“The eagle was the totem of our village. I -brought down a big young eagle and the other -boys and I caught fish for him and he grew -very tame. When he grew older and could -fly well he flew away, but he often came back -and sat on our tepee poles.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Tatanka,” the boys questioned, “is it going -to rain to-night? Mr. Barker says he can -feel and smell rain. Do you believe he can -smell rain?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka smiled and gazed into the hazy -distance. “Yes, I think it will rain,” he answered, -“after a while.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Can you smell it?” the lads asked eagerly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“May be I can smell it, may be I can feel -it. White trappers and Indians can smell -many things other people can’t smell.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We can smell deer and buffalo and porcupines. -I can smell the river now.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Yes, I think it will rain to-night. And -may be there will be thunder and lightning.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys ran back to the trapper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mr. Barker,” they argued, “our lean-to -will shed the rain if we pile on some oak -brush with the leaves still on it.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That lean-to,” the old man laughed, “will -leak like a sieve. In five minutes the wind -will shake your ears full of big cold drops, -and you wouldn’t sleep a wink all night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You fellows can stay here overnight, but -I reckon Tatanka and I will go down to the -boat and set up our tent. I don’t care to -sit up all night in the rain. I have done that -often enough.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But after a little more coaxing, the old -man consented to stay another night on the -point.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now I tell you what you can do,” he -suggested to his young friends. “You -gather a lot of bark, big pieces, of oak or -basswood, anything you can find, and we’ll -put a roof on our shed.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“But the bark doesn’t peel yet,” Tim objected.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, no, I don’t mean green bark. Get -big pieces of bark from the old dead trees. -That will do well enough for one night.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys soon had a stock of dead bark -piled up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Looks as if you were going to start a -tannery,” remarked the trapper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now go and find a lot of strings so we can -tie it on.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where can we find strings!” the boys -wanted to know.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You go and ask Tatanka. He can find -them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka was not troubled about finding -strings. Some he made by shaving the bark -off young shoots of basswood. Others he -found by twisting the fiber of dead Indian -hemp and wild nettle into strong cords.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The woods are full of good ropes,” he -murmured, “but white men don’t know how -to find them and make them. They can -only buy them in the stores.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys were going to tie the bark crosswise; -but the trapper would not have it that -way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Tie them running up and down,” he said. -“Alternate them with rough side up and -smooth side up, so they overlap, making a lot -of little troughs running to the ground. -Then tie them to three strong poles fastened -crosswise over the lean-to.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“There! It is a rough-looking shelter. -Not nearly so neat as a Chippewa bark-house, -but it ought to shed the rain if the wind -doesn’t blow it over and if the wind doesn’t -come from the wrong side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now get some wood, boys. Tim, you -gather a lot of dry sticks for our cooking fire. -Bill, you cut some green birches for the camp-fire. -Tatanka and I will cut some green oaks -for back logs.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mr. Barker, why can’t I gather dry -branches for the camp-fire? There are -plenty of them lying around,” Tim asked -eagerly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You may, Tim,” the old man replied -good-naturedly, “but you will have to sit up -all night to feed the fire.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mr. Barker,” Bill asked, “isn’t oak just -as good as birch for our camp-fire. I have -to carry the birch a long way.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, Bill. Oak is no good when you can -get birch. Green oak alone burns too slow. -Dry oak is too hard to cut and burns too fast. -Hickory and tamarack crackle and throw -sparks into your blanket, so you wake up with -your bed on fire.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Birch is best for an all-night fire. It -burns not too fast and not too slow, and it -never shoots sparks into your bed.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tim soon had enough sticks and dead -branches to last several days, so he helped -Bill to carry the billets of birch to the fireplace. -They were almost five feet long and -about six inches in diameter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They will burn pretty slow, I fear,” the -trapper remarked, “because the sap is in full -flow and the wood feels soggy. Birch is most -sappy at this time of the year.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The night started well enough. It was -warm and clear and the campers sat around -the fire after supper and saw the stars come -out, a few bright ones first and then the host -of smaller ones and very small ones. From -their high camp the boys could see the larger -stars reflected in the river like faint streaks -of trembling light. The river continued to -rise and the bottom began to appear like a -series of long winding lakes separated by -long islands of dark forests. The lads -gazed in wonder from the river to the sky -and from the sky to the river. The Great -Dipper stood out clearly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“When does it rise and when does it set?” -Tim asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It is always there,” Tatanka answered. -“It never rises and never sets, but the sun -puts it out in the morning.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys looked questioningly at the trapper. -“That is true,” he confirmed Tatanka’s -answer, “all the stars near the Polar -Star never rise and never set. You can see -them in the evening as soon as it is dark -enough, and they shine till the rising sun -makes them invisible. They just go round -and round the Polar Star.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Many faint chirping sounds were heard -as the four campers sat near the camp-fire. -The green birch burnt very slowly so that -Tim had to put some of his dry sticks between -the logs to keep a good steady fire. At all -other times green birch starts quite readily -from a small fire of dry sticks and then burns -with an even glow. The ends sizzle with -escaping moisture but the wood does not -crackle and does not throw off any sparks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys wanted Tatanka to tell them what -the Indians knew and believed about the -stars and the moon, but the trapper urged -them all to go to bed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Tatanka,” he said, “can tell you about -the moon and stars some other time. We -must make an early start to-morrow. If we -keep on loafing among the hills, as we have -been doing, we shall not get to Vicksburg all -summer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“How far do you think it is to Vicksburg?” -he asked the boys.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They did not know.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I talked to Ryerson at the store,” Barker -continued. “He is an old river man. He -told me it was five hundred miles from Lake -Pepin to St. Louis and a thousand miles from -St. Louis to Vicksburg. It will take us two -months to get there, if we average twenty-five -miles a day.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We can go faster than that, Mr. Barker,” -the boys protested; “we can make fifty miles -a day.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You boys do big talking,” the trapper -laughed at them. “We want to rest on Sundays. -It is going to rain some days, and on -some days the wind is going to be strong -against us. Then we shall sometimes make -only short trips in order to stop at good -camping-places, and sometimes we shall stop -to fish.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All four were soon fast asleep.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About midnight the boys woke up. A glaring -flash of lightning followed by a loud -crashing and echoing thunder made them sit -up startled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“There,” Barker remarked with a friendly -laugh, “what did Tatanka and I tell you? -Bill, crawl out and put some more sticks and -green billets on the fire or the rain will put -it out.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Soon the rain came down pattering on the -bark roof and the four campers had to sit -hunched up under their shed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“How did you know, Mr. Barker,” Tim -asked, “that the rain would come from the -west?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I did not know it,” the trapper acknowledged; -“but I know from experience that -most of the showers in this region come from -the west, so I faced our shelter to the east.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads sat in awed silence as the lightning -played back and forth between the Minnesota -and Wisconsin bluffs and lit up the -river and the woods as with great flashlights, -and the thunder rolled and rumbled and -echoed from east to west and from the high -island to the south.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lean-to shed the water perfectly, for -the trapper had seen to it that the rough bark -shingles overlapped well and that all pieces -with knot-holes were rejected.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the violent lightning and thunder -had passed eastward, the lads ran out and -took a shower-bath in the rain and it was not -long before all four were again sound asleep -under their warm blankets in front of the -slowly burning fire.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xviisouthward-at-last"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id25"><span>CHAPTER XVII—SOUTHWARD AT LAST</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>When the lads arose next morning, their -eyes gazed with joy and wonder on the valley -below, tinted with the rosy light of an -ideal morning of early spring. The river -was no longer a big stream held by well-defined -banks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look, Bill,” Tim exclaimed, with wondering -eyes. “Lake Pepin has run over. -All the woods are under water.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The river was indeed almost two miles -wide, overflowing in the forests, covering -marshes and meadows, from bluff to bluff. -Like a fiery red ball, the sun came creeping -over the eastern bluffs, and a soft red tint -was reflected from the great flood below the -camp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The campers found their canoe on high -land where Barker had turned it over, but the -flood had almost crept up to it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a very short time the travelers were -off.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Keep your eyes peeled for snags and -driftwood,” the trapper cautioned Bill. -“We have only one canoe and cannot afford -a wreck and a spill.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You can depend on me,” Bill replied. -“The water is much too cold for swimming. -I want to stay in the canoe.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka and Barker plied their paddles -vigorously and Tim did his share, with a -short light paddle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At noon they made only a short stop for a -cup of hot tea and a very light lunch, wishing -to go as far as possible before camping.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About three in the afternoon, the trapper -told the boys to look out for a good camping-place.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We want to stop at a good spring,” he -said; “this river water isn’t so bad, but good -spring water is much better.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“How can we find a spring!” the boys -wanted to know. “We don’t know the country.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“If you are wise campers you can always -find a spring,” the old man instructed them. -“Look for places where the high bluffs come -down close to the water edge.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Within an hour a high bluff came into view -a mile down the stream, and the lads, who -were getting both hungry and tired, expected -to find a good camp-site. In this hope they -were disappointed. The current surged -along past the tree-trunks where rafts of -driftwood and rubbish had collected, while -masses of dirty white foam were held by the -dead wood and rubbish. The place did not -look in the least inviting, and the boys looked -in vain for a clear bubbling spring.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where are the springs, Mr. Barker?” -Tim asked timidly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Well, my boy,” the old man replied, “I -reckon they are covered by the flood.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What shall we do for a camping-place?” -Bill asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Go on until we find one that suits us.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“But if we don’t find one?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Then we camp at a place that does not -suit us,” the trapper replied dryly. “Traveling -down-river isn’t like living in town. -We’ll just take things as they come.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About five o’clock they came to a place -where a small creek came in from the west.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Bill, you had better steer into this bay,” -the trapper suggested. “We’ll camp there -for the night.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It isn’t a good place, Mr. Barker,” Tim -ventured to say. “Look at all the dirty driftwood -and the willow-bushes. We are getting -into a swamp where there can’t be any -springs.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trapper smiled. “May be,” he said -to Tim, “we’ll find a good place and perhaps -a spring, too. Everybody go slow now. -Look out for snags, Bill, and let us land near -the foot of that big ash.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Within a few minutes all heavy packs were -taken out of the canoe and the craft itself was -turned over in a dry spot high above the -water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was not only one spring, there were -several coming out of the hillside and running -into the small flooded creek.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I knew we would find good water up this -creek,” the trapper told the boys.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“How could you tell!” the lads wondered. -“Have you ever been here?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, I have never seen this place before, -but I have seen many groves of black-ash -and they only grow in cold, springy ravines. -Wherever you see the slim gray trunks and -the short spreading branches of black-ash you -can find springs. Sometimes the flow is -small and you have to dig out a little pool for -your well, but good cool water always seeps -and flows around the roots of the black-ash.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Like every good leader, Barker had each -man assigned to some special camp duty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He himself was cook and baker. The Indian -set up the tent and made the bed. Bill -brought water and cut wood for the camp-fire, -while Tim gathered dry brush and sticks -for the cooking-fire and set out the dishes, -which consisted of a tin cup and plate, knife, -fork, and spoon for each man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We don’t need the tent,” Barker said to -Tatanka. “It is not going to rain to-night -and the miserable mosquitoes haven’t come -yet. Just make a good bed on plenty of dry -leaves and grass. The boys are very tired -and we are all a little bit soft after our -rather lazy winter.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What are we going to do if it rains?” -Tim asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Pull the canvas over our heads,” the old -man answered with a serious face, “and if it -rains hard, we’ll get wet. But it isn’t going -to rain.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads wondered how he could know, but -they asked no more questions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In half an hour the trapper called out, -“Supper! All hands fall to.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And they all fell to, for all were ravenously -hungry, and bacon, corn-bread, and roast -goose hurriedly vanished in large quantities. -The goose had been roasted the day before -and had just been heated on a spit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After supper Tatanka and Bill arranged -the packs under the canoe while Barker and -Tim washed the dishes, for the trapper insisted -that it is just as easy to keep clean in -camp as to live with a lot of dirt.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The place of their camp was a few miles -below the town of Winona. They had, however, -not landed there for several reasons. -They felt that they had no time to lose if -they would reach Vicksburg before the end -of summer, and before Grant could take the -Confederate stronghold of the Mississippi. -They had no recent letters from Vicksburg, -and on their trip they could of course receive -none. Barker and the lads had written to the -boys’ parents that they might expect them -in Vicksburg sometime in June or July. -“That is,” the letter closed, “if at that time, -we can get in.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“If Grant has made up his mind to take -Vicksburg,” the trapper had told the boys, -“I reckon he’ll stick around and fight till he -gets it. No matter how big and how many -the swamps are that protect it. If he cannot -get at the city from the north, he will get at it -from the south. If he cannot keep a base of -supplies in his rear, he’ll do without a base -and will make his army live on the country, -till he can establish a base.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Another important reason for their not -stopping at many towns was that they felt -that Hicks was certainly trying to discover -their whereabouts.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The bad man is surely looking for us,” -Tatanka declared. “He has hired scouts to -let him know when we pass. We must not -stop at the towns.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the following evening they passed the -Iowa State line and they were now traveling -between the States of Wisconsin and Iowa.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The scenery all along had been wonderfully -grand. It showed the same high -wooded bluffs and steep bare rocks they had -so much admired at their camp on Inspiration -Point.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This grand striking scenery continues some -hundred miles into Iowa.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A large region in southern Minnesota, -southern Wisconsin, and northern Iowa has -never been glaciated and is known as the -driftless area. In this region the great river -and its tributaries have cut deep valleys -through layers of limestone, dolomite, and -sandstone. The sides of the valleys have -never been rounded off by creeping glaciers, -and the cliffs of dolomite stand up straight -and bold like the well-known Maiden Rock -and Sugar Loaf near Winona.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This stretch of the Mississippi from St. -Paul and Minneapolis to Dubuque, some four -hundred miles long, is the greatest scenic -river highway in the world. Every American -should travel over it before he goes to -see the rivers of Europe, most of which are -insignificant streams compared with the -Mississippi. The whole navigable distance on -the Rhine is no greater than the great scenic -course of the Mississippi, and this course is -less than one-fifth of the whole navigable -length of our great American river. He who -has not traveled on the Mississippi has not -seen America.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Even several great tributaries of the Mississippi, -like the Missouri and the Ohio and -the Red River, are larger than any river in -Europe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys soon learned to find good camping-places, -and vied with each other in selecting -the best ones.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As far as they could, they camped a few -miles above the larger river towns. The -supplies they needed they bought of farmers -or in small towns, two men generally going -after the supplies and the other two staying -at the camp. Many interesting incidents occurred -to them all, but it would make our -story too long to tell of them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The river now became alive with all kinds -of steamboats, some carrying passengers and -merchandise, others guns, ammunition, and -soldiers, and it often taxed Bill’s skill to avoid -danger from the swell of the big boats.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Spring was advancing apace. When they -reached the northern boundary of Missouri, -about the first of May, it was summer. The -trees were green, birds were in full song, and -the woods were full of flowers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Spring advances up the river at the rate of -something like fifteen miles a day. About -the first of March poplars and hazel hang out -their pollen-laden catkins at St. Louis; while -at the Twin Cities, the first spring flowers appear -about a month later, but as the party -was rapidly traveling southward, the season -to them advanced three or four days in -twenty-four hours.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the well-known river port of Hannibal, -Missouri, they placed their canoe and baggage -on a steamer and took passage for Cairo -at the mouth of the Ohio. At the great busy -port of St. Louis they kept quiet on the boat. -The next evening they landed at Cairo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Below Cairo, the mighty stream grows to -its full grandeur. It has received its two -greatest tributaries, the Missouri and the -Ohio, besides such streams as the Wisconsin, -the Des Moines, the Iowa, and the Illinois, -all of them fine rivers for the canoeist, the -fisherman, and the sight-seer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cairo was the most northerly point, where -the great struggle for the possession of the -Mississippi began between North and South.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The four travelers had now reached the -scene of the Civil War on the Mississippi.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xviiiin-the-sunken-lands"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id26"><span>CHAPTER XVIII—IN THE SUNKEN LANDS</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was a mellow summer evening about the -first of June, when the party arrived at the -small town of Hickman in Kentucky.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ever since they had left the upper river, -their birch-bark canoe had been an object of -curiosity to all who had seen it, because the -white-birch or canoe-birch does not grow on -the lower river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At Hickman, the four travelers went into a -store to replenish their supplies. In front -of the store, sitting on a cracker-box, a man -greeted Barker with, “Hello, Sam! Where -on earth do you come from? Haven’t seen -you since you were trapping coons and hunting -wild turkeys on the Wabash.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“And what brings you into this little river -burg, Dick Banks?” the trapper asked, -equally surprised.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Oh, I just drifted down the Wabash and -the Ohio to this old river. You know I always -wanted to see the Mississippi, when we -were boys. Well, I’m working on a steamboat -between New Madrid and St. Louis.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After a while Banks took Barker aside.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Say, Sam,” he spoke in a low voice, “it -seems sort of strange, but I reckon there was -a fellow here looking for you just this morning. -He asked whether we ones had seen a -white man with an Indian and two boys traveling -down river?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Hadn’t the faintest idea you could be the -man he referred to. You hadn’t any beard -and gray hair when I saw you last, but sure -as I’m Dick Banks, his story fits your party -exactly. Fellow seemed to be mighty set on -finding you. Told us you had kidnapped his -two nephews and stolen two horses of him -’way up in Minnesota. Said he was going to -swear out a warrant and have you arrested.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That dirty pup,” exclaimed Barker, with -his eyes flashing. “My Indian and I saved -those lads from being murdered by the Sioux. -The lads rode away on our own horses and -we didn’t even take a blanket of the dirty -bootlegger. The old squint-eyed scoundrel -deserted the lads. Dern his soul! I always -believed he wanted them to get killed. He -doesn’t want them to get back home for some -reason. My Indian and I are going to take -them home to Vicksburg. I knew Hicks in -Indiana. He always was a blackguard.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dick Banks puffed vigorously at his corncob -pipe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Sam,” he replied, “I’ll tell you something. -You used to be some scrapper back in -Indiana. I figure you could handle that -friend of yours all right, but you might as -well go back with me to St. Louis. You can’t -get into Vicksburg.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“And why can’t I get in?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You haven’t seen as much of the war as -I have seen. I have been clear down to -Haynes Bluff a little way above Vicksburg. -Grant and his men have got the place bottled -up. You can’t get in. Gunboats, big ones, -little ones, the whole river is full of them. -Guards and soldiers everywhere. Don’t try -it, Sam. They might think you were a spy -and hang you. Those army courts aren’t as -good-natured as our old Indiana juries.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, Dick,” the trapper argued. “I can’t -go back with you. I’m going to take those -boys home. I’ll either fight Hicks or give -him the slip. We’re going to Vicksburg. -May be I can get a pass through the lines.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“All right then, Sam; I’ve said my say. -Get a pass? Why, man, Abe Lincoln himself -couldn’t get a pass! You’re as set on having -your way as you were as a kid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now don’t hurry that Vicksburg campaign -of yours. Better paddle about in the -swamps and bayous for a few weeks. They -say in about a month the town will have to -surrender. You can’t get a pass into Vicksburg. -They’ve been shut up two weeks now.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That evening the four travelers had a good -supper on board of Dick Bank’s boat and -Dick also fixed beds for them on board the -steamer, and at daylight before the town -was awake, they paddled their light craft into -a small winding channel which led into one of -the most mysterious lakes of North America, -Reelfoot Lake, a lake made by the great earthquake -of 1811, generally known as the earthquake -of New Madrid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka was especially happy to be on this -small winding stream.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It is like the winding Minnesota River,” -he said, “and it is beautiful like the small -rivers that join the Mississippi above Lake -Pepin. For a long time they follow their own -winding trail in the bottom woods, as if they -were afraid to go near the great Mississippi -in which all big and little rivers lose themselves.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The trees are different here,” Bill remarked. -“We never saw any cypress on the -Minnesota.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They spent nearly all day on this winding -channel, and it was not until an hour before -sunset that they came in sight of the strange -waters and scene of Reelfoot Lake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I will not go there,” said Tatanka, when, -at last, the Lake of the Sunken Lands spread -out before them. “It is a spook lake, a lake -of bad spirits. We must not camp on it. -My brother, you told me that a bad spirit -shook the earth and trampled down the farms -to make the lake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look, the water is very black and very -many dead trees grow out of it.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Tatanka,” exclaimed Barker, “you are -forgetting what the missionaries have taught -you. Haven’t they told you many times that -there are no spook lakes, no bad medicine -lakes? Those dead trees didn’t grow dead. -They died, when the water rose around them. -There are no bad spirits in the earth. The -earth just shook and sank. You have been -a scout for the white soldiers, and you have -to forget your Dakotah superstitions.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka was silent a while, and stopped -paddling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The missionaries,” he admitted, “are -our friends and I believe they tell us the -truth. They do not want our land and they -do not cheat us as some of the traders do. -They say our beliefs in spook lakes and bad -medicine are superstition, but it is hard to -forget our beliefs, because our fathers have -taught them to us for many generations.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“My father once took me along on a buffalo -hunt far west and he showed me a spook -lake. The hunters camped on the shore of -the lake, but none of them would have been -brave enough to paddle a canoe on its waters. -Some of them would not even gather the dead -wood on its shore, but my father told us boys -to gather the wood and we did. Our women -used the wood to smoke and dry the buffalo -meat, and we boys watched for the bad spirits -to fly out of the wood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I did not see the spirits, but some of the -boys told me that they heard the spirits whistle -and howl and rise with the smoke after the -sun had gone down, and they said that Katinka, -the medicine man, saw them, too.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where is that spook lake?” the boys -asked, also forgetting to paddle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That spook lake,” Tatanka continued, -“lies far west on the plains, which the white -men call Dakotah. No trees grow on the -plains, but trees and bushes grow on the lake -shore and many dead trees and stumps grow -in the water. Our people call it the Lake of -the Stumps. The water was so bitter that -we could not drink it, but our horses -drank it.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bill and Tim dipped a handful of the brown -water from Reelfoot Lake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It isn’t bitter,” both exclaimed at once. -“This isn’t a spook lake.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Did your horses die, after they drank -out of Stump Lake?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, they liked the water.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Then it wasn’t a haunted lake,” both of -them argued.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“But why did the trees die?” Tatanka objected.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“May be the outlet became choked and the -trees were drowned,” Barker explained. -“You know that white trappers always catch -plenty of mink and muskrats and find good -fish in the lakes which the Indians say are -haunted.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka began to paddle again, but looked -as if he were not convinced but had given up -arguing against all three of his friends.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The scene spread out before them looked -indeed weird and almost forbidding. A dead -forest of tall straight cypress spires arose -like tree specters from the dark waters of the -lake. The gray trunks had long ago been -stripped of bark and branches; a few bald -eagles and fish-hawks sailed in spirals over -the dead pointed poles and uttered a shrill, -piercing cry at the intruders of their solitude.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It is a forest of ghost trees,” Tatanka -murmured. “We should not stay here.”</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure illustration margin" style="width: 81%" id="figure-59"> -<img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="“It is a forest of ghost trees,” Tatanka murmured." src="images/illus-190.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">“It is a forest of ghost trees,” Tatanka murmured.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Ghost trees nothing,” the old trapper -exploded impatiently. “Those trees were -drowned forty years ago. The bark and -branches have rotted away. It is a wonder -the trees are still standing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Tatanka, you’re a hopeless old heathen. -If you don’t quit scaring the boys with your -spook lakes and ghost trees, I’m going to -send you home on a gunboat, and I’ll hire a -coal-black negro to help us paddle the canoe. -Here, fill your red calumet pipe and don’t be -afraid of harmless dead trees.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A row of turtles plunged into the water -from a log, a pair of ducks arose out of some -rushes and a large fish jumped out of the -water and fell back with a loud splash. Then -the channel wound about amongst white -water-lilies and patches of the large, beautiful -wild lotus or wankapin lilies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka had lit his pipe and looked about -him in silence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“There,” Barker encouraged him. -“Doesn’t that look like a Minnesota lake? -Ducks and turtles and fish and acres of water-lilies. -Just like the marshes on your wonderful -Minnesota, only the lotus doesn’t grow -there.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Yes it does,” Tatanka claimed. “My -mother and I gathered the big seeds on a -lake below the mouth of the Minnesota and -in a few other places where wankapin grows -in our country.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Well, at last you are convinced that we -are not on a bewitched lake. But now it is -high time we look for a camping-place.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Bill, steer straight for shore. We’ll -make a good soft bed in that cane-brake.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There are two kinds of cane growing in the -South, the small and the large. The small -cane, in which the travelers were camping -now, grows about a dozen feet high and forms -vast thickets on waste lands as far north as -Kentucky. These cane-brakes were the home -of deer and bear and other wild animals, but -large areas have now been made into cotton-fields.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The big cane grows only on wet lands near -the rivers from the White River southward. -It reaches a height of thirty feet. At the -age of about thirty or forty years, the big -cane flowers and produces an abundance of -rich nourishing grains for stock and game. -After flowering, the old canes die and new -plants spring up from the seed. The young -shoots are known as mutton cane, because -deer and bear and stock grow fat on them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“This cane,” said Tatanka, after they had -eaten their supper, “is like the pipe-stem -reeds of the Sioux Country. The Indian -boys called them spear-grass, and we threw -the reeds at each other when we played -war.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The campers remained a week on Reelfoot -Lake, and they still found much evidence of -the great earthquake half a century before.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The great cracks in the earth, formed at -that time, could still be seen in many places. -Some of the fissures were filled with sand, -which had come up from below; in others, -young trees had grown up, while many of the -old trees, still alive, were leaning over the -partly filled fissures.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a strange lake indeed on which the -travelers found themselves. Most of the -lake, about ten miles long and two miles wide, -was covered with water-lilies, lotus, and many -other kinds of water plants. Along the margin -and on half a dozen low islands grew the -sombre cypress, its odd, fantastic, knee-like -roots projecting above the water. On the -higher lands also, many trees not growing -on the upper river had appeared. Sycamores, -or buttonwood, mulberry, gum-trees, -and catalpas.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The campers met an old man, who had -lived near Reelfoot all his life and who told -many stories of the great earthquake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I was born the year of the earthquake,” -the old man related, “and my father told me -many stories about it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The first shock came a little after midnight -on December 16th. My father and two -other men were on the river at the time. -They were going to New Madrid and were -going to start very early, so they could return -the same day. Their boat was tied -near a very big sycamore. All at once they -heard a great thundering underground. The -big tree began to sway like the tow-head -willows in the storm. Then the whole bank -broke loose and crashed into the river. First -the water in the river seemed to rise like a -big wall, the next moment it rushed down -stream with a roaring current.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“My father was thrown out of the boat -and would have drowned if he had not gotten -hold of the branches of the big sycamore. -How he did it, he did not remember. He -yelled for help, and after a long time the -men came back with the boat and took him off.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They were all so scared they couldn’t -talk; they thought the world was coming to -an end.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They hurried to the highest land they -could find to spend the night, but none of -them expected to see the sun rise. Again and -again the earth rolled and shook as if it were -a blanket. Big trees crashed and snapped -like bean-poles, and whole acres of forest -crashed into the river. The air smelled of -burning sulphur, or some such gases as come -out of a sulphur spring.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Father and the two men crept into a -thicket of small brush because they were -afraid to stay in the big timber, and father -always claimed that in a few minutes it grew -as dark as if they had been sitting in a cellar -at night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Every little while, a dozen times or more, -they felt the earth shaking and heard the -deep rambling underground and the roaring -and rushing of the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“When daylight came they hurried home -and when they found that father’s family had -not been injured they decided to go on to -New Madrid, thinking that they might be of -some help to sufferers or to shipwrecked -boatmen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They hardly recognized the river. It -was full of landslides, trees, and all kinds of -debris, and one good-sized island and its tow-head -had entirely disappeared. They found -the town of New Madrid in ruins. The land -had sunk ten feet or more. About thirty -boats in the harbor had been wrecked or carried -down stream.. One large barge loaded -with five hundred barrels of flour was split -from stern to bow and left high and dry on -the bank.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The people had all fled and were camping -on high land away from the river.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The old man paused as if for breath.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Did the people ever go back?” asked Tim.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, they didn’t. The fact is they -couldn’t. The river washed the whole town -away. The present town is built a little -farther up the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The whole country, my father said, was -changed by the earthquake. Many good -farms sank and many others were covered -with sand. Where the lake is now, Bayou de -Chien and Reelfoot Creek used to run -through a dense forest of cypress trees. You -can follow their channels in your bark boat, -because there are no stumps or dead trees in -the old channels.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Some of our neighbors were so frightened -that they moved away. Father was also going -to leave. He was going into Arkansas, -but mother would not move. She said she -had traveled in an ox-wagon from Pennsylvania -to Indiana and from Indiana to Tennessee -and that was enough. If the end of -the world was coming, Arkansas wouldn’t -last any longer than Tennessee.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus ran the story of the old farmer of -Reelfoot Lake. He spoke in a quaint Southern -dialect, in which Bill and Tim were quite -at home, but which compelled Barker to pay -very close attention, while Tatanka lost most -of the tale.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The story of the old pioneer has been corroborated -by the testimony of many reliable -men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the time of this great catastrophe, Captain -Nicholas Roosevelt was taking the pioneer -steamer </span><em class="italics">New Orleans</em><span> from Pittsburgh -to New Orleans. The steamer was on the -Ohio when the earthquake occurred, but when -the boat reached the Mississippi, the pilot -became much alarmed and said he was lost. -The shores had changed and large islands -had disappeared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The naturalist, Audubon, felt the earthquake -in Kentucky and wrote an account of -it in his journal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The shocks were most severe over a distance -of about one hundred miles from Cairo -to Memphis and over a width of about fifty -miles. They were felt at St. Louis and New -Orleans, Detroit, Washington, and Boston. -They were undoubtedly felt as far up the -great river as St. Paul and Minneapolis, but -that region was at the time still an unsettled -Indian country.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Although the earthquake was one of the -most severe in the United States, few lives -were lost. The country around New Madrid -was at that time thinly settled and most of -the houses were small and built of wood. It -is, however, not surprising that many settlers -left the country, for the shocks continued -from time to time until the early part -of May, 1812.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xixpast-island-number-ten"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id27"><span>CHAPTER XIX—PAST ISLAND NUMBER TEN</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Below Cairo the mighty river becomes still -mightier and winds with countless curves -and bends this way and that way through -rich lowlands from ten to forty miles wide. -On a stretch of three hundred and fifty miles, -twice as far by river, only three large cities, -Cairo, Memphis and Vicksburg, offer large -and convenient ports. Very often the great -river does not touch the high land for a hundred -miles or more, but glides along through -endless marshes and through forests of oak, -elm, sycamore, walnut, gum, cypress, and -other Southern trees, while numberless bayous, -tributaries, and oxbow lakes give variety -to the vast flood-plain of swamp and forest. -Where the land is high or protected by dikes, -rich plantations have been cleared, but many -hundreds of square miles are subject to overflow -and remain wild to this day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the travelers reached Hickman again -they met once more their friend, Dick Banks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We just ran up to Cairo,” he told them. -“Now we are going south to bring up a load -of wounded soldiers. Old Grant is fighting -the Johnnies as hard as he knows how. The -Johnnies say he can’t take Vicksburg, but I -reckon he will. He’s got them in a trap and -he’ll starve them out, if he can’t drive them -out.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Have you seen Hicks again?” Barker -asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Never a hair of him, Sam. I reckon he’s -gone down to Haynes Bluff or some place -near Vicksburg, where he expects you-uns -will show up. The scoundrel never got a -smell of your presence in this river burg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“When you pass Island No. 10, look out -for sunken boats. The Southerners had a -big fort there. And you had better go past -New Madrid after dark. The town is full of -soldiers and the river full of boats. The -commander is a pretty cranky sort. He -might ask you for papers and if you haven’t -got them, he might put you in the pen. You -know you’re a suspicious looking outfit with -your Indian and birch-bark dugout.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Great Heavens, Dick, do you call that a -dugout!” exclaimed Barker. “It’s a canoe. -Haven’t you ever seen one before! No dugout -for me. We can portage this ship wherever -we wish to go.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You needn’t worry about portages, Sam. -The river is high all the way to Vicksburg. -Just see you don’t get lost in those endless -swamps and forests.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You don’t have to go by way of Island -No. 10. You can go by way of Bissell’s -Channel and Wilson’s Bayou, and cut off -about six miles. The channel may be dry -now, but you say you can carry that bark -tub of your’n.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Dick,” Barker replied, laughing, “if you -ever again call our canoe a dugout or a tub, -I’ll swat you one. See if I don’t!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Tatanka, and I made it ourselves and it is -the best and safest birch-bark afloat on all -this river.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“May be she is pretty steady,” Banks took -up his banter again, “but she is not much of -a snagboat, and a mighty poor ram. Better -let me stow you all away on the </span><em class="italics">Grey Hawk</em><span> -and take you safely down to Haynes Bluff, -that is as far as we are going. From there -you can walk to Vicksburg, if the Boys in -Blue will let you, but I know they won’t.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, Dick, thank you for your kind offer. -The boys want to see Island No. 10, and -I want to see it myself, but we may meet you -at New Madrid.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“All right, Sam. If you are not afraid to -show your outfit at New Madrid. We’ll be -there day after to-morrow.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka, although he saw and heard everything -about the earthquake and the sunken -lands with close attention, was happy when -Barker had said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Let’s get back to Hickman and the Old -Mississippi. I reckon Hicks has lost our -trail by this time, if he really ever found it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Boys,” he continued, “I must tell you -something now. That Cousin Hicks of yours -is a bad case. There may be a fight if we -ever run across him. If there is, you keep -out of it. Tatanka and I will handle him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Never mind,” he cut the boys short when -they wanted to know more, “I tell you he is a -bad egg. Now you know enough. I ran -across him long ago in Indiana.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“He is a skunk,” Tatanka grunted, with -an angry face and with eyes flashing. “If -we catch him, we shall throw him into the -river like a worthless cur.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I am glad we shall go away,” he continued. -“I never was afraid to fight our -enemies, the Chippewas, but I am afraid of -spook lakes, of earthquakes, and of big guns. -All Indians are afraid of them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Mississippi River contains a very -large number of islands. Below the larger -islands often lie long low bars grown over -with small willows, and these brush-covered -bars are known as tow-heads.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Between Cairo and New Orleans, the Mississippi -River Commission has numbered -about one hundred and thirty islands, while -many large ones have names. From time to -time old islands disappear and new ones are -made, when the river washes out a short cut -across a bend.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The travelers found Bissell’s Channel -about half-way between Island No. 8 and -Island No. 9, as Captain Banks had told them. -But it was not a channel at all; as the boys -had expected. It was a road of stumps about -two miles long, and the boys wondered how it -was made and what it was for.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The four travelers arrived on Island No. -10 in good time, for the distance was only -twenty-five miles down stream from Hickman.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They made their camp inside the deserted -Confederate works and they looked with awe -upon the big portholes in the logs through -which the cannons had swept the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“How did the Union soldiers take the -island!” the boys asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I don’t know,” Barker told them. “I -think two of their gunboats ran past the guns -of the island on a very dark night. You had -better ask Captain Banks about it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I reckon we’ll go to Vicksburg on the -</span><em class="italics">Grey Hawk</em><span>. It will take us all summer to -paddle the five hundred miles the way the -river runs. You see, if we get there after -Vicksburg falls, your people may not be there -any more and we might not be able to find -them. So I think we had better go with -Captain Banks.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next morning early they carried their -canoe out from under the big sycamore and -cottonwoods on Island No. 10 and started -north on a big bend of the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At noon they reached New Madrid, at that -time a lively, hustling town, as Captain Banks -had told them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Grey Hawk</em><span> had already arrived and -as Captain Banks vouched for his four -friends, the commander was willing to let -them go along to Vicksburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After supper, as they all sat on deck chatting -with the captain, the lads begged the old -river captain to tell them about Bissell’s -Channel and about the fight at Island No. 10.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That channel,” the captain began, “was -cut by the Engineer Regiment of the West, -and it was a great piece of work. It was -done more than a year ago in March and -April, 1862.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You see, the Confederates held a strong -fort with big guns on Island No. 10, and they -had also planted guns on the left bank of the -river above and below New Madrid, but we -held New Madrid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Colonel Bissell’s men built large rafts for -men to work on, for the water was very high -at the time. At first they cut the trees about -eight feet above the water. Then they -rigged a frame and a long saw to the stump -and four men, two at each end, pulled the -saw and cut the stump about four feet and a -half under water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The small trees were easy, but we had -an awful time with some of the big elms that -grow a kind of braces near the ground. On -some of those we worked two hours, but Captain -Tweedale, who was saw-boss, always figured -out what was wrong when the saws began -to pinch.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What did you want the channel for!” -asked Bill, not a little puzzled by the whole -strange plan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Well, General Pope,” the captain explained, -“wanted gunboats and transports to -attack Island No. 10 and cut off the Confederates -below the island, but Commander -Foote of the river fleet did not think that his -boats could run the island. So Colonel Bissell -was ordered to dig a canal above the -island and thus cut off the bend of Island -No. 10 on which you came. If that could be -done we could place guns, boats, and men and -transports above and below Island No. 10, -and the Confederates would have to get out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We did some great work. We had four -steamboats, six coal-barges and four cannons. -You see, we were ready to fight as well as -work. Besides the Engineer Regiment, we -had about 600 fighting men ready for battle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“But things moved faster than we expected. -On the night of April 4th Commander -Henry Walke of the </span><em class="italics">Carondelet</em><span> ran -the guns of Island No. 10.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It was a very dark night and a storm was -passing over the river. The </span><em class="italics">Carondelet</em><span> had -been protected in vulnerable parts with coils -of hawsers and chains, and a coal barge, -loaded with hay, had been lashed to its port -side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The pipes for the exhaust steam had been -led into the wheel-house at the stern, so the -puffing of the steam could not be heard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“About ten o’clock, Commander Walke -gave the order to cast off. By the time the -</span><em class="italics">Carondelet</em><span> came opposite the Confederate -shore batteries, the flashes of lightning were -so vivid that the boat was discovered and the -roar of the batteries and the crack and -scream of the balls soon mixed with the roar -of thunder. But during the pitch-dark moments, -between flashes of lightning and in the -rain, the Confederate gunners had not time -and could not see to aim their guns. They -had to fire almost at random.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“So close ran the </span><em class="italics">Carondelet</em><span> to the island -that the men on board could hear an officer -shout, ‘Elevate your guns.’</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Away the </span><em class="italics">Carondelet</em><span> steamed down the -black river. No lights on board, except the -roaring fire under her boilers, which twice -set the soot in her smokestack on fire. She -raced past the shore batteries, past the formidable -island batteries, past the floating -battery below the island. Dozens of cannon-balls -were fired at her. One struck the coal-barge -and one was found in a bale of hay.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“About midnight, Commander Walke arrived -at New Madrid with every man on -board safe. What hundreds of men had believed -impossible, he and his volunteers had -done.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“On the 7th of April, Commander Thompson, -of the </span><em class="italics">Pittsburgh</em><span>, also ran the island in -safety.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“About the same time we finished our -channel and ran boats through it to New Madrid.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“But, Captain Banks,” the lads asked eagerly, -“what happened to the men on Island -No. 10?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Well, you see,” the captain explained, -“they were cut off and had to surrender. -Only a few of them got away in dugouts and -boats through the swamps on the Tennessee -shore.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Why didn’t they all march away into -Tennessee!” Tim asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Boys, they couldn’t,” Barker explained -to them. “Only a little way east of Island -No. 10 lies Reelfoot Lake, so they couldn’t -march away in that direction. They held -the island just as long as they could.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Time to go to bed for you lads,” the captain -took the word again. “I have told you -all I know about Bissell’s Channel and the -fight at Island No. 10.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads were soon fast asleep in their -cabin, dreaming of Spook Lake, of monster -battle-ships, and of their home in Vicksburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The men continued talking for some time, -Captain Banks telling his friends about the -dramatic river battle of Memphis on June -6, 1862.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Captain, I want to ask you one thing,” -Barker said. “Why can’t the Union gun-boats -do any good fighting down-stream, why -do they have to do all their heavy fighting -headed up-stream?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Because,” explained the captain -promptly, “they are just a pick-up lot of -boats, all, I think, stern-wheelers. Only their -bow is protected with plates and railroad-iron. -Their engines are weak, and if -maneuvered down-stream they will drag their -anchors in the muddy bottom and are hard -to control. They are real fighting-ships only -when they point their noses up-stream.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When at last Barker invited Tatanka into -a cabin, the Indian smiled. “No,” he said, -“Indian cannot sleep in a box. I sleep in my -blankets outside, with plenty of air around -me.”</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxon-to-vicksburg"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id28"><span>CHAPTER XX—ON TO VICKSBURG</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The steamer </span><em class="italics">Grey Hawk</em><span> cast off from the -New Madrid landing at dawn of day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The years just preceding the Civil War -and the years of the war were the great days -of steamboating on the Mississippi and its -tributaries.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Hundreds of boats, large and small, ran on -the main stream, on the Ohio, the Missouri, -the Illinois, the Minnesota and other rivers of -the great Mississippi basin. The average -life time of a Mississippi steamer was only -five years, because countless snags, ice, fires, -and other dangers were the bad medicine to -navigation on all the streams. None of them -were improved, none had any system of lights -or signs; the pilots had to know the rivers, -whose currents and sandbars and snags were -constantly shifting. But the business was -so profitable that the trips of one season often -paid for the boat. Settlers were rushing into -the western country and they and all their -goods went by steamboat, for no railroads -had yet crossed the Mississippi. On the turbulent -Missouri the steamers ran to the mouth -of the Yellowstone and beyond, taking up -settlers, soldiers, general freight and goods -for the Indian trade, and bringing back loads -of buffalo-skins and other fur from the Rocky -Mountain country. On the Minnesota small -steamers ran two hundred miles beyond St. -Paul into the newly opened Sioux country -to market the first wheat of the new settlers. -A few small boats plied on the upper Mississippi -above St. Paul and Minneapolis, where -the lumber industry and flour-mills were just -developing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Civil War proved a fatal blow to river -traffic. Both the Federal and the Confederate -government commandeered a large number -of vessels for war purposes, and many of -those were wrecked and sunk or burnt in battle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Immediately after the war, railroads began -to parallel the Mississippi and its navigable -tributaries. The steamboat traffic -lingered for a number of years, but it never -again attained its former glory, and soon -sank into its present insignificance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Moreover, the great movement of traffic in -North America is east and west, while the -trend of our great navigable river system is -north and south.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker and Tatanka, as well as the boys, -found life on a Mississippi steamer very attractive.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The broad main channel and bayous, -sloughs and oxbow lakes; the high bluffs and -the lowland forests, had all in turn lured -them on to much hard traveling and many interesting -side-trips. But just now they all -felt that they had had enough of traveling by -birch-bark, enough of camping wherever a -good place invited them, and enough of eating -whatever they could secure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Below Cairo the low lands widen. There -are no distinct hills or bluffs on the west side, -while the Chickasaw Bluffs which stretch -from Cairo to Memphis are in places ten -miles from the river.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A long time ago the Gulf of Mexico extended -probably as far north as Cairo, and -the great flood-plain from Cairo to the Gulf -is land, which was made by the Mississippi. -From the Alleghenies, from the Rocky Mountains, -from the Black Hills, the Ozarks, and -the prairies of Minnesota, the streams are -ever bringing down fine, fertile soil into the -Mississippi, which spreads it at times of high -water over fields, forests, and swamps and -carries some of it into the gulf. So great is -the amount of fine soil carried by the great -river that every year it would make a vast -block a square mile in area and four hundred -feet high.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of all the travelers on the </span><em class="italics">Grey Hawk</em><span>, Tatanka -took the keenest interest in everything -around him; for he had, before this trip, never -seen the Mississippi farther south than La -Crosse in Wisconsin. “Why do the white -people need so many ships?” he wondered. -“What will they do with all the big guns they -have, and where are all the soldiers going to -fight!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“My friend,” Barker told him, “wait till -we reach Vicksburg. There you will see -soldiers and guns.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where do all the black people live?” he -asked. “Do they live in the woods and come -out to work in the fields of cotton that we -have seen?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“If our young men could have seen all the -soldiers and ships and guns and towns of the -white people, they never would have made -war against them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The second day on the boat was a Sunday -and the pastry-cook did his best to furnish a -wonderful collection of cakes, pies, and jellies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker and the boys could not help being -amused at the way Tatanka looked furtively -at the sumptuous Sunday dinner. The variously -colored jellies served in tall glasses, especially -excited his-curiosity and suspicion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Is it medicine or is it to eat?” he whispered -to Barker.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It’s all to be eaten,” Barker informed -him. “Don’t think again of bad medicine on -this boat.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“If the Sioux chiefs were here,” Tatanka -remarked with a smile, “they would have to -carry away many glasses of food, for it is -the custom of the Indians to take away with -them whatever they cannot eat at a feast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Captain Banks must be very rich to have -so many dishes on his ship.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The pilot of the </span><em class="italics">Grey Hawk</em><span> did not know -the river well enough to run after dark, so -the passengers saw the whole distance by -daylight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At night a group of colored deck-hands appeared -as minstrels for the entertainment of -the passengers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The black men have big white teeth and -big white eyes, and they can sing and dance,” -Tatanka remarked, “but they couldn’t give -the Sioux war-whoop.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About the 20th of June the steamer tied up -at Haynes Bluff on the Yazoo River.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka, who had wondered at the soldiers -and ships at New Madrid, was here simply -bewildered. Ships, teams, mule-teams, ox-teams, -horse-teams, and soldiers and more -soldiers everywhere; infantry, cavalry, and -terrible artillery. Tatanka, with the -observant eyes of an Indian scout, saw everything, -but hardly spoke a word all day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Grant had by this time about 70,000 men, -an army about ten times as large as the -whole Sioux nation. From Haynes Bluff -southward his lines were stretched out and -entrenched over a distance of fifteen miles.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Over hills, through ravines, through woods -and cane-brakes ran the sheer endless line of -rifle-pits, trenches, parapets, and batteries. -And in front of the Union works, rose in grim -defiance the lines and pits and batteries of -the Confederates. The lines of the two armies -ran about three miles east of Vicksburg -over wooded hills which rise about two hundred -feet above the river. For one month -since the 19th of May the Confederate army -under General John C. Pemberton and the -city of Vicksburg had been besieged, by the -Union army, while the Union fleets held the -river above and below the city.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>General Pemberton, now in command at -Vicksburg, was the same man, who two years -ago had taken his battery from Fort Ridgely -to La Crosse on the </span><em class="italics">Fanny Harris</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Grant had at first attempted to take the -city by assault, but had found that the Confederates -were so strongly entrenched and -defended their lines so stubbornly that the -Northern army had to settle down to a regular -siege with the object of starving their opponents -into surrender.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Many Northern people came to visit their -friends in Grant’s army. They brought -with them turkeys and chickens and ducks -as gifts to the Boys in Blue, but for once the -soldiers did not appreciate these delicacies. -While they were maneuvering and fighting to -get into their present position on the hills in -the rear of Vicksburg, Grant had boldly cut -loose from his base of supplies. Foraging -parties had scoured the plantations for anything -they could find, and the army had -largely existed on poultry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Give us bacon and bread!” was now the -cry. “We are sick of anything that crows -or quacks or gobbles; we are sick of all meat -with wings. Give us bacon and bread!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Once while Grant was riding along the -lines, a soldier recognizing him called in a -low voice, “Hardtack.” In a moment the -cry ran along the whole line, “Hardtack! -Hardtack!” Grant assured the men that a -road had been built for the distribution of -regular commissary supplies such as bread, -hardtack, coffee, sugar, bacon, and salt meat. -The men at once gave a ringing cheer, and -on the next day full rations were issued to -the whole army.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The four travelers from the North had -plenty of opportunity to watch the operations -of a great siege, and Barker met several men -whom he had known in Indiana and Minnesota.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was little fighting now, but much digging -of pits and trenches and some mining -and counter-mining.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We are just camping here,” an old acquaintance -told Barker, “and the digging is -good. No rocks in these hills as in the hills -of New England and New York.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“If the Johnnies weren’t camping so -blasted close to us, it would be a fine life. -As it is, the man who shows his head above -the parapets is done for. The sharpshooters -get him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I just got through digging and sitting in -a pit twenty-four hours.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Three men from our company were detailed -to dig an advance rifle-pit. We started -after dark with picks and shovels. Two men -with picks scratched up the dirt, the third -man threw it out. We made no noise; a -mole couldn’t have worked more silently. -Heavens, how we scratched and dug! By -daylight, our pit was deep enough to shelter -us. It had to be or we wouldn’t have come -back. But it was not deep enough for us to -stand up. All day we sat and lay in that hole. -At noon the sun almost roasted us brown, -although we crouched against the shaded -wall.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“In the afternoon it began to rain and -some of our dirt washed back into the pit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“‘Mike,’ I said to my Irish fellow-digger, -‘I guess we’ll have to swim or surrender.’</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“‘By me faith,’ Mike replied, ‘I’ll wait -till the water runs over me gun-muzzle. We -can’t surrender because our shirts are too -dirty for white flags.’</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We agreed that Mike was right, and sitting -in the sticky mud, we ate the rest of our -bread and bacon before the rain could spoil -it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“After the rain was over, some sharpshooters -began to practice on our pit. They -couldn’t hit us, and we were right glad that -they gave us something to think and talk -about.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“After dark three other men relieved us -and we had a chance to stretch our bones.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What did these men have to do?” the -boys wanted to know.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Deepen the pit,” the soldier told them, -“and widen it to right and left in the direction -of two other rifle-pits. You see in that -way we push our lines closer and closer to -the enemy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“In many places we are so close now that -the men can talk to each other.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Quite often the Union soldiers who were -short of tobacco would barter bacon or bread -for tobacco, because the Confederates at this -time were beginning to feel the shortage of -food.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All through the Civil War the men in both -armies showed a fine spirit of chivalry to the -enemy, whenever duty and the stern law of -war would permit acts of courtesy and kindness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At one time in the Vicksburg siege a dead -mule between the lines became unbearably -offensive to the Confederates.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Heh, Yanks!” a soldier shouted, “we’ve -got to bury that mule. He’s smelling us -out.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“All right,” the Yankee boys replied. -“We smelled him yesterday. Send out three -men, and we’ll send three. Say, Johnnies, -better stick up a white rag, when you’re coming -out, so our boys don’t make a mistake!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The mule was covered with dirt. The -The soldiers exchanged various little articles -and swapped some yarns and jokes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Yanks, when are you coming to town?” -the Southerners asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We’ll be there on the Fourth. By that -time your grub will be gone.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Like thunder you will,” the Boys in Grey -returned the banter. “Why, men, we’ve got -enough grub to last till winter. If you Yanks -stick around long enough, we’ll invite you to -a Christmas pudding.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Many thanks,” the Northerners came -back; “you can’t fool us on mule-meat and -river-soup. We’ll bring our own rations -when we come in.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A moment later the men had returned to -their lines.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look out for your heads,” the call rang -out. “We’re going to shoot.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The men who had just enjoyed a friendly -visit, were again facing each other in the -life-and-death struggle for the control of the -Mississippi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka and the boys were just having -the time of their lives with all the new and -exciting things they heard and saw. Barker -was as much interested, but he kept his eyes -open for the one enemy he must either elude -or defeat. He felt sure that if Hicks were -still alive he was not far from Haynes Bluff -and the Union lines.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxiwherein-old-enemies-meet"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id29"><span>CHAPTER XXI—WHEREIN OLD ENEMIES MEET</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Barker, through the influence of Captain -Banks, had found quarters for his party in a -vacant corner of an old warehouse. Other -rooms were not procurable and in these secluded -quarters, he felt safe from annoying -and curious visitors, and from various camp-followers -always found in the rear of an -army.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was most anxious to get the boys into -Vicksburg and start for home with Tatanka, -who had so loyally shared all the dangers -and hardships of the long journey.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But how to get into Vicksburg was a puzzle. -Securing a pass seemed out of the question -and any other way that he could think -of looked either impossible or extremely dangerous, -because sentinels and patrols of both -Grant’s and Pemberton’s armies watched the -river day and night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He feared that in the confusion and excitement -of surrender, even if it did come soon, -he might fail to find the parents of his boys. -Between this anxiety and the possibility of -again meeting Hicks, he lay awake, thinking -a good part of the night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next forenoon the four men from the -North accompanied a train of wagons with -rations and ammunitions for the soldiers east -of Vicksburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys were again in high spirits. They -felt sure that they would soon be at home, -and there were so many new things to be seen -that they had no time to feel sad. The horrors -of war were but little visible, because -there had been no active fighting for a month.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker, however, walked along in thoughtful -silence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I must get the lads into town and I must -kill or capture Hicks, if we set eyes on him -again,” were the thoughts ever in his mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About the middle of the forenoon the long -line of wagons halted on account of some obstruction -ahead. Barker was chatting pleasantly -with a number of teamsters, “mule-skinners,” -as the soldiers called them. He -had told them that he wanted to get the lads -into Vicksburg and he had told them about -the man, who for some reason, was bound to -keep the boys in the North even at the risk of -having them killed by the Sioux. The men -became much interested, for even the roughest -of men are quickly stirred in their sympathy -by injustice and cowardly crime.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three horsemen came slowly along the side -of the road. They stopped as they reached -the group of teamsters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The foremost of them dismounted, walked -slowly up to Barker, reached out his hand and -said with suppressed excitement: “Hello, -Barker, I’m glad to see you.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Hello, Hicks,” replied the trapper, returning -the salute without offering his hand. -“I can’t say that I’m glad to see you.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where are the boys?” asked Hicks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“My boys are back a way,” Barker spoke -firmly, the color rising in his cheeks and his -gray eyes flashing, “and you and yours aren’t -going to touch them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Hicks turned white and made a movement -as if to draw a pistol.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Without a word from Barker three husky -men sprang upon him and several pistols covered -the other two men, who were ordered -to dismount.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Search him!” said Barker. “He is the -man. I want to know why he wants possession -of the boys.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Hicks tried to tell the lies about kidnapped -nephews and stolen horses, but the teamsters -shook him into silence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Close up,” one of the men ordered. -“You’re too late; we know all about you.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A soiled piece of paper was found on Hicks.</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>“The bearer of this,” it read, “is to receive -$10,000 if no heirs of Col. Henry P. Deming -are found before January first, 1864.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“John C. Chesterton.”</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>“What does it mean?” demanded Barker.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I don’t know,” protested Hicks. “I -didn’t know I had the rag and don’t know -where it came from.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“All right!” said the spokesman of the -teamsters. “Boys, tie him to that gum-tree.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Hicks, you have just five minutes to explain -that paper and say anything else you -may want to say.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Take a look at your pistols, boys!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Hicks began to tremble.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Let me go,” he groaned, “and I’ll tell the -truth.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Tell the truth!” shouted the men, “and -we’ll see.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Colonel Deming,” Hicks began, “is the -boys’ grandfather. Their mother married -against his wishes. He disinherited her, and -made a will that Chesterton, a distant relative, -should fall heir to the Deming plantation, -which is very valuable, if no children of his -daughter were found before January 1st, -1864.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Chesterton learned about the two lads -and hired me to keep the two boys out of -sight. I didn’t mean to harm them.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Like blazes you didn’t!” cried the spokesman. -“You deserted them when the Indians -broke out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Boys, get a rope; the fellow is too rank -rotten for our bullets!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An officer with a patrol came along and inquired -what all the row was about, and the -teamsters told him the story, which was corroborated -by Barker.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I don’t want him hanged,” Barker added, -“but I don’t want to see his face again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Hicks,” he spoke calmly, turning to the -prisoner, “I’ll shoot you on sight, if you ever -cross my trail again!”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The officer thought a minute.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Let him go, men,” he decided. “Don’t -soil your hands on him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Here,” he ordered two soldiers, “take -him out of our lines to that open field. He is -to trot straight for the timber east. If he -stops running, you shoot him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Hicks, if you ever show your face inside -our lines again, we’ll find a tree for you -pretty quick. March!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“My regiment can make good use of these -three horses.”</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure illustration margin" style="width: 83%" id="figure-60"> -<img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="“Take him out of our lines to that open field.”" src="images/illus-230.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">“Take him out of our lines to that open field.”</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>“What about these two fellows? Can we -hang them? We’ve got the rope all ready.” -The men asked their questions half in earnest -and half in grim jest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They were partners of Judas Hicks.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The two prisoners protested their innocence, -claiming that they had believed the -story of Hicks about kidnapped nephews and -stolen horses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Give us a chance to go back north or put -us to work here. We’re innocent of any -crime.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That sounds good,” said the officer, “the -transport </span><em class="italics">Northern Star</em><span> leaves for St. Louis -to-night or to-morrow. She is short of men. -Restler and Stone, take these men back to -Haynes Bluff and turn them over to the captain -of the </span><em class="italics">Northern Star</em><span>. Tell the captain -he will furnish me a good dinner when he returns -from St. Louis.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the officer and his patrol had left, -Barker turned to the group of teamsters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Men,” he said, with a choking voice, “you -have done me a great service for which I -can never repay you, but if you ever come -north to Minnesota, I’ll show you the finest -land the Lord put down on this earth.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Will it grow cotton and sweet potatoes?” -drawled one of the men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, it won’t do that, but it will grow -everything else. Corn and wheat, fish and -game, and great straight pines.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The teams of wagons ahead began to move. -The drivers cracked their whips and called: -“Good-bye, old man. You’ll never see Hicks -again. We’ll come north after we get -through at Vicksburg.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker went back and soon found Tatanka -and the boys.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The three were much stirred by the news -about Hicks and his two friends.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka did not try to conceal his disapproval -of the escape of Hicks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The mule-drivers were right,” he -growled. “Hicks was all bad and should -hang. I would have killed him and scalped -him, too.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, you red heathen,” Barker laughed at -him, “you wouldn’t, you are not in the country -of murderous Little Crow. You are in -the lines of Christian soldiers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You had better be careful with your big -talk or the soldiers will put you in the guardhouse.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I would be glad to live in the guardhouse, -if I could first scalp Hicks.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You wouldn’t live in it very long. They -would take you out and shoot you.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They could,” Tatanka persisted angrily, -“if I had killed Hicks. A Sioux is not afraid -of death.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You black-souled Indian,” Barker chided -him good-naturedly. “I’m glad you didn’t -see him. Now, we’ll all walk back to town. -It’ll be dinner-time when we get there. Tatanka, -you’ll feel less revengeful after you -have filled your ribs with pumpkin-pie and -bacon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“After dinner you can scout for Hicks and -if you find him, you may scalp him, but if he -keeps going the way he went across that field, -he’ll be in Alabama to-night.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the afternoon the boys took a swim in -the river and introduced Tatanka to the ways -and manners of a dugout. The lads had -often traveled in a dugout before they went -to Minnesota, and they soon convinced Tatanka -that a log canoe was as safe as a birch -canoe. In fact they claimed it was much -safer, “because,” they said, “you can ride on -either side of it. You don’t have to keep -it right side up.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker also went down to the Yazoo River -and took his first lessons in handling a dugout, -but he soon returned to town to see if he -couldn’t find some way of getting into Vicksburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An old fisherman to whom Barker broached -the subject, carefully, gave him this advice:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Stranger,” he said, “there be a fellow in -the Union army somewhere. His name is U. S. Grant. -Ye may have heard of him. They -say he is much set on getting into that town. -May be if ye and he put your heads together -ye can find a way to get in.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look here, my friend,” Barker replied, -somewhat angered, “I have a very good reason -for wanting to get into Vicksburg.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I reckon ye have that,” the old fisherman -replied, testily. “I reckon ye are a Confederate -spy or a Federal spy. If ye are, ye’ll -have to find your own way into town. Ye -cant get me into trouble. Two of my sons -are in General Pemberton’s army, if they -haven’t been killed. I’m too old to fight, and -I won’t mix up with spies. Ye’re the third -stranger this week that’s talked to me about -getting into Vicksburg, so ye’ll have to pardon -me, if I’m a bit techy. I tell them all my -boat’s not running.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker protested that he was neither a -Confederate nor a Federal spy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Well, if ye aren’t a spy, ye can’t get in. -It’s only birds and fish and spies that can -get in. We can’t even smuggle in a side of -bacon for our boys. I hear they’re eating -rats and mules with young cane for vegetables.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker was silent. His sympathy went -out to the old man, whom like thousands north -and south the great war had made sad and -lonely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“If ye ain’t a spy,” the old man took up -the conversation again, “I’ll give ye a bit of -advice. Don’t ye talk to anybody about getting -into Vicksburg. It’s a bad subject for -conversation just now at this place.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“The Union men would turn ye over to -the soldiers, and there are still men here -whose hearts are filled with hatred against the -North.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“When the war began I hated Lincoln and -all men north. I have seen enough of the -men from the North that I hate them no more, -but I am sad and lonely and I pray that the -war may soon end.”</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxiithe-old-trappers-secret"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id30"><span>CHAPTER XXII—THE OLD TRAPPER’S SECRET</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The next day the boys and Tatanka again -traveled in a dugout up and down the Yazoo -River. Barker himself also went in a dugout -within a mile or two of the point where the -Union line touched the Mississippi.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He returned after the boys and Tatanka -had gone to bed, but they were still awake, -because Tatanka had been telling them how -many years ago, he and five other men had -gone on the warpath against the Chippewas, -the hereditary enemies of the Sioux.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Chippewas used to come down in -canoes on the Mississippi and fall upon an -unsuspecting Sioux camp. After taking a -scalp or two they would leave their canoes -and return north across the forest. The -Sioux would follow them, but they could seldom -accomplish anything because they were -always in danger of being ambushed by the -retreating Chippewas. It was one of those -stories Tatanka had just told with much detail.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where have you been, Mr. Barker?” the -lads asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I have been scouting,” the old man answered, -apparently in high spirits. “I have -taken a look at the rivers and the country and -have visited with soldiers and officers and -other men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I have also sent a letter to your parents.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“How did you do that!” the boys inquired -eagerly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“One of our soldiers tied it to a piece of -green wood and threw it over the Confederate -breastworks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It may not be delivered, but I took a -chance at it.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys asked many other questions, but -the old man would not talk and told the boys -it was high time to go to sleep.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the morning he told them that they were -all to walk down toward the mouth of the -Yazoo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We may camp there somewhere to-night,” -he said, “and we may come back. We’ll put -plenty of lunch in our pockets, but we leave -all our stuff right here.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They did not have to walk all the way. -Various conveyances were going in their direction. -It turned out that Barker didn’t -really want to go to the mouth of the Yazoo; -instead he took his party several miles farther -close to the bank of the Mississippi, -about a mile above the place where the Union -line touched the river. Here they made camp -under a clump of low trees and Barker went -to a neighboring farm house for a jug of -water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We might as well eat,” Barker suggested -when he returned. “You boys must be hungry -as wolves after our long tramp this afternoon.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“May we build a fire?” the boys asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, I think we had better not,” the old -man replied. “It might attract some visitors -that we don’t want to-night.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the far North, the midsummer twilights -last a long time. Along the international -boundary one can read in the open until nine -o’clock, but in the South, daylight passes -quickly into night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the four travelers had finished their -supper it was dark.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mr. Barker,” asked Tim, “are we going -to stay here all night? It will soon be pitch-dark.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Yes, it will be very dark. It is cloudy and -it looks as if we might have a storm,” admitted -the trapper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lads were mystified by Barker’s answer, -but Bill felt that the trapper did not -wish to answer any questions and that he had -some secret plan to carry out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But little Tim was less discreet. “Shall -we build a lean-to?” he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, Timmy,” the old man answered, smiling. -“I reckon we won’t. If the good Lord -sends us a shower to-night, I reckon we’ll -just get wet. The rains in this country are -warm and it will not hurt us to get wet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Let’s go down to the river and see the -water run by.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trapper led the way under tall trees, -and the other three followed in silence. If -Tatanka knew anything about Barker’s plan, -he did not betray his knowledge by either -word or gesture.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the foot of a large sycamore Barker -stopped. It was now so dark that the trees -across the river were not visible, but as the -boys looked over the steep bank they could -just see the bulk of a large dugout swaying -in the current under some overhanging -branches.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Oh, Mr. Barker,” Bill whispered, “somebody -keeps his boat here. Can you see it?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Yes, boys,” the old man replied in a -whisper. “I know about it. It’s our boat. -I bought it yesterday.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Just slip down as quietly as you can and -lie down in the middle of it. Tatanka and I -will do the paddling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“And no matter what happens, you boys -keep quiet. We are going to Vicksburg.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mr. Barker, did you get a pass?” Tim -whispered anxiously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Never mind, Tim,” Barker ordered, “you -just lie still and keep quiet now. Don’t move -and don’t speak till I tell you.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sitting low in the bottom of the craft, Barker -and the Indian paddled the large dugout -into midstream, where both shores were lost. -For a little while they paddled without making -the slightest noise, as if they were hunting -moose or deer on their northern streams. -Then Barker lifted his paddle out of the -water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Down!” he whispered. “Lie flat and -drift.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For some time the dugout drifted like a -dead log swinging around to right and left -with the current. The boys lay absolutely -still, hearing their own hearts beat and listening -to the low sound of the current against the -sides of the dugout.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker rose up slowly. “Paddle,” he -whispered; “we are drifting into the timber.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again they paddled in silence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A flash of lightning threw a gleam of light -over the dark water. A dugout shot out from -under the timber on the west bank.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Who goes there? Halt!” a low deep -voice called, and the four travelers heard the -click of two guns.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We are friends,” Barker replied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Pull in here!” the order came from the -other craft.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker steered toward the shore and found -himself alongside of two Confederate dugouts, -with two men in each.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The leader flashed a lantern at the travelers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Who are you and where are you going?” -he demanded. “Get out; we have to search -you.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The searchers found a piece of fresh beef -and two loaves of bread and some coffee.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That’s rich pickings,” the leader commented. -“We haven’t had any beef between -our teeth for two weeks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Come back in the woods a way and we’ll -roast some of it, right away. But we can’t -build a fire here. The Yanks have a lot of -ammunition to waste and they might shoot -some Minié balls at our camp-fire.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Their four captors seemed hungry, for they -ate all the bread and meat and drank the -coffee as if they had been crossing a desert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That was good of you,” the leader remarked. -“Wheat-bread, beef, and coffee are -rather scarce in our town just now. We’ve -been living on corn-meal and mule-steak.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Now, Stenson,” he continued, “you take -this bunch down to the guard-house and they -can tell their story to the provost marshal in -the morning. I reckon they don’t care to be -shot before daylight.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mr. Barker,” Tim asked, after they had -been locked in a small room, “do you think -they will shoot us?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Don’t worry, boys,” Barker said kindly. -“We haven’t done anything they can shoot -us for. Just lie down and go to sleep. -Thank God, we’re in Vicksburg at last.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The examination next morning was not -very formidable. It was easy for Barker to -prove that he and his company were not -Northern spies; moreover the meeting of the -boys with their parents convinced the military -authorities that Barker had told them -the exact truth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“But how did you get past the Union gunboats?” -one of the officers inquired. “Did -you get a pass?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“If you please, gentlemen,” the old trapper -replied with a shrewd smile, “you see we -got by and I reckon as long as we don’t want -to pass them again, it really makes no difference -how we did it.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The officer was satisfied, but one of his -colleagues took up the inquiry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“My friend,” he said, with a suppressed -smile, “you have shown some ability as a -blockade-runner, but your naval architecture -is peculiar. Why did you nail that sheet -iron to the inside of your ship? Don’t you -know that it is customary to put the iron -on the outside?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At this question everybody laughed good-naturedly -and with a broad grin, the old -man replied:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Well, you see, gentlemen, I had undertaken -to deliver those lads alive in Vicksburg, -and I was afraid that some of your -men might fire at us before we had time to -surrender. I was in a bit of a hurry when -I converted that dugout into an iron-clad and -I was afraid that she wouldn’t navigate well -if I nailed the iron to the outside, because I -was too much rushed to make a good job -of it.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Well,” the presiding officer decided, “I -guess we’ll have to let you stay. It would -be cruel to send you back. Those Yankee -gunners might start practicing on you. Too -bad you couldn’t smuggle in a little more -fresh beef and coffee and white bread.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Should have been mighty glad to do it,” -the trapper assented, and at that the court -adjourned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The parents of the lads had received most -of the letters the boys and Barker had sent, -including the one thrown over the Confederate -parapets.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of Hicks they had neither heard nor seen -anything, and by his silence he stood condemned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Like most people in Vicksburg during the -siege, the Fergusons lived in a cave, where -they were fairly safe from mortar shells and -Parrott shells which the Union gunboats and -batteries threw into the city every day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For the sum of fifteen dollars two negroes -dug a cave for Barker and Tatanka. Cave-digging -had become a profession in Vicksburg -and many of the colored men made good -wages at it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker and his party had heard a great -deal of shooting and cannonading but now -they were in the city at which the guns were -aimed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The mortar-boats, anchored below the city, -did most of the bombarding. The mortars -were short guns throwing large shells. They -had to be aimed high and the shell fell almost -vertically or with a great high curve.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This vertical fire did not do very much -damage, but it drove practically the whole -civilian population into caves in the high -clay-banks. The civilians who had remained -in Vicksburg had done so against the wishes -of General Pemberton, and they were now living -in constant terror of the shells, although -very few people were injured or killed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the second day of Barker’s stay in -Vicksburg, the bombardment, beginning at -daylight, was especially heavy. Many of the -people of Vicksburg had become so accustomed -to the rushing and exploding of the -shells that they gathered at various high -points to watch the shells fly and drop.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker tried to induce Tatanka to go with -him to Sky Parlor Hill, a high point where -a good many people had assembled, but Tatanka -would not come.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sat in front of his cave and whenever -he saw or heard a shell, he ducked into the -cave as the boys expressed it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“No, my friend,” he said to Barker. “If -you said I should fight Chippewas on Sky -Parlor Hill, I would come, but of the big -roaring shells I am afraid.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was in vain that Barker and the boys explained -to him that the mortars were not -shooting at Sky Parlor Hill, and that the big -guns could not aim at any one person. He -wouldn’t leave the entrance of the cave.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You go and come back and tell me,” he -said. “I like this place better than Sky Parlor -Hill. May be I shall go with you to-morrow.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At night the mortar shells with their fuses -made a wonderful display of grim fireworks. -After the shells rose to the greatest height, -they fell so rapidly that a trail of fire seemed -to be following them. Generally when a -shell struck the ground or a building, it exploded, -but some remained dead, owing to -imperfect fuses, like a fire-cracker that does -not go off.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A district in which the shells fell was at -once deserted; and some caves sold very -cheap, because their owners did not consider -them safe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Parrott shells fired from the besieging -batteries were more feared and did more -damage than the mortar shells thrown by the -fleet. One of those came with a horrid shriek -and buried itself in the ground in front of -the cave in which the boys and their parents -were eating their supper. Although the -shell did not explode, Tatanka was so scared -by it that for the rest of the evening, he would -not leave his cave at all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next morning, through the courtesy of -an officer, Barker received permission for -himself and his company to visit the quarters -of the officer, a few hundred yards in the -rear of the Confederate fortifications.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here the ground was everywhere strewn -with fragments of shells, and with flattened -and twisted Minié balls which had struck the -trees before they had dropped as spent balls. -Among the broken shells the ground was peppered -with the bullets from exploded shrapnels.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The quarters of the officer were practically -a cave, or rather what the early settlers on -the Western plains called a dugout. It was -built on the same plan on which boys build -their little caves to play Indian or Robinson -Crusoe, only it was larger and more commodious. -Its opening faced west, away from -Union and Confederate lines. Its roof of -logs and earth was strong enough to afford -perfect protection against rifle fire and shrapnel, -and it was so located that heavy shells -were not at all likely to strike it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In this place the officer received and made -his reports, and here he rested or slept, when -he was off duty. However, his hours of rest -and sleep were very few, because the Confederate -regiments were so shorthanded both -in officers and men that there was little time -for rest and sleep.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Confederate soldiers had orders not -to fire unless they were attacked, because -they were short of ammunition, but from the -Union lines a more or less constant fire of -small arms, shrapnel, and heavy guns was -kept up day after day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A pouring rain came up while the four -friends were at the quarters of the officer. A -torrent of muddy water broke through the -roof, a big lump of wet dirt fell on the bed, -and mud and water covered the floor. The -four guests fell to and piled bed, chairs, and -table in the dryest corner and protected the -clothes and blankets of their host as well as -they could, but the place looked as if it could -never be made fit to use again. But when -Captain Dent arrived, he just laughed at the -whole mess, as he called it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It’s just one of the little accidents of -war,” he added. “My man, Harris, will put -this cabin in good shape before dark. This -is nothing at all. Just think of our starving -boys in the rifle-pits. They often have to -stand and lie in the mud all day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“If you gentlemen will lend me a hand, -we’ll deepen the trench around this mansion -and stop the leak in the roof.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You must all stay for supper,” the captain -insisted, when the work was done. “I -have invited three young officers. You’ll enjoy -the company, and if you Northerners are -not too particular, you can have plenty to -eat.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Harris, the colored man, began cooking, -while Captain Dent showed his visitors -around and told them of many interesting incidents -connected with the siege.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the guests came and Harris announced -supper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Captain,” one of the young men asked, -“what’s this savory dish your man is serving -us?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“That,” the captain asserted, without -changing a muscle on his weather-browned -face, “that’s moose-tongue; moose-tongue -from Minnesota. My friend here brought it -down.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Tied him behind your boat, I suppose?” -queried the second guest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Oh, no; not at all,” Barker promptly entered -into the spirit of the company. “We -used him as motive power. He pulled us -clear into town.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The third guest and the boys looked a little -puzzled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You see,” the trapper quickly explained, -“he was a Chippewa moose and dreadfully -scared of a Sioux. My friend, Tatanka, here, -is a Sioux. Had an awful time getting the -beast to stop for camp. Was bound to keep -going as long as Tatanka was sitting behind -him.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A ringing laugh went around the table.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Sir Barker,” the captain took up the -conversation, “how many tongues did he -have?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Well, sir,” the trapper drawled out, -“from the noise he could make, I should say -about six, sir. He was sure a wonderful -beast. We were going to exhibit him in town, -but the Quartermaster General took such a -liking to him that we had to give him up.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again a peal of laughter went around the -table.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Harris,” said the third guest, “you’ve -garnished that moose-tongue with green asparagus. -Looks almighty appetizing. Where -did you get it?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Wai, massa, I tell you. I cut it myself in -de cane-brake in de nex’ ravine. De Good -Lord hab started a ’sparagus plantation dere, -sure ’nuf,” and a broad smile spread over -Harris’s face like sunshine. He had really -done his best to prepare a feast for his master -and now he was happy because his master -was pleased.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Gentlemen, fall to,” the captain urged. -“We have here the very best dinner Vicksburg -has to offer. The Planters Hotel could -not beat it, if President Davis himself was -the guest of the city.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By this time the boys had recovered from -their embarrassment because they saw the -men all acting like happy boys. They had -never suspected that their fatherly friend, -Barker, was so much of a boy, who could -laugh and cut up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They fell to as heartily as all the older -boys, although the scene of Old Harmony’s -team of six rolling down the bluff at Fort -Ridgely flashed through their minds.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It tastes just like beef-tongue,” Tim remarked -to Bill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For the present, both host and guests forgot -the dangers, the sufferings and the horrors -of war. They were all just boys at dinner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the company one after the other, began -to sniff at the odor of coffee, Captain -Dent called aloud for Harris.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Look here, you black rascal,” he accosted -the surprised cook, “what are you making -that smell of coffee with? There hasn’t been -any coffee in town for a week.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Massa, dat coffee smell is sure no ghost. -Dat hunter geman from de North gib it to me -and some sugar, too.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Where did you get it?” the officers asked -with one voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Trapped it, just trapped it. I caught -the coffee, and Tatanka crawled up on the -sugar.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A loud boyish laugh rang around the table.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Three cheers for Barker and Tatanka. -May they hunt long and prosper,” the oldest -officer proposed, and Bill and Tim joined -heartily in the cheers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Mr. Barker,” cried the captain, “you and -Tatanka paddle your iron-clad up the river -and crawl up on some more coffee and -sugar.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>How much little gifts of luxuries brighten -the life of soldiers in the field can perhaps -only be appreciated by those who have for -weeks or months been reduced to the barest -necessities of life.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After dinner, both host and guests opened -their treasure-troves of stories, serious and -comic. Then the young officers formed an -impromptu trio and many songs, sprung up -during the great siege, rang through the warm -summer night, new words set to old tunes.</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>“’Twas at the siege of Vicksburg,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Of Vicksburg, of Vicksburg.</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>’Twas at the siege of Vicksburg,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>When the Parrott shells were whistling through the air.</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Listen to the Parrott shells,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Listen to the Parrott shells,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>The Parrott shells are whistling through the air.”</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Shortly after ten the young officers bade -farewell to their host and friends, for at -eleven they, as well as Captain Dent, went on -duty with their men, behind the parapets and -at the batteries.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For a few brief hours they had forgotten -sorrow and hunger and the oppressive gloom -of probable surrender, which like a hideous -specter seemed to come creeping a little -closer every day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They might attempt to cut their way out, -but the loss of life would be enormous and -the sacrifice would most likely be utterly -useless.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker and Tatanka with the boys returned -to town on a dark winding road.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Down the river they could again see the -mortar shells draw their fiery curves and after -the rise and fall of the fire trail, as Tatanka -called it, came the deep booming of the -explosion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Like the officers, they also were thrown -back into besieged and bombarded Vicksburg, -after a few happy hours of jovial company.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We should sleep in the woods to-night -and not go back to town,” Tatanka suggested.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“White men can’t sleep in the woods without -blankets,” the trapper replied. “We’ll -go back to our caves. If we didn’t, the father -and mother of the boys would be worried.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I think,” Tatanka pointed out, after he -had watched a shell drop, “some day a big -fire-ball will shoot through the roof of our -cave and kill us all. We should live in the -woods.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“My friend, we can’t live in the woods.” -Barker tried to instruct and calm his fears. -“Shrapnel and rifle fire from the Union lines -sweep the woods everywhere. We would -have to dig a cave there.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“If the mortars or Parrott guns begin to -drop shells near us, we will move to another -place. Until they do, we are safe. Now, -don’t be a squaw, Tatanka. Chippewas and -hostile Sioux have fired at you many times. -Those big shells hardly ever hit anybody; all -they do is to bury and bust themselves in -the clay.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“All the same,” the Indian persisted, “I -don’t like them. I can’t fight them back. I -wish we were home in Minnesota. I would -not be afraid of fighting Chippewas or bad -Sioux. Are we going back soon?”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We can’t start back until after the siege,” -Barker explained, somewhat impatiently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Couldn’t we slip out at night?” Tatanka -asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“We are not going to try it. The gunners -on the boats would sink us or shoot us as -spies or blockade-runners. I’m all-fired glad -that we got in without being sunk or shot. -We’re not going to try to get out.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“How long is the siege going to last?” Bill -asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“It can’t last much longer, because there -is but little food left. The men are all weak -and live on half-rations.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“Couldn’t they cut their way out!” Tim -asked timidly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“They can’t do it. Grant has twice as -many men as Pemberton, and Grant’s men -are all strong and have plenty of food and -ammunition.”</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxiiithe-last-days-of-vicksburg"> -<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id31"><span>CHAPTER XXIII—THE LAST DAYS OF VICKSBURG</span></a></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It had taken Grant a whole year to place -his army in position on the hills in the rear -of Vicksburg, but he had stuck to the campaign -with the tenacity of a bulldog.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At first he had tried to move his army -south by rail from Memphis, but Van Dorn -had destroyed his supplies and cut the railroad.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had tried to get his army below Vicksburg -through various channels and bayous on -the west side of the great river, but had found -this plan impossible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had tried to come down by way of the -Yazoo and other water-courses on the east -side of the Mississippi, and had had a narrow -escape from disaster. The Confederates had -felled trees across the narrow channels and -had built Fort Pemberton of mud and cotton-bales, -which the Union men found they could -not pass, and in the end they were glad to -get out of the maze of water-courses and endless -swamps and forests.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he had dug a canal across a neck of -land below Vicksburg, but the river had risen -and had filled the canal with sand and mud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last, Admiral Porter’s gunboats and -transports had rapidly run the batteries of -Vicksburg on a dark night. Grant had -marched his army past Vicksburg on the west -side of the river. He had crossed the river -at Bruinsburg and in a most daring manner -he had cut loose from any base of supplies. -With five days’ rations in their knapsacks his -men had for nearly three weeks lived on the -country, had quickly turned from one hostile -army upon the other and defeated them -in detail. They had driven Pemberton into -Vicksburg. They had built two lines of fortifications, -one facing west against Pemberton -in Vicksburg, and one facing east against -Johnston, and since the nineteenth of May -they held Pemberton in the wooded hills two -miles east of Vicksburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Grant’s army, consisting of only about 40,000 -men at first, had now been strengthened -to more than 70,000 men. Since the middle -of June, Vicksburg was so closely besieged -that not even a rowboat could get in or out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the twenty-second of May, Grant had -tried to take the town by assault, but the Confederates -put up such a stubborn defense that -the attempt failed. Since that time, the -Union army had carried on a regular siege -with the intention of starving Vicksburg and -the Confederate army into surrender.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Northern soldiers had destroyed the -railroad east of Vicksburg, so that Johnston -could not quickly move upon them and soon -the Union army was so strong that Grant -could have fought Pemberton and Johnston -at the same time. The Union army had now -plenty of food and ammunition and was -strongly entrenched, while the fall of Vicksburg -and the surrender of Pemberton’s brave -army seemed only a matter of time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By the first of July, it became evident that -Johnston would not be able to relieve either -the city or the garrison.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Provisions were nearly gone and the men -were exhausted by continuous duty and -watching and through the incessant bombardments -by the Union troops.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the third of July, Generals Pemberton -and Grant met between the lines for a brief -conference.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the Fourth, the white flag floated over -Vicksburg. The Gibraltar of the Mississippi -had surrendered and 31,000 brave Confederate -soldiers had become prisoners of war.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Grant treated the prisoners with every consideration. -Rations were issued to them by -their captors, and the men who for months -had faced each other as enemies became -friends. The prisoners were not sent north, -but men as well as officers were paroled and -turned over to Major Watts, Confederate -Commissioner for the Exchange of Prisoners.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no cheer or taunt from the Federal -soldiers, who stood at arms as the prisoners -marched out of the city; they seemed -to feel sorry for the fate of their late enemies. -Haggard from the hardships of the -siege, the men marched out in silence. Sad -and silent the officers rode away on tired and -dispirited horses, that had for weeks fed on -nothing but mulberry leaves.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the city also, friendly relations were at -once established between the Union soldiers -and the inhabitants, nor was there a lack of -comic and funny incidents.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A negro servant, overcome by his desire -to shine, rode about the city on his master’s -silver-mounted saddle. After an hour, he -returned with a very long face and a very -old saddle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“George, where is my saddle!” asked his -master.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I met a big Yankee soldier and he says -to me, ‘You get off dat horse. I’s gwine to -hab dat fine saddle.’</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“I wa’n’t gwine to git off, but he pointed -his pistol at me, and he says, ‘You black nigger, -you git off,’ and I got off, and he gives -me dis old saddle.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The fall of Vicksburg was an important -event in the Civil War. A few days later, on -the ninth of July, Port Hudson, the last Confederate -stronghold on the Mississippi, also -surrendered, giving the Federals complete -control of the great river and cutting the -Confederacy in two by detaching Arkansas, -Texas, and Louisiana.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Civil War settled a great question -which had grown so vexing that no man or -party was great enough to settle it, without -appeal to arms. It brought untold sadness -and suffering to thousands of homes, both -North and South, but the South suffered -much more than the North.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It taught a great moral lesson and set a -great example to the world, not merely of -bravery and self-denial—that other nations -have shown and are showing now—it showed -to the world the greatest example of speedy -reconciliation after the war. Had Lincoln -lived through the painful days of reconstruction, -the bitterness and hatred caused by the -war would have vanished even sooner. But -even with the Great Captain passed away, the -best men North and South set earnestly to -work, as soon as the war was over, to bind up -and heal the nation’s wounds.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A few years ago the Veterans in Blue and -the Veterans in Grey met in a friendly reunion -on the once blood-drenched field of Gettysburg. -It was the greatest example of reconciliation -the world has ever seen, an example, -a living sermon, which a war-torn -world will sadly need in the near future.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker and his boys did not remain long -in Vicksburg. As Jacob of old was persuaded -by his sons to travel to distant Egypt, -so old Seth Ferguson was led by his sons to -the balmy fertile prairies of the Sky-tinted -River.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In peace and happy reunion the Ferguson -family with Barker and Tatanka as guides, -traveled up the Mississippi River by steamboat, -and the boys never tired of pointing -out to their parents the spots where they had -camped and the cliffs and bluffs they had -climbed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the bottoms of the upper river, great -masses of asters fringed the brown sandbars. -When the party reached Fort Ridgely, the -Minnesota prairie was ablaze with goldenrod, -sunflowers, and purple stars, and the -blackbirds were gathering in great flocks on -the marshes in anticipation of feasting on -the crops of wild rice, for which they have a -great liking.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After having spent almost a year on the -Great River, the lads found their weather-beaten -shanty spared by the furors of war, -but the wild prairie had already begun to -reclaim its own, as if impatient of human intrusion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the boys’ garden patch, concealed by -great rag-weeds and rich-scented milkweeds, -a woodchuck had dug his den. A jungle of -velvet-leaved false sunflowers almost barred -the way to the cabin door. In a corner under -the boys’ bunk, a family of chipmunks had -established themselves and with mumpsy-looking -cheeks were racing back and forth -laying in a store of wild hazelnuts and long -rice-like grains of speargrass.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>“You are lucky,” Tatanka remarked, -“that Manka, the skunk, has not made his -tunnels under your house. He would be hard -to move.”</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Seth Ferguson filed on the claim on which -the boys had lived.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The woodchuck was allowed possession of -the garden-patch until next spring, but Bill -and Tim harvested an abundant crop of the -wild fruit of the land—butternuts, hazelnuts, -wild grapes, chokeberries and rich sweet -plums.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barker did not return to following the trail -of minks and foxes, but like the Fergusons -broke up the virgin prairie to raise wheat and -corn. When he grew too old to walk behind -the plow, he gave his farm to his boys, Bill -and Tim, who, a few years later, carried him -to his last resting-place on the bluff overlooking -the winding Minnesota River.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tatanka, with some other friendly Sioux, -was assigned land on the Redwood River, -where his descendants live to this day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The great war in the South, and the bloody -tragedy of Minnesota are seen to-day through -the mellow light of history. There is no -longer bitterness and hatred between white -men and red men, between North and South.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the Fourth of July, the bright Stars and -Stripes float over North and South, over the -Indian settlement on the Redwood, and over -the white men’s towns around them. The -tomahawk has been buried forever, but the -Indian youths meet the white lads from -farms and towns, all armed with bats and -mitts, in the great American national game, -the game that is destined to conquer the -world with the gospel of vigor and good will.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Minnesota, Sky-tinted Water, and the -Mississippi, the Everywhere River, wind -their way to the Gulf as of yore, in beauty -and grandeur.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And here ends our tale of two wars and -of the Lure of the Great River.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>THE END.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>ON THE TRAIL OF THE SIOUX</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>The Adventures of Two Boy Scouts on the Minnesota Frontier</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>By D. LANGE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Illustrated 12mo Cloth Price, Net, $1.25</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>This story was written by a prominent educator to satisfy the -insistent demand of active boys for an “Indian Story,” as well as to -help them to understand what even the young endured in the making of -our country. The story is based on the last desperate stand of the -brave and warlike Sioux tribes against the resistless tide of white -men’s civilization, the thrilling scenes of which were enacted on the -Minnesota frontier in the early days of the Civil War.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“It is a book which will appeal to young and old alike, as the -incidents are historically correct and related in a wide-awake -manner.”—</span><em class="italics">Philadelphia Press.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“It seems like a strange, true story more than fiction. It is well -written and in good taste, and it can be commended to all boy readers -and to many at their elders.”—</span><em class="italics">Hartford Times.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE SILVER ISLAND OF THE CHIPPEWA</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>By D. LANGE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Illustrated 12mo Cloth Price, Net, $1.35</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Here is a boys’ book that tells of the famous Silver Island in Lake -Superior from which it is a fact that ore to the value of $3,089,000 -was taken, and represents a youth of nineteen and his active small -brother aged eleven as locating it after eight months of wild life, -during which they wintered on Isle Royale. Their success and escape -from a murderous half-breed are due to the friendship of a noble -Chippewa Indian, and much is told of Indian nature and ways by one who -thoroughly knows the subject.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“There is no call to buy cheap, impossible stuff for boys’ reading -while there is such a book as this available.”—</span><em class="italics">Philadelphia Inquirer.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON</span></p> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>LOST IN THE FUR COUNTRY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>By D. LANGE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Illustrated 12mo cloth $1.25 </span><em class="italics">net</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Mr. Lange is the superintendent of schools, St. Paul, Minn., and is -famed for his knowledge of both natural and political history. He is -also an expert in the very difficult art of interesting boys </span><em class="italics">profitably</em><span>, -and has proved it to a very wide circle by his previous books. His -third book, also an Indian story, has the elements of popularity: -mystery, peril, and daring, told in graphic style, and presenting -Indian nature and the general life of the great wild regions in the -North with both charm and authority.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“It is a thrilling story of Indian life. The author knows his subject -thoroughly and writes with admirable simplicity and -directness.”—</span><em class="italics">Examiner-Watchman.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>IN THE GREAT WILD NORTH</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>By D. LANGE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Illustrated by W. L. Howes</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>12mo Cloth Price, $1.25 </span><em class="italics">net</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>The story opens at a Hudson Bay trading post, where the father of a -sturdy Scotch lad, Steve McLean, is in charge. Wishing a home of their -own, Steve and his father, with a faithful Indian as guide, make a -five-hundred-mile canoe trip to Red River, and join in one of great -historic buffalo hunts, after which they make a thrilling escape from -the hostile Blackfeet Indians. Then comes a most adventurous trip down -the Arkansas River to the Mississippi and thence to St. Louis, where -the story closes happily. It gives a stirring, accurate and -fascinating account of pioneer life as the hardy men and boys of -earlier days knew it.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“Mr. Lange’s volume gives a faithful account of early pioneer days and -hardships, introducing much valuable knowledge of Indian craft and -wild life.”—</span><em class="italics">Philadelphia Public Ledger.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON</span></p> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Books by Everett T. Tomlinson.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE WAR OF 1812 SERIES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Seven volumes Cloth Illustrated Price, Net, $1.35 each</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>No American writer for boys has ever occupied a higher position than -Dr. Tomlinson, and the “War of 1812 Series” covers a field attempted -by no other juvenile literature in a manner that has secured continued -popularity.</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="left line noindent"><span>The Search for Andrew Field</span></div> -<div class="left line noindent"><span>The Boy Soldiers of 1812</span></div> -<div class="left line noindent"><span>The Boy Officers of 1812</span></div> -<div class="left line noindent"><span>Teeumseh’s Young Braves</span></div> -<div class="left line noindent"><span>Guarding the Border</span></div> -<div class="left line noindent"><span>The Boys with Old Hickory</span></div> -<div class="left line noindent"><span>The Boy Sailors of 1812</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>ST. LAWRENCE SERIES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Cloth Illustrated Price, Net, $1.35 each</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>The author stands in the very front rank in ability to instruct the -young while entertaining them and here presents a series in his best -and strongest vein. A party of boys, fascinated by the glowing -narrative of Parkman, spend several summers in camp and on the -majestic St. Lawrence, tracing the footsteps of the early explorers, -and having the best time imaginable in combining pleasure with -information.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>CAMPING ON THE ST. LAWRENCE, Or, On the Trail of the Early Discoverers</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE HOUSE-BOAT ON THE ST. LAWRENCE, Or, Following Frontenac</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>CRUISING IN THE ST. LAWRENCE, Or, A Summer Vacation in Historic Waters</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON</span></p> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE BOY ELECTRICIAN</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Practical Plans for Electrical Toys and Apparatus, with an -Explanation of the Principles of Every-Day Electricity</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>By ALFRED P. MORGAN</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Author of “Wireless Telegraphy Construction for Amateurs” and -“Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony”</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>300 illustrations and working drawings by the author</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Net, $2.00 Postpaid, $2.25</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>This is the age of electricity. The most fascinating of all books for -a boy must, therefore, be one dealing with the mystery of this ancient -force and modern wonder. The best qualified of experts to instruct -boys has in a book far superior to any other of its kind told not only -how to MAKE all kinds of motors, telegraphs, telephones, batteries, -etc., but how these appliances are used in the great industrial world.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“Of all books recently published on practical electricity for the youthful -electricians, it is doubtful if there is even one among them that is more -suited to this field. This work is recommended to every one interested in -electricity and the making of electrical -appliances.”—</span><em class="italics">Popular Electricity and Modern Mechanics.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“This is an admirably complete and explicit handbook for boys who fall -under the spell of experimenting and ‘tinkering’ with electrical apparatus. -Simple explanations of the principles involved make the operation readily -understandable.”—</span><em class="italics">Boston Transcript.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“Any boy who studies this book, and applies himself to the making and -operating of the simple apparatus therein depicted, will be usefully and happily -employed. He will, furthermore, be developing into a useful citizen. For this -reason we recommend it as an excellent gift for all boys with energy, -application, and ambition.”—</span><em class="italics">Electrical Record, N. Y. City.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“A book to delight the hearts of ten thousand—perhaps fifty thousand-American -boys who are interested in wireless telegraphy and that sort of thing. -Any boy who has even a slight interest in things electrical, will kindle with -enthusiasm at sight of this book.”—</span><em class="italics">Chicago News.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON</span></p> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE BOOK OF ATHLETICS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Edited by PAUL WITHINGTON</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>With many reproductions of photographs, and with diagrams</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>8vo Net, $1.50 Postpaid, $1.70</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Nearly thirty college stars and champions, men like Dr. Kraenzlein, -Thorpe, Ketcham, “Sammy” White, “Eddie” Hart, Ralph Craig, “Hurry Up” -Yost, Jay Camp, Homer, Jackson, F. D. Huntingdon, R. Norris Williams, -“Eddie” Mahan, and many more tell the best there is to tell about -every form of athletic contest of consequence. In charge of the whole -work is Paul Withington, of Harvard, famous as football player, -oarsman, wrestler and swimmer.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“Here is a book that will serve a purpose and satisfy a need. -Every important phase of sport in school and college is discussed -within its covers by men who have achieved eminent success in their -line. Methods of training, styles of play, and directions for attaining -success are expounded in a clear, forceful, attractive manner.”—</span><em class="italics">Harvard Monthly.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“The book is made up under the direction of the best qualified -editor to be found, Paul Withington, who is one of America’s greatest -amateur athletes, and who has the intellectual ability and high -character requisite for presenting such a book properly. The emphasis -placed upon clean living, fair play and moderation in all things makes -this book as desirable educationally as it is in every other way.”—</span><em class="italics">Outdoor Life.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“That Mr. Withington’s book will be popular we do not doubt. -For it contains a series of expert treatises on all important branches -of outdoor sports. A very readable, practical, well-illustrated book.”—</span><em class="italics">Boston Herald.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON</span></p> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>U. S. SERVICE SERIES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>By Francis Rolt-Wheeler</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Illustrated from photographs taken in work for U. S. Government</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Large 12mo Cloth $1.35 each, net</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“There are no better books for boys than Francis Rolt-Wheeler’s -‘U. S. Service Series.’”—</span><em class="italics">Chicago Record-Herald.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE BOY WITH THE U. S. SURVEY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>This story describes the thrilling adventures -of members of the U. S. Geological -Survey, graphically woven into a stirring -narrative that both pleases and instructs. The -author enjoys an intimate acquaintance with -the chiefs of the various bureaus in Washing, -ton, and is able to obtain at first hand the -material for his books.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“There is abundant charm and vigor in the -narrative which ii sure to please the boy readers -and will do much toward stimulating their patriotism -by making them alive to the needs of conservation of -the vast resources of their country.”—</span><em class="italics">Chicago News.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE BOY WITH THE U. S. FORESTERS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>The life of a typical boy is followed in all its adventurous detail—the -mighty representative of our country’s government, though young in -years—a youthful monarch in a vast domain of forest. Replete with -information, alive with adventure, and inciting patriotism at every step, -this handsome book is one to be instantly appreciated.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“It is a fascinating romance of real life in our country, and will prove a great -pleasure and inspiration to the boys who read it.”—</span><em class="italics">The Continent, Chicago.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE BOY WITH THE U. S. CENSUS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Through the experiences of a bright American boy, the author shows -how the necessary information is gathered. The securing of this often -involves hardship and peril, requiring journeys by dog-team in the -frozen North and by launch in the alligator-filled Everglades of Florida, -while the enumerator whose work lies among the dangerous criminal -classes of the greater cities must take his life in his own hands.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“Every young man should read this story from cover to cover, thereby -getting a clear conception of conditions as they exist to-day, for -such knowledge will have a clean, invigorating and healthy Influence -on the young growing and thinking mind.”—</span><em class="italics">Boston Globe.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON</span></p> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>U. S. SERVICE SERIES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>By FRANCIS ROLT-WHEELER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Many illustrations from photographs taken in work for U.S. Government</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Large 12mo Cloth Net $1.35 per volume</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“There are no better books for boys than Francis Rolt-Wheeler’s -‘U.S. Service Series.’”—</span><em class="italics">Chicago Record-Herald.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE BOY WITH THE U. S. FISHERIES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>With a bright, active American youth as a hero, is told the story of -the Fisheries, which in their actual importance dwarf every other -human industry. The book does not lack thrilling scenes. The far -Aleutian Islands have witnessed more desperate sea-fighting than has -occurred elsewhere since the days of the Spanish buccaneers, and -pirate craft, which the U. S, Fisheries must watch, rifle in hand, are -prowling in the Behring Sea to-day. The fish-farms of the United -States are as interesting as they are immense in their scope.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“One of the best books for boys of all ages, so attractively written -and illustrated as to fascinate the reader into staying up until all -hours to finish ...”—</span><em class="italics">Philadelphia Despatch.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE BOY WITH THE U. S. INDIANS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>This book tells all about the Indian as he really was and is; the -Menominee in his birch-bark canoe; the Iroquois in his wigwam in the -forest; the Sioux of the plains upon his war-pony; the Apache, cruel -and unyielding as his arid desert; the Pueblo Indians, with remains of -ancient Spanish civilization lurking in the fastnesses of their massed -communal dwellings; the Tlingit of the Pacific Coast, with his -totem-poles. With a typical bright American youth as a central figure, -a good idea of a great field of national activity is given, and made -thrilling in its human side by the heroism demanded by the -little-known adventures of those who do the work of “Uncle Sam.”</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“An exceedingly Interesting Indian story, because it is true, and not merely -a dramatic and picturesque incident of Indian life.”—</span><em class="italics">N. Y. Times.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“It tells the Indian’s story in a way that will fascinate the -Youngster.”—</span><em class="italics">Rochester Herald.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON</span></p> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>U. S. SERVICE SERIES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>By FRANCIS ROLT-WHEELER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Many Illustrations from photographs taken in work for U. S. Government</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Large 12mo Cloth Net, $1.35 each</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“There are no better books for boys than Francis Rolt-Wheeler’s ‘U. S. -Service Series.’”—</span><em class="italics">Chicago Record-Herald.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE BOY WITH THE U. S. EXPLORERS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>The hero saves the farm in Kansas, which his father is not able to -keep up, through a visit to Washington which results in making the -place a kind of temporary experiment station. Wonderful facts of plant -and animal life are brought out, and the boy wins a trip around the world -with his friend, the agent. This involves many adventures, while -exploring the Chinese country for the Bureau of Agriculture.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“Boys will be delighted with this story, which is one that inspires -the readers with the ideals of industry, thrift and uprightness of -conduct.”—</span><em class="italics">Argus-Leader, Portland, Me.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>The billows surge and thunder through this book, heroism and the -gallant facing of peril are wrought into its very fabric, and the -Coast Guard has endorsed its accuracy. The stories of the rescue of -the engineer trapped on a burning ship, and the pluck of the men who -built the Smith’s Point Lighthouse are told so vividly that it is hard -to keep from cheering aloud.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“This is an ideal book for boys because it is natural, inspiring, and -of unfailing interest from cover to cover.”—</span><em class="italics">Marine Journal.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE BOY WITH THE U. S. MAIL</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>How much do you know of the working of the vast and wonderful Post -Office Department? The officials of this department have, as in the -case of all other Departments covered in this series, extended their -courtesy to Dr. Rolt-Wheeler to enable him to tell us about one of the -most interesting forms of Uncle Sam’s care for us.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“Stamp collecting, carrier pigeons, aeroplanes, detectives, hold-ups, -tales of the Overland trail and the Pony Express, Indians, Buffalo -Bill—what boy would not be delighted with a book in which all these -fascinating things are to be found?”—</span><em class="italics">Universalist Leader.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON</span></p> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>PHILLIPS EXETER SERIES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>By A. T. DUDLEY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Cloth, 12mo</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Illustrated by Charles Copeland</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Price, net $1.25 each</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>FOLLOWING THE BALL</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Here is an up-to-date story presenting American boarding-school life and -modern athletics. Football is an important feature, but it is a story -of character formation in which athletics play an important part.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“Mingled with the story of football is another and higher endeavor, -giving the book the best of moral tone.”—</span><em class="italics">Chicago Record-Herald.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>MAKING THE NINE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>The life presented is that of a real school, interesting, diversified, -and full of striking incidents, while the characters are true -and consistent types of American boyhood and youth. The athletics -are technically correct, abounding in helpful suggestions, and the -moral tone is high and set by action rather than preaching.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“The story is healthful, for, while it exalts athletics, it does not -overlook the fact that studious habits and noble character are -imperative needs for those who would win success in life.”—</span><em class="italics">Herald and -Presbyter, Cincinnati.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>IN THE LINE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Tells how a stalwart young student won his position as guard, and -at the same time made equally marked progress in the formation -of character. Plenty of jolly companions contribute a strong, -humorous element, and the book has every essential of a favorite.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“The book gives boys an interesting story, much football -information, and many lessons in true manliness.”—</span><em class="italics">Watchman, Boston.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>WITH MASK AND MITT</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>While baseball plays an important part in this story, it is not -the only element of attraction. While appealing to the natural -normal tastes of boys for fun and interest in the national game, the -book, without preaching, lays emphasis on the building up of character.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“No normal boy who is interested in our great national game can fail to -find interest and profit, too, in this lively boarding school -story.”—</span><em class="italics">Interior, Chicago.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON</span></p> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>PHILLIPS EXETER SERIES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>By A. T. DUDLEY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Cloth 12mo Illustrated Price, net $1.25 each</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE GREAT YEAR</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Three fine, manly comrades, respectively captains of the football, -baseball, and track and field athletic teams, make a compact to support -each other so that they may achieve a “great year” of triple victory -over their traditional rival, “Hillbury.”</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE YALE CUP</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>The “Cup” is an annual prize given by a club of Yale alumni to the -member of the Senior class of each of several preparatory schools -who best combines proficiency in athletics with good standing in his -studies.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>A FULL-BACK AFLOAT</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>At the close of his first year in college Dick Melvin is induced to earn -a passage to Europe by helping on a cattle steamer. The work is not -so bad, but Dick finds ample use for the vigor, self control, and quick -wit in emergency which he has gained from football.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE PECKS IN CAMP</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>The Pecks are twin brothers so resembling each other that it was almost -impossible to tell them apart, a fact which the roguish lads made the -most of in a typical summer camp for boys.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>THE HALF-MILER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>This is the story of a young man of positive character facing the -stern problem of earning his way in a big school. The hero is not an -imaginary compound of superlatives, but a plain person of flesh and -blood, aglow with the hopeful idealism of youth, who succeeds and is -not spoiled by success. He can run, and he does run—through the -story.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“It is a good, wholesome, and true-to-life story, with plenty of -happenings such as normal boys enjoy reading about.”—Brooklyn Daily -Times.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON</span></p> -</div> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container"> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>“INDIAN” STORIES WITH HISTORICAL BASES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>by D. LANGE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>12mo Cloth Illustrated</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>Price per volume, $1.25 net</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="left line noindent"><span>ON THE TRAIL OF THE SIOUX</span></div> -<div class="left line noindent"><span>THE SILVER ISLAND OF THE CHIPPEWA</span></div> -<div class="left line noindent"><span>LOST IN THE FUR COUNTRY</span></div> -<div class="left line noindent"><span>IN THE GREAT WILD NORTH</span></div> -<div class="left line noindent"><span>THE LURE OF THE BLACK HILLS</span></div> -<div class="left line noindent"><span>THE LURE OF THE MISSISSIPPI</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left noindent pfirst"><span>LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="backmatter"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst" id="pg-end-line"><span>*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>THE LURE OF THE MISSISSIPPI</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="cleardoublepage"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="language-en level-2 pgfooter section" id="a-word-from-project-gutenberg" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<span id="pg-footer"></span><h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><span>A Word from Project Gutenberg</span></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>We will update this book if we find any errors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This book can be found under: </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41877"><span>http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41877</span></a></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>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. Special rules, set -forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to -protect the Project Gutenberg™ concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge -for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you do not -charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is -very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as -creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. -They may be modified and printed and given away – you may do -practically </span><em class="italics">anything</em><span> with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution.</span></p> -<div class="level-3 section" id="the-full-project-gutenberg-license"> -<span id="project-gutenberg-license"></span><h3 class="level-3 pfirst section-title title"><span>The Full Project Gutenberg License</span></h3> -<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Please read this before you distribute or use this work.</em></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at -</span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a><span>.</span></p> -<div class="level-4 section" id="section-1-general-terms-of-use-redistributing-project-gutenberg-electronic-works"> -<h4 class="level-4 pfirst section-title title"><span>Section 1. General Terms of Use & Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works</span></h4> -<p class="pfirst"><strong class="bold">1.A.</strong><span> By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by -the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person -or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.B.</strong><span> “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.C.</strong><span> The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the -Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is in the public domain in the United -States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a -right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free -access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works -in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project -Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with -the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format -with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it -without charge with others.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.D.</strong><span> The copyright laws of the place where you are located also -govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most -countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the -United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms -of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.</strong><span> Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.1.</strong><span> The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work -on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the -phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>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 </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org">http://www.gutenberg.org</a></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><strong class="bold">1.E.2.</strong><span> If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -derived from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating -that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work -can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without -paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing -access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with -or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements -of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of -the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth in -paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.3.</strong><span> If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and -distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and -any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works posted -with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of -this work.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.4.</strong><span> Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project -Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files containing a -part of this work or any other work associated with Project -Gutenberg™.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.5.</strong><span> Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute -this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg™ License.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.6.</strong><span> You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format other -than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ web site -(</span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org">http://www.gutenberg.org</a><span>), you must, at no additional cost, fee or -expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a -means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original -“Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include -the full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.7.</strong><span> Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.E.8.</strong><span> You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works provided -that</span></p> -<ul class="open"> -<li><p class="first pfirst"><span>You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from -the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method you -already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to -the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to -donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 -days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally -required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments -should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, -“Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation.”</span></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first pfirst"><span>You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies -you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he -does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ -License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all -copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue -all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ -works.</span></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first pfirst"><span>You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of -any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the -electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of -receipt of the work.</span></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first pfirst"><span>You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free -distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.</span></p> -</li> -</ul> -<p class="pfirst"><strong class="bold">1.E.9.</strong><span> If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and -Michael Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact -the Foundation as set forth in Section 3. below.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.</strong></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.1.</strong><span> Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend -considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe -and proofread public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg™ -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -“Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.2.</strong><span> LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES – Except for the -“Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the -Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the -Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.3.</strong><span> LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND – If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.4.</strong><span> Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set -forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS,’ WITH -NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.5.</strong><span> Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><strong class="bold">1.F.6.</strong><span> INDEMNITY – You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, -the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any -Defect you cause.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-4 section" id="section-2-information-about-the-mission-of-project-gutenberg"> -<h4 class="level-4 pfirst section-title title"><span>Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™</span></h4> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™'s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will remain -freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future generations. To -learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and -how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the -Foundation web page at </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.pglaf.org">http://www.pglaf.org</a><span> .</span></p> -</div> -<div class="level-4 section" id="section-3-information-about-the-project-gutenberg-literary-archive-foundation"> -<h4 class="level-4 pfirst section-title title"><span>Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation</span></h4> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at -</span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf">http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf</a><span> . Contributions to the -Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to -the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. -S. Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are -scattered throughout numerous locations. Its business office is -located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) -596-1887, email </span><a class="reference external" href="mailto:business@pglaf.org">business@pglaf.org</a><span>. Email contact links and up to date -contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.pglaf.org">http://www.pglaf.org</a></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For additional contact information:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span>Dr. Gregory B. Newby</span></div> -<div class="line"><span>Chief Executive and Director</span></div> -<div class="line"><a class="reference external" href="mailto:gbnewby@pglaf.org">gbnewby@pglaf.org</a></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -</div> -<div class="level-4 section" id="section-4-information-about-donations-to-the-project-gutenberg-literary-archive-foundation"> -<h4 class="level-4 pfirst section-title title"><span>Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation</span></h4> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without wide spread -public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing -the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely -distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest array of -equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to -$5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status -with the IRS.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate">http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate</a></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate">http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate</a></p> -</div> -<div class="level-4 section" id="section-5-general-information-about-project-gutenberg-electronic-works"> -<h4 class="level-4 pfirst section-title title"><span>Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works.</span></h4> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg™ -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the -U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's -eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, -compressed (zipped), HTML and others.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Corrected </span><em class="italics">editions</em><span> of our eBooks replace the old file and take over -the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is -renamed. </span><em class="italics">Versions</em><span> based on separate sources are treated as new -eBooks receiving new filenames and etext numbers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility:</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org">http://www.gutenberg.org</a></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg™, including -how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe -to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.</span></p> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</body> -</html> |