CHAPTER XXIII
ALONG THE TAHQUAMANON
The boys must have been up before daylight on that next morning.Certain it is that the sun could not have been half an hour high thanthey stood on the little beach, waved their hats three times as theygave that many vigorous cheers for Paradise Camp, and then enteringtheir loaded canoes, paddled blithely away.
“A bully little camp, that,” declared Dolph, as they urged the lightboats along with sturdy sweeps of the spruce paddles; “we’ll neverforget it, or the gamey bass of Manistique Lake.”
“Or a lot of other things that came to pass around this same neck ofold Michigan,” suggested Teddy.
“I guess not,” Amos put in, and they knew very well that he wasthinking right then of little Sallie, also how she had stood therewithout flinching, while that half-drunken brute of a father held hisfist half raised.
Would any of them forget that picture as long as they lived—Teddy andDolph felt sure they never could.
In due time they found where the man lived who was willing, for a cashconsideration, and a pretty stiff one, to convey the empty canoes andthe packs that would embrace all the duffel across the miles of pinewoods, to McMillan.
The boys knew how to pack things to good advantage. The canoes werelaid on top of all, and upside down, being secured thus so no accidentcould befall them.
As the sun was shining brightly, of course Dolph could not restsatisfied until he had snapped off a picture of the queer load thosehorses were expected to haul across the country following a “tote” roadmade long since by lumbermen.
Sometimes the boys tiring of sitting, and with a view to relieving thehorses in the bargain, would drop off and walk.
Noon came and found them still on the way. But the man was nowsure they would reach their destination by four o’clock, and sothey concluded to stop for an hour, bait the horses and have somerefreshments themselves.
Amos built one of his speedy fires, and had that aluminum coffee potsettled in place in an amazingly short time.
After a good rest, the journey was resumed through the pine woods. Andsure enough the driver kept his word for it was not much after halfpast three when they came in sight of the outskirts of McMillan.
The boys had vowed not to sleep under any but a canvas roof during theentire trip and so it was planned to launch the canoes immediately,stow their goods, and drop down the river half a mile or so, in thehope and expectation of discovering a good spot to put up the tent.
Then, on the following morning they would pack again and go on down toa place named Newberry, the county seat, where there would be largerstores, the driver told them, and a better chance to lay in the kind ofprovisions they wanted.
There was no hitch in their plans, and they spent a fairly decentnight, marred only by the frequent barking of a pack of dogs from town,that seemed to have banded together for a coon hunt, or something alongthat order.
On the next morning they followed the railroad for some time, passingone or two small places, and waving their hats to the passengers on atrain.
Arrived at Newberry they left Amos in charge of the boats, while Teddyand Dolph sought the post office to mail letters, as well as to pickup anything that may have been sent from the folks, with whom they hadleft a copy of their plans, marking the time of their expected arrivalat such points as Newberry and the Soo.
Afterwards the two boys took the list they had made out, of things theyneeded, and visiting the best store in the town, purchased an abundantsupply.
“Last chance to get anything,” warned Dolph, when Teddy asked if therewas any other article he could think of, “we pass no more places fromhere to the bay, where we strike a small place named Emerson,” and onthe strength of this plea, Dolph took the liberty of adding a few morethings to the list.
“Hope the canoes don’t sink with all that load,” chuckled Teddy, as,having completed their purchases, which were to be delivered in anhour’s time they sauntered down in the direction of the river.
“Oh! they’ll bear up, all right,” declared the other “and besides,remember that a few meals will lighten the cargo considerably.”
“I guess you’re right,” admitted Teddy. “I never saw three fellows withsuch appetites in all my life. I’d hate to board this crowd, believeme.”
“Well I don’t think any landlady would get rich doing it,” Dolphremarked, with a good-natured grin.
They left Newberry about two in the afternoon, and started down theriver which immediately entered among the pine woods and marshes thatmake up most of the region for many miles along the south shore ofSuperior east of the famous Pictured Rocks.
At one time the boys had contemplated taking in that region afterreaching White Fish Bay. They concluded, however, that the open lakewas too dangerous a cruising ground for such frail mosquito craft.Besides, they desired above all things, to visit the city on the famousSoo Rapids, and enjoy some of the wonderful things to be met with there.
The current of the Tahquamanon proved very acceptable to the boys.After using the paddles in pushing up against the flow of theManistique, and then navigating the still waters of the larger lakebearing the same name, it was certainly a pleasure to simply guide thecanoes, and allow the current to do the rest.
They were in no hurry, and consequently went ashore rather early tomake camp, enticed by ideal conditions.
Dolph managed to get a snapshot of a deer while here. The animal musthave been aware of the law’s protection for it stood knee-deep inthe water browsing upon some sort of of grass or lily pads while theofficial photographer took several views, finally walking up closer inorder to make the animal leap, so that he might secure that variety ofpicture for the collection.
Dolph also found that there were trout in the stream, quite good-sizedfellows too, of the speckled variety that can be caught in Superior,and at the mouth of the rivers along the north shore, as high as eightpounds in weight.
He started in to gather a mess for supper, and declared that he couldhave taken enough to feed a whole troop of Boy Scouts, had he cared tokeep them.
“Never saw fish so crazy to jump into a frying pan,” he remarked,afterwards when, the trout having been cleaned, they were rolled incracker crumbs, and dropped in the hot compound secured by “trying out”slices of fat salt pork.
And when the beautifully browned fish were eaten, the pink meat lookingso dainty, every one declared that when it came to sweetness, the troutraised in the clear cold waters of Lake Superior had no rival.
But then that is what hungry campers are saying up in Maine, in theAdirondacks, and in various other places where trout abound—they arealways the finest in the whole world, when you have your appetite alongwith you and the odor of supper is wafted to you on the wind thatshakes the foliage of the pine and hemlock.
Another day the boys dropped still lower down the Tahquamanon and indoing so drew nearer the place where they would finally launch upon thebosom of the largest body of fresh water in all America, the mightySuperior, well named by the early explorers.
Of course, there were occasionally things that served to break themonotony of the voyage, Teddy and Dolph for instance, managed to bringup on a partly submerged rock at a place where the current was prettybracing. They came very near having a spill too, that might have beendisastrous in so far as losing things was concerned, though they hardlyfelt as though their lives had been in danger because both boyschanced to be good swimmers, and would have clung to the canoe, whichhad air compartments fore and aft, and was believed to be unsinkable.
But by dint of some clever work the boys managed to save themselvesfrom this dire disaster, though both called it a narrow escape.
“And after this,” declared Teddy, “me to tie my Marlin to the ribs ofthe boat with this piece of strong cord. Then if we do go over I won’thave to lose the gun I think so much of. After snatching it out of BigGabe’s hands, I’d call it a shame now if it went to the bottom of theTahquamanon River.”
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p; “Huh!” added Dolph, “honest now, I don’t believe I’ll go to all thattrouble about my repeater. To tell the truth, I’m not so much stuck onthat fine foreign-made gun as I was when my dad made me a present ofit. Paid a hundred dollars or so for the thing over in Germany, too.But I’ve sort of lost faith in the thing. Perhaps it was my fault themechanism didn’t work well; but when a fellow begins to look on his gunwith suspicion, he never can enjoy it again. He’ll always be afraidsomething is going to go wrong.”
“Better keep it until the end of this trip, anyhow,” advised Teddy.
“Guess I ought to, seeing it was a present anyhow but another timeyou’ll find me on deck with a different make of gun,” Dolph declared;and his chum only smiled.
Another time the camp was invaded by a wandering hog with a whole troopof partly grown pigs; and they had no peace during the balance of theirstay there. Whether the porkers scented food, or “just wanted to befriendly” as Teddy put it, they were hardly driven away in one quarterthan another detachment turned up in another place.
Dolph was full of dark threats as to what he would do pretty soon, ifthe invasion did not let up. He even handled his gun in a ferociousmanner, and asked all kinds of questions of Amos as to how best theycould roast a small pig in an earthern oven, made after the manner ofthe old hunters.
But this must all have been said just in the hope of the old sowscenting danger to her brood when she whiffed the odor of burnt powder,might call the invading army off. Certain it was that Dolph was notcalled upon to fire his gun; and they positively did not have roastpig for supper, or breakfast, or any other meal, for that matter.And at nightfall their troublesome visitor, grunting their disgust,departed.
And so it came that about three in the afternoon of their last day onthe Tahquamanon, while they were all plying their paddles briskly,Teddy gave vent to a loud shout and pointed ahead:
“Look! yonder lies Lake Superior. Tonight we camp on the shore of theBig Water!”
CHAPTER XXIV
DOWN THE SOO RAPIDS—CONCLUSION
Teddy’s prophecy came true.
They did camp that night on the shore of White Fish Bay. A suitableplace was found where above a sandy beach a high bank offered goodinducements.
But the boys were not taking chances. While the sun went down in agolden and rosy mass of color, who could say that they might not bevisited by one of those sudden electrical storm which during the summersweep over the great lake, making it dangerous for any small boat to beout.
So the boys not only took extra precautions to fasten their tent downsecurely; but with considerable trouble they even brought both canoesup the high bank and fastened them, bottoms up, with ropes.
Never did they feel better repaid for their labor.
About half way between midnight and dawn a crash of thunder arousedthem. Hurrying out, after dressing they found black clouds sweepingdown from the northwest. Already the little waves were breaking on thebeach below. Had they simply drawn the canoes out of the water and leftthem there, doubtless this would have been a period of more or lessanxiety concerning the welfare of the small craft.
As it was, all they had to do now was to rope down the canvas a littlemore securely, and then await the coming of the squall.
It was what Dolph called a “screamer.”
The rain was carried on a howling wind that must have come across thatbig body of water from the Canada side at the rate of fifty miles anhour.
Fortunately the tent had some protection from this fierce wind, sincethey had erected it just back of a large granite rock. And while therain beat down in a flood not to speak of the spray that dashed twentyfeet in the air, as the great waves slapped up against the rocks backof the now covered beach—in spite of all this the Khaki colored tentdid not leak a single drop.
Whoever was responsible for the waterproofing, must have done a finejob; for if ever canvas was put to a severe test, that tent was.
The thunder roared, the lightning flashed, and the wind and waveshowled; but while the three canoe boys made no attempt to captureany sleep while the summer storm was at its height, they felt nouneasiness. With those firm rocks underneath, the billows of thebiggest of all lakes could do them no damage.
They supposed they might be marooned there for twenty-four hoursbecause the lake would be too rough for their small craft.
In this, however, they were pleasantly disappointed, when the stormwent off muttering and growling toward the south, and the boys thoughtto try and get some sleep, the giant waves were still battering awayat their old enemies the rocks, and sheets of spray fell upon the tentfrom time to time.
When Teddy awoke he missed all this row; and making his way outside,for it was morning, with the sun shining brightly, he was surprised andgratified to discover that the sea had gone down as if by magic, owingto a change of wind.
“That looks as if we might get away this morning,” remarked Dolph,joining him.
“It certain does. But where is Amos?” demanded Teddy.
“Listen!”
The sound of chopping came from a point near by.
“Why, of course it wouldn’t be Amos if he didn’t think of a fire thefirst thing,” declared Teddy.
“And it won’t feel at all bad this A. M.,” said Dolph. “That storm suredid purify the air and sent the mercury tumbling down the tube. Whew!my fingers are actually _cold_, and this a summer day, too.”
That day they paddled a good many miles along the shore. The windbeing now in the south, favored them, for as a rule the water was verycalm. It warmed up at noon, so that they were glad to strip down to asleeveless jersey.
And when it was finally decided to camp again for the night theyhad made such good progress that Teddy, after consulting his chart,declared another such day ought to land them at the Soo where theyexpected to spend several days ere going down the St. Mary’s river tothe head of Lake Huron, where they would put their boats on the steamerbound for Mackinac Island.
The first part of the program was carried out on the following day,thanks to the favorable weather, which kept the waves from heading inon the southern shore.
Late that afternoon they sighted the electrical building and towerthat marks the wonderful locks of the great Soo Canal. Here they founda congestion of whaleback steamers and barges bound east with ore andgrain, while others were going the other way laden with coal and otherthings needed around Duluth and the vast grain region beyond Superior’sfarther boundary.
There was almost constant whistling day and night.
Making camp outside of town, the boys spent their first night at theSoo in their own reliable tent.
On the following morning they hired a man to look after things, andstarted out to see the sights of the place.
Of course, they spent most of their time for two days at the greatlock, watching the vessels come and go. The grand rapids alsofascinated them. And there was the government fish hatchery on a littleisland between the canal and the river, where the boys were interestedin many things connected with the artificial raising of fish.
In the pools belonging to the hatchery they saw scores of monsterspeckled trout of a size to make Dolph’s mouth water—fully eightpounds. They would even rush at and seize upon a blade of grass when hetapped the water with it, as an insect might do.
Of course, these fish were kept in order that eggs might be secured bymillions, and placed in the jars to hatch out.
The boys early made the acquaintance of some stalwart, dark-featuredfellows who had long canoes over twenty feet in length in which forhalf a dollar each, two of them would take a party of four or six downthe whirling rapids.
And of course the boys quickly took that trip. The guides who pilotedthem claimed to be the grandsons of old John Boucher the Indian whomtens of thousands of tourists knew as the most daring and skilful guideof all the canoe men at the Soo. Old John some years ago took anotherpilot aboard, and started on the longest voyage he ever undertook. Butfrom what he told the writer, just
two years before he lay down inhis last sleep, with the familiar roar of the Soo Rapids sounding inhis ears, the way was fully charted and buoyed to him, and he had theutmost confidence in his pilot.
In sweeping down the rapids where the outlet of Lake Superior dropsnineteen feet in the mile, the boys noticed the terrible gapingwhirlpool over to the left. They saw their guides avoided it sharply,and upon questioning later as to why this was done learned that onlyone man had dared to always pilot his canoe close to the edge of thatseething vortex, to be sucked into which meant death.
“Since Old John is gone, no guide cares to take chances,” was the reply.
Of course, the boys also hunted up the grandmother of little Sallie.They found her living in comfort, with a son who had some officeconnected with the electrical department of the great locks.
The old lady was shocked when she learned what kind of a man Crawleyreally was. She declared that if the girl came back again as usualafter a summer with her father she should never go out into the pinewoods again.
And she never did.
Some months later Teddy, who had left his address with the old lady,received a letter from her that really eased his mind greatly, as itdid also those of Dolph and Amos, when they came to hear about it.
Sallie was home again, sad, but fully satisfied that she had carriedout the last injunction of her mother to stick to her father to theend.
Crawley was no more. He had been killed by a stroke of lightning, andthe girl rendered unconscious at the same time. Recovering, littleSallie had made her way to the camp of a party of Chicago people, whomshe knew were on the other side of the small lake.
These people had buried Crawley, and seen to it that the wise littlegirl was put in charge of a conductor on a train who would deliver herto her folks.
Sallie wanted to be remembered too—as if any of them would ever forgether.
Taking their smaller canoes right into the big ones, the boys againshot the rapids and then leisurely made their way down the St. Mary’sRiver, camping several times and taking their toll of the fierce bassfor which certain stretches of this river are noted.
At the mouth of the river they waited for the daily steamboat fromthe Soo, which took boys and canoes aboard, landing them at MackinacIsland. After a day at this loveliest of all islands, having a weekmore on their hands, the boys boarded the steamer Islander, whichcarried them, also their canoes, in among the Snow Islands.
Here they passed the balance of their vacation, devoting some time tofishing, more to taking snap shots, and most of all to satisfying theclamorous demands of their healthy young appetites.
Finally they got in touch with civilization, had their boats shippedout, and in the end landed at Teddy’s home in Grand Rapids.
Dolph declares that another summer will find him up in Michigan again,with his two staunch and true camp mates. And in return, by letter,Teddy has confided his belief that Amos, who is attending school withthe prospect of studying medicine when he graduates, only hopes to goalong with them so that he may run over to the Soo and pay his promisedvisit at the home of the old lady who is the grandmother of Sallie.
THE END
DECORATION]
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:
—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.
Camp Mates in Michigan; or, with Pack and Paddle in the Pine Woods Page 24