CHAPTER XXVIII
AT THE FALLS OF THE COLUMBIA
"I HOPE you don't think I'm discouraged, Dick, because so far no fishhas come near my hook?" remarked Roger, when the time came to wraptheir blankets around them and seek rest.
"Oh! I know you too well to believe that," replied the other. "From nowon I expect to see you doing your best to land a prize. Sooner or latersuccess is bound to come, Roger."
"I know it," was the confident way the other spoke; "because I'vealways made it my business to stick to the old motto, 'If at first youdon't succeed, try, try again.' And even if the fish refuse to look atmy bait I've got that spear, you remember. One of these days I'll finda chance to launch it, and bring up a salmon worth looking at."
Dick always liked to hear Roger talk that way. It was his constancythat in the past had won him many a battle; for Roger had a stubbornstreak in his nature and would come back again and again to make newattempts. As the water by everlasting dripping will wear away a stone,so this "never-say-die" spirit often won out in the end.
Nothing disturbed the slumbers of the travelers during that first nightupon the bank of the Lewis River. They started again early in themorning, for, now that the end of their journey was almost in sight, afever began to possess them to cover the ground as rapidly as possible.
New sights opened up to their gaze with every mile of progress made.The paddles dipped into the clear water, and the sunlight, falling onthe drops dripping from the blades, made each one resemble a glitteringdiamond.
After their life spent on the muddy Missouri it was a great pleasureto Dick and Roger to find themselves upon a stream where they could inplaces look down for many feet, and see the stones on the bottom, sotransparent was the water.
As they floated along, waiting for the others to catch up with them,the boys' favorite amusement was to lie still, and, looking over thegunnel of their hide canoe, watch the small fishes darting to and fro;or thrust a paddle at some clumsy turtle that had come up to see whatsort of object this floating log could be.
It was not always as pleasant as this, however, for one day they had adownpour of rain that caused them to make hurriedly for the shore, andget their tents up with as little delay as possible.
The storm continued all of the following day, and an unusual amount ofrain for that time of year descended. After that the water was not soclear as before, the boys noticed. There were also places where theydiscovered landslides had occurred, sections of the bank having slippedinto the rising river.
"It's a good thing we picked out a camp site where the ground wasfirm," Roger observed, as they passed such a slide on the next day, andsaw what a terrible thing it had been.
Dick was ready to agree with what his companion said. He shrugged hisbroad shoulders and shook his head.
"It would have proved a bad job for us, I take it, Roger, if we hadbeen camping on this spot. Think of having the ground slip from underyou while you sleep; and of awaking to find yourself struggling in theriver. Yes, we were lucky to be on firm ground while the rain lasted."
"The days keep passing along," mused Roger, "and so far I haven't beenable to take a single salmon. And only this morning I'm sure I saw onejump out of the water after some sort of insect. If only I knew whatkind of fly it was I might be able to coax one of the big fish to cometo time."
"It is near the end of October, too," Dick remarked, "and any day nowCaptain Lewis says he expects that we must reach the lower river."
"And, after that, all we have to do is to let the swift current carryus along to the sea; eh, Dick?"
"Our only remaining danger will come from the Flat Head Indians wholive along the banks of the broad river. Then we must remember, youknow, Roger, that there is a great fall somewhere below us. The NezPerces Indians told us they make a noise like thunder when the water ishigh, as it is after so much rain."
"Of course we must keep on the watch for the fall, Dick; I give you myword for it, I have no desire to be carried over the brink in one ofthese frail little hide canoes. It would be smashed on the rocks below,and, as for us, we might not know what had happened."
"Just watch that fish hawk hovering over that place in the river,meaning to snatch up his dinner when he gets ready. There's thechampion fisher for you, Roger. If that bird could only talk he couldtell you all about the habits of these wary salmon that so far youhaven't succeeded in catching."
"There he goes!" cried Roger, excitedly. "Oh! what a splash he made!And, Dick, look at him trying to get up again! It's all he can do torise, beating his wings like a crazy thing. See the fish the fellow hasfastened his claws on, Dick. There goes a salmon, I do believe, thevery first we've seen!"
The big fish hawk was indeed having a hard battle trying to fly withsuch a large fish in its talons. It fluttered its wings, and stillcould not manage to get more than twenty feet above the water.
As it turned toward the bank, doubtless meaning that, if compelled torelease its hold on the glittering prize, the fish should fall uponland where it could be eaten at leisure, Roger gave vent to anotherexclamation.
"When it gets off the river I'm going to shout, and see if I canfrighten the hawk into letting that fish drop," he observed, eagerly.
"I'll join with you, then," agreed his chum.
A few seconds later, Roger made a signal with his paddle at whichboth of them gave forth a startling yell. Surely enough, the suddendiscordant sound startled the fish hawk, and it immediately let itsprize go.
"There, it landed on the bank!" cried Roger. "Quick! let's paddleashore before it flops back into the river again. Oh! my first salmonseems to be coming to me from the air after all!"
Reaching the bank, Roger sprang ashore, and presently came back,carrying his capture by inserting a finger in the gill. It was indeed asalmon, though only of a comparatively few pounds weight, and nothingcompared to myriads they were fated to see later on.
"Enough to make a supper for both the captains, and ourselves in thebargain!" explained the triumphant Roger. "And I want to say that neverbefore did I pull in a fish from the air. That's a new way of doing it,Dick. I'll never see an industrious fish hawk after this but that I'llthink of what happened to-day."
"If you hadn't secured the fish some robber eagle might," declaredDick. "Many a time have I sat and watched one of those bald-headedpirates, perched on a dead limb of a tree, too lazy to pounce down andget a dinner for himself, and only waiting until a hawk flew off withits prize, when, after the other bird, would start the eagle, and tentimes out of eleven he was bound to play the robber game."
"Yes," added Roger, "I've seen the poor hawk mount high in the air,trying to escape; but with the eagle in hot pursuit. In the end thefish would drop, and the eagle follow after it, snatching his dinnerfrom the air long before it could strike the earth; just as I can let astone fall, and then overtake it with my hand before it lands."
It was on the second day after this incident that the boys, who wereahead of the others, were heard giving glad yells. The secret of allthis joy was soon made manifest, for they had really arrived at thejunction of the Lewis with the Columbia, as they immediately called themajestic stream that, with a swift current, ran to the west, and flowedout into the sea.
All their hopes, so long delayed, seemed now on the eve of realization;and there were no despondent hearts in the camp when night again foundthem.
It was with satisfaction that they looked out upon the noble stream,in the belief that the confidence which President Jefferson had feltin their ability to overcome all difficulties on the road had now beenjustified.
It was just a day afterward that Roger found a chance to strike hisfirst salmon with the Indian spear. He and Dick had gone ashore at alikely-looking spot where a small tributary entered the river. Thecharacter of the ground emboldened Roger to believe he might run acrosssome of the places such as the Indians loved to frequent when fishingafter their peculiar style.
He found that he could creep along and look down upon the
water fiveor six feet below, where the shadows were dense, and the passage of asilvery salmon would seem like a ray of sunlight.
Here the boy waited, crouching silently, just as he imagined the expertIndian fish-spearers were wont to hang. And presently Dick, who waswatching close by, saw him make a furious jab with his spear. Followingthis, Roger struggled desperately, and then dragged up a magnificentfish, floundering at the end of the spear.
This he repeated twice more, when they had enough for the whole party.That was certainly a red letter day in the life of Roger, and one hewas not likely soon to forget.
More days passed, and they were constantly descending the majesticriver, now unusually high on account of the recent heavy rains. Twicethey were compelled to cut short their day's trip in order to seekshelter from a downpour; and, after such a recent experience of the dryand arid strip of country stretching out toward the foot of the RockyMountains, they hardly knew what to make of such weather.
There came a day when, ahead of them, they heard a dull sound thatthrilled every heart. The falls of the Columbia must be at hand, wherethey would be compelled to make a portage with the canoes and theircargoes.
Roger would have liked to strike out and be the first to get withinseeing distance of this natural wonder, but Dick curbed his impatience.
"Better hold back and keep near the rest," he advised. "We none of usknow anything about the falls, and from the Indians we've heard theyare very dangerous. They even claim that a bad spirit is chained underthe water, and always ready to overturn the canoe of any venturesomebrave who ventures too near."
The current was becoming furiously swift, and Captain Lewis, like thewise leader he was, advised that all the boats make for the shore. Itrequired considerable sturdy work to effect this, for they had alreadygone further down than discretion fully warranted.
All would have gone well except for an unfortunate accident. The paddlewhich Roger was using had been cracked a little recently; indeed he hadjust that morning discovered the flaw, and declared he must lose notime in making a new one.
When Roger worked he did it with all his vim and energy; consequentlythere was a greater strain on his paddle than would have been the casehad Dick, for instance, been handling it.
Feeling the savage pull of the fierce current the boy even put a littleextra strength into his labor, which was a hazardous thing to do,considering the circumstances.
Dick, methodically handling his own blade, was suddenly thrilled tohear his comrade give vent to a cry of dismay. As he looked up he sawRoger holding the fragment of a paddle in his hands. The treacherousblade had broken just at the most critical time possible. They wereheld fast in the grip of a current which Dick, with his single paddle,could never succeed in combatting; and just below them the roar ofthe falls sounded, while they could see the foam-capped waves, thatannounced the beginning of the rapids, just ahead of their driftingcanoe!
The Pioneer Boys of the Columbia; or, In the Wilderness of the Great Northwest Page 31