The Pioneer Boys of the Columbia; or, In the Wilderness of the Great Northwest

by St. George Rathborne

  CHAPTER XXIX

  NEARING THE SALTY SEA

  FORTUNATELY the others were close at hand when this catastrophehappened. Dick, of course, plied his paddle with the utmost vigor, but,in spite of his endeavors, their canoe was dragged perilously close tothe verge of the fall, and, if left to themselves, the boys would havehad a serious time of it.

  The nearest boat chanced to contain Jasper Williams and another.Williams had always been known as a quick-witted man when trouble camesuddenly from a clear sky.

  Loud cries arose. Then this boat was seen speeding straight toward theone that had been crippled by the breaking of the paddle.

  "Here, take hold of this rope!" Jasper Williams was heard calling, andRoger, who had been watching the approach of the other canoe in a sortof dumb anxiety, not knowing how their arrival would help, managed tosecure the line that came flying through the air.

  He saw what the trapper had in mind. Dick, too, bent all his energiesto his own paddle, while the blades in the other canoe flashed fast andfuriously as the two paddlers bent their broad backs to the task.

  The current was loath to give up its expected prey, and it foughtfuriously before admitting defeat; but brain triumphed in the end. Onething that helped materially was the fact that with every yard theygained in the direction of the bank the grip of the current grew lesssevere.

  In the end they reached land, much to the relief of both boys. Rogerlooked a little white under the eyes, although he stoutly protestedthat he had not been much alarmed.

  When later on they had a chance to see from what they had escapedthrough the happy circumstance of Jasper Williams' possession of therope, the boys were very grateful things had turned out as they did.Dick realized that there was not much hope for any one unfortunateenough to be swept over those falls, and carried through the rapids,where cruel rocks waited on every hand to bruise the victim.

  The party went into camp on the spot, and expected to be lulled tosleep that night by the incessant roar as the water took the plunge.Roger meant to busy himself below the falls as soon as he could getthere, armed with his spear, of which he had by this time become veryproud.

  They soon learned that this spot was a favorite fishing place for theIndians. Indeed, there did not seem to be a minute of the day that oneor more dusky sons of the wilderness could not be seen prowling around,armed with spears with which they would adroitly stab any fish thatcame within reach. (Note 9.)

  The salmon on reaching a waterfall exhibits a wonderful agility inlofty leaping, in the endeavor to gain the upper reaches of the stream.This, of course, is more frequent in the spring when the fish wish toreach their spawning beds far up in the rivers. Still, the boys sawmany fish make the leap while they were at the falls, some reachingprojecting ledges, and resting for another frantic attempt; othersfalling back, doubtless to make a more successful effort later.

  These Indians the boys found were of a different tribe from any theyhad thus far encountered, and they soon decided they must belong to thefighting tribe of whom they had heard so many contradictory accounts,the Flat Heads.

  Very naturally, since they had probably never before seen a whiteman, the Indians displayed considerable curiosity. They were at firstinclined to flee, showing all the signs of alarm and enmity; butCaptain Lewis made friendly signs, and in the end succeeded in soothingtheir fears.

  "I don't like their looks, though," Roger said to Dick, as they watchedseveral of the Flat Head braves accepting little trinkets, such ascolored beads and minute mirrors, which had been carried along for thepurpose of trading with the natives.

  "I agree with you there," admitted Dick. "They have a differentappearance from the friendly Nez Perces, the Mandans, or any othertribe we have met so far."

  "I believe they must be more treacherous than the others," continuedRoger, uneasily. "You know we have heard not a single good word aboutthem from any source."

  "Well, 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating of it,' as we'veheard many the time at home, Roger; and we shouldn't judge peoplewholly by their looks. Captain Lewis seems to be willing to trust them.If any person can make friends with these Flat Heads, he will."

  "Unless they've already determined to hate, and try to exterminate us,"grumbled the other, of course referring to the underhand measures whichthey believed Lascelles and his companion meant to put into practice.

  It was not long before Roger found a good use for his spear. He watchedhow the red fishermen plied their weapons and copied their method.Although he could hardly expect to be an expert in the beginning theboy soon learned to handle his new tool with considerable skill; andDick commended his work when he saw him strike a splendid silvery fishthat had shown itself near the surface.

  It was not a very difficult task getting the canoes around the portage,or carry. There was a regular path which doubtless had been worn by themoccasined feet of countless red Indians for ages past, since this spotmust always have been a favorite one for laying in stores of fish food.

  The second night was passed some distance below the falls, though theirmusical roar could still be plainly heard. Always eager to learn factsin connection with what lay ahead, Captain Lewis questioned some of theIndians once more with regard to how many days journey they still hadto expect before arriving at the ocean.

  Thanks to his mastery of the sign language, the commander was ableto discover what he sought; and it was pleasing intelligence that hecommunicated to the rest of the company that same night.

  November was at hand, and before the month had gone far they shouldarrive at the termination of their great adventure, with the oceanstretching before them.

  From the present time they could count on an easy voyage, unlesssomething entirely unexpected cropped up to dismay them. The currentof the Columbia was swift, and could be counted on to carry them alongwithout a paddle being dipped, if they felt like avoiding the labor.

  Already were the men beginning to count on the glorious experiencethey expected to have while the winter lasted, hunting and fishing asthe weather permitted, and with the wonderful sea to gaze upon. It wasplanned to go into winter quarters as soon as they arrived at theirdestination. This would permit of their gathering a great store offood, after the Indian custom.

  Only one fly remained in the ointment of the boys. They could notforget that, as long as the revengeful Frenchman, Francois Lascelles,hovered about that part of the country, they could never feel safe. Nomatter if he were unseen, they knew him well enough to believe that hewould be plotting in some underhand way to injure them, as he had doneso many times in the past.

  "We will never know a minute's peace as long as that man is alive,"said Roger, when the subject came up to cast a shadow on theirhappiness.

  The weather did not improve as they descended the Columbia. Rain fellfrequently, and twice they saw where serious landslides had occurred.It made them more careful as to where they camped when night came, for,should they be so unfortunate as to be caught in one of these slips,the result was apt to be exceedingly serious.

  They saw Indians daily. Sometimes these were ashore, and again they metthem in canoes made of hide, or, it might be, dugouts formed from logs.In most cases the natives avoided them, for the sight of white facesand beards filled them with wonder and fear. Some of them must havebelieved the explorers had come from one of the stars, and were peopleof another world, for never had they dreamed there could be any butcopper-colored inhabitants on this sphere.

  Nor were the adventurers always free from peril from this source. Onseveral occasions an arrow had been known to hurtle into camp; and oneof the men even received a flesh wound.

  For a short time it was feared the shaft might have had a poisoned tip,and every expedient to neutralize the venom was immediately applied. Asthe man did not suffer any great disability on account of his injury,they finally concluded that the Flat Heads, at least, did not dip theheads of their war arrows in the poison of the rattlesnake, as sometribes were known to do. (Note 10.)


  Captain Lewis did not like the menacing manner in which some of theseIndians acted when on the bank of the river, while the little flotillaof canoes was passing.

  "I feel certain there is some malign influence at work, behind thescenes," Dick heard him telling Captain Clark, after they had seen amanifestation of this ill humor one day, when several half-naked redskins brandished their spears toward them as the boats drifted past,at the same time uttering angry cries; "and, since we happen to knowthat Lascelles slipped past us down the river, there can be no doubt itis his work."

  "A few days more and we shall be there, the captain says," announcedRoger, as he made his way back a short distance up the river in companywith his chum, they having noticed signs of game.

  The boys had gone about half a mile from the camp, having caught sightof a feeding deer.

  "We are getting close to the spot where we glimpsed that deer feedingon the green grass, so let us stop talking, and be on the watch," Dicksuggested, thinking the animal might have moved from its place.

  Three minutes afterwards Roger gave a low "hist."

  "I can see him right now," he whispered, and, following the directionof the extended finger, Dick also caught sight of the dun-coloredfigure.

  Really it must have been a very hungry deer. As a rule such an animal,when feeding, is so nervous and suspicious that every minute or soits tail will whisk, and the hunters know from this that the deerwill immediately raise its head to take a look around. But althoughthe boys as they advanced kept their eyes fastened closely on theirintended quarry, they could not see even the slightest movement.

  Roger had begged the privilege of having first shot, and, when they hadcrept as close as seemed wise, his gun-stock came up against his cheek,his eye ran along the sights, and then his finger pressed the hairtrigger of the long-barreled rifle.

  Strange to say, the deer never moved even then. Roger was more thanamazed.

  "Give him a shot, Dick!" he cried, "or he may get away from us yet,thanks to my poor aim!"

  Dick was about to comply, when suddenly the deer toppled over. Therewas something decidedly suspicious in the way the animal collapsed, andDick had a flash of intelligence sweep over him. He believed the deerwas being used for a stalking animal, and had been dead all the while,its body propped up to deceive them. And even as this dreadful truthstruck him, he heard loud Indian whoops ring out.