The Pioneer Boys of the Columbia; or, In the Wilderness of the Great Northwest
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CHAPTER XXXII
TO THE RISING SUN--CONCLUSION
ON the following day the flag of the United States floated from thegreen hills of Columbia Bay. And, when the adventurers had becomethoroughly rested, they began to discuss the matter as to where theywould stay during the coming winter.
Just what sort of severe weather they might expect none of them, ofcourse, knew. In those early days nothing was understood with referenceto the famous warm Japan ocean current, which does for the Pacificcoast what the Gulf Stream accomplishes for much of our eastern shore,as well as for Europe.
So cabins were finally built, in which they hoped to keep fairlycomfortable, and by degrees a supply of meat was laid, in forconsumption during the winter, if the cold should be prolonged like aCanadian season.
They soon found that the Indians meant to be friendly, and all fear oftrouble from this source was laid to rest. As the days and weeks crepton they explored some of the surrounding country, and even tried tomake rude maps of it to show when they returned East.
Dick and Roger did their full share in everything that went on. Much ofthe meat that was dried that winter, in order to provide a supply onthe return trip over the mountains and down the Missouri, fell beforetheir guns.
They were also instrumental in helping to tan some of the skins to beused in making necessary clothing for the men. Having been almost twoyears on the trail, some of the members of the expedition were sadly inneed of garments; and this well-tanned buckskin supplied the deficiencyadmirably, for in those pioneer days every man was his own tailor.
It would hardly be fitting here to try to tell the many things thatoccupied their attention as the winter months passed; but they werebusy most of the time. To the surprise of all the weather never becamesevere. Snow they saw on the sides of the mountains, but, taken in all,they suffered very little from cold, a fact that astonished them verymuch.
Finally the spring came, and all eyes were eagerly turned toward therising sun; for it was known that the time was now near at hand whenthey must start upon the return trip.
The ties that drew them all, men and boys, to the East were many andstrong. Their hearts often swelled with emotion as they thought ofthose from whom they had been separated so many months.
"Why," Roger was accustomed to saying, when he and his chum discussedthe time of their departure, now close at hand, "I feel sure I willnever know my little sister, Mary, when I see her again; she must besuch a big girl by now. And as for your brother, Sam, you may find himable to give you a good tussle in a wrestle."
Thus they often talked of their loved ones, but neither of the boysever dared express the one dread fear that sometimes tugged at theirheartstrings, which was that they might find some face missing in thefamily circle when they reached home again.
Toward the end of March, everything being favorable, they once morestarted up the broad Columbia, saying farewell to the place where theyhad passed such a contented winter. No serious illness had visitedthem, and all were very anxious to get started.
Reaching the village of the Nez Perces, they had no difficulty inclaiming their horses, which had survived the winter. And, having mademany presents to their red friends, the adventurers again set forth.
They had a faithful guide this time who showed them how to avoid someof the worst of the burning desert. The changed season of the yearalso aided them, so that, in the end, they reached in safety the loftybarrier that divided the continent.
Crossing the Rocky Mountains they proceeded to where they had lefttheir companions, and were fortunate enough to find them safe andsound. It was a joyous reunion all around.
They had troubles with the Indians, though as a rule they found the redmen inclined to be friendly; and, in return for medicine and servicesrendered, received many favors at the hands of the natives, includingmuch-needed meat.
Once, among the Blackfeet, they were forced to make a hasty flight,when some of the thievish Indians tried to steal their horses; and inthe melee a brave was shot, though the animals were saved.
When finally the Missouri was reached the party set to work to make newcanoes, having by degrees lost their horses or traded them with theIndians for necessities. Captain Lewis knew that for the hundreds ofmiles they now had to traverse, boats would be far more preferable tohorses, because the going was all downstream, with a swift current, theriver being in its spring flood.
Some of the canoes they made themselves, others were purchased from theIndians; in this way enough were provided to carry the entire party.
Day after day they kept pushing resolutely down the great river,camping by night on the bank. The summer was already well along, andthey knew it would be close to October before they could expect to makethe village of St. Louis, the first settlement on their course.
It was just about the end of September when they did arrive, and theevent created the most intense excitement ever known in that borderpost. Most people, who had seen the expedition set forth nearly two anda half years back, believed the brave captains and all with them hadperished.
When Mayhew, the scout, had shown up, bearing the precious paper whichmeant so much to the Armstrongs, he had, of course, brought news; andit was known that the expedition had reached a place near the fardistant headwaters of the Missouri; but since then weary months ofwaiting had ensued, with never a word, and hope beat but faintly inthose fond hearts at home.
It was a joyous meeting. Roger could hardly believe the tall girl whothrew her arms about his neck was his little sister, Mary; and as forSam, he bade fair to soon look down on Dick, he was growing so fast.
Grandfather and Grandmother Armstrong were both there, hale and hearty,and mighty proud of their two sturdy grandsons, who had made thatwonderful trip to the western sea in company with the President'sprivate secretary.
The whole country applauded the hardy men who had done this great feat,and with reason, for, as one account says:
"They were world conquerors in the best sense, in that they had blazedthe way for thousands of sturdy homeseekers who soon followed in theirwake, building homes, cities, manufacturing plants, railroads andtelegraph lines where once had roamed the lordly bison, the herds ofdun-colored antelope, the vast bodies of stately elk; and where, in thesilence of the mountains and the forest the grizzly bear--monarch ofthe plains and the valleys--had moved in the peace and seclusion of thevast wilderness."
In later years, after the original pioneers of the Armstrong family hadbeen gathered to their fathers, the families scattered, as new thingsarose to lure some of the younger members further into the wide West.
They have settled, the newer generations of them, some in Oregon, alongthe mighty Columbia which Dick and Roger were among the first whites tosee; others on wheat growing farms in Dakota, or else on cattle ranchesin Montana; though there can still be found Armstrongs in St. Louis,proud to trace their ancestry back to those bold pioneers whose earlyhistory we have attempted to narrate in these volumes.
Jasper Williams often visited his young friends when he came tothe growing settlement at the junction of the Missouri with theMississippi. He lived to dandle the children of Dick and Roger on hisknee, and tell them many of the exciting adventures which those twohold lads encountered when crossing the Great Divide with Lewis andClark.
Nothing was ever heard of either Lascelles or Andrew Waller, and theboys never entertained a doubt but that the renegades met their fatein that strange landslide by which they had been precipitated into theColumbia.
And, since we have seen the safe return of the wanderers, and watchedthe happy ending of their great adventure, it is but right that webring our story of early pioneer days to a close.
THE END