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17 - In the Heart of the Rockies by G A Henty · In the Heart of the Rockies

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Speaker 1: Courting is in the public domain. Read by Alan Kammer,
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Speaker 1: Chapter sixteen, A float in canoes. The two Indians were
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Speaker 1: off long before daylight, and just as the others were
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Speaker 1: having a wash at the edge of the river, they
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Speaker 1: heard the crack of a rifle some distance up the cliff. Bear.
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Speaker 1: Jerry exclaimed, and I reckon they have got it else.
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Speaker 1: We should have heard another shot directly afterwards. That'll set
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Speaker 1: us up in food for some time. Get the fire
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Speaker 1: made up, Tom, you won't have to eat horse steak
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Speaker 1: for breakfast unless you like. The Indians returned half an
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Speaker 1: hour later, laden with as much bear flesh as they
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Speaker 1: could carry. I vote we stop here for two days,
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Speaker 1: Harry said. We have got a lot of meat now,
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Speaker 1: but it won't keep for twenty four hours in this heat.
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Speaker 1: So I vote we cut it up and dry it
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Speaker 1: as the Indians do buffalo meat. It will keep any time. Besides,
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Speaker 1: we deserve a couple of days rest, and we can
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Speaker 1: practice paddling while the meat dries. We got on very
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Speaker 1: well yes day, but I do not want us to
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Speaker 1: get quite at home in the boats before we get
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Speaker 1: to a bad bit. The proposal was agreed to, and
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Speaker 1: as soon as breakfast was over, the whole of the
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Speaker 1: meat was cut up into thin slices and hung up
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Speaker 1: on cords fastened from tree to tree. It ought to
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Speaker 1: take three days to do it properly, and four is better,
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Speaker 1: Harry said. Still, as we have cut it very thin,
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Speaker 1: I should think two days in this hot sun ought
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Speaker 1: to be enough. Are there any fish in the river? Uncle,
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Speaker 1: I have no doubt there are tom grists of them,
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Speaker 1: but we have got no hooks. Jerry has got some.
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Speaker 1: He told me he never traveled without them, and we
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Speaker 1: caught a lot of fish with them up in the
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Speaker 1: mountains just after we started before. I don't know about line,
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Speaker 1: but one might unravel one of the ropes. I think
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Speaker 1: you might do better than that. Tom. The next small
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Speaker 1: animal we shoot, we might make some lines from the gut.
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Speaker 1: They needn't be above five or six feet long. Beyond
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Speaker 1: that we could cut a strip of thirty or forty
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Speaker 1: feet long from one of the hides. However, we can
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Speaker 1: do nothing at present in that way. Now, let us
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Speaker 1: get into the canoes and have a couple of hours paddling.
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Speaker 1: After dinner we will have another good spell at the work.
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Speaker 1: By evening there was a marked improvement in the paddling
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Speaker 1: over that of the previous day, and after having had
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Speaker 1: another day's practice, all felt competent that they should get
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Speaker 1: on very well. By nightfall. On the second day, the
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Speaker 1: meat was found to be thoroughly dried and was taken
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Speaker 1: down and packed in bundles, and the next morning they
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Speaker 1: started as soon as it was light. It was agreed
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Speaker 1: that the boats should follow each other at a distance
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Speaker 1: of a hundred yards, so that the leader could signal
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Speaker 1: to the one behind if serious difficulties were made out ahead,
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Speaker 1: and so enable it to row to the bank in time.
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Speaker 1: Were both drawn together into the suck of a dangerous rapid,
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Speaker 1: they might find themselves without either boats or stores, whereas
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Speaker 1: if only one of the boats was broken up, there
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Speaker 1: would be the other to fall back upon. Harry's boat
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Speaker 1: was to take the lead on the first day, and
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Speaker 1: tom as he knelt in the bows, felt his heart
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Speaker 1: beat with excitement at the thought of the unknown that
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Speaker 1: lay before them, and that they were about to make
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Speaker 1: their way down passes probably unpenetrated by man. Passing between
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Speaker 1: what had seemed to them the entrance to a narrow canyon,
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Speaker 1: they were surprised to find the river widen out on
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Speaker 1: their right a great sweep of hills bent round like
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Speaker 1: a vast amphitheater, the resemblance being heightened by the ledges
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Speaker 1: running in regular lines along it, the cliff being far
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Speaker 1: from perpendicular. I should think one could climb up there,
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Speaker 1: Tom said, half turning round to his uncle. It looks
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Speaker 1: like it, Tom, But there is no saying. Some of
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Speaker 1: those steps may be a good deal steeper than they look. However,
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Speaker 1: I have no doubt one could find places where it
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Speaker 1: would be possible to climb, if there were any use
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Speaker 1: in doing so. But as we should only find ourselves
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Speaker 1: up on bad lands, we should gain nothing by it.
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Speaker 1: I don't mean we should want to climb up now, uncle,
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Speaker 1: but it seemed a sort of satisfaction to know that
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Speaker 1: there are places where one could climb. Case we got
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Speaker 1: the boats smashed up. If we had to make our
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Speaker 1: way up lad, it would be much better to go
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Speaker 1: by one of the lateral canyons, like the one we
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Speaker 1: came down by. I can see at least half a
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Speaker 1: dozen of them going up there. We should certainly find water,
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Speaker 1: and we might find game, but up on the plateau
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Speaker 1: we should find neither one nor the other. On the
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Speaker 1: left hand bank of the river. The cliffs fell still
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Speaker 1: farther back, in wide terraces that rose one behind the
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Speaker 1: other up to a perpendicular cliff half a mile back
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Speaker 1: from the river. There was a shade of green here
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Speaker 1: and there, and the chief pointed far up the hill
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Speaker 1: and exclaimed, deer, that is good, Harry said, there are
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Speaker 1: sure to be more of these places, and I should
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Speaker 1: think we are not likely to starve Anyhow, we can't
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Speaker 1: spare time to stop now. We want to have a
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Speaker 1: long day's paddle to see what it is going to
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Speaker 1: be like. And we have got meat enough for the present.
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Speaker 1: If we happened to see a deer within rifle shot,
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Speaker 1: so that we can get at him without much loss
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Speaker 1: of time, we will stop. For after all, fresh meat
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Speaker 1: is better eat than dry. I should think it would
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Speaker 1: be uncle. From the look of the stuff. I should
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Speaker 1: think it would be quite as tough as shoe leather,
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Speaker 1: and tasteless. It needs a set of sharp teeth, Tom.
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Speaker 1: But if you are hard, said, I have no doubt
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Speaker 1: you will be able to get through it. And at
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Speaker 1: any rate, it constitutes the chief food of the Indians
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Speaker 1: between the Missouri and the Rockies. For the next three
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Speaker 1: hours they paddled along on the quiet surface of the river.
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Speaker 1: The other canoe had drawn up, since it was evident
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Speaker 1: that here, at least there was no reason why they
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Speaker 1: should keep apart. I didn't expect we should find it
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Speaker 1: as quiet as this, Harry. Jerry Curtis said, it is
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Speaker 1: a regular water party, and I should not mind how
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Speaker 1: long I was at it. If it were all like this,
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Speaker 1: we shall have rough water enough presently, Jerry, and I
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Speaker 1: expect we shall look back on this as the pleasantest
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Speaker 1: part of the trip. It seems to me that the
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Speaker 1: hills close in more towards the end of this sweep.
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Speaker 1: It has made a regular horseshoe. I reckon. It depends
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Speaker 1: upon the nature of the rock, Ben put in that
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Speaker 1: is it, You may be sure, Ben. Wherever it is
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Speaker 1: soft r in time, it crumbles away like this. Where
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Speaker 1: it is hard, the weather don't affect it much, and
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Speaker 1: we get straight cliffs. I expect it is there we
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Speaker 1: shall find the rapids worst well. We shall soon make
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Speaker 1: a trial of them. I fancy it looks like a
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Speaker 1: wall ahead, but the road must go through somewhere. A
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Speaker 1: quarter of an hour later, Harry said, you had better
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Speaker 1: drop back now. Jerry, there is the gap right ahead.
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Speaker 1: If you see me hold up my paddle, you row ashore.
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Speaker 1: When we come to a bad rapid, we had better
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Speaker 1: all get out and make our way down on the
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Speaker 1: rocks as far as we can to see what it
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Speaker 1: is like. It will never do to go at it blind.
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Speaker 1: Of course, we may find places where the water comes
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Speaker 1: to the wall faces on both sides, and then there
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Speaker 1: is nothing to do but to take our chance. But
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Speaker 1: I don't propose to run any risks that I can avoid.
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Speaker 1: There was a perceptible increase in the rate of the
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Speaker 1: current as they neared the gorge, and when they came
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Speaker 1: within a short distance of it, Harry gave the signal
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Speaker 1: to the boat behind, and both canoes made for the shore.
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Speaker 1: As they stepped out on to the rocks, the chief
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Speaker 1: pointed to a ledge far above them. There will be
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Speaker 1: time for hunting Dog to shoot a deer, he said,
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Speaker 1: while we go down to see canyon. Tom in vain
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Speaker 1: endeavored to make out the object at which the Indian
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Speaker 1: was pointing. Hunting Dog had evidently noticed it before landing,
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Speaker 1: and upon Harry, giving a knod of assent, started off
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Speaker 1: with his rifle. The others waited until Jerry and his
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Speaker 1: companions joined them, and then started along the rocks that
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Speaker 1: had fallen at the foot of the cliffs. They were
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Speaker 1: soon able to obtain a far better view of the
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Speaker 1: gorge than they had done from the canoe. The river
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Speaker 1: ran for a bit in a smooth, glassy flood, but
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Speaker 1: a short distance down it began to form into waves,
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Speaker 1: and beyond that they could see a mass of white
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Speaker 1: foam and breakers. They made their way along the rocks
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Speaker 1: for nearly two miles. It seemed well nigh impossible to
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Speaker 1: Tom that the boats could go down without being swamped,
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Speaker 1: for the waves were eight or ten feet high, with
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Speaker 1: steep sides kept with white. At last, the gorge widened again,
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Speaker 1: and although the cliff to the right rose perpendicularly, on
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Speaker 1: the other side, it became less steep and seemed lower
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Speaker 1: down to assume the character as that above the gorge.
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Speaker 1: It looks pretty bad, Harry said, speaking for almost the
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Speaker 1: first time since they had started. For the roar of
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Speaker 1: the water against the rocks, echoed and re echoed by
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Speaker 1: the cliffs, rendered conversation and impossibility. It looks bad, but
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Speaker 1: as far as I can see, there are no rocks
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Speaker 1: that come up near the surface, and the canoes ought
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Speaker 1: to go through the broken water safely enough. It is
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Speaker 1: an all fired nasty looking place, Jerry said, But I
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Speaker 1: have heard men who had been to the north talk
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Speaker 1: about rapids they had gone through, and from what they
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Speaker 1: said about them, they must have been worse than this.
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Speaker 1: We have got to keep as near the side as
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Speaker 1: we can. The waves ain't as high there as they
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Speaker 1: are in the middle. We have got to keep the
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Speaker 1: boat's head straight and to paddle all we know. If
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Speaker 1: we do that, I reckon the canoes go through. They
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Speaker 1: retraced their steps up the gorge. Hunting dog was standing
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Speaker 1: by the boat with the dead deer at his feet.
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Speaker 1: Jerry picked it up. I had better take this, I reckon, Harry.
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Speaker 1: You have got one man more than we have, and
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Speaker 1: he and his two companions went on to their boat.
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Speaker 1: Now what do you think, Tom, his uncle said, Can
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Speaker 1: you trust your head to keep cool? It will need
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Speaker 1: a lot of nerve, I can tell you. And if
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Speaker 1: her head swerves in the slightest she will swing round
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Speaker 1: and over she will go. And it would want some
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Speaker 1: tall swimming to get out of that race. You paddle
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Speaker 1: as well as the chief better, I think but the
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Speaker 1: Chief's nerves are like iron. He has not been practicing
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Speaker 1: steering as you have. But as there seemed to be
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Speaker 1: no rocks about, that won't matter so much. I ought
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Speaker 1: to be able to keep her straight. If you three
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Speaker 1: paddle hard, it may need a turn of the paddle
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Speaker 1: now and then in the bow, but that we can't tell.
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Speaker 1: So it shall be just as you like. Lad. If
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Speaker 1: you think your nerves can stand it, you can take
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Speaker 1: your usual place. But if you have doubts about it,
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Speaker 1: it were best to let the chief go there. I
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Speaker 1: think I could stand it, uncle, for I've been out
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Speaker 1: in the wherries in some precious rough seas at Spithead.
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Speaker 1: But I think it would be best for the Chief
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Speaker 1: to take my place this time, and then I shall
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Speaker 1: see how I feel. Harry said a few words that
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Speaker 1: the Chief, in his own language, and leaping horse without
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Speaker 1: a word, stepped into the bow, while Tom took the
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Speaker 1: seat behind him. We shan't be long going down, Harry said,
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Speaker 1: I reckon, the stream is running ten miles an hour,
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Speaker 1: and as we shall be paddling, it will take us
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Speaker 1: through in ten minutes. We had all better sit farther
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Speaker 1: aft so as to take her bow right out of
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Speaker 1: the water. She will go through it ever so much easier.
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Speaker 1: So they shifted their seats until daylight could be seen
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Speaker 1: under the keel a foot from the bow. I think
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Speaker 1: that is about the right trim, Harry said, Now paddle all.
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Speaker 1: The boat shot off from the shore. A minute later
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Speaker 1: it darted into the gorge, the Indians setting a long,
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Speaker 1: sweeping stroke. There were two or three long heaves, and
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Speaker 1: then they dashed into the race. Tom held his breath
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Speaker 1: at the first wall of water, but buoyant and lightly
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Speaker 1: laden as the canoe was with fully a foot of
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Speaker 1: free board, she rose like a feather over it and
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Speaker 1: darted down into the hollow beyond. Tom kept his eyes
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Speaker 1: fixed on the back of the chief's head, clinched his
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Speaker 1: teeth tightly, and paddled away with all his strength. He
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Speaker 1: felt that were he to look round, he should turn
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Speaker 1: giddy at the turmoil of water. Once or twice, he
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Speaker 1: was vaguely conscious of Harry's shouts keep her head in
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Speaker 1: shore or a little farther out. But like a man
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Speaker 1: rowing a race, he heeded the words but little. His
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Speaker 1: faculties were concentrated on his work, but he could see
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Speaker 1: a slight swerve of the Indian's body. When he was
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Speaker 1: obeying in order, he was not conscious of any change
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Speaker 1: of motion, either in the boat or in the water
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Speaker 1: round when Harry shouted easy all, and even then it
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Speaker 1: was the Chief ceasing to paddle, rather than Harry's shout,
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Speaker 1: which caused him to stop. Then he looked round and
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Speaker 1: saw that the race was pasted, and that the canoe
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Speaker 1: was floating in comparatively quiet water. She is a daisy,
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Speaker 1: Harry shouted. We could not do better if we had
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Speaker 1: been all Canadian half breeds. Chief, Now we had better
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Speaker 1: set to and bail her out as quickly as we can. Tom,
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Speaker 1: now for the first time, perceived that he was kneeling
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Speaker 1: in water, and that the boat was nearly half full.
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Speaker 1: Their tea pannikins had been laid by their sides in readiness,
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Speaker 1: and hunting dog touched him and passed forward his tin
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Speaker 1: and the chiefs, both of which had been swept out.
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Speaker 1: The Seneca at once began to throw out the water,
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Speaker 1: but Tom, for a minute or two, was unable to
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Speaker 1: follow his example. He felt as weak as a child.
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Speaker 1: A nervous quivering ran through his body, and his hand trembled,
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Speaker 1: so that he could not grasp the handle of the tin.
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Speaker 1: Feel bad, Tom, his uncle asked cheerily from behind. Brace up, lad,
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Speaker 1: it was a pretty warm ten minutes, and I am
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Speaker 1: not surprised you feel it now it is over, and
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Speaker 1: I am a little shaky myself. I shall be all right, presently, Uncle.
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Speaker 1: A look at the chief's back did more to steady
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Speaker 1: Tom's nerves than his own efforts. While he himself was
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Speaker 1: panting heavily and was bathed in perspiration, the chief's breath
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Speaker 1: came so quietly that he could scarce see his shoulders
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Speaker 1: rise and fall as he bailed out the water with
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Speaker 1: perfect unconcern. With an effort, the boy took hold of
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Speaker 1: his dipper, and by the time the boat was empty,
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Speaker 1: his nerves were gaining their steadiness, though his breath still
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Speaker 1: came quickly. As he laid down his tin, he looked
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Speaker 1: round heap water hunting dogs, said with a smile, run
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Speaker 1: like herd of buffalo. The other boat lay twenty yards
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Speaker 1: behind them and was also engaged in bailey. All right, now, Tom,
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Speaker 1: all right, uncle, but it is lucky you put the
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Speaker 1: chief in the bows. I should have made a mess
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Speaker 1: of it, for from the time we got into the waves.
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Speaker 1: It seemed nothing but confusion, and though I heard your voice,
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Speaker 1: I did not seem to understand what you said. It
13:55
Speaker 1: was a trial to the nerves, Tom, but we shall
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Speaker 1: all get accustomed to it before we get through. Well,
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Speaker 1: thank god, we have made our first run safely. Now
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Speaker 1: paddle on and we will stop at the first likely
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Speaker 1: place and have a meal. A mile farther they saw
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Speaker 1: a pile of driftwood on the left bank, and Harry
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Speaker 1: at once headed the canoe into it, and drawing the
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Speaker 1: boat carefully alongside, they got out. A minute later the
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Speaker 1: other canoe joined them. Gee host of at Harry, Jerry
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Speaker 1: exclaimed as he stepped out. That was worse nor a cyclone.
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Speaker 1: I would rather sit on the back of the worst
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Speaker 1: kind of bucker than jump over those waves again. If
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Speaker 1: we're going to have much of this, I should say,
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Speaker 1: let us find her way back and ask the utes
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Speaker 1: to finish us off. It was a rough bit, Jerry,
14:40
Speaker 1: but it might have been a deal worse if there
14:42
Speaker 1: had been rocks in the stream. All we had to
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Speaker 1: do was keep her straight and paddle and a pretty
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Speaker 1: big all too, Jerry grumbled. I felt skeered pretty nigh
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Speaker 1: out of my wits, and the other two allow they
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Speaker 1: were jest as bad. I reckon we should never have
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Speaker 1: gone through it, But as long as you kept on straight,
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Speaker 1: there didn't seem any reason why we shouldn't. I tell you,
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Speaker 1: I feel so shaky that if there were a grizzly
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Speaker 1: twenty yards off, I am blamed if I could keep
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Speaker 1: the muzzle of my rifle on it. Tom had been
15:11
Speaker 1: feeling a good deal ashamed of his nervousness, and was
15:14
Speaker 1: much relieved at hearing that these seasoned men had felt
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Speaker 1: somewhat the same as he had done. What do you say, boys,
15:21
Speaker 1: Harry asked, when breakfast had been cooked and eaten. If
15:25
Speaker 1: we stop here for to day, likely enough we may
15:28
Speaker 1: get some game, and if not, it won't matter, for
15:30
Speaker 1: the deer will last us a couple of days, you bet,
15:34
Speaker 1: Ben Gulston said, I think we have had enough of
15:37
Speaker 1: the water for to day. I don't feel quite sure now.
15:40
Speaker 1: I ain't going round and round, but I don't think
15:43
Speaker 1: any of us will feel right till we have had
15:45
Speaker 1: a night's sleep. Besides, all the rugs and blankets are wet,
15:49
Speaker 1: and once spreading out in the sun for a bit,
15:51
Speaker 1: and the flower will want overhauling that settles it. Ben
15:55
Speaker 1: let us get all the outfit out of the boats
15:57
Speaker 1: at once. After the things had been laid out to
16:00
Speaker 1: the two Indians went off in search of game, but
16:03
Speaker 1: none of the others felt any inclination to move, and
16:06
Speaker 1: they spent the rest of the day lying about, smoking
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Speaker 1: and dozing. The Indians brought back a big horn, and
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Speaker 1: the next morning the canoes dropped down the stream again.
16:15
Speaker 1: For some miles, the river flowed quietly along a wide valley.
16:18
Speaker 1: At the end of that time it made an abrupt
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Speaker 1: turn and entered the heart of the mountains. As before,
16:24
Speaker 1: Harry's canoe went in advance the canyon here was a deep,
16:28
Speaker 1: gloomy chasm with almost perpendicular sides, and for some distance
16:32
Speaker 1: the river ran swiftly and smoothly. Then white water was
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Speaker 1: seen ahead. So the two boats rowed into the rocks
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Speaker 1: at the foot of the precipice, and the occupants proceeded
16:42
Speaker 1: to explore the pass ahead. It was of a different
16:45
Speaker 1: character to the last. Black rocks rose everywhere above the surface,
16:50
Speaker 1: and among these the river flowed with extraordinary force and rapidity,
16:54
Speaker 1: foaming and roaring. All agreed that it was madness to
16:57
Speaker 1: think of descending here, and that a poor moordage was necessary.
17:01
Speaker 1: The contents of the boats were lifted out, and then
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Speaker 1: one of them was carried down over the rocks by
17:06
Speaker 1: the united strength of the party. They had gone half
17:09
Speaker 1: a mile when they came to a spot where they
17:11
Speaker 1: could go no farther. As the water rushed along against
17:15
Speaker 1: the rock wall itself some fifty yards further down, they
17:18
Speaker 1: could see that the ledge again began. We must go
17:22
Speaker 1: and fetch the other boat, Harry shouted above. Thenn of
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Speaker 1: the water and let them down one by one. There
17:27
Speaker 1: is no other way to do it. The second boat
17:30
Speaker 1: was brought down, and another journey was made to bring
17:33
Speaker 1: down the stores. The lariats were then tied together. Let
17:37
Speaker 1: us sit down and smoke a pipe before we do
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Speaker 1: anything more, Jerry said, three times up and down them
17:43
Speaker 1: rocks is worse nor thirty miles on a level. All
17:46
Speaker 1: were glad to adopt this suggestion, and for half an
17:49
Speaker 1: hour they sat watching the rushing waters. As they did so,
17:53
Speaker 1: they discussed how they had better divide their forces and
17:56
Speaker 1: agreed that Harry's boat should as before go down. First
17:59
Speaker 1: three men would be required to let the boat down,
18:03
Speaker 1: and it would need at least four to check the
18:05
Speaker 1: second boat when it came abreast of them. Although all
18:09
Speaker 1: felt certain that a single line of the plated hide
18:11
Speaker 1: would be sufficient, they determined to use two lines to
18:15
Speaker 1: insure themselves against risk. I should let them run out
18:18
Speaker 1: fast at first, Jerry, only keeping enough strain on them
18:21
Speaker 1: to keep her head well up stream. Begin to check
18:24
Speaker 1: her gradually, and let her down only inch by inch.
18:28
Speaker 1: When you see we are close to the rocks, hold
18:30
Speaker 1: her there while we get her alongside, and don't let
18:33
Speaker 1: go till we lift her from the water. Directly we
18:37
Speaker 1: are out, Fasten the rope to the bow of your canoe.
18:40
Speaker 1: Then launch her carefully, and whatever you do, don't let
18:43
Speaker 1: go of the rope. Launch her stern first, close to
18:46
Speaker 1: the wall. Then two get in and get well towards
18:49
Speaker 1: the stir, while the other holds the rope until the
18:52
Speaker 1: last moment. Then those two in the boat must begin
18:55
Speaker 1: to paddle as hard as they can, while the last
18:58
Speaker 1: man jumps in and snatches up his Keep her head
19:01
Speaker 1: close to the wall, for if the current catches it
19:04
Speaker 1: and takes her round, she would capsize in a moment
19:06
Speaker 1: against those rocks. Paddle all you know, we shall haul
19:10
Speaker 1: in the rope as fast as you come down. When
19:12
Speaker 1: you come abreast, two of us will check her, and
19:15
Speaker 1: the others will be on the rocks to catch hold
19:17
Speaker 1: of her side as she swings in. The first canoe
19:20
Speaker 1: was launched stern foremost. The four men took their seats
19:23
Speaker 1: in her and began to paddle against the stream with
19:25
Speaker 1: all their strength, while Jerry and his companions let the
19:28
Speaker 1: lines run through their fingers. The boat glanced along by
19:31
Speaker 1: the side of the wall. The men above put on
19:34
Speaker 1: more and more strain, giving a turn of the ropes
19:37
Speaker 1: round a smooth, water worn rock they had before picked
19:40
Speaker 1: out as suitable for the purpose. The water surged against
19:43
Speaker 1: the bow of the canoe, lifting it higher and higher
19:46
Speaker 1: as the full strain of the rope came upon it.
19:48
Speaker 1: The Chief was kneeling in the stern facing the rocks below,
19:52
Speaker 1: and as the canoe came abreast of them, he brought
19:54
Speaker 1: her in alongside. Harry held up his paddle. The men
19:58
Speaker 1: above gave another turn of the ropes round the rock,
20:01
Speaker 1: and the canoe remained stationary. Hunting dogs sprang out onto
20:05
Speaker 1: the rocks, and taking hold of the blade of the
20:07
Speaker 1: chief's paddle, brought the canoe in so close that the
20:10
Speaker 1: others were able to step ashore without difficulty. The baggage
20:14
Speaker 1: was taken out, and the canoe lifted from the water,
20:17
Speaker 1: turned upside down, and laid on the rocks. Harry held
20:21
Speaker 1: up his hand to show that they were ready, having
20:23
Speaker 1: before he did so, chosen a stone round which to
20:26
Speaker 1: wind the lariats. The other boat was then launched. Sam
20:30
Speaker 1: and Ben took their place as astern and began to
20:33
Speaker 1: paddle against the stream. As they were in the backwater
20:36
Speaker 1: below the LEDs of rock, they were able to keep
20:38
Speaker 1: her stationary, while Jerry took his place and got out
20:41
Speaker 1: his paddle. When all were ready, they paddled her out
20:44
Speaker 1: from the backwater. As soon as the current caught her,
20:47
Speaker 1: she flew past the cliff like an arrow. Although the
20:49
Speaker 1: three men were now paddling at the top of their speed.
20:52
Speaker 1: Harry and the Chief pulled in the rope hand over hand,
20:55
Speaker 1: while hunting Dog and Tom went a short way down
20:58
Speaker 1: the rocks. Don't jacker too. Suddenly, Chief Harry shouted, let
21:03
Speaker 1: the rope run out easy at first, and bring the
21:05
Speaker 1: strain on gradually. The ropes will hold, the Chief said,
21:10
Speaker 1: One stop buffalo and gallop two stop boat, yes, but
21:14
Speaker 1: you would pull the head out of the canoe, chief
21:16
Speaker 1: if you stopped her too. Suddenly the chief nodded he
21:20
Speaker 1: had not thought of that. In spite of the efforts
21:22
Speaker 1: of the oarsmen, the canoe's head was swerving across the
21:25
Speaker 1: stream just as she came abreast of them. A moment later,
21:29
Speaker 1: she felt the check of the rope. Easy, Chief, easy,
21:32
Speaker 1: Harry shouted, as the water shot up high over the
21:35
Speaker 1: bow of the canoe. Wait till she gets a bit lower,
21:38
Speaker 1: or we shall capsize her. The check of the bow
21:41
Speaker 1: had caused the stern to swerve out, and when they
21:43
Speaker 1: again checked her, she was several lanths below them, with
21:46
Speaker 1: her head inclined to shore. More and more strain was
21:49
Speaker 1: put on the ropes until they were as taut as
21:51
Speaker 1: iron bars. A moment later, Tom and hunting dogs seized
21:55
Speaker 1: two paddles held out to them, and the boat came
21:58
Speaker 1: gently in along side. Gosh Ben exclaimed as he stepped ashore.
22:04
Speaker 1: It has taken as much out of me as working
22:06
Speaker 1: windlass for a day. I am blamed. If I did
22:08
Speaker 1: not think the whole boat was coming to pieces, I
22:11
Speaker 1: thought it was all over for us for sure. Harry
22:14
Speaker 1: When she first felt the rope, the water came right
22:16
Speaker 1: in over the side. It was touch and go Ben.
22:20
Speaker 1: But there was a rock just outside you, and if
22:22
Speaker 1: we had not checked her a bit, her head would
22:24
Speaker 1: have gone across it. And if it had, I would
22:27
Speaker 1: not have given a red scent for your lives. All
22:29
Speaker 1: day they toiled on foot, and by nightfall had made
22:32
Speaker 1: but four miles. Then they camped for the night among
22:36
Speaker 1: the rocks. The next four days were passed in similar labor.
22:40
Speaker 1: Two or three times they had to cross the torrent
22:43
Speaker 1: in order to get on to fallen rocks on the
22:45
Speaker 1: other side to that which they were following. These passages
22:49
Speaker 1: demanded the greatest caution. In each case, there were rocks
22:53
Speaker 1: showing above water in the middle of the channel. One
22:56
Speaker 1: of these was chosen as most suited to their purpose,
22:59
Speaker 1: and by means of the ropes, a canoe was sheared
23:01
Speaker 1: out to it. Its occupants then took their places on
23:05
Speaker 1: the rock, and in turn dropped the other boat down
23:07
Speaker 1: to the next suitable point, the process being repeated step
23:11
Speaker 1: by step until the opposite bank was reached. At the
23:16
Speaker 1: end of the fourth day, the geological formation changed. The
23:20
Speaker 1: rock was softer and the stream had worn a more
23:22
Speaker 1: even path for itself, and they decided to take to
23:25
Speaker 1: the boats again. There was no occasion for paddling now.
23:29
Speaker 1: It was only when a swell on the surface marked
23:32
Speaker 1: some hidden danger below that a stroke or two of
23:35
Speaker 1: the paddle was needed to sweep them clear of it.
23:37
Speaker 1: For at four hours they were carried along at the
23:39
Speaker 1: rate of fully twelve miles an hour, and at the
23:42
Speaker 1: end of that time they shot out from between the
23:44
Speaker 1: overhanging walls into a comparatively broad valley. With a shout
23:49
Speaker 1: of delight, they headed the boats for shore and leaped
23:51
Speaker 1: out onto a flat rock a few inches above the water.
23:54
Speaker 1: If we could go on at that pace right down,
23:56
Speaker 1: we should not be long before we were out of
23:58
Speaker 1: the mountains, Tom said, we could do with a bit slower, Tom,
24:02
Speaker 1: that is too fast to be pleasant. Just about half
24:05
Speaker 1: that would do six miles an hour twelve hours a
24:09
Speaker 1: day would take us out of the canyons in a
24:11
Speaker 1: fortnight or so. We might do that safely, But we
24:14
Speaker 1: could not calculate on having such good luck as we
24:17
Speaker 1: have had to day when going along at twelve miles
24:19
Speaker 1: an hour. The pace for the last four days has
24:22
Speaker 1: been just as much too slow as this is too fast.
24:26
Speaker 1: Four miles a day working from morning till night is
24:28
Speaker 1: heart breaking. In spite of our run to day, we
24:31
Speaker 1: cannot have made much over a hundred miles since we started. Well.
24:35
Speaker 1: There is one comfort. We are in no great hurry.
24:39
Speaker 1: We have got just the boats for the work, and
24:41
Speaker 1: so far as we can see, we are likely to
24:43
Speaker 1: find plenty of food. A job like this isn't to
24:46
Speaker 1: be reckoned child's play. So far I consider we have
24:50
Speaker 1: had good luck. I shall be well content if it
24:52
Speaker 1: averages as well all the way down. The fear is
24:56
Speaker 1: we may get to falls where we can neither carry
24:59
Speaker 1: nor let the boats dow. In that case, we should
25:01
Speaker 1: have to get out of the canyon somewhere, pack as
25:04
Speaker 1: much flower as we could carry, and make our way
25:07
Speaker 1: across country. Though how far we might have to travel
25:10
Speaker 1: there is no knowing. I hope it main't come to that,
25:13
Speaker 1: But at any rate I would rather go through even
25:16
Speaker 1: worse places than that canyon above to have to quit
25:19
Speaker 1: the boats. Right you are, Harry, Jerry agreed. I would
25:24
Speaker 1: rather toot the canoe on my back all the way
25:26
Speaker 1: down to Mexico than to have to try and make
25:28
Speaker 1: my way over the bad lands to the hills. Besides,
25:32
Speaker 1: when we get a bit farther, we shall be in
25:33
Speaker 1: the Navajo country, and the Utes ain't a circumstance to them.
25:37
Speaker 1: The ut ain't much of a fighter anyway. He will
25:40
Speaker 1: kill white men he finds up in his hills, because
25:42
Speaker 1: you don't want white men there. But he has to
25:45
Speaker 1: be five or six to one before he will attack him.
25:48
Speaker 1: The Navajo kills the white man because he is a
25:50
Speaker 1: white man, and cause he likes killing. He is a fighter.
25:53
Speaker 1: And you don't forget it. If it had been Navajos
25:56
Speaker 1: instead of Utes that had caught us up in the hills,
25:59
Speaker 1: you may bet at your bottom dollar our scalps would
26:01
Speaker 1: be drying in their lodges. Now, that is so Jerry
26:05
Speaker 1: ben put in. Besides, the Navajoes and the Apaches have
26:09
Speaker 1: got no fear of white men. They have been raiding
26:12
Speaker 1: Mexico for hundreds of years, and man to man, they
26:14
Speaker 1: can whip Mexicans out of their boots. I don't say
26:18
Speaker 1: as they haven't a considerable respect for Western hunters. They
26:21
Speaker 1: have had a good many lessons that these can outshoot
26:24
Speaker 1: them and outfight them. Still they ain't scared of them,
26:27
Speaker 1: as plain Indians are They are a bad lot. Look
26:30
Speaker 1: at them which way you will, and I don't want
26:32
Speaker 1: to have to tramp across their country. No ways. It
26:35
Speaker 1: was pretty hard work carrying that boat among them rocks,
26:38
Speaker 1: but I would rather have to do so right down
26:40
Speaker 1: to the plains than get into a muss with the Navajoes.
26:45
Speaker 1: How far does the Navajo country come this way? There
26:48
Speaker 1: ain't no fence, tom I expect they recognize it's their country,
26:52
Speaker 1: just as far as they like to come. They don't
26:55
Speaker 1: come up as far north as this. But where they
26:57
Speaker 1: ends and where the utes begin, no one knows but themselves,
27:01
Speaker 1: and I reckon its ships according as the Navajos are
27:03
Speaker 1: busy with the Mexicans in the south, or have got
27:06
Speaker 1: a quiet spell and take it into their heads to
27:09
Speaker 1: hunt this way. For many days they continued their journey,
27:12
Speaker 1: sometimes floating quietly along a comparatively wide valley, sometimes carrying
27:17
Speaker 1: their boats past dangerous rapids, sometimes rushing along at great
27:21
Speaker 1: speed on the black deep water, occasionally meeting with falls
27:25
Speaker 1: where everything had to be taken out of the canoes,
27:27
Speaker 1: and the boats themselves allowed to shoot over the falls
27:30
Speaker 1: with long roofs attached by which they were drawn to
27:33
Speaker 1: shore lower down. It was seldom that they were without meat.
27:36
Speaker 1: As several big horns and two bears were shot by
27:39
Speaker 1: the Indians. They had no doubt that they could have
27:42
Speaker 1: caught fish, but as a rule they were too tired
27:45
Speaker 1: when they arrived at their halting place to do more
27:47
Speaker 1: than cook and eat their suppers before they laid down
27:49
Speaker 1: to rest. I reckon, it won't be very long before
27:52
Speaker 1: we come upon a Mexican village, Harry said one day,
27:56
Speaker 1: after they had been six weeks on their downward course.
27:59
Speaker 1: I have heard there is one above the Grand Canyon.
28:02
Speaker 1: The scenery had varied greatly. In some of the valleys,
28:05
Speaker 1: groves of trees bordered the river. Sometimes not even a
28:08
Speaker 1: tuft of grass was to be seen. Occasionally, the cliffs
28:12
Speaker 1: ran in an even line for many miles, showing that
28:14
Speaker 1: the country beyond was a level plateau. At other times,
28:18
Speaker 1: rugged peaks and pinnacles resembling ruined castles, lighthouses, and churches
28:22
Speaker 1: could be seen. Frequently, the cliffs rose three or four
28:26
Speaker 1: thousand feet in an almost unbroken line, but more often
28:30
Speaker 1: there were rounded terraces where it would have been easy
28:32
Speaker 1: to ascend to the upper level. Everywhere the various strata
28:36
Speaker 1: were of different colors, soft grays and browns, orange, vermillion, purple, green,
28:41
Speaker 1: and yellow. They soon learned that when they passed through
28:45
Speaker 1: soft strata, the river ran quietly. Where the rocks were hard,
28:49
Speaker 1: there were falls and rapids. Where the strata lay horizontal,
28:53
Speaker 1: the stream ran smoothly, though often with great rapidity. Where
28:56
Speaker 1: they dipped up stream there were dangerous rapids and falls.
29:00
Speaker 1: It's the start. The river had been largely swollen by
29:02
Speaker 1: the junctions of other streams and was much wider and
29:05
Speaker 1: deeper than it had been where they embarked, and even
29:08
Speaker 1: where the rapids were fiercest, they generally found comparatively quiet
29:12
Speaker 1: water close to the bank on one side or the other.
29:14
Speaker 1: Twice they had had upsets, both the boats having been
29:17
Speaker 1: capsized by striking upon rocks but an inch or two
29:21
Speaker 1: below the surface of the water. Little harm was done
29:24
Speaker 1: for the guns and all other valuable articles were lashed
29:26
Speaker 1: to the sides of the boats, while strips of hide
29:29
Speaker 1: zigzagged across the ends of the canoes at short distances
29:32
Speaker 1: apart prevented the blankets and rugs and other bulky articles
29:36
Speaker 1: from dropping out when the boat capsized. Since the river
29:39
Speaker 1: had become wider and the dangers less frequent. The boats
29:42
Speaker 1: always kept near each other. Upsets were therefore only the
29:45
Speaker 1: occasion for a hearty laugh, for it took but a
29:48
Speaker 1: few minutes to write the canoe, bail it out, and
29:51
Speaker 1: proceed on their way. Occasionally they had unpleasant visitors at
29:54
Speaker 1: their camp, and altogether they killed ten or twelve rattlesnakes.
29:59
Speaker 1: In some of the valley they found the remains of
30:01
Speaker 1: the dwellings of a people far anterior to the present
30:04
Speaker 1: Indian races. Some of these ruins appeared to have been
30:07
Speaker 1: communal houses. At other points they saw cliff dwellings in
30:11
Speaker 1: the face of the rock, with rough sculptures and hieroglyphics.
30:15
Speaker 1: The canyons varied in length from ten to a hundred
30:17
Speaker 1: and fifty miles, the comparatively flat country between them, varying
30:21
Speaker 1: equally in point of appearance and in the nature of
30:24
Speaker 1: the rocks. As they got lower, they once or twice
30:27
Speaker 1: saw roughly made rafts composed of three or four logs
30:30
Speaker 1: of wood, showing where Indians had crossed the river. The
30:33
Speaker 1: journey so far had been much more pleasant than they
30:36
Speaker 1: had expected, for as the river grew wider, the dangers
30:39
Speaker 1: were fewer and farther apart, and more easily avoided, and
30:43
Speaker 1: they looked forward to the descent of the Grand Canyon,
30:46
Speaker 1: from which they knew they could not be far distant,
30:49
Speaker 1: without much fear that it would prove impracticable. End of
30:54
Speaker 1: Chapter sixteen.