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Shooting The Rapids

Shooting The Rapids image
Parent Issue
Day
16
Month
December
Year
1870
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Floaling down tho great Oolutnbia, T grew veiy lazy again. Fiar miles thuie wus DOihiug to cbangQ tho sameness t tifo view - hills, ;iiul liule puints of rook juitmg uut iuto tho wat':r ; now ml (beu a long Strip of Imiicli-gru.ss land ; lure orno Inuiaus were tishing; there rere large biiudn of cuttle and liorses, ned by Iudia:,s; now nnd then au ludiuu garden; but nothiog graiid. I gut very tiied ut' ii, 60 went to building u few inoro air ensiles, and seeii;g how mach tobáceo tbe Indian in the bow of the boat would smoke Theo I watcked a wuiu; uia uashing guld on oue of the niany "baia" we pas.sed ; went n.shore 10 talk to hiui. I on u log, aiid he told luQ.sorne mOJl udtuiiub!e lies. II e i, without any doubt, the graudeft liar in America. I just had to Htart iiim uu aty subject, nd ho was mro 10 lic i i"B must aatounding mannír ab.,ut it. He lied b:ut tho river, about tho guld he was getting, abo'.it the land, about Uie Kiiakcs, bout eveiy mirlal and i nmortul tb ing hc could thi-ik of. I w s tno 1. zy to ODiiirudict hiiü or even doubt b a word ; (likewise, he was maob Ingcr tiun I), but when bc said hc had killed snako-i hixtv feet long on the Columbio, I thouglit it time f.r me to paddie. II e said, us I got into thecauos, 'Stranger, Cbcr is a bal bit f water at he Heil (Jate. Look out !" I tbougbt ie was lyintr, aud oouly uoddd to him. What'w the Heil Gte? 1 lound out beire long. At Heil Gate (and a inore itting uaine I uever could thiuk of) the ivur uarrows down to huif its uual width, and thera are tbreu large roekl 11 the streiim, makiig il ntiil smaller. The water is foreed tkrough tbe passagen with great foroe and rapidity, mott f it taking the left passage. At sight f it 1 "peeled, ' aud lbought Uut if I ot ashoro with iny skin, I would letray hirt and tobaeco go to the dog8. 1 addled until 1 thougbt the sKin itcross my back would surely give way. Two mndred pounda were put in every stroke, and I made about 80 per minute. The ocky bauks looked as thougb thcy were eibg draggod back at railroad epeed. lurrah 1 through the Gato of Heil witiiut shipping a drop ol water 1 I looked mek and hugged myeelf, I took a smoke, brsgged like a niujuito about it, all 0 myself. It i a flip nf a cent which I ïad rather do, run Spukane CaDon or he Heil Gate ; and I would ruther walk en miles than to do either again. Dreseed, and floated down the river in my lazy manner, enjoying the nir, my )ipe, and looking forvvard to rny supper f bacon and flur with the greatest satsiactidii, I eaw a house on thebuuk, and went there - found two white meD, and a ït wua lato, decidnr! tQ oajip. Ihc ncn gave me onions, peas, corn, melon and coffoe. I hvl a rare meal. After upper I went up to the house to talk ad smoke. 1 wouder what makes the non of this river so profane, and to exeedingly ianceurate in their statements. íheue to f'Utlied ihe noble liar I mot i) the moriiiníf. They told me the wnItjrful talea, and, of coure, I bclieved hem. One told me abtmt the Columbia iiver Cauon I would pass throuyh the it day ; told me of the greiit number oftnen who h;id fouid a path to kinglom come in thosc wa ers - nf ihe Hud01 Bay canoe men ih;it had been lost hcre ; and Seeiu! that I waagetiing a ilanxiou, heruined all by faying that ïehid seeu grent cedar trees breken in wo by tho wüirl()ooli in tho canon. Chat tree wis a little more than I conM ake in, and as I didot like to rejeot u iart of ihe tale, I just set all bis descripii'ii down as ono magtnticeut lie, ni d limstlf down ns a vcry promising ynung iaron Munchansen. In the luorninu . startd off wi h a gre;it ontitempt for be caüim, but still the feeling grew on me that tho Baron could not have m;tde up all of those tales. 8o wheu I beard he rush ol the water b.'joud a rieky join', I ftripped to the ekio, cnveied infelfwitha blanket, and lay back oikiug at tho water getting lat r und arter, aud the rivor getting narrower and narrower; I noticed that tho high water Inc was far above the banks, or rather far abve the present water ; sol [utw the canon must be very nsirrow to ia back the water in that tnanuer. My coanige wa etiil good ; but when I saw the water fi.am and suddcnly boil up, and then retiie iuto a wbirlpool, and rush madly down the streaui, fairly lowliug fur 8omething fo 6uck in, I 'weasened." I wanted to go asbore. jul saw tbat one oould Dot get away xom the spot he landud at, owiug tu tlio uature of tho banks. We gralibed thf Daddles, find that canoe bad a vel y auxius wbite man n it. Tbere in irout f us, hiding frotu our eyee, wub au infernal point of rocks, round whiuh tbe rher curved, aud tbere, I suppoeed froui ;he noise, the real canon comnieuced. Wben there, it w:ts a picture forapaiuter. Tvvo naked Indiana and one nakcd white man - the Indiana standing up - I on my knees - all witb uplilted paddies - all bent well forward and vith tigbtly compressed lips - all looking auxiously at tbe point and wonduriug whal was bejond it. Round wo carne, at a ten-wile-per-hour guit. ïhera in the center of the narrowed river wus a mouad of water ai least ten feet bib and tbat mouud seetned to be tbe Mgnal for the watera to break iuto wavun, wbirlpools and foam, In went tbe paddies and we shot a little to tbe lelt of tbe rock that foruied tbe mound, aud tuen [ saw tbat I was in for it. As far ss the eye could reacb the water was white I said to myself, "Good bye, wife and baby, fattier and all. I am salujoii bait. bure as shooting, I will see Mury and Bayard to-nigbf;" and then 1 grew bit reek lean, sud thouglit I might as well enjoy tbe novel trip til we went under, etill meaning to get out if work would take me out. Far abovt our tieads, at least thirty feot, wero the platf'oruiB, from wbicb the ludiaus spoai ibe salmor. in high wa er. Tho water had fallón aboutonc half; 80 the cain! was tmt nearly ns bad as it is at tin; .- Then I p;.ddled and looked about me aud yelled and goi exi'ited, and lost tl IVnr und enjoyed it. I took hastily cbew of tobucoo. I gut a drink of wa'ei Suddenly tho water boiled up just uude us. We were half fttled in about second. Not time to buil out. Sliov thcise paddies into the water, and do i almighty fast and stvong or wo will b sucked under ! AVe vnake ubout three qu'irlers of a turu aroiind the Whirlpool and tijen, witli au effort thut was an effort, got ioto the wbito wator where the gicat waves were, and away the Oanoe went liko a frighteoed raee-hoise. It m glorious ! Tha ñgbAma at Culd üaibor, Nurth Aunii and Petersliurg was tame in eomparioon. Iü Sfteeii lüinutes we were i!i four inlos of canon - -calino f lili cf wntcr - btspltetg gaap - piotbes n II wet - sowas niy flour and tobáceo I fLook niy fist nt Ihe cuiiiii nind taniitod it. 1 w;is vcty bruvo then ; hut, littlo woiiwiii, I dnn't ride tbroifgh thut cinon agfiin. I was a fuol f'or rjping it - ye?, au gimtaot fuol. -

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus