RUNAWAY BOYS.
One day three boys were missing; nobody could tell what had become of
them; the bush was scoured, the roads searched, and messengers
despatched to the Sault to try and gain some clue to their whereabouts.
After a time it was discovered that some bread and other things were
missing, and it became clear that they had decamped. Their home was 300
miles away, and the idea was that they had probably gone to Garden
River, about ten miles below us, with the intention of getting on board
the first steamboat that might pass, and so get home; so we made up a
crew, and late the same evening despatched the schoolmaster and some
boys in _The Missionary_ to Garden River. They arrived back the
next day, bringing word that a boat had been stolen from one of the
Indians there during the night, and that, moreover, an Institution
button, with "Shingwauk Home, Sault Ste. Marie" imprinted on it, had
been picked up in the sand near the place from which the boat was taken.
Nothing more was heard of these boys for ten days, except that one of
the steamboats brought a report that they had seen three boys in an
open boat near Bruce Mines, and that they had been hailed by them and
asked for bread. Ten or eleven days after these boys decamped, we were
preparing to start on an expedition up Lake Superior to Batcheewauning;
our four sailor boys were ready, dressed in their new blue serge suits
and straw hats from England, _The Missionary_ was well loaded with
camp-kettles, tent, and provisions. We got as far as the Sault, when
the wind, which had been favourable, suddenly veered round and blew a
heavy gale in our faces, accompanied by thunder and heavy rain. As it
was already between 3 and 4 p.m., it was plain we could not start that
day, And just at the critical moment word came that those three runaway
boys were on an island forty miles below. Our informant was a Garden
River Indian. The boys, be said, had turned adrift the boat they
escaped in, which was a small one, and had taken a larger one belonging
to a Sugar Island Indian. This Indian finding his boat gone, pursued
the boys in his canoe, overtook them, took his boat away from them, and
left them alone to their fate on an island. Shabahgeezhik did not think
the boys would be in distress, as there were a few settlers on the
island who would feed them if they worked for their board. As soon as
we heard this news, we immediately decided to head our boat round and
run before the wind down to this island and catch our boys. We just
stopped for ten minutes at the Shingwauk in passing, to get a dry coat
or two and tell of the change in our plans, and then off we started. It
was 5 p.m., and we thought we could make the island that night.
Shabahgeezhik went with us as pilot. We ran along at good speed through
Hey Lake, across the American channel, in and out among islands. We
were soon wet and cold, and it became very dark. Shabahgeezhik steered,
and seemed to know well what he was about, but we had some narrow
shaves of running into islands, it was so dark. Once or twice we were
close upon rocks, but just saved ourselves. We passed through the
"Devil's Gap," about as narrow as one of the canal locks, and soon came
in sight of the dark line of the Bruce Mines Shore. We had run well; it
was only 10 o'clock, and we were nearly there. Once or twice we saw a
fire on the lonely, uninhabited shore, where fishing or exploring
parties were encamping. It looked cheerful, but we did not stop. Now at
length we reached our island, and drew along shore to grope for the
dock. There were lights shining from two dwellings--one near the shore,
the other upon the hill. Securing our boat, we landed and went up to a
log hut. A half-breed woman appeared at the door when we knocked, but
she seemed scared when she found there were so many of us. We wanted to
find Mr. Marks' house, he being the principal settler on the island.
The woman gave us some hurried directions, and then shut and locked the
door. We started in search of Mr. Marks' house, which it would seem was
up the hill, about a mile distant. After scouring round a little to
find the road, we at length hit on a cattle-track which seemed to go in
the right direction. But what a track it was! Every step we took it
became worse; it led along the side of the hill through the bushes and
tall grass, and under foot slimy sticks and roots spread over a black
swamp. For a few steps one would balance one's self, and then down one
would go, knee deep in the mire. Always hoping that the road would
improve, we persevered for nearly half a mile. But it only got worse,
and reluctantly we had to turn back to our starting-point. Then
Shabahgeezhik took a run further up the hill to look for another road.
In a few minutes he shouted for us to follow, and the track this time
led us out just above Mr. Marks' house. It was nearly midnight, but Mr.
Marks was standing outside. We told him who we were and what our
errand, and he immediately gave the satisfactory information that the
boys we wanted were with a half-breed in a shanty just below. He showed
us which way to go, and we descended the hill-side in quest of them.
Arriving at the shanty, we knocked at the door. A man answered in
English, and asked what we wanted. At length the door was cautiously
opened. We said that Mr. Marks had told us to come here for three boys
who had run away. Upon this the man opened the door, and said, "Yes,
the boys were there, and we could take them." A lamp was lighted, and
we told the boys, who were, lying on the floor and scarcely awake yet,
to get up and come along, and then our sailor boys each took charge of
one prisoner, and we marched them down to the boat. The boys got the
tent up and went to bed with their prisoners, while we accepted the
kind hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Marks, and slept in their house. It
was 1 a.m. when we got to bed, and at 4 a.m. we were astir again, and
prepared for the start home. The wind was against us, and we had to
pull. At 7.30 we went ashore for breakfast. We were very chilly, our
things still being wet, and we lighted a large fire and got everything
dry. After breakfast we managed to sail a little, tacking against the
wind, and by 12.30 p.m. we had made Sugar Island. Here was the American
channel, and we resolved to get dinner, and wait for a tow. In this we
were very fortunate, for just as we were finishing dinner a propeller
came along. We signalled to her, and she very politely shut off steam
and gave us a line from her stern. A storm was getting up, rain
beginning to fall, and we had to cross Lake George, and had rather a
rough time of it, the propeller dragging us forward mercilessly through
the crested waves, the spray and foam dashing all over us, so that we
shipped a good deal of water and had to bale. Arriving at length
opposite the Shingwauk, we got our masts up, and, giving the propeller
a wave of hats and a cheer, the tow-line was let go, up went our sails
in a trice, and in a few moments more we had arrived at the shore. All
the boys were dancing on the dock, greatly edified to see the return of
the runaways.