FROM SADDLE TO CANOE AGAIN
IT was soon planned that a short stop should be made here, in order to
recuperate to some extent after their recent strenuous experiences. A
number of the men had become ill through long exposure to the burning
sun, and the lack of proper food. Captain Lewis hoped to have them in
good shape presently, so that they could start forth upon the last dash
for the Pacific Coast.
Besides, the chief being absent, there was really no one of authority
in the Nez Perces village with whom to deal; and just then the
explorers wished to make a covenant, or bargain.
From now on they could make much better use of boats than of horses,
and it was hoped to effect an arrangement with the Nez Perces chieftain
to care for the animals they owned through the coming winter. Then,
the adventurers hoped to borrow canoes and to finish the long journey
by the water. When, in the spring, they returned that way, they could
change back, and reward the friendly Indians for taking care of the
horses, which would, of course, be needed again in crossing to the
mountains.
Several pleasant days in September passed away, while the members of
the expedition waxed hale and hearty again. They had plenty to eat, and
even made out to secure an amount of food from the Indians to last them
for some time ahead, in case game proved to be scarce.
No one anticipated such a thing, however, because from all reports they
judged there was great hunting along the lower river that emptied into
the sea; Then there was the multitude of splendid fishes, the flesh of
which they were told resembled that of the mountain trout.
These the travelers had already classified as salmon, because Captain
Lewis had seen that noble game fish caught in Maine and Canada, where
it came in fresh from the ocean to spawn in the headwaters of the
rivers.
Many were the stories the Nez Perces told, in their sign language
mostly, about the Indians who frequented the lower reaches of this
broad river, where the "shining fish" swarmed at times so that no man
could count their number, which was like the grains of sand on the
beach.
As near as the boys could make out these natives, from some peculiarity
connected with their person, were known far and wide as the Flat Heads.
They seemed to be of an exceedingly warlike disposition, and great
hunters, as well as persistent fishermen.
Their method of taking the salmon was with a spear, and in the season
an adept could daily throw up on the bank a glittering pile of the big
fish calculated, when dried after a manner in vogue among them, to last
his lodge all winter.
Many were the interesting things the boys learned when they found a
means of talking with the peaceful Nez Perces. The days passed almost
too quickly for even Roger, impatient as he was to set eyes on the goal
of their hopes.
And, just as had been anticipated, the fame of Dick as a "big medicine"
spread through all the skin lodges of the tribe. People even came from
other settlements to consult the "wonder boy," who could chase the
evil spirits out of a suffering body by simply sending down a pill to
wrestle with the monster.
Dick had his hands full, much to the amusement of his cousin. He did
not shirk his duty, though careful not to utterly exhaust his precious
store of drugs, compounded for the most part by his mother's own hands.
The head chief finally returned, and with him the band of warriors who
had been on the grand hunt. They brought back with them a large store
of fresh meat, which the squaws immediately set to work to dry after
their crude fashion, thus converting it into "pemmican," black, tough
stuff which made the boys shudder to look at, but which could sustain
the human frame wonderfully.
Success having attended the annual hunt, the chief was in a
particularly good humor. He felt that the coming of these "palefaces"
must have had something to do with the bountiful supply of game he and
his warriors had come across.
Besides, the whites intended going down into the country of the dreaded
Flat Heads, and their influence might be exerted to make peace between
those Indians and the Nez Perces. So a feast was spread, at which all
of the whites had the pleasure of tasting baked dog, which they agreed
was fair eating, though none of them came back for a second helping.
The chief readily entered into a covenant whereby, for a certain
consideration, he agreed to care for the horses of the whites until
they came up the river in the spring, upon which the animals were to be
returned to their owners.
Besides this, canoes were loaned to the "palefaces," boats made of
skin, and a little insecure, but nevertheless serviceable for the
purposes of the explorers.
"Do you think the chief will keep his word about the horses, Dick?"
asked Roger, after they had heard of the arrangement between the two
captains and the head men of the tribe, after passing the pipe solemnly
around the circle at the council fire.
"Yes, I feel sure he will," Dick replied. "I like his looks, and in
nearly every case the word of an Indian, once given, is better than the
bond of many white men."
"But you remember how that false guide deceived us in the desert, and
ran away with one of our horses?" objected Roger.
"There never was a rule that did not have an exception," Roger was
told. "Now and then you may find a red man who dishonors his word, but
in the main they would sooner be torn to pieces than betray a trust. We
shall see our horses when we come back this way, Roger, if we are so
lucky as to be able to return."
"Then there was that news we had about those two white men who were
seen by a Nez Perces hunter far down the river," said Roger, uneasily.
"They were in a canoe, and had evidently passed the village in the
nighttime, unseen. At the time the Nez Perces saw them they were
dickering with some of the Flat Heads, as though meaning to make allies
of those fighters."
"It sounds as if we might be in for another lot of trouble, before we
reach the end of our voyage," admitted Dick.
"Then you agree with me, Dick, that those two men must be our bitter
foes, François Lascelles and Andrew Waller?"
"Yes, I'm sorry to say they must be those men and no others. But,
Roger, something seems to tell me that we may not be bothered much
longer by their dark plotting. They are apt to overdo the matter, and
perhaps be slain by the very power they set in motion to destroy us."
"You mean the fighting Flat Heads may turn on them, sooner or later; is
that it, Dick?" asked Roger, eagerly.
"That is a fate which has overtaken many such schemers," came the
answer. "Unscrupulous men often start fires that, in the end, consume
them. My father has told me that many a time. We have been preserved
through all our adventures, and for one I can face the future without
flinching. I do not believe it will be our fate to die at the hands of
such rascals as those men are."
It was on the following day after this talk between the two chums that,
all preparations having been completed, the little party embarked for
the last lap of their long trip, which in the case of Captain Lewis
meant from coast to coast.
The friendly Nez Perces gave them a good send-off. There were even some
whoops, and waving of hands, after the whites had pushed off from the
shore.
Perhaps of all the party Dick would be most missed. His numerous
patients would mourn the absence of the "big medicine," should there
be a return of their maladies later on. Perhaps they feared that the
Evil Spirit might venture to take double toll on account of the serious
setback received during the presence in their midst of the "wonder
doctor."
"And one thing sure," Roger told his cousin, as they worked their
paddles industriously to keep ahead of the other boats, "you will have
to get to work and make up a new stock of medicine after the manner
you've seen your mother do it; for, when we come back this way in the
spring, if we ever do, there'll be a crop of ailments waiting for you
to take care of."
Dick only laughed good-naturedly.
"I was thinking about that myself," he stated; "and I believe I could
do it, provided we can find the same kind of herbs growing out here.
But it certainly feels good to me to be in a boat again, after all that
hard work riding a horse across a hot desert."
Roger felt the same way, for the boys were much more at home with a
paddle in their hands than in the saddle. Brought up on the bank of the
Missouri, they had early become adepts on and in the water, and they
spent much of their time fishing, in order to supply the families with
the food that was needed.
That night they made camp on the bank of the Lewis. They were
surrounded by the great trees that have since then made Oregon and
Washington forests famous; and all this was so vastly different from
their recent experiences amidst desert sands that it was no wonder
every one's spirits were buoyant.
Of course the boys wanted to take a little turn around the camp before
night set in, hoping to come across some game. This they could easily
do because, at the time, they had nothing to do with getting supper
ready, as it was not their turn to serve as cooks.
Once again success came their way, for they succeeded in starting a
buck, and, although it took a double shot to bring the fleet animal
down, Dick proved equal to the occasion, after Roger's bullet seemed to
be wasted.
This circumstance seemed to annoy the latter very much, for he was
jealous of his well-earned reputation as a marksman. It did not
surprise Dick, then, when the other's first move upon reaching the
fallen buck was to examine eagerly the quarry.
"I thought it was queer if I missed him entirely," declared Roger,
with a ring of triumph in his voice; "you can see where my bullet
passed through his body, but, as luck would have it, no vital part was
touched. I'm glad you managed to finish him, Dick."
"Yes, so am I for several reasons," remarked the other; "in the first
place we need the meat. Then again, it would be too bad for him to run
for miles and in the end drop, and that wound you gave him would have
proved fatal finally."
Of course the party rejoiced to see a supply of meat come in. They knew
they could depend on the boys to procure it if there chanced to be any
game in the vicinity; and when they heard the double shot more than one
of the men licked his lips in full expectation of a treat.
It is a good thing to have a reputation for accomplishing things, for
there are times when it spurs the possessor on, in order that he may
not lose caste with his admirers.
Roger was not fully satisfied with the shooting of the buck. His
fishing instinct had been aroused by the tales he had heard concerning
the great finny prizes to be had in these rivers that ran down to the
sea, and he longed to be able to capture his first prize in the shape
of a salmon.
So, immediately after supper, he got his line in readiness, and set
it in hope of a strike. Many times during the evening he left the
vicinity of the campfire, where the men were sitting at their ease and
exchanging stories, to make an eager investigation of his line.
Roger was, however, doomed to disappointment that night. Either the
salmon did not run so far from the sea at this time of the year, or
else his bait had not proven satisfactory. In time, no doubt, he would
learn better; or he could possibly find a chance to make use of the
spear he had secured from a Nez Perces brave, and which was used for
striking the great fish as they passed through some narrow estuary of
the river, running between the rocks.