The Young Alaskans on the Trail by Emerson Hough (the chimp paradox txt) đ
- Author: Emerson Hough
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âWe must be getting close to the big portage now,â said Rob to Moise, as they reached this part of the river.
âYes,â said Moise, âpretty soon no more water weâll could ron.â
Moiseâs speech was almost prophetic. In less than half an hour after that moment they met with the first really serious accident of the entire journey, and one which easily might have resulted disastrously to life as well as to property.
They were running a piece of water where a flat rapid dropped down without much disturbance toward a deep bend where the current swung sharply to the right. A little island was at one side, on which there had been imbedded the roots of a big tree, which had come down as driftwood. The submerged branch of this tree, swinging up and down in the violent current, made one of the dangerous âsweepersâ which canoemen dread. Both Rob and Moise thought there was plenty of room to get by, but just as they cleared the basin-like foot of the rapid the Mary Ann suddenly came to a stop, hard and fast amidships, on a naked limb of the tree which had been hidden in the discolored waters at the time.
As is usual in all such accidents, matters happened very quickly. The first thing they knew the boat was lifted almost bodily from the water. There was the cracking noise of splintering wood, and an instant later, even as the white arm of the tree sunk once more into the water, the Mary Ann sunk down, weak and shattered, her back broken square across, although she still was afloat and free.
Rob gave a sudden shout of excitement and began to paddle swiftly to the left, where the bank was not far away. Moise joined him, and they reached the shore none too soon, their craft half full of water, for not only had the keel to the lower ribs of the boat been shattered by the weight thus suspended amidships, but the sheathing had been ripped and torn across, so that when they dragged the poor Mary Ann up the beach she was little more than the remnant of herself.
The others, coming down the head of the rapid a couple of hundred yards to the rear, saw this accident, and now paddled swiftly over to join the shipwrecked mariners, who luckily had made the shore.
âItâs bad, boys,â said Rob, hurrying down to catch the prow of the Jaybird as she came alongside. âJust look at that!â
They all got out now and discharged the cargo of the Mary Ann, including the heavy grizzly hide, which very likely was the main cause of the accident, its weight having served to fracture the stout fabric of the plucky little boat. When they turned her over the case looked rather hopeless.
âSheâs smashed almost to her rail,â said Rob, âand weâve broken that already. Itâs that old grizzly hide that did it, Iâm sure. We lit fair on top of that âsweeper,â and our whole weight was almost out of the water when it came up below us. Talk about the power of water, I should say you could see it there, all rightâitâs ripped our whole ship almost in two! I donât see how we can fix it up this time.â
Moise by this time had lighted his pipe, yet he did not laugh, as he usually did, but, on the contrary, shook his head at Alex.
âMaybe so weâll could fix heem,â was all he would venture.
âWell, one thing certain,â said Rob, âweâll have to go into camp right here, even if it isnât late.â
âDid you have any fun in the other rapids above here?â asked John of Rob.
âNo,â said Rob; âit was all easy. Weâve run a dozen or twenty a lot worse than this one. Not even the Parle Pas hurt us. Then I come in here, head paddler, and I run my boat on a âsweeperâ in a little bit of an easy drop like this. It makes me feel pretty bad, Iâll tell you that!â
They walked about the boat with hands in pockets, looking gloomy, for they were a little bit doubtful, since Moise did not know, whether they could repair the Mary Ann into anything like working shape again.
Alex, as usual, made little comment and took things quietly. They noticed him standing and looking intently down the river across the near-by bend.
âI see it too,â said Rob. âSmoke!â
The old hunter nodded, and presently walked on down the beach to have a look at the country below, leaving Moise to do what he could with the broken boat. The boys joined Alex.
Presently they saw, not far around the bend, a long dugout canoe pulled up on the beach. Near by was a little fire, at which sat two persons, an old man and a younger one. They did not rise as the visitors approached, but answered quietly when Alex spoke to them in Cree.
XIX NEW PLANSâ
These men say,â interpreted Alex, as he turned to the boys, âthat itâs sixteen to twenty miles from here to the end of the portage out of the hills, across the north bank, which cuts off the thirty miles of cañon that nobody ever tries to run. They say for a little way the river is wide, with many islands, but below that it narrows down and gets very bad. Theyâre tracking stuff up-stream from the portage to a surveyorsâ camp which depends on their supplies. They say they will not sell their canoe, because they couldnât get up-stream, but that if we can get east of the portage thereâs a man, a sort of farmer, somewhere below there, who has a boat which perhaps he would sell.â
âWhat good would that do us?â demanded John. âA boat twenty or thirty miles east of here across the mountains isnât going to help us very much. What we want is a boat now, and I donât see how we can get along without it. Wonât they sell their canoe?â
âNo, they donât want to sell it,â said Alex; âthey say theyâre under employment, and must get through to the camp from Hudsonâs Hope on time. We couldnât portage a dugout, anyhow. But they say that we can go on up there with them if we like, and then come back and go around by the portage. What do you say, Mr. Rob?â
Rob answered really by his silence and his tight-shut jaw. âWell,â said he, âat least I donât much care about turning back on a trail. But weâll have to split here, I think, unless we all go into camp. But part of us can go on through by the river, and the rest come on later. Maybe we can cache some of our luggage here, and have it brought on across by these men, if theyâre going back to Hudsonâs Hope.â
âThat sounds reasonable,â said Alex, nodding. âI believe we can work it out.â
He turned and spoke rapidly in Cree to the two travelers, with many gestures, pointing both up and down the stream, all of them talking eagerly and at times vehemently.
âThey say,â said Alex at last, âthereâs a place at the foot of the high bank above the cañon head where two or three men might be able to get a boat up to the carrying trail, although the landing is little used to-day. But they say if we could get across to the east end of the cañon they could send men down by the trail after that other boat. They donât think we can get our boat across. They say theyâll find us in a few days, they think, somewhere on the portage. They ask us if they can have whatâs left of our canoe. They say theyâll take two dollars a day and grub if we want them to work for us. They donât say that no man could make the portage below here, but donât think we could do it with our crew. Well, what do you say now, Mr. Rob?â
âWhy, itâs all as easy as a fiddle-string,â said Rob. âIâll tell you how weâll fix it. Jess, you and Moise go with these men on up to the surveyorsâ camp, and back down to Hudsonâs Hopeâyou can take enough grub to last you around, and you know that water is easy now. Alex and John and I will still have enough grub to last us through to the east side of the Rockiesâweâre almost through now. It might be rather hard work for Jess. The best way for him is to keep with Moise, whoâll take good care of him, and itâs more fun to travel than to loaf in camp. For the rest of us, I say we ought to go through, because we started to go through. We all know where we are now. Moise will bring the men and supplies around to meet us at the east side. Even if we didnât meet,â he said to Jesse, âand if you and Moise got left alone, it would be perfectly simple for you to go on through to Peace River Landing, two or three hundred miles, to where you will get word of Uncle Dick. There are wagon-trails and steamboats and all sorts of things when you once get east of the mountains, so thereâs no danger at all. In fact, our trip is almost done right where we stand hereâthe hardest part is behind us. Now, Jess, if you donât feel hard about being asked to go back up the river, or to stay here till these men come back down-stream, thatâs the way it seems best to me.â
âIâm not so anxious as all that to go on down this river,â grinned Jesse. âIt isnât getting any better. Look at what it did to the old Mary Ann up there.â
âWell, the main thing is not to get lonesome,â said Rob, âand to be sure thereâs no danger. Weâll get through, some time or somewhere. Only donât get uneasy, thatâs all. You ought to get around to us in a couple of days after you start on the back trail. How does it look to you, Alex?â
The old hunter nodded his approval. âYes,â said he; âI think the three of us will take the Jaybird loaded light and run down to the head of the mountain without much trouble. I donât hear of anything particularly nasty down below here until you get nearly to the gorge. I think we had better hire these two breeds for a time, put them on pay from the time they start up the river with Moise and Mr. Jess. They say they would like to go with Mr. Jess for their âbourgeoisââthatâs âboss,â you know. They also say,â he added, smiling, âthat they would very much like to have some sugar and tea.â
After a time Alex rose, beckoned to the two breeds, and they all went back up the beach to the place where Moise by this time was building his camp-fire and spreading out
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