CHAPTER XXX.
UP ANOTHER RIVER AND HOME AGAIN.
Colonel Shepard looked somewhat perplexed, for while we were going "Upthe River," not a word had been said about going "Down the River."Doubtless all our passengers thought the steamers would have to returnby the way they came, and had taken it for granted that this must bethe case. I had a different view of the matter.
"Do you mean to go up to Lake Itasca?" asked Colonel Shepard, as helighted his cigar, indicating that he meant to have the talk out, andthe future course of the steam yachts decided upon.
"It would be rather difficult to get over the Falls of St. Anthony," Ireplied. "Billy Bell don't know the way up there."
"Of course you mean to sail around to New York, and from thence to LakeSt. Clair by the way you came?" suggested the colonel.
"I am happy to say that I don't mean anything of the kind," I answeredwith a smile. "I am afraid it would be rather tedious for ourpassengers to go over the same route again so soon."
"I supposed they would cut across the country by railroad andsteamboat. I had intended to go from St. Louis to Pittsburg by boat."
"I hope you won't give up the voyage so soon," I protested. "I am onlyafraid the ladies will be sea-sick again."
"Give up!" exclaimed the colonel. "Of course there is an end tonavigation in this direction. We can run up the Missouri for a week ortwo, up to St. Paul's, or up to Pittsburg; but I do not see the pointof following either of these routes, unless it be the latter, whichwill bring us so much nearer to New York."
"I don't think the Sylvania has any particular business in New York,and I had not thought of taking her there again," I added. "I can't saythat I should care to descend the Mississippi, cross the Gulf ofMexico, and follow the coast by the way we came. I am in favor ofvariety in our yacht trips."
"So am I; and for that reason, I am in favor of going to New York bysteamer and railroad from here. I have three weeks more to spare, andif you wish to go up to St. Paul's or Pittsburg, I am entirely willingto go with you, Captain Alick."
"As your plans seem to be different from mine, we ought to haveconsidered this subject at Cairo, for you have come over two hundredmiles out of your way, if you intend to go to Pittsburg."
"It makes little difference to me, or to my family, where we go, for wehave enjoyed this trip so much that none of us were in a hurry to bringit to an end. Mrs. Shepard has entirely recovered from her nervousdebility, and I know she will be sorry when we have to part company."
"Then you had better allow the Islander to continue in the fleet; and Ipromise that you shall not be any farther from New York at any timethan you are now, or at any point where it will take you longer to getthere. More than this, the Islander shall land you twelve miles nearerNew York than Pittsburg."
"Then I will go with you," replied the colonel.
"But it will take much longer to go by my way," I added.
"Will it take more than three weeks longer, Captain Alick?" asked theowner of our consort.
"You shall be in New York in half that time, if you wish."
"I suppose it is no use for me to ask what this marvellous route is tobe!" queried the colonel.
"Not the least," I replied, decidedly. "No one has said a word as towhere we were going for the last month, or since we decided to go upthe river. Nobody seemed to care."
"We all took it for granted that the steamers were to return by the waythey came," said Colonel Shepard. "I was talking with your father aboutthe matter one day, more than a week ago; and he had the same view ofthe subject I had."
"We will sail at nine o'clock to-morrow morning, if you please."
"Certainly if that is the pleasure of the commander of the fleet,"answered Colonel Shepard.
I had kept my own counsel so far, and I thought I had better continueto do so for a while longer. Washburn and I had settled the question,even before we left Detroit, and had procured all the informationnecessary to carry out our plan, for the mate first suggested it. Wehad taken in coal sufficient to run the steamer about two days. Withthis supply, we drew a little less than eight feet of water, justenough to sink the propeller.
Before night I engaged two pilots, one for each steamer, for I was notsure we could lash boats much longer. At the time appointed all ourpassengers were on board, and we backed out from the levee. It was somuch more social to lash boats, that we did so at the request of theladies. Recent heavy rains all over the western states had again raisedthe river several feet above the level it was when we arrived at St.Louis.
"Won't you explain the great mystery to me, Captain Alick?" asked MissMargie, as I passed her, seated on the quarter-deck, reading a novel.
"What great mystery?" I inquired, taking a chair by her side.
"Why, the mystery of where we are going," she replied, with abewitching laugh. "All the passengers are trying to solve the riddle;and no one has done it yet."
"What book are you reading, Miss Margie?" I asked.
"Little Dorrit. What has that to do with it?" said she, looking at mewith surprise.
"Perhaps nothing; but before I explain to you the great mystery, as youcall it, let me tell you how the book you are reading comes out. Youhave got acquainted with Little Dorrit, the Father of the Marshalsea,and----"
"Now, stop! I don't want you to tell me how it comes out!" protestedthe fair maiden, vehemently. "I wouldn't have you do it for the world.It would utterly spoil all the pleasure I might have in reading thebook."
"Is that so? Why shouldn't I explain this great mystery, as well as theother? I am sure I should deprive you of half the excitement of thetrip if I should tell you beforehand all about it."
"Then you needn't tell me a word!" And I did not.
At lunch-time we were in the midst of another great inland sea, at themouth of the Missouri. Some of us wished we were going up that greatriver, to explore it where there were no towns, or other evidences ofcivilization. As that was not our present purpose, we forgot all aboutit as soon as we were out of sight of its mouth. Twenty miles morebrought the fleet to another broad expanse of water, in which wereseveral islands.
"Adieu to the Mississippi!" I shouted, walking from one end to theother of the steamer. But I made no further explanation.
There was a call for maps and guide-books then, succeeded by an anxiousstudy for a few moments.
"This is the mouth of the Illinois River!" exclaimed Miss Margie,rushing up to me.
"I don't deny it," I replied. To avoid more questions, I went to thepilot-house.
"We are making about twelve miles an hour," said the pilot of theSylvania.
"How can that be? The most we could make in the Mississippi was sevenmiles against the strong current."
"The current is the other way here," added the pilot.
"Do you mean that the stream runs up?"
"Precisely that," answered the man, laughing at my perplexity. "Whenthe Mississippi is very high, it flows the water back in the Illinoisfor seventy miles. We get a little current here to help us. After awhile, it will really be still water."
In this part of the river, the stream was full to the top of its banks,and in some places it overflowed them. The river had furrowed out adeep channel in the alluvial soil, and at low water, it had tolerablyhigh bluffs on each side of it. It was almost as wide as the Father ofWaters, where we had left it, at its lower part; but in a few hours thewidth began to diminish a little.
Before night, I had called all hands, and, after unbending thesquaresails, sent down all the yards and top-masts, for I feared thatwe might have trouble with the "low bridges," and perhaps with thetrees that overhung the stream in some places. We frequently met riversteamers, and I found by comparison, that our lower masts were nothigher above the surface of the water than the smoke-stacks of theboats.
We continued on our course all night, one of the pilots being on dutyall the time. In the morning the appearance of the country was morepicturesque, and we had a delightful day. In the afternoon w
e passedthrough the lake at Peoria, which was a beautiful sheet of water. Wehad a current to contend with, and our progress was not so rapid as ithad been the day before. On the following morning we reached the headof the natural navigation of the river. I went ashore at Peru, andchartered a canal-boat, and engaged a number of horses and drivers.
"What now, Captain Alick?" called Colonel Shepard, when I came on boardof the Sylvania, with the Islander made fast to her.
"Lots of work for a few hours," I replied, directing the mate to callall hands, for I wished to avoid all delays.
I found the two steamers were each drawing seven and a half feet ofwater. We were about to enter the Illinois and Michigan Canal,extending from La Salle to Chicago. I had ascertained that it was sixfeet deep; and I did not think it was likely to be below that at thepresent high stage of water. We had only about a hundred miles betweenthe steamers and Lake Michigan.
The government of the United States has already considered the questionof making this canal deep enough to float ordinary lake-craft, so thatgunboats and other war vessels may be sent through from the Mississippito the lakes in case of war with our English neighbors. Probably itwill be done some time, but in the interests of commerce rather thanwar.
The steamers, drawing seven and a half feet of water, could not passthrough the canal, which was only six feet deep. But I was notdisturbed by this fact, as I was prepared for it. The year before, whenI had put the Sylvania through a thorough course of repairs, I hadremoved everything out of her except her engine and boiler. She had aconsiderable quantity of ballast in her, composed of pigs of iron. Wheneverything was taken out of her, she drew a little less than six feet.
The canal-boat I had engaged was drawn in between the two steamers, andwe proceeded to load it with cables, anchors and ballast. We rigged aderrick formed of the foreyards of the vessels, and made as easy workof it as possible. When, at night, we had taken every movable thing outof the steamers, they realized all my expectations, for they drew onlysix feet. But this was making no allowance for possible shoal places;and Moses, with the engineer of the Islander, had been at work, whilewe were removing the heavy weights from the hold, in detaching thepropellers of the two craft. With our shears, we hoisted them out intothe canal-boat.
The removal of these heavy weights from the sterns set the vessels on amore even keel, fore and aft. A western river-steamer draws more waterforward than aft, so that she may be the more easily worked over shoalplaces; while a sea or lake vessel is just the reverse. We found thatwe were likely to sink the canal-boat, and I was obliged to procureanother. We divided the weight between the two, and then transferredour spare spars to them.
Our passengers had been greatly interested in watching the variousoperations in progress. It was dark when our heavy labors werefinished. The ship's company and the passengers were to remain on boardduring the passage. Though I had told them they could take a train andbe in Chicago in a few hours, they all preferred to remain, to enjoythe novelty of the canal trip.
Our passengers were really in no haste to reach their point ofdestination, yet they were impatient to be on the move, as is alwaysthe case with the average American traveller. I concluded to start atonce, as the nights were now cheered by a full moon, and I intended tokeep the boats going until they arrived at Chicago. There was nothingfor the engineers and firemen to do on board, and I sent MosesBrickland and Ben Bowman forward by railroad to several designatedplaces to engage fresh horses for us.
Our passengers sat up till midnight on the hurricane-deck, for theweather was very warm for the season in this latitude, while Washburnand the deck-hands steered. In the morning our canal drivers said wehad averaged three miles an hour, with two changes of horses. This wasgetting along faster than I had expected. I had written to Mr.Brickland, at Montomercy, informing him when we should arrive atChicago, and inviting him and his wife to join us there, and make thetrip home in the steamer.
The next day was full of interest to our canal travellers. Our strangecraft excited a good deal of interest all along the route.
When our party came on deck the next morning, they found the steamersin the canal basin at Chicago. We had made the trip in thirty-fourhours, and had not touched bottom once, so far as I knew. The fleet hadstopped only long enough to change horses at any place. We got theboats alongside, and sent our party on the way to the hotels, for theodor of the basin was not that of ottar of roses.
The engineers went to work on the propellers first, and after resortingto various expedients, we got them in place. Steam was up by this time,and we towed the canal boats down to a point near the lake. It requiredthe whole day to restore our anchors, cables, and ballast to theirplaces, rig the spars, and bend on the sails. By six o'clock we were inas good condition as when we entered the Mississippi at the Balize.
We had hardly finished the work before Mr. and Mrs. Brickland came onboard. They were delighted to see us, and both of them wept when theyrealized that Moses and I were alive, well and happy, after our longvoyage. I had sent for our passengers, and when they came on board, Iintroduced my foster father and mother to them; and the old people werevery pleasantly received.
They welcomed my father as one who had come from the other world, forMr. Brickland declared he had been unable to realize that he was stillalive, though I had written them to that effect. My father insistedupon resigning the best state-room to them, though I had intended togive up my room, while Washburn and I divided the nights between us inthe fore-cabin.
At dark we were under way, and fortunately we had smooth water, so thatMrs. Shepard had no cause to complain of the lake. At Mackinaw westopped a day to give the party an opportunity to pull in some of thefamous trout of that locality. Off Thunder Bay, where I had onceweathered a gale in the Lake Bird, there was a considerable stirring upof the waters, and Mrs. Shepard declared that it was worse than thebroad Atlantic; but the last was always the worst to her. She wasdelighted with St. Clair River, when we passed through it the next day.We crossed the Flats by the canal, and stood over to Glinten River. Theregion looked very natural to us, after our long absence. In the middleof the afternoon, we made a landing at the wharf back of Mr.Brickland's house.
A considerable crowd had gathered on the pier, for we had been seen bysome one who reported us in town. Those who were acquainted received awarm welcome. The Shepards insisted upon going to the hotel; and I didnot very strongly object, as we had not sufficient accommodations forthem in the house. They remained there a week, for the springs seemedgreatly to improve the health of the lady.
The Islander was started on her voyage to New York the day after herarrival at Montomercy, for the colonel wanted to use her there soonafter his arrival. When his family were ready to depart, I conveyedthem to Buffalo in the Sylvania. The Tiffanys wanted to see more of thecountry, and accompanied the Shepards. Owen had decided to go toEngland, and Buck Lingley and Hop Tossford felt obliged to go with him,though their year was not quite up. I landed my passengers in the canalbasin.
I had not felt so sad since the news came to me of the death of myfather as on this occasion. I parted with Margie Tiffany and herfather--more especially with Margie--with a regret which I cannotdescribe. But I was permitted to write to her (and her father) as oftenas once a month, and I hope before long to see her in England.
Buck and Hop had not been gone more than an hour before theyre-appeared with "store clothes" on, and did not look at all like theexcellent sailors they were. Their real names were Richard Lawrence andEdward Blakeley; and when they appeared in their new dress I calledthem by their proper names. They were very sorry to leave the Sylvania,and I expressed the hope that they would come and spend a summer withme in a cruise around the Great Lakes. They promised to do it, ifpossible.
Once more we bade them good-by. We staid in Buffalo to see the partyoff for New York; and up to this time that was the last I have seen ofthem.
After my father joined our party, I noticed that Owen Garningham wasnever himself aga
in. Though he continued to flutter around Miss Edith,he never seemed to be so well pleased with me as before. Yet I do notthink he had anything against me. I could only attribute the change inhim to the cancelling of the contract for the use of the Sylvania for ayear, though he had said very little about the matter. He parted withme, I think with real sorrow, and hoped he should see me again beforeeven another year had passed by.
I saw my cousin seated in the car by the side of Miss Edith. He sailedfor England in June, but I have no idea how he had the courage to tearhimself away from her. I have no doubt they will be man and wife in duetime, though my father says his mother will never consent to the match.As soon as the train started we returned to the Sylvania. The twowaiters we had hired in Florida wanted to seek their fortune in NewYork, and Colonel Shepard promised to do all he could for them on theirarrival.
Cobbington returned to Montomercy with my father and myself. He was nowin apparently good health, but he declared that it would cost him hislife to remain in the North over winter. Governor Hungerford wrote tome, as he had promised to do, during the summer. Before the coldweather came, I had secured a situation in Baton Rouge for the invalid,where at the last accounts he was in good health, acting as messengerfor the governor.
My father and I were so well contented in the home of the Bricklands,that we remained there the rest of the season. He built a summerresidence on an island in Lake Superior, where we expect to go everyseason in the Sylvania. I liked my home in the west too well to thinkof giving it up, though I was admitted to the college at Racine inSeptember, as Washburn was at Brunswick.
My story is told; but I hope, when I have graduated, to make anothersuch trip as that in which we circumnavigated twenty-four states,besides New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, coasted along the whole easternshore of the United States, visited the interior of Florida, crossedthe Gulf of Mexico, and sailed "UP THE RIVER," yachting on theMississippi.
* * * * *
Boston Stereotype Foundry, No. 4 Pearl Street
LEE & SHEPARD'S
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