[Transcriber's Note: Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and italic text is surrounded by _underscores_.] THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE COLUMBIA [Illustration] OR: IN THE WILDERNESS OF THE GREAT NORTHWEST THE YOUNG PIONEER SERIES BY HARRISON ADAMS ILLUSTRATED [Illustration] THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE OHIO, Or: Clearing the Wilderness $1.25 THE PIONEER BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES, Or: On the Trail of the Iroquois 1.25 THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE MISSISSIPPI, Or: The Homestead in the Wilderness 1.25 THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE MISSOURI, Or: In the Country of the Sioux 1.25 THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE YELLOWSTONE, Or: Lost in the Land of Wonders 1.25 THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE COLUMBIA, Or: In the Wilderness of the Great Northwest 1.25 [Illustration] THE PAGE COMPANY 53 Beacon Street Boston, Mass. [Illustration: "THE TWO BOYS HAD TO . . . START UPON THE LONG JOURNEY INTO THE NORTHWEST" (_See page 148_)] The Young Pioneer Series THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE COLUMBIA OR: IN THE WILDERNESS OF THE GREAT NORTHWEST By HARRISON ADAMS Author of "The Pioneer Boys of the Ohio," "The Pioneer Boys of the Missouri," "The Pioneer Boys of the Yellowstone," etc. [Illustration] Illustrated by WALTER S. ROGERS THE PAGE COMPANY BOSTON [Illustration] MDCCCCXVI [Illustration] _Copyright, 1916, by_ THE PAGE COMPANY _All rights reserved_ First Impression, May, 1916 [Illustration] PREFACE DEAR BOYS:-- The time has at last arrived when we must say good-bye to our pioneer friends, the Armstrongs. You will remember how we have followed their adventurous careers down the Ohio, along the Mississippi, then up the great Missouri to the wonder country of the Yellowstone; and now, between the covers of the present volume, are narrated the concluding incidents in the story of "Westward Ho!" Our country is deeply indebted to the class of pioneers typified by the Armstrong boys. Restless spirits many of them were, always yearning for richer lands where game would be more plentiful. It was undoubtedly this desire that led them further and further into the "Country of the Setting Sun," constantly seeking that which many of them never found; until at length the Pacific barred their further progress. Bob and Sandy Armstrong, together with their sturdy sons, Dick and Roger, are but types of the settlers who opened up the rich territory of the Mississippi Valley, as well as the Great West. Their kind is not so numerous now, at least in our own country, since the need for such adventurous souls has become less acute. In many places, however, like the Canadian Northwest, they can still be met with, forging the links that will bind the wilderness to civilization.