The Pioneer Boys of the Columbia; or, In the Wilderness of the Great Northwest — John Shaqi
The Pioneer Boys of the Columbia; or, In the Wilderness of the Great NorthwestRathborne, St. George
General
The Pioneer Boys of the Columbia; or, In the Wilderness of the Great Northwest
Rathborne, St. George
Columbia River -- Juvenile fiction; Frontier and pioneer life -- Juvenile fiction
"The finest of luck ever, Dick! Would you believe it? that brave tells
us there is a small stream emptying into the Missouri a couple of miles
above the camp, and that it is reckoned the best place for those big
fat trout around this section of the country."
"That is good news, indeed," remarked Dick, also pleased. "So we can
look forward to supplying the camp with a mess of fish, if all goes
well."
"Not only did he tell us that," continued the eager lad, "but he agreed
to go along with us, and show where the best holes lie; for in hot
weather, you know, all trout leave the shallows and gather in the deep,
dark pools. If we didn't know just where those places were we might
waste a lot of time trying."
At the time Dick thought they were very fortunate to be able to command
the services of the friendly Indian, and he mentioned this belief to
Roger.
"He seems to have taken a great fancy to the whites, and, no matter if
he does eat like a hungry dog, we must not complain. He will hardly
wish to go much further from his own people, and we may expect to wake
up some fine morning to find that the brave has slipped off during the
night."
"So long as he does not steal one of our horses or guns nobody will
complain, I guess," chuckled Roger. "These Indians are a light-fingered
set, take them all in all, and Jasper Williams says he never would
trust one out of his sight."
Having made all their fishing arrangements the boys soon afterwards
sought their shelter made from branches, and wrapped in their blankets
tried to find sleep.
The camp was governed with military strictness, and there were sentries
on duty all through the night, for Captain Clark had this part of the
arrangements in charge. Not once up to this time had they been taken
by surprise, though on several occasions roving bands of Blackfeet or
Dacotahs had tried to steal their horses, only to meet with failure.
Securely guarded in this manner, they passed the night in peace, and so
another dawn found them. As usual the travelers were early astir, for
there were no laggards among them. Every man had his duties to perform,
and strict discipline kept them to their various tasks.
Roger of course was about the first one up, though he knew that Dick
could not be coaxed to make a start until he had performed every one
of his duties as was his custom. If the fish were as plentiful as the
friendly Indian had declared, they would have abundance of time to take
heavy toll of their number long before noon came around.
"We decided to take one of the smaller boats if it could be spared,
you remember, Dick," Roger was saying as they ate breakfast.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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