The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1867-11-19
a Trip on the Missouri.
THE PERII.s AND PRIvAr1oNs OF wKsrRR,
RIVER NAVIGATION.


Inv ltatlOD- IL WAS my gOOu fortune 10 re-
ceive an invitation from the captain of The
steamer Marietta TO accompany him on a
short trip of seventyeive miles up the
Missouri. The excursion offered novelty;
and ! gladly accepted. Gaiy we steamed
up the tortuous channel of the Big Mud
q :, our dnrkies celebrated their release
from The 5tagnation Of port by songs such
as darkiea alone can sing. Fast to our
Prov clumsy barge is lashed, which
much retards our progress. The river,
too with lis endless turns, brings us back
almost to our starting point, and long
hours after we have weighed anchor the
capitol OF Omaha sill looms up in sight.
Seventy five miles by water means only
about thirty by land. Sill the scenery
i 50 wild, and withal so pleasant. that
the strictest uiilitarian could hardly wish
The stream Strengthened. For some miles
the nver runs between steep, almost per-
pendicnlar bluffs, whose green sides bring
10 mird pleasant memories OF New En-
gland hills Several villages, which have
struggled TO be cities and failed, are
pcrched in no unpleasant sites along its
btuk. As the bluffs recede from the
RIVER il stretches out wide and shallow,
its surface thickly diversified with those
desert islard5 called sandbars. At this
season, these are frequenied by myriads
OF waterfowl. Snipe stalk solemnly
about, and cnst wistful glances at The huge
puifl 9 monster which is invading their
sanctuary ducks splutter out of the
snI "a cguaIl DT -
proaches; geese stretch their long necks
and flap their huge wings, doubtful be
t"e fright and curiosity whether to go
or stay; sand- bill cranes shake their
heads, and leave for quieter waters,
while AJc's of pelicans, standing like
ghostly sertries upon the bars, unils.
tlrbed watch us as we steam by.
SO safely though slowly we glide on
untll we reach 4 bend in the river, known
among steamboat men, as fhe Devils El-
bow. The wind is adverse as wei AS the
current, and whirlsd round like straw
We art brought up short, butting like an
/ &C ram into the opposite bank
Again and again is the passage tried, aud
aca'n and again docs il fail, but, as with
the ant Ia the fable, perseverance, at last
90 qIerf, and we again swim up stream.
X ling u destination at nisLtfall, the
scene which followed was too picturesqne
to be oy,r forgotten. A dozen camp fires
big brightly Though the thick woods,
AMI bYlAcir light The negroes shoulder the
railroad tie, which are TO besour freight,
and bring them On board. Anchored
aw " out there in the wilderness, with
the fire dancing up among the thick
branches Of ihe cotton woods. and lights
IN; upoD the g esque forms of our strong
crew, Il. they gaily shouldered their heavy
bur lens. and marched in Indian file 10
and fro, making the woods re>echo
tie mildly OF their wild chorus. could
think only OF band of satyrs reveling
about the clds ic shore of sctue stream Of
ancient Greece.
The morning found us not quite ready
for departure, and l shoullered my gun
tor Gn inrUad INTO the country. Ny
search was soon rewarded by the sight of
l. Ike swimming with geese A cover
offered me protection, and | crept along
beneath It, apparently toward sure success.
Bat gradually the liver bottom begins TO
yield, and | am not long in finding myself
laundering in the mud Only one mode
Of progress would succeed, and that was
cr, ep.ng fortunately had previously
praciicci it. Tbs situation was far from
pleasant TO be be drowned is respect
abe TO be swallowed up in quicksand
thrilling; hut 10 be stuck in the mud
Ole ii,ici'ean effort, two hundred yard.
OF sheer crawling, and then an individual
rs III ck'y plasIered with mud as-Ball
The descent Of the river is of course
much easier than It's ascent, supposing
fortune favo,s. But the stream is pure
treachery-a perfect coluette, some one
calls it-and the n al, where yo1
sliIed yesterday, is perhaps q sandbar to-
day. No farms can be cultivated along
the lotions, as a man is liable to wake
up any morning TO find hiu If on Il Q
wrong side Of the river or perhaps in it,
ror instance, Fort Colburr, formerly on
the river is now seven miles from It. IN
such stream the ripest experience will
be AT ianlt. A grating sound, sudden
SHOCK, dead stop. One word briefly
but completely expressed the situation
stuck, In vain the engines are reversed
and spars set. In vain anything and ev-
erything--still stuck At length another
steamer appesr' in sight. Here, l think,
is certainly relief On the contrary, with
a coolness and impudence which is unap-
proachable, she steamed leisurely by, ia
king vantage Of our own misfortune to
keep clear Of danger, herself.
1ha Samaritan does not run on
the Missouri river, The only living thing
which approaches us is deer. which
comes bounding down 10 the bank and
plunges in TO swim across. Then follows
a race, made still more exciting to the
spectators by fheir hope ofobtaining some
venison. The 2awl with isingle man is
in p r uit. Now the hunter seems to
gam, but now again he loses, until, strik-
ing the bank few feet in advance, the
deer clears it at bound and disappears
forever from our sight in the woods. "a
In the meantime our boat is lightened
of her lcok, and after two days delay we
float once more. In a few hours we
glide down The stream, and disembark at
Omaha, glad OF the experience of the