The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1873-05-08
Down the Mississippi in a Skiff.

Down the Mississippi in Skiff.
Cores. Mi"aeoito/is Times.
At precisely ten o'clock Saturday
morning our boat was launched on the
boiling writer's that had just passed ov
er the Falls. We were soon in mid,
current, and tho :'Seat of Destiny"
was shortly left in the distance. Moth.
ing Of especial interest was observed
until Fort Suell ng was reached. One
needs to see the Fort from the river in
in order to fa|ly comprehend the beau
ty of its location. The scsnery along
the banks Of the river was very inter.
est!ng, and helped to pass the time
away. Two hours from the time Of
starting, St. Paul lay behind us. The
rate Of speed. therefore, between the
TIVE places, was between five and seven
miles per hour. Nothing unusual
transpired during the remainder of
the day, and at night We pitched our
tent about Eve miles below Hastings.
I might mention that game Of every
variety in the bird line was quite pleu-
ty. Ducks, geese, pigeons, squirrels,
ETC., were scattered all along, and it
needed but an ordinary sportsman to
reap q bountiful harvest of this kind
Of game. The drum of the partridge,
and the defiant boo.woo.hoo Of the
prairie fowl sounded on every hand,
and their Indifference to onr presence
would seem to imply that some intelli-
gent one Of their nrmber had secured
/. copy Of the State laws, and posted
up its fellow citizens on those parts
that pertain to their present security.
The second day of our trip was
short one; for, as We neared Lake Pep
in, a sound "as rush Of many waters"
greeted our ears, and on our arrival at
the head of the lake VIC found the
wind spending its fury upon its bosom:
and we forebore to venture upon its
troubled surface. The third day
proved better than the second, and at
1 o'clock in the afternoon we passed
Reads Landing. Wabasha, a short
distance below, was soon after left be.
hind, and as we turned a bend in the
river, little farther on, the village of
Alma, in Wisconsin, made its appear
ance. It was fast growing dark when
We reached that place, and in attempt
ing to make landing we miscalculated
the distance to the shore, the result of
dropping down the river little too
far, and a small island came between
us and the mainland. Nothing was
left for US to do but to let the current
have its way, and it was II o'clock
midnight before We succeeded in max
ing a landing, which was at MINES
ka, After several attempts to awaken
some Of the inabitants, that we might
secure comfortable lodgings, we con-
cluded to let them rest We finally
came to small shed which had been
used for storing lumber, and beneath
its sheltering roof we sought repose.
A late start next morning, vita unfa-
vorable winds, made our fourth days
journey rather hort. About noon of
this day, after passing under the Wi
nous bridge, violent wind burst up
on us, retarding our progress so much
that we took to the sloughs on the
Wisconsin side. Here but little speed
was made, owing to the dead water,
aud We soon after pushed cut for the
main channel, but before reaching it
one Of US had made the attempt to
sound the river by placing his toes on
the bottom. It is needless to say that
he was unsuccessful, and crawling back
into the boat, wet aud shivering with
GOLD. made the report, mo b-o-t-t-o- M
Night found US at Trempeleau, twenty
miles from Lacrosse. We launched
our boat for the last time at about 6
o'clock the next morning, and arrived
at Lacrosse at 10, thus completing the
voyage from the Falls to Lacrosse in
exactly four days, to an hour.
"COMP."