Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1875-12-01
Up the Shore.

From the Bay City Tribune.
Up on the Sherman and back on
the Dunlap-up to Alpena and re-
turn by two of the best boats aaoat
and most genially and ably officer
ed-this would be a pleasant trip
in dog days with the mercury as
piring to 100, but who would ex-
pect it to result in any pleasurable
sensations in the middle of Novem-
Der with the winds and seas on the
rampage, and the heavens black
with storm? And yet it can be
done. The first stop, at Tawas,
found novelties enough to while
away the three hours to unship
freight, without the least degree
of ennui. There was propeller
struggling to get away from the
dock against which heavy, fitful
east wind that was beating her sides
furiously. To witness her frantic
efforts to escape as her ribs were
cracking against the shivering
dock T; her sudden starts backward
and then forward, and backward
and forward again her angry puff
ing and groaning; her great red
eye seeming to flash intelligent in
dignation; her hot breath rising
to dispute the presumption Of the
clouds, till at length she darts for
ward a short distance and then
turns and dives into the darkness
madly, rearing and plunging into
the waves as if to be avenged fol
their insolence-was enough to fur
nish amusement for old sailors, and
did; for some such stood out in
the cold with us unsophisticated
ones to enjoy the scene.
Then it was midnight and after,
and we "turned in" expecting to
awake in sight of Alpena. We
awoke at daylight. There was no
rush of wheels, no trembling of the
the craft, as in motion, when urged
on by five hundred horses in the
form of steam-only q gentle un-
dulation, quiet measured splash
ing and an occasional thump against
the guards. This sounded omin'
Gus What port were we in Had
we indeed reached our destination
We bounded out, when, behold the
same landscape met our eyes that
we should have seen the night be-
fore only for the darkness. There
was no use to grumble. We knew
such calamities were common to
the race and had happened thou
sands of years ago. We remem-
bered Horace, when, on his way
from Rome to Brundusium, two
thousand years ago and more,
travelling by a boat drawn by mules,
He awoke one morning at the same
place where they had retired for
the night, and saw the mules quiet
ly browsing am opg the willows. We
sympathised with his "hair-brain-
ed" companion who sprang on
shore in a rage, and belabored the
backs and sides of the mules with
willow club. We had no such
means of expanding our rage or
we might have made ourselves as
ridiculous as he did. We could
only attempt to chastise the winds,
SO we preserved our Roman digni-
ty, aid kept quiet. Here we lost
the gel iaI company of proprietor
Holt, VIII ON business required to &c
ashore, and presently the boat
turned beaG to the storm and push
ed around to Au Sable, where we
arrived at hali-hast eight in Q
binding storm. Here VIC turned
to and helped "wood up for Q
while for fun of the thin g, but the
fun ceased before we got enough
to last mile, and "Dan" proposed
walk up town. We surveyed the
city and returned, but the storm
was too thick to think of starting
and wooding continued until 3 p
m, when the storm abated. We
then had to push around a quarter
of a mile to another dock to take
on a dozen head of cattle. Here
we had sport. All hands turned
out to drive the creatures aboard,
hut they didn't like the slippery
gang-plank descending rapidly to
the deck, and wouldn't be driven
We tied a long rope to the horns
of the biggest OK, and tried to pull
him in. We thought the rest
would follow. But with our tug.
ging and candle-twisting, we could
not bulge him. We then seized
small heifer and dragged he,
aboard by main strength, and wher
we went back after another,u she
scampered ashore again.
Then Capt. Conner, who wss'sich
in his room, came to our assistance