St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-02-03
RAVOUX REMINISCENT.


for Winona, Accompanied b.
Father RavOwx.
April 8, 1S43, the mail carrier, who
carried the mail on his back, and
Gather Ravoux) left Mendoza, and
on that day travelled a few miles
only. The second day we reached
Point Douglas, started early the
5th, and just at II o'clock we were
at Red Wing, where we dined, hav-
ing a good appetite, as we had al
ready travelled twenty-seven or
twenty-eight miles afoot. After
dinner we resumed our way on the
river; went on about q mile, but had
to come back to Red Wing; the day
being fine and warm, there was too
much water on the ice, and we
could not proceed any further. We
travelled by land the whole after
noon, and it was not without much
fatigue that we reached a place on
the bank of Lake Pepin, about fif-
teen miles distant from Red Wing.
The next day we arrived at Wa
basha.
April s, before leaving Wabasha,
we had been informed that we would
find no difficulty in crossing the De-
sembroi river; but it was not so,
the river was high, and there was
no canoe in which we could pass
over. My travelling companion
then said to me: Father, [ will
have to go back to Wabasha for a
canoe; will you return with me to
Wabasha, or, if you prefer to stay
here, 1 will make fire for you, and
1 hope to be back this afternoon or
tomorrow morning?" WELL" said
l, better for me to remain here, 1
will recite my office and take care
of our little baggage" He made a
fire, started off, and did not return
until the afternoon of the following
day.
Though alone, time had passed
rapidly enough. L had under my
eyes two beautiful rivers, a clear
sky, a good fire, and nothing to
disturb my mind. 1t is then that
the voice of nature is easily heard
and understood. 1.-THE heavens show
forth the glory of God, and the fir
mament declares the work of His
hands psalm XVIII.
April 9, at o'clock in the after
noon, l saw my travelling companion
coming down the Mississippi river
in a canoe. AS soon as he had ar
rived, the mail and our little bag
gage We're thrown into the canoe,
and we resumed our journey by wa
ter. We went on few miles with
out obstruction, and we We're very
much pleased with our new mode of
travelling; but we soon perceived
that all our troubles were not yet
over, for q little farther we were
stopped by the ice, and it was with
much labor that we landed on Al
island where we passed the whole
night without fire. In the morning
we crossed on the ice to the bank of
the river in Iowa Territory. Before
taking our breakfast we stood on the
shore of Mineiska river, and we had
to ford about three feet of very
cold water IN order to get across.
When we had arrived at Winona.
which was then a prairie without in
habitants, we thought we would meet
there the mail carrier from Prairie
du Chen, but he had not yet come,
and my companion had to bring the
mail to sTrempeleau, where he ex-
pected we would arrive before dark.
Vain expectation We passed the
night on the bank of the river, anG
not until the next morning did we
dare to attempt to cross. At Trem-
peleau the two mail carr iers met and
exchanged the mails. Two or three
families only lived at that place.
1t was impossible for two days to
travel by land or by water, but on
Good Friday. the 14th of April we
started for Prairie du Chien in
canoe, with the expectation that we
would arrive there before Easter
Sunday. We had scarcely come down
the river three Or four miles when we
were entrapped by floating cakes of
ice, which, piling up in great guam
tity, had become damned, making
the river rise, and placing us in
dangerous circumstances. AS we
found that all our endeaYors to open
a passage for our canoe We're useless,
we prayed to God for relief.
We had, however, to wait until
Saturday morning before being able
to proceed any farther. The night
was cold, we had no fire and l could
not sleep. We started early in the
morning, and we took our breakfast
at Mr.. Labathe's winter trading
post, where we had to leave our
canoe, and then we travelled until s
o'clock, took our supper in q place
where Bad Axe river empties into
the Mississippi river, borrowed there
a bark canoe, and started off again
for Prairie du CHEN.
The river was high, the current
very strong, and we went on very
fast, which caused me great pleasure
because 1 desired very much to cele-
brate mass on Easter Sunday.
At II o'clock again new anxi-
ETY., new trouble and fear. My COM
panion, Xavier Desmarais, Who guild
ed the canoe, was almost overcome
by sleep, and gave such shakings to
it that l feared he would upset it
or break it by running it against
some floating trees. Xavier" said
I to him, what is the matter? What
is the cause Of such shakings of our
canoe?" 81 fall asleep Let us
land and stop to prevent some acct
denti" ooh, father! Let US go 3 lit
tie farther; tomorrow it will be
Easter Sunday" We proceeded a
little farther, but when 1 saw that
the danger was more and more i'm
minent, L requested him to land,
and so he did. We took a rest of two
hours on an island; then we started
again, and after six or seven hours
of navigation we arrived at Prairie
du Chen. When I reached the
church, the first mass being over,
said the high mass at the request of
the Very Rev. Father Cretin, with