The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1900-03-22
Floating with a Wolf !
Grim Experience of a Westerner on
the Missouri River.

ELL, SIT, tnlS lHlHS OIL SAILING
w on an ice raft does not con-
form to the requirements Of the Sun
day-school picnic. Dismal as the lat
ter may be and generally is, it is orien-
tai luxuriance compared to the former,
especially if the highway being trav-
ersed happens to be the Missouri river
when it feels pert" The speaker was
western nan.
ut was IN the early SOS. You re-
member the winter l had that thing
on in Kansas City" he resumed.
"'Whew, what a winter that was! Their
mometer down below zero for six
weeks, wind bowling a blizzard all day
and resting up at night for the next
day, snow three feet deep and frozen
solid so that wagon wheels played
harmonics oil the time, mans breath
adding to the accumulations of snow
aud ice and"
"Oh, come, Charlie" broke in the
sufferer draw it mild, like Sairey
Camp liked it."
"Well, you know it was fearful win
ter as well as |. What's the NATTER
You visited me and nearly froze to
death. Couldn't keep warm, although |
burned up ton of coal week. Well,
you know, I'm something of hunter.
/ had plenty of idle time and used to
wrap up well and take my Parker out
across into Kansas, where chicken and
duck were plenty. l had some fine sport
al hn hiCr river and
the slough. There are too many hills
thereabouts for good sloughing,
though.
at was along in March. You know
The idea that the weather out there is
better than here won't hold water, for
the water would freeze in winter. The
season outlasts ours sometimes, too.
1t did this particular winter, for they
had snow in the middle of April. Fact.
I got out my gun one day when it was
a bit mild and went over the road to
few miles up river from Quindaro. You
know this once famous town is now
the reservoir for the vaterworks. Well,
1 sniped along the bank in the reeds
and was knocking over quite few,
when l saw l had better start back
down river if / wanted to get home
before dark. / had had good sport,
but ached for more. 1t was grand day
cold, to be sure, but bracing.
SAT last l spied some duck sitting on
the water-the river rarely freezes all
the way ovar-just beyond the rim of
ice which fringed the shore. At this
point the river sweeps wide to the
north and then cuts into the hills on
the south side, forming a narrow gorge
near the waterworks. There is a bend
which the current strikes and it had
piled up lot of ice in hummocks as it
ground against the shore ledge. These
hummocks helped me a heap, for |
could sneak out on the shore ice and
get a chance at the duck. l forgot
all about the time, for 1 was shy good
fat redhead and wanted him.
"Wcll, sir, went out on that shore
ledgeit was shoal water thefe-and
hea1ss chunks of ice at those ducks to
get 'em up, you know, for no hunter
shoots at water fowl when swimming.
They baked like Sam Hill and crept
out farther and farther, still heaving
things at 'em. At last they rose and
l was busy shooting right and left as
fast as l could load. Then when we
got out of range l found I had nary
duck, was out of cartridges and no dog
to bring in the dead. l killed a lot,
but they fell in the water or, what was
worse, on the bank.
"Yes, sir, flats a fact. I turned
back to go to the shore and discovered
that | was on an ice raft well out in
the current. 1t was whirling aroundin
the eddying stream like a top, and by
the time | had seen the waterworks
half dozen times and lost 'em as often
L declare I didn't know if | was at
Quindaro or III the Alps. Say, maybe
you think ! liked it. l didn't. That
river is hard proposition anywhere.
1T is harder in what they call throat
gorge-one of these narrowings Of the
banks-than anywhere else. / was in
one of these gorges and working down
stream as fast as the field ice would
let me.
Gas I said, the crushing of the foe
against that angle in the bank had
piled up lot of bergs higher than my
head. What made me swear at myself
for fool was that had forgotten to
calculate the rottenness of ice at that
season. | went out on the edge, and,
as the dumned stream was rising any
way, had slipped the moorings Of my
raft. So while 1 was busy shooting
the confounded thing was travelling
due north, which there meant out into
the current. There I was out in the
middle of the busiest river on the gle be
with nothing but some rotten ice be-
tween me and an undertow warranted
to pull under warship. oh, it WINS
lovely. But I was up against it, so
there was no use cussing.
Just at this point the river makes
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