St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1900-04-28
Floating with a Wolf
Grim Experience of q Westerner on
the Missouri River.
M ELL, sir, this thing of sailing
W on an ice raft does not con-

XKT ELL, sir, this thing of sailin
Wv on an ice raft does not cor
form to the requirements of the Sur
day-school picnic. Dismal as the LAT
ter may be and generally is, it is orien
tai luxuriance compared to the former
especially il the highway being trav
ersed happens to be the Missouri rive
when it feels pert" The speaker wa
q western man.
cit was in the early SOS. You re
member the winter I had that thins
on in Kansas City?" he resumed
"Whew, what winter that was! Their
mometer down below zero for 81,
weeks, wind bowling blizzard all dag
and resting up at night for the next
day, snow three feet deep and frozen
solid so that wagon wheels played
harmonics all the time, mans breath
adding to the accumulations of snow
g and ice and"
s'Oh, come, Charlie,' broke in the
sufferer, t'draw it mild, like Sairey
Camp liked it,
''Well, you know it was fearful win
ter as well as I. What's the matter
You visited me and nearly froze to
death. Couldn't keep warm, although I
5 burned up a ton of coal a week. Well,
you know, IN 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. I had some fine sport
sniping, too, along the big river and
the slough. There are too many hills
thereabouts for good sloughing,
though.
1T 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
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 waterworks. Well,
/ sniped along the bank in the reeds
and was knocking over quite few,
when 1 saw I had better start back
down river If I wanted to get home
before dark. I had had gq ID sport,
but ached for more. Itwas al frand day
cold, to be sure, but bracA g.
sAt last spied some duck Sitting on
the water-the river rarely freezes all
the way oVer-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 narrow gorge
near the waterworks. There is 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 I |
could sneak out on the shore ice and |
get a chance at the duck. I forgot |
all about the time, for was shy good |
fat redhead and wanted him. |
Well, sir, went out on that shore
1edge-it was shoal water there-and |
heaved chunks of ice at those ducks to |
get 'em up, you know, for no hunter
shoots at water fowl when swimming. I
They ball1ed like Sam Hill and crept
out farther and farther, still heaving
things at 'em. At last they rose and
I was busy shooting right and left as
fast as could load. Then when we
got out of range found Ihad nary
duck, was out of cartridges and no dog
to bring in the dead. / killed lot,
but they fell in the water or, what was
worse, on the bank.
Yes, sir, that's a fact I turned
back to go to the shore and discovered
that I was on an ice raft well out in
the current. It was Whirling around in
the eddying stream like a top, and by
The time haG seen the waterWorks
half dozen times and, lost 'en as often
declare | didn't know If / was at
auindaro or i'll the Alps. Say, maybe
ron think / liked it. I didn't. That
liver is hard proposition anywhere.
4 Is harder Id what they call a throat I
gorgee one OF these narrowings of the.
than anywhere else. / was in
ne Of these gorges and working down
tream as fast as the field ice would
ct me.
"As said, the crushing of the foe
igainst that angle in the bank had
lied up a lot of bergs higher than my
cad. What made me swear at myself
or fool was that / had forgotten to
alcuiate the rottenness Of ice at that
eason. ] went out on the edge, and.
S the dumned stream was rising any
7ay, I had slipped the moorings of my /.
aft. So while was busy shooting
he confounded thing was travelling
ue north, which there meant out into
ne current. There was out in the
liddle of the busiest river on the globe
nth nothing but some rotten ice be-
veen me and an undertow warranted
2 pull under warship. Oh, It was :
'yely But 7 was up against It, SO !
here was no use cussing.
Just at this point the river makes
crossing. That is, the current hits
ne bank good Fa1lop and then butts