Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1900-04-19
Floating with a Wolf
Grim Experience OF Westerner on
the Missouri River.
hXET ELL, sir, this thing Of sailing
wv Oh an ice raft does not con-

I'M ELL sir this t. thing OF sai d
form to the requirements Of the sun
1ay-school picnic. Dismal as the lat
ter may be and generally is, it is orien-
tal 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
a western man.
at 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! Iher-
mometer down below zero for SIX
weeks. wind bowling blizzard all day
and resting up at night for the next
lav, snow three feet deep and frozen
solid so that wagon wheels played
harmonics all the time, a mans breath
adding to the accumulations OF snow
and ice and"
"Oh, come, Charlie" broke In the
sufferer. "draw it mild, like Sairey
Camp liked it,"
"Well, YOU know it was a fearful WIN
ter as well as J.. What's the matter?
You visited me and nearly froze 10
death. Couldn't keep warm, although |
burned up a ton Of coal week. We'll
YOU know, I'm something Of a 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. had some fine sport
sniping, too, along the big 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
n bit mild and went over the road to 4
few miles up river from Quindaro. You
know this once famous town is now
the reservoir fer the waterworks. WELL
l sniped along the bank in the reeds
and was knocking over quite u Few
when saw | had better start back
down river If l wanted to get home
before dark I had had good sport
but ached for more. It was grand day
cold. to be sure, but bracing.
at last l spied some duck sitting on
the water-the river rarely freezes all
the way over-just beyond the rim of
ice which friuged the shore. At this
point the river sweeps wide to the
north and then cuts into the hills Oh
the south side, forming narrow gorge
near the waterwoTks. There is bend
which the current strikes and it had
piled ND a 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. | forgot
all about the time, for was shy good
fat redhead and wanted him.
well, sir, ! went out on that shore
lpUNt-1l " do SiiNsll hoANi N1NAN N''N'
neaved chunks of ice at those ducks t.
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 heavine
things at EN-. 1t last they rose and
| was busy shooting right and left n:
fast as / could load. Then when we
got out of range | found 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 banA.
eyes. sir. flats fact. ] turned
back to 20 to the shore and discovered
that was on an ice raft well out ir
the current. 1t was whirling around ir
the cddying stream like top, and by
| the fine / haG seen the waterworki
half a dozen times and lost 'em as Otter
I declare ! didn't know if | was al
Quindsro or in the Alps. Say. maybe
YOU think / liked it. | didn't. THAI
river is a hard proposition anywhere
1t is harder in what they call throa'
! gorge-one of these narrowings Of The
banks-than anywhere else. was IT
one of these gorgcs and working down
stream as fast as the field ice would
let me.
"As ! said, the crushing Of the fio'
against that angle in the bank haC
Piled up lot OF bergs higher than my
head. What made me swear at myscl
for fool was thgt bad forgotten t.
calculate tic iottcnncss CT ic2 ct tia
season. I went out On tie CtGc, and
IS the Curncd st.ea" was rising any
way. lad :lirlr( -" rccrirCs Of +!
raft. So while vGs busy shooting
the corfounded cling was travcliri