Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1902-02-01
ASTARTLINGS SHOWER
ny n. c. MCCORMICK.


that WINCH descended on the old stern
wheel steamboat, Penina, late in the sum
mer Of 1872
The date 1872 seems recent, regarded sim
ply as a date; but in the history OF the Da
kotas, and OF the great northwest gem
orally, it represents former era.
The Northern Pacific railroad had not
then been built. The Sioux Indians under
Sitting Bull still held the country. 1t was
not till four years later that Custer fought
his battle on the Rosebud. The prairie
schooner was the only means Of transporta
ton by land the stern-wheel steamboat
made efforts to navigate the Missouri river
"a stream which nature had ill-adapted to
the needs Of navigation. II boat made
the round trip from St. Louis to Fort Bre
ton in a season its captain was considered
fortunate.
Usually the steamers were aground or
were tied up to the bank for repairs. The
steamboat channel was rarely found twice
in the same place, and dangerous bars and
shoals would form IN single night.
In June Of 1872 the Penina left Yankton,
loaded with freight for Fort Benton; sac
carried also an outfit for grading the new
railroad from the landing where Bismarck
now stands, eastward across the Bad Lands,
tpNaid A al EVs = At thibd VA
ed by Capt. Thomas Mariner
She was a wheezy old craft, propelled
slowly upstream by a broad 2addle-wheel
astern and two long -shafter cranks, one on
each side, connected with noisy, nigh
pressure engine which occupied, with its
tiers of. fuel nearly all Of the main deck.
There was an upper deck, however, on which
were the saloon" and staterooms.
| A few miles above Standing Rock reserva-
ton the Penina broke down and drifted
ashore, close under high bluff where the
river, eating into the bank, had caused
! three or four cottonwood trees to topple
down.
Capt. Mariner made shift to tie up to the
trees, and then the passengers went to din
ner in the saloon.
It was already late in the afternoon, and
| twilight came on while the engineer and bis
! firernen were still banging away with
sledges, repairing the decrepit old engine.
Suddenly, above the noise of hammering,
sounds like low, rumbling thunder began 10
! be heard, and those in the saloon ran out
forward on the upper deck.
whats coming now, captain?" was the
general exclamation.
But Capt Mariner was as much at loss
as anyone else. And, indeed, the sounds
were hard to explain no clouds were in
sight, no lightning flashes were visible; yet
the rumbling noise was increasing in in
tensity every second
Indians" some exclaimed. "a big war
party!"
IAN awful tornado comingl" others
cried out. Still others declared with EN-
phasis that the noise indicated an earth
quake.
But an instant later huge, dark obje
hurtled downward through the air an
struck the water near the Penina's bow. An
other plunged into the paddle-wheel with a
crash, breaking out the floats.
These were the first drops of the shower,
so to speak. A moment later more than
hundred fell all round and upon the old
craft, and three tumbled on the deck with
such force as to split the planking.
Uttering shouts of alarm, the passengers
sought the protection of the saloon again,
while-splash, crash, thumpi-came down
hundreds of big, shaggy beasts believing
with rage or pain.
1t was no more or less than stampede
of buffaloes. A great herd had taken alarm
out on the plain, frightened perhaps by In
dian hunters or by wolves, and were
plunging headlong over the bluff into the
river
The position of the steamboat, tied up be
meath the dimy seen bluff, made it appear
as if the great animals actually fell from
the darkening sky.
For an hour it literally rained buffaloes
Capt. Mariner estimated that from 5000 to
10000 came over the bluff, and many took
the leap with such wild energy that they
went quite over the Penina and fell in deep
water outside.
These, rising with grampus-like snorts,
swan across the river or gained one or more
of the bars and mud flats in midstream
Not few merely rolled off the bluff and
lodged between the steamer and the gravel
bank.
Numbers of the unfortunate creatures
were disabled by broken legs or other Sc
rious injuries, and lay thrashing about, and
believing with the pain. Not less than a
score landed fairly aboard the boat.
Both crew and passengers were terror
stricken, and kept to the cover of the super.
structure.
One heavy old bull, falling headlonq
against the funnel, snapped off two of the
supporting guys.
The Penina shook under the shocks as
If hit by hundred pound shots. The cook
and two colored walters rushed out from
their pantry, thinking that the boat had got
under way and had struck succession OF
snags But the sight of buffalo coming
down on deck-apparently falling from the
sky-sent them back to cover in even great
er haste.
In fact, no one dared stir outside; and
still the buffaloes came, plunging down by
the dozen and the score, and believing
, wildly as they fell. Both above and below
the steamboat the water was dotted with
black forms, swimming wildly about
For nearly an hour the shower continued
till the stampede above the bluff camt
to and end.
Recovering from their alarm, the deck
hands, the cook and others began turning
the strange incident to good account, and
during the evening secured not only al
the prime good buffalo beef and tongues
which they desired, but also more than lOC
fine skins.
The next morning, when the Penina re
sumed her labored progress upstream, the
: ! Oh l.. nd ne,