Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1906-09-17


walked UP the river bank. until they
reached the place where the boat had
been. 49, NV
They resolved to stay there and
wait for. someone to come along.
They disposed the woodpile so as to
make a rough fort, and gathered into
their fortress all remnants of camp
refuse left by the Nimrod which could
sustain life.
Here they waited for several weeks,
and had about given themselves up as
lost when they were rescued in the
manner already related.
The fare provided by the company
for it's steamboat crew was exceeding
ly plain and scanty. The men got
very tired of it, and as they were
much delayed by low water in getting
into the buffalo country, La Barge
told them that the first buffalo they
came in sight of they. should have,
even if he had to lie-to half a day to
get it.
La Barge had as first mate an ex-
cellent man, John Durack, who had
served in the English navy, and had
made his way to New Orleans and
thence to st. Louis. ~
He had been on the river before,
but had never been engaged in a
buffalo hunt, and the captain thought
this a good opportunity to initiate
him. When the boat reached the
vicinity of Handy's post four buffalo
bulls were seen swimming the river.
MAN the yawl, john" said La
Barge. IT will go with you, and we
will have a buffalo before we get
back"
The captain gave orders to the
men on the boat to shoot the buffa-
loes, and he would then lasso one of
the wounded ones and drag it to the
boat. He put Durack in the bow
with line. while he took the rudder.
The man on the steamboat fired and
wounded two of the buffaloes.
To get to the wounded ones the
boat had to pass close to the two. un-
injured ones The captain supposed
that Durack fully understood the pro-
gram, but the mate was not 'sup to
buffalo," and to La Barge's consterna
| ton slipped the moose over the head
of one of the uninjured animals.
Too late Capt La Barge shouted to
him not to do this-that he did not
want to anchor to. live buffalo.
"Oh,"' replied Durack, 'he's as good
as any" The buffalo kept straight on
his course. The men backed their
oars, but to no purpose; they could
not stop him. --.
Finally his feet touched bottom, and
up the bank he went with the boat
and its helpless crew after him. They
might indeed have taken a boat ride
over the bare prairie had not the
stem of the yawl given way, being
wrenched entirely out of the boat ant.
carried off by the terrified animal.
= There stood the sorry crew, ship
wrecked on sandbar across the river
! from the steamboat-and with nc
t buffalo. A whole day was consumed
l in getting back to the boat and in re-
pairing the broken yawl. Sc
Meanwhile the crew keep on eating
J. salt pork and navy bred.
t On the 23d of June, when the MIN
s rod was little below the site of the
e Aricara villages, near the mouth OIL
d Grand river, there arose, one of those
frightful tempests of wind hail ant
rain which were so frequent on the
central prairies.
For little while the safety Of thu
4 boat was despaired of. All the glass
on the windward side was broken
" and the interior of the boat deluget
with rain and hail.
S The hail accumulated in the cabil
IS to the depth of foot, and some Q
y the hailstones were as large as turke,
:: eggs.
% Capt. La Barge made clay impress
IS sions of some Of them and sent then
s to the st. Louis Republican as curios
'e ties deserving public notice. 3!s,s
e. Besides the damage to the cabin
t, the wind carried away the pilot-houst
" which had to be replaced with ski
or roof. s5S.
he On another of Capt. La Barge,s yo.
Of ages he encountered storm Whic
ID carried away the smokestacks.
le He extemporized some skin chin
at neys, which enabled him to compiled
~ the trip. The captain was once sun
d, moned as an expert witness in a trii
m which grew out Of similar accidei
la to another steamboat, whose oWnel
,r- had been sued for damages for nj
a delivering freight. %% s8.3
a The defense was that storm hs
!e- SO wrecked the boat that she cou