Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1906-06-29

her into the air. Tell me-" he cried,
holding up the child with two dripping
arms above him, what you will do for
me if / bring you and mamma safe
home againY'
Give you a free pardon" said Syl-
via; .'and papa shall make you his ser
vantH' Frere burst out laughing at
this reply; and Dawes, with a choking
sensation in his throat. put the child
upon the ground, and walked away.
In the morning, however, E7fus
Dawes was first at work, and made no
allusion to the scene of the previous
evening. BY dint of hard work they got
the four goats skinned and the entrails
cleaned ready for twisting, by breakfast
time; and having broiled some of the
flesh, made a hearty meal. Mrs. Wick
ers being no better, Dawes went to see
her, and seemed to have made friends
again with Sylvia, for he came out of
the hut with the child's hand in his.
Frere, who was cutting the meat in long
strips to dry in the sun, saw this, and it
added fresh fuel to the fire of his un-
reasonable envy and jealousy.
Rufus Dawes took two of the straight
est and most taper of some celery-top
vious day, and dashed them tightly to-
gether, with the butts outward. He thus
produced a spliced stick about twelve
feet long About two feet from either
end he notched the young tree until he
could bend the extremities upward; and
having so bent them, he secured the
bent portions in their places by means
Of lashing of rawhide The spliced trees
now presented the rude outline of the
section of a boat, having the stem, keel
and stern all in one piece This having
been placed lengthwise between the
stakes, four other poles, notched in two
places, were dashed from stake to stake,
running crosswire to the keel, and form
ing the knees. Four saplings were now
bent from end to end of the upturned
portions of the keel that represented
stem and stern. Two of these four were
placed above, as gunwales; two below, as
bottom rails. At each intersection the
sticks were dashed firmly with fishing
line. The whole framework being COM
plete, the stakes were drawn out. end
there lay upon the ground the skeleton
Of boat eight feet long by three broad.
Frere. whose hands were blistered ind
sore. would fain have rested; but the
convict would not hear of it. "Let us
finish" he said. regardless Of his own
fatigue; 'the skins will be dry If we
stop"
1T can work no more" said r, re
sulkily: 81 can't stand. You've got INNS
Giles Of iron. I suppose. haven't"
"Thev made me- work when I conldn't
stand Maurice Frere. It Is wonderful
what spirit the CIT gives man. There's
nothing like work to get rid Of aching
muscles-so they used to tell me-"
well. what's to he done now?'
"Cover the boat. There. you can set
the fat to melt and sew these hides to-
gether, two and two. do you see? md
then sew the pair at the vecks There
is plenty of catgut yonder."
Don't talk to me as If were degw
says Frere, suddenly. "Be civil. can't
yon?"
But the other. busily trimming and
cutting at the projecting pieces of sap
ling, made no replv. 1t is possible chat
he thought the fatigued lieutenant be-
meath his notice. About an hour before
shutdown the hides were ready. and
Rufus Dawes. having in the meantime
interlaced the ribs of the skeleton with
wattles. stretched the skins over it. with
the hairy side inward. Along the edges
of this covering he bored holes at inter-
v1ls. and passing through these holes
thongs Of twisted skin, he drew the
whole to the toprail of the boat. One
last precaution remained. Dipping the
pannikin into the melted tallow. he
plentifully anointed the seams Of the
sewed skins. The boat thus turned
topsy-turvy, looked like a huge walnut
shell covered with red and reeking hide.
or the skull Of some Titan who had been
scalped. "Therev' cried Rufus Dawes.
triumphant Twelve hours in the sun
TO tighten the hides, and she'll swim like
a duck"
The next dav was spent in minor prep
arations. The ierked gOat-meat was
packed securely into as small a compass
as possible. Water bags were impro-
vised out of portions of the intestines of
the boats. Rufus Dawes. having filed
these with water. ran a wooden skewer
through their mouths, and twisted It
| tight. tourniquet fashion. He also strip
ped cylindrical pieces of bark. and hav-
ing sewed each cylinder at the side, fit
ted to 1t a bottom of the same material,
and calked the seams with gum and pine
tree resin. Thus four tolerable buckets
were obtained. One goat skin vet re-
manned, and out Of this It was determin-
ed to make a sail. 1.-THE current was
strong" said Rufus Dawes ''and we
shall not be able to row far with such
oars as we have got If we get a breeze
1t may save our lives" 1t was impos-
sible to "step" a mast in the frail bas-
ket structure but this dihiculty was over
come by simple contrivance. From
| thwart to thwart two poles were bound.
and the mast dashed between these poles
with thongs of rawhide. was secured by
shrouds of twisted fishing line running
| fore and aft Sheets Of bark vvera Disco6