Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-06-30
HORNS OF
A DILEMMA

Eyes" said Bonhomme, in answer
to a query Of mine, Eyes, 1 was with
La Moure and I've read his book"
He leaned against the counter of
his Indian store and blinked thought
fully. I knew that interesting remin-
iscence was at hand.
There's a good deal of La Moure
in that book" he remarked, presently,
'but there are many persons in this
world who are unable to see any
thing except in relation to them
selves"
Zone would have thought that La
Moure would have told of the flood
at Latts' Island, and of the exciting
scenes through which his men pass
ed But he was at st. Louis at the
moment, and so was left out Of the
fracas.
Il was then clerk and small partner
in his business. Our store at Latts'
Island had been built in the f1fties,
and as appeared from all indications,
above the limit of high water.
eve built on this little island for
safety to ourselves: for it was a time
of general hostilities, and we
were independent traders fighting for
business against the big fur COM
panies, and pretty nearly all mems
hands were against us.
cat Latts' we had a natural for
tress, for the current and the nature
of the shelving banks were such that
the Indians could not land their ponies
on the island. So we ran a ferry,
and brought over, in small lots, the
bands which came to trade with us.
Our plan really amused some of the
wild fellows, who liked to have the
white men pull them across in their
big boat. We did very good trade
until the father Of all floods wiped us
off the map.
Il went to bed one night in April
midst the roar of high waters, but
with the store at least six feet above
the flood mark; and 1 aWOke at day
light to find the island covered and
the water smashing against our
ground logs. I dressed hurriedly and
went to the door to look out upon
a moving sea, which stretched to the
foothills nearly a mile away.
"And in front Of the store and al
most knee-deep in water stood four
Rec women with three small children
in arms. Their teepees on the lower
ground were afloat and how long the
poor creatures had been standing
there l do not know.
''These Indians had come to our
island some three days before, and
the men who had brought them had
gone off on a rowing expedition.
"The poor things turned scared and
piteous faces up to me, and 1 at once
asked them into the store. | called
my men, Gene Belts and Pierre Car
bonneau, down from their hunks in
the loft; and they were amazed, and
for the moment as frightened as the
Rees
I'VE soon discovered that our ferry
boat, which had been chained to a
sun5en post, was swamped. We had
no floating craft at the house, and as
the water rose an inch while we were
eating breakfast, we saw that we
must make raft of our house logs
and that quickly.
I'VE worked like lumber jacks. We
tore off the roof and let it's dry logs
down one at a time, splicing them
together with inch rope, which was
the largest we had. In two hours we
had thirty dry cottonwoods, twenty
four feet in length, lashed together.
Then we hurriedly fashioned and rig
ged a sweep oar, piled on such bales
and boxes of goods as our craft would
carry along with its human freight,
and cut adrift in more than three feet
OF water.
1T was wild ride we were prom
Used. Never have / seen such a tum-
BILE and whirl Of waters, such fury
Of a flood The rise was so rapid
that it was difficult to keep near the
centre of the channel. However,
about three miles below the island, on
the west side of the river, there was
a broad fiat which inclined away to
the foothills, and offered an easy
slope on which to bring our raft to
land
so we urged our craft in that di-
Tection, and were halfway down
there when we sighted a big band Of