Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-31


out of the fallen timber.
When making camp that night, Smith prepared
heavy mattress of boughs for the sergeant to lie
on; but his pain too great to allow him to sleep
Next morning he took off his cartridge belt and
handed it with the revolver to the outlaw Here,
Smith, he said; they are more use to you than
Without a word Smith took them, strapped them
on, turned, and disappeared among the trees Be-
fore he came back with hare, an owl, and
three grouse; and with the news that the Beaver
River flowed in the very next valley
That's our only way out" he said, AN in a
few ay hs fhe naaeI e say
an he can fix you up.
pY evening of the following day they were camping
ID on the Bank of the Beaver River Though the
sergeant had done manfully on lmproV1sed crutches
Smith had carried him on his back more than half
the way That evening the outlaw wandered Tar
up stream in search of logs with which to make
raft Finding a stranded treetrunk, he gradually
worked it into the river, and spent the greater
part of the night flashing driftwood on either slde
with the help of long strips OF willow bark Soon
after daylight he managed to kill four ducks, and
after cooking them for breakfast, made the con-
stable as comfortable possible on the rckety
wave washed raft. Then he showed off for Fort
Il know this river WE'LL said Smith, he poled
the raft out into the current " an there's only
one rapid between here an the fort, an that at
the Gap If the waters low, can make it; but
when it's high, no one but dead man ever made
All dav they drifted down the winding river as
it flowed between the mountains and the hills. The
grandeur of the lofty peaks on either side made the
men feel as if they nothing more than para
sites cnging to tiny twig and whirled along
swollen stream; their individual lives seemed to
them Of scarcely more importance In silence they
passed the hours of the day. and each realized how
little difference it would make to the world II ne
was never heard of again. They were hushed and
awed by the majesty OF Nature, and OF the all pow
erful Being whose will she obeyed
Smith do you believe in God?" the sergeant
asked.
replied the outlaw; but when I'm nothin more
than louise clingin' to hoatin' straw, sure do"
That's it exactly" exclaimed the constable,
land it's just the same in barracks" After
moments reflection he continued, The only athe-
lists ever knew were not the men that lived in the
woods or on the mountains either; they were al
ways those who could no farther than the four
walls of their little in the crowded city It's
in the city that forget there is God"
For some hours the river had been rapidly rising.
The intense heat of the last few days had melted
the snow on the mountains so swiftly that in
single day the little brooks among the hills had
swelled into riotous rivers All night long Smith
kept the raft under way, and the chilly dawn found
him still at work. Already the river had rsen some
thirty feet, and carrying the raft along at
speed that threatened to wreck it at every mo-
ment BY noon they had passed the ford where
the trail crossed for Fort Mackenzie. But the ford
was now under twenty feet of water.
It'll be hell at the Gap today" said Smith so
This cool an cloudy weather1 stop the flood; SO by
tomorrow ought to make the fort in safety"
Soon they were swept into a narrow canon, whose
high rocky, almost perpendicular walls shut in the
river for the next four miles, ending in what is
locally known the Gap. There the banks stood
SO close together that in time of high water they
held back the river like great suice; and there
raging torrent roared. Immediately beyond the
Gap the shores spread apart, and the river rolled
on in peaceful flow down to Fort Mackenzie, post
of the Hudson Bay Company that stood on the
northern shore scarcely ten miles below.
Smith knew every inch OF the way Drifting
cautiously along the edge of the northern bank, he
ran the raft into tiny bay formed by ridge of