The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-08-03
By LOUISE and BOB LyNp


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ON THE MISSOURI RIvI
pleasant day. The storm clouC
10 o'clock and then showed sis
adieu to our charming host an
bark. Sure enough. in shor
sun shone. a light breeze follo'
river. back on the bosom of our
been having a tantrum for so 10
ing, Turing siren that called tC
She had been behaving so badl
triteness. she put herself out
she could be.
The willow-covered banks SEEM
ed to be greener than ever and the
bottomlands were lush with vegeta-
ton and crowded with eottonwoods.
The birds were outdoing each other
in song. while here and there we
would see the saucy. pugnacious
kingbirds going after some crow
or hawk that had been trying to
rob their nests. How they would
bedevil those robbers. flying above
them and then power-diving to give
them a vicious stab. The crows
invariably would escape by taking
to cover, while the hawks would
gain enough altitude to elude them.
Pocketed by Sandbar
The river was dropping and long
sand bars were emerging from the
muddy waters, necessitating a
sharp lookout 10 be sure we didn't
miss the channel crossings. Once,
Louise. being sure that the cur
rent was following the right bank,
persuaded the captain, against his
better judgment. to follow along
there. and we found ourselves nice
~ pocketed by a sandbar. There
was nothing to do but turn around
and go back upstream and cross
over. This happened twice and then
we became a little more sharp and
watched the direction of the sand
boils and managed to keep in the
current the rest of the day.
At noon we came to a long island
and taking the inside passage
where the current was flowing
good we let the canoe drift while
We had lunch, sandwiches. hard
boiled eggs and apples. Then we
rolled some cigarettes and had our
after-lunch smoke. We're rolling
them now and having some fun
doing it. We get the queerest
shapes and sizes. but they say
practice makes perfect and IL this
trip lasts long enough we no doubt
will be able to do it with one hand,
eYeciany if the price on tailor
made cigarettes continues as high
as it is in the Dakotas.
We stopped once to have our
canteen refilled and met the only
man we knew of who remembered
Lewis Freeman and his voyage
down the Big Muddy in 1928. We
had been inquiring about Freeman
all the way, but no one remem-
bered him. However, he had stopped
here overnight. Freeman had made
the trip for the National Geogra-
phic. coming down the Yellowstone
in a skiff and then pickup up an
cupboard motor in Bismarck. We
had been in contact with Mr.. Free
man before our trip began and had
been interested TO meet someone
who had met him.
So many people have asked us
II we had a motor, or If we just
drifted with the current, and when
we tell them that We are padding
our way down they seem surprised
and offer such comments as, We'll.
for heaven sskesi' Don't you get
tired?" Isn't it rather dangerous
to travel on the Missouri in a
canoe ," DO the whirlpools bother
YOU >" "A canoe is the most dan
gerous craft you could choose for
this river" But we find that they
have never been in a canoe, and,
in fact, lots of them call our pad
dies oars" and look for oar-locks
on the canoe Flat-bottomed skiffs
are the predominant craft along
the river.
Meet Jewish People
Along about six o'clock we de-
cided to look for a farm house at
which TO stay for the night We
could have camped, but that would
rob us of the interesting expert
enee OF meeting the river people.
In a short while we spied two deck
chairs on a bank in the shade of
the cottonwoods. Deck chairs,
Anyone who would put out deck
chairs on the shady bank OF the
Missouri must be alright, and we
turned in. Going inland few rods
we came upon quite ranch, and
received a most cordial welcome
from the lady Of the house. Jewish
people. The only ones We had met
on our trip. We had met Sean
dinsvians, Hungsrians, Indians.
Poles. Frenchnen, Germans, Irisn,
English. but never Jews. II the
hospitality we received u any
criterion, we hope we meet more
Of them.
They were young He was an
attorney. practicing in Seattle.
when his health failed and they
were forced to return TO the ranch
where he could be outdoors IN the
sunshine. She was Louise's age,
and they had two young sons. They
had an old ranch hand helping them