Story Hour Readings: Seventh Year Part 20

"The tide is running out swift and strong, and it will be well to keep a sharp lookout for this floating ice, Mr. Larkin,"

said I, as I turned to go below.

About two hours afterward I was aroused from a sound 20 sleep by the vigilant officer. "Excuse me for disturbing you, Captain," said he, as he detected an expression of vexation in my face, "but I wish you would turn out and come on deck as soon as possible."

"What's the matter, Mr. Larkin?" said I. 25

"Why, sir, I have been watching a large cake of ice, which swept by at a distance a moment ago, and I saw something black upon it, something that I thought moved.

The moon is under a cloud and I could not see distinctly, but I believe there is a child floating out to the sea, this freezing night, on that cake of ice."

We were on deck before either spoke another word. 5 The mate pointed out with no little difficulty the cake of ice floating off to the leeward, with its white, glittering surface broken by a black spot.

"Get the gla.s.s, Mr. Larkin," said I; "the moon will be out of that cloud in a moment and then we can see distinctly." 10

I kept my eye upon the receding ma.s.s of ice while the moon was slowly working her way through a heavy bank of clouds. The mate stood by me with the gla.s.s, and when the full light fell upon the water with a brilliancy only 15 known in our northern lat.i.tudes, I put the gla.s.s to my eye.

One glance was enough.

"Forward, there!" I hailed at the top of my voice; and with one bound I reached the main hatch and began to clear away the little cutter which was stowed in the ship's 20 yawl.

Mr. Larkin had taken the gla.s.s to look for himself.

"There are two children on that cake of ice!" he exclaimed, as he hastened to a.s.sist me in getting out the boat.

The men answered my hail and walked quickly aft. In 25 a short s.p.a.ce of time we launched the cutter, into which Mr.

Larkin and myself jumped, followed by the two men who took the oars. I rigged the tiller, and the mate sat beside me in the stern sheets.

"Do you see that cake of ice with something black upon 30 it, my lads? Put me alongside of that and I'll give you a month's extra wages when you are paid off," said I.

They bent to their oars, but their strokes were uneven and feeble, for they were worn out by the hard duty of the preceding fortnight; and though they did their best, the boat made little more headway than the tide. It was a losing chase, and Mr. Larkin, who was suffering torture 5 as he saw how little we gained, cried out, "Pull, lads! I'll double the captain's prize; two months' extra pay. Pull, lads! pull for life!"

A convulsive effort at the oars told how willing the men were to obey, but the strength of the strong men was gone. 10 One of the poor fellows washed us twice in recovering his oar and then gave out, and the other was nearly as far gone.

Mr. Larkin sprang forward and seized the deserted oar.

"Lie down in the bottom of the boat," said he to the man; "and, Captain, take the other oar! We must row for ourselves." 15

I took the second man's place. Larkin had stripped off his coat, and as he pulled the bow, I waited for the signal stroke. It came, gently, but firm; and the next moment we were pulling a long, steady stroke, gradually increasing 20 in rapidity until the wood seemed to smoke in the row-locks.

We kept time, each by the long, deep breathing of the other.

Such a pull! We bent forward until our faces almost touched our knees; and then throwing all our strength into 25 the backward movement, drew on the oar until every inch covered by the sweep was gained. Thus we worked at the oars for fifteen minutes, and it seemed to me as many hours. The sweat rolled off in great drops, and I was enveloped in a steam generated from my own body. 30

"Are we almost up to it, Mr. Larkin?" I gasped out.

"Almost, Captain," said he; "don't give up!"

The oars flashed as their blades turned up to the moonlight, for the men who plied them were fathers and had fathers' hearts.

Suddenly Mr. Larkin ceased pulling, and my heart for a moment almost stopped its beating; for the terrible thought 5 that he had given out crossed my mind. But I was rea.s.sured by his voice: "Gently, Captain, gently; a stroke or two more; there, that will do," and the next moment Mr. Larkin sprang upon the ice. I started up, and calling to the men to make fast the boat to the ice, followed him. 10

We ran to the dark spot in the center of the ma.s.s and found two little boys. The head of the smaller was resting in the bosom of the larger, and both were fast asleep. The lethargy which would have been fatal but for the timely rescue had overcome them. 15

Mr. Larkin grasped one of the lads, cut off his shoes, tore off his jacket, and then, loosening his own garments to the skin, placed the cold child in contact with his own warm body, carefully wrapping his overcoat around him. I did the same with the other child, and we then returned to the 20 boat.

The children, as we learned when we had the delight of restoring them to their parents, were playing on the cake of ice, which had jammed into a bend of the river about ten miles above New York. A movement of the tide set the 25 ice in motion, and the little fellows were borne away that cold night and would inevitably have perished but for Mr.

Larkin's espying them as they were sweeping out to sea.

1. Daring rescues are countless. Do you know of any in your community--by police, firemen, or civilians?

2. What about the rescue described here is unusual?

DESCENDING THE GRAND CAnON

One of the most daring voyages in the history of American exploration was Major John Wesley Powell's descent through the Grand Canon of the Colorado River, in 1869. The river had been discovered three hundred years before his memorable journey, but Major Powell was 5 the first to explore the magnificent gorge through which it flows and to report his findings to the world.

Major Powell was a scientist. The lack of knowledge about the Grand Canon was a challenge too strong for him to resist. With a party of ten picked men he started on 10 the perilous voyage, on May 24, 1869. He did not know that ahead of them was a seething stretch of water, two hundred miles in length, broken by rapids and waterfalls, teethed with jagged stones, and walled in by solid rock a mile high in places. 15

Into the canon shot the frail boats. Oars were soon broken on rocks, and new ones had to be made from drift logs. The constant hammering of the boats made them leaky. To calk the seams, the men had to climb thousands of feet to get resin from some stunted pine tree. 20 More than once a boat filled with water in a turbulent pa.s.sage, but the swiftness of the current carried it to more placid waters below, where it could be bailed out.

The difficulties of the explorers were increased by the lack of daylight hours. The sun shines each day for only 25 a short time in the gorge, and twilight follows twilight in close succession. Moreover, the winding pa.s.sage prevented a view ahead. Falls were guessed at by the roaring of waters reverberating against the walls of rock. Upon such a warning the boats were landed, and if there was ledge room to walk, the men carried and dragged their vessels around the danger spot. If there was no shelving 5 rock wide enough to permit a portage, the men climbed to a higher ledge and eased the boats over the falls with ropes.

Sometimes nothing was left to do but to "shoot" the falls and trust to luck to get over without capsizing.

The food supply of the crew soon ran low. The flour 10 was water-soaked, the bacon became tainted, and much of the supply was lost by going overboard.

Short rations, scant sleep on damp ledges, and the hard labor of navigation soon told on the men. But most of them were of tried courage and endurance. One day they 15 came to a little patch of earth by the side of the river. On this some corn and squashes were growing--probably planted by Indian tribes living at the top of the gorge.

The corn was too immature to be eaten; but the men enjoyed a feast of baked squash, even though the squashes 20 were green.

At the end of fifteen days all of their provisions were gone, excepting some heavy flour and dried apples. They had arrived at a place where they could climb out of the canon and the question arose as to seeing the voyage finished 25 or giving it up. Three men decided to give up; so they took their share of provisions and guns and climbed out, only to be killed shortly afterwards by the Indians. The remainder pursued their awful way, not knowing how much longer they must endure the terrible hardships. 30

Suddenly, on the sixteenth day, they emerged into an open s.p.a.ce. The Grand Canon had been traversed!

Down the river they floated till the following day, when they found some settlers drawing in a fish net. These settlers had heard that Major Powell had been lost in the canon and were keeping a lookout for pieces of boats.

Instead, a worn but victorious party confronted them. 5 Food in plenty was soon forthcoming, and the members of the party were feasted as heroes.

1. Give a two-minute talk on the Grand Canon, touching on location, general character, etc.

Consult your geographies and reference books for material. Make your talk interesting.

2. Why did Major Powell undertake this dangerous trip? How many men went with him? How many deserted him? What were some of the troubles they encountered? How did the venture turn out?

3. Name some other famous explorers. Who discovered the north pole? The south pole? The Mississippi River? The Pacific Ocean?

NIGHT FISHING IN THE SOUTH SEAS

BY FREDERICK O'BRIEN

Mr. O'Brien spent some time among the South Sea Islands, and had many interesting adventures there.