RAFT MATES.
CHAPTER I.
THE RAFT.
Although the _Venture_ was by no means so large a raft as many thatWinn Caspar had watched glide down the Mississippi, he considered itabout the finest craft of that description ever put together. He wasalso a little more proud of it than of anything else in the wholeworld. Of course he excepted his brave soldier father, who had gone tothe war as a private, to come home when it was all over wearing amajor's uniform; and his dear mother, who for four weary years had beenboth father and mother to him, and his sister Elta, who was not onlythe prettiest girl in the county, but, to Winn's mind, the cleverest.But outside of his immediate family, the raft, the _Venture_, as hisfather had named it, was the object of the boy's most sincereadmiration and pride. Had he not helped build it? Did he not knowevery timber and plank and board in it? Had he not assisted in loadingit with enough bushels of wheat to feed an army? Was he not about toleave home for the first time in his life, to float away down the greatriver and out into the wide world on it? Certainly he had, and did,and was. So no wonder he was proud of the raft, and impatient for thewaters of the little river, on a bank of which the Caspar's lived, tobe high enough to float it, that they might make a start.
Winn had never known any home but this one near the edge of the vastpine forests of Wisconsin. Here Major Caspar had brought his NewEngland bride many years before. Here he had built up a mill businessthat was promising him a fortune in a few years more at the time whenthe war called him. When peace was declared, this business waswellnigh ruined, and the soldier must begin life again as a poor man.For many months he struggled, but made little head-way against adversefortune. The mill turned out lumber fast enough, but there was nodemand for it, or those who wanted it were too poor to pay its price.At length the Major decided upon a bold venture. The Caspar mill wasbut a short distance from the Mississippi. Far away down the greatriver were cities where money was plenty, and where lumber and farmproducts were in demand. There were not half enough steamboats on theriver, and freights were high; but the vast waterway with its ceaselesscurrent was free to all. Why should not he do as others had done andwere constantly doing--raft his goods to a market? It would take time,of course; but a few months of the autumn and winter could be spared aswell as not, and so it was finally decided that the venture should beundertaken.
It was not to be a timber raft only. Major Caspar did not care toattempt the navigating of a huge affair, such as his entire stock ofsawed material would have made, nor could he afford the expense of alarge crew. Then, too, while ready money was scarce in hisneighborhood, the prairie wheat crop of that season was unusually good.So he exchanged half his lumber for wheat, and devoted his leisureduring the summer to the construction of a raft with the remainder.
This raft contained the very choice of the mill's output for thatseason--squared timbers, planks, and boards enough to load a ship. Itwas provided with two long sweeps, or steering oars, at each end, witha roomy shanty for the accommodation of the crew, and with two otherbuildings for the stowing of cargo. The floors of these structureswere raised a foot above the deck of the raft, and were madewater-tight, so that when waves or swells from passing steamboats brokeover the raft, their contents would not be injured. In front of thecentral building, or "shanty," was a bed of sand six feet square,enclosed by wooden sides, on which the camp-fires were to be built.Much of the cooking would also be done here. Besides this there was asmall stove in the "shanty" for use during cold or wet weather.
The "shanty" had a door and three windows, and was in other ways madeunusually comfortable. The Major said that after four years ofroughing it, he now meant to take his comfort wherever he could findit, even though it was only on a raft. So the _Venture's_ "shanty" wasvery different from the rude lean-to or shelter of rough boards, suchas was to be seen on most of the timber rafts of the great river. Itsinterior was divided into two rooms, the after one of which was a tinyaffair only six by ten feet. It was furnished with two bunks, oneabove the other, a table, two camp-chairs, and several shelves, on oneof which were a dozen books of travel and history. This was thesleeping-room that Winn was to share with his father.
A door from this opened into the main living-room of the "shanty."Here were bunks for six men, a dining-table, several benches, barrels,and boxes of provisions, and the galley, with its stove and amplesupply of pots, pans, and dishes. The bunks were filled with fresh,sweet-smelling wheat straw, covered with heavy army blankets, and thewhole affair was about the most comfortable "shanty" ever set up on aMississippi timber raft. To Winn it seemed as though nothing could bemore perfect or inviting, and he longed for the time when it should behis temporary home.
For a whole month after the raft was finished, loaded, and ready to setforth on its uncertain voyage, it remained hard and fast aground whereit was built. To Winn's impatience it seemed as though high-waternever would come.
"I don't believe this old raft is ever going to float any more than themill itself," he remarked pettishly to his sister Elta one day inOctober, as they sat together on the _Venture_ and watched the sluggishcurrent of the little river.
"Father thinks it will," answered Elta, quietly.
"Oh yes. Of course father thinks so; but he may be mistaken as well asother folks. Now if I'd had the building of this craft, I would havefloated all the material down to the mouth of the creek. Theneverything would have been ready for a start as soon as she wasfinished."
"How would you have loaded the wheat?" demanded Elta.
"Why, boated it down, of course."
"And so added largely to its cost," answered the practical girl. "Youknow, Winn, that it was ever so much cheaper to build the raft herethan it would have been 'way down there, and, besides, father wasn'tready to start when it was finished. I heard him tell mother that hedidn't care to get away before the 1st of November. Anyhow, fathermust understand his own business better than a sixteen-year-old boy,even if that boy's name is Winn Caspar."
"Oh, I never saw such a girl as you are!" exclaimed Winn, impatiently."You are always making objections to my plans, and telling me that I'monly a boy. You'd rather any time travel in a rut that some one elsehad made than mark out a track for yourself. For my part, I'd muchrather think out my own plans and try new ways."
"So do I, Winnie; but--"
"Oh, don't call me 'Winnie,' whatever you do! I'm as tired of petnames and baby talk as I am of waiting here for high-water that won'tever come."
With this the petulant lad rose to his feet, and leaping ashore,disappeared among the trees of the river-bank, leaving Elta to gazeafter him with a grieved expression, and a suspicion of tears in herbrown eyes.
In spite of this little scene, Winn Caspar was not an ill-tempered boy.He had not learned the beauty of self-control, and thus often spokehastily, and without considering the feelings of others. He was alsoapt to think that if things were left to his management, he couldimprove upon almost any plan proposed or carried out by some one else.He had mingled but little with other boys, and as "man of the family"during his father's four years of absence in the army, had conceived afalse estimate of his own importance and ability.
Absorbed by pressing business cares after resuming the pursuits of apeaceful life, Major Caspar had been slow to note the imperfections inhis boy's character. He was deeply grieved when his eyes were finallyopened to them, and held many an earnest consultation with his wifeconcerning the son, who was at once the source of their greatestanxiety and the object of their fondest hopes.