had i been in funds, i should have preferred a horse for the up-river trip. as it was, i was glad of the opportunity to make the passage by boat with my friend the captain, and in so doing, to earn a pocketful of wages. it is not, however, a proceeding i should advise to be undertaken by one who lacks the strength and experience necessary for poling and cordelling.
at times, to be sure, we were able to relieve our labors by an occasional resort to the sails, when the wind chanced to be fair. but in the very nature of the case, this aid could never be more than temporary, since the windings of the river were bound, sooner or later, to make a headwind of what had been a fair breeze.
so, for the most part, our voyage all the way from natchez to st. louis meant one continuous round, from morning till night, of setting our poles at the boat's prow, each in his turn, and tramping to the stern along the side gangways, or walking-boards,—there to raise our poles and return to the prow, to repeat the laborious proceeding. i can say that keelboat poling is a splendid method of developing the muscles of the back and lower limbs, provided the man who attempts it begins with a sufficient stock of strength and endurance to carry him over the first week.
this does not mean that i enjoyed the trip. softened by my winter in washington, the first few days out of natchez were as trying to me as to the regular members of the crew after their carousals and excesses in new orleans and natchez. our boat, which had come down with a cargo of lead from the mines about st. louis, was returning with a consignment of the cheap calicos and the coarse broadcloth called strouding, which form the basis of the indian barter in the fur trade; and cloth in bolts, closely stowed, is not the lightest of cargoes.
but, once we had worked ourselves into condition, we shoved our craft upstream from daylight till nightfall at an average speed of over three miles an hour. whenever the bank and channel permitted, we eased our labor at the poles by passing a towline ashore and cordelling the boat, while our captain, one of the best on the river, was ever alert to hoist sail with every favorable breeze.
if i did not enjoy the voyage, i nevertheless had cause to feel thankful for the hard work which held my melancholy thoughts in check and sent me to my bunk at night so outspent that i slept as soundly as any man aboard. a man treading the walking-boards, bowed over his pole, may brood on his troubles for a week or two, but none could do so longer unless his system were full of malaria. for the constant, vigorous exercise in the open air is bound to send the good red blood coursing through every vein of the body, until even the most clouded brain must throw off its vapors.
once free from the melancholy which had oppressed me the first few days, i gave most of my thought to the problem of how i should fulfil my vow to cross the barrier that was so soon to lie between my lady and myself. my main hope lay in the possibility of obtaining lieutenant pike's permission to join his expedition as a volunteer. but he was so strict in his adherence to the most rigid requirements of his position as an officer, that there was grave reason to doubt whether he would accept my services without an order from the general.
there were other plans to be considered, one of which was that i should throw in my fortunes with señor liza and his creole fellows. the idea was distasteful, yet, reflecting on what little i had learned of the plans of colonel burr and his friends, i was not so sure but that liza's party were quite as loyal. at the least, i could see no harm in aiding liza to carry a trading expedition into santa fe. so far as my own plans were concerned, the venture would promise more at the other end than if i joined pike's party. if i reached that other end, i should be going among the people of new spain in company with persons of their own blood.
there remained the most desperate plan of all. i could set out alone, and trust to my unaided craft and single rifle to carry me safe across the hundreds of miles of desert and the snowy mountains of which alisanda had spoken. i had travelled the wilderness traces and the trackless forests too often alone to have any fear of wild beasts. but there was the uncertainty of being able to kill enough meat to keep from starving in the western wilds, and on the other hand the certainty of encountering bands of the little-known pawnees and ietans.
rather than not go at all, i was resolved to attempt this desperate venture. but my plan was to seek first to attach myself to my friend's party, and, failing that, to open negotiations with liza.
after a brief stop at kaskaskia, that century-old trading post of the french, we undertook the last run to st. louis with much spirit. the greater part of the crew were eager to reach st. louis in time for the celebration of independence day. in this we were disappointed, being so set back by headwinds that we did not tie up to the home wharf until the evening of the sixth of july.
my first inquiries relieved me of my fear that lieutenant pike had already started. he was waiting with his party, fourteen or fifteen miles upstream, at the cantonment belle fontaine, established the previous year by general wilkinson. i had already learned at kaskaskia that the general had passed us in his barge far down the river, and had arrived in st. louis several days before us. to this was now added the news that he had gone on up to belle fontaine.
such an opportunity to meet the general and my friend together was not to be lost. i made my plans over-night in st. louis, stored my chest, provided myself with a new hunter's suit, and obtained letters of recommendation to the general from two gentlemen of influence.
dawn found me at the convenient river front which gives st. louis such an advantage over the other up-river settlements of twice its size and age. the rock bank not only prevents the incutting of the current, but, owing to its lowness, gives easy access to and from the water, unlike the high bluffs upon which most of the settlements have been located.
looking about for an up-river party, i was so fortunate as to fall in with mr. daniel boone, who with his son-in-law, flanders calloway, had come down from la charette with a bateau-load of furs. seeing me in hunting dress, the old gentleman showed the keenest interest in my intentions, and upon learning that my immediate purpose was to reach belle fontaine, invited me aboard their bateau.
on the way upstream he made me sit beside him in the stern-sheets, and his look betrayed such an eagerness over my plans that i could not resist confiding them to him. it was sad to see the youthful fire flash and sparkle in his bright old eyes, only to dull and fade to the grayness of forced resignation.
"my days are past, john," he said, in his quiet, almost gentle voice. "you have heard me tell of the trip i took with your father through the choctaw nation; but i'm now past my threescore years and ten, lad. take off the ten, and i'd be with you on this traceless quest to the spanish country. it's hard to be tied down to a scant fifty miles or so of free range. but my old bones stiffen and call for rest after their wanderings. i reckon, though, i've done a man's share in my time. not that i make any boast of it; only i feel that i was an instrument in god's providence to open the wilderness to our people. i feel it none the less that there were all those others before me. captain morgan founded new madrid in sixty-six—"
"but that was under spanish rule," i exclaimed. "yours was the first of the advanced american settlements in kentucky. if only i may have a share in a like tracing of our great western plains!"
he gave me a shrewd glance. "you fear they won't let you go with the expedition. why not follow their trace, and join their party in the pawnee country? this young lieutenant is your friend, you say. he will be sure to take you into camp."
simple as was this stratagem, it had not occurred to me in all my scheming. yet it was so practicable that i at once assured mr. boone i would, if need were, carry out the suggestion. a few minutes later he landed me at belle fontaine, and we parted with a warm handshake. though deprived by litigation of the bulk of his spanish grant on the femme osage, as he had been in the early nineties of his kentucky lands, mr. boone remains one of the most even-tempered and kindliest men i know.
upon reaching the cantonment, my first intention had been to seek out general wilkinson. but within a few paces i caught sight of a company of the second infantry on parade, and one glance was enough to tell me that the officer in command was my friend lieutenant pike. though i could see only his trim back, there was no mistaking the odd manner in which he stood with his head so bent to the right that the tip of his chapeau touched his shoulder.
before many minutes he dismissed the company, and turning about, saw me waiting within a dozen paces. in another moment he was grasping my hand, his blue eyes beaming and his fair cheeks flushing like a girl's beneath their sunburn.
"good fortune, john!" he cried. "i feared you had gone on down to settle in new orleans. the general spoke of meeting you in natchez."
"did he tell you the cause of that meeting—and the outcome?"
"surely you cannot blame him!"
"no, no, montgomery!—since it was you who had forestalled me!"
"yet you must have had your heart set upon leading the expedition."
"it was to obtain the leadership that i went on to washington."
"no!"
"a wild goose chase, as you see. but, worst of all, i am now more than ever anxious to go."
"yet—even if the general should remove me—"
"he would not give the place to me. nor could i ask your removal. yet i must go with you, montgomery!"
"you are not in the service."
"i will offer myself as a volunteer."
"nothing could give me greater pleasure! and we need a surgeon. still—"
"i am aware that the general does not regard me with favor. yet if you should second my application—"
"by all means! have you met the general's son, lieutenant james wilkinson?" i shook my head. "here he comes. i will introduce you. he is my second in this expedition. stop and talk with him, while i see the general. i will have you on with us if it can be done."
i turned and saw approaching a tall young lieutenant whose sallow but pleasant face was altogether unlike that of his father. owing to this and to his cordial greeting when we were introduced, i was able to enter into a lively conversation with him, while my friend hastened away. a few remarks brought us to the subject of the expedition, and i found the lieutenant so agreeable when i intimated my desire to volunteer that i ventured to ask his good services in the affair. to this he very readily assented, and upon the return of my friend, held a conference with him, the decision of which was that i should wait over a day, in view of the fact that the general had received pike's intervention in my behalf with disfavor.
it was an irksome wait, little as was the time given me to brood. young wilkinson put me up in his own quarters, but mrs. pike insisted that i should take all my meals with the family. i repaid this hospitality as best i could by detailed descriptions of all that i had seen during my visit in washington, which proved no less interesting to the lieutenant than to mrs. pike. also i was able to cure the children of a slight seasonable indisposition.
of his own affairs my friend had little to say. his modesty and reserve prevented him from giving any other than the most meagre information as to his recent trip, while my first inquiry regarding the present expedition was met by the prompt statement that he was under orders not to discuss it. the most i learned was that, with few exceptions, his party was made up of the men who had proved themselves so brave and enduring on his mississippi trip.
on my part, i contrived to say nothing about my dealings with colonel burr, and so little with regard to alisanda that not even mrs. pike divined my romance. this was not that i shrank from confiding in them. my idea was to keep the information as a last resort, in the event that i should be compelled to undertake the stratagem suggested by mr. boone. the confession of my love-quest would then add strength to my appeal to be taken into camp.
shortly after noon of the following day pike brought me the welcome news that young wilkinson advised an immediate call upon his father. i hastened over to headquarters, and, upon sending in my name, was shown into the presence of the general. he was still seated at table, and with the same gesture that dismissed his waiter, waved me to a seat across from him.
"so," he puffed, eying me curiously, "i understand that you have reconsidered the position you took at natchez."
"i confess, your excellency, i have become so infatuated with the idea of this adventurous expedition that i wish to join it, even though in a subordinate position."
"your reasons?" he demanded, with unconcealed suspicion.
"there is the love of adventure for its own sake, your excellency. i was born on the frontier. for another thing, i should perhaps gain some little standing by reporting on the mineralogical and other scientific features encountered by the expedition."
"you would be willing to give your services as surgeon?"
"certainly, sir!"
he pushed across a glass and his whiskey bottle, and i thought it discreet to accept the invitation. as i sipped my toddy, he drew a sealed document from his pocket, and fixed me with what was meant for a penetrating stare.
"you are willing to do all within your power to further the success of the expedition?"
though certain that this covered something more than my medical services, i answered without hesitancy: "anything within my power, sir!"
"good," he replied, and he nodded. "here is a question to test that—supposing the expedition, in exploring our unknown boundaries, should chance to find itself in the vicinity of the spanish settlements—"
i started, and leaned toward him, eager-eyed. "yes!" i cried. "you mean—?"
"by ——!" he muttered. "what do you mean? you're like a hound on a blood trace!"
"who is not eager to get at the secrets of el dorado?" i parried.
"so?" he said. "i fear that colonel burr has been plying you with his harebrained schemes."
"he spoke to me of the mexican mines."
"you are not the first of his dupes."
"dupe, sir! i thought that you were yourself one of his friends."
"friend?—to him!" the general swelled with what seemed to me over-acted indignation. "but i forgive you your ignorance, sir. let us return to the point under discussion. the question is, would you, under the supposition i have stated, be willing to risk yourself among the spaniards?"
"you mean, sir, as a spy?"
"it is a question of patriotism, sir, patriotism!" he puffed. "though war now seems averted for the time being, hostilities may occur even before this expedition can return. in the event of war, i need hardly mention to you that information bearing upon the situation of the spanish in their northern provinces would be of inestimable value to our country."
"your excellency," i said, "i bear the spanish authorities no love, and my country much. i will undertake what you have mentioned, so far as lies within my power."
"lieutenant pike has assured me as to your abilities. you speak french and some spanish?"
"some french, sir; very little spanish."
"enough to serve." he took up the document, with its beribboned seal. "here is a paper for your consideration. it is a claim upon the spanish authorities, prepared according to the treaties between the united states and spain. two years ago mr. william morrison of kaskaskia intrusted one baptiste le lande with a large stock of trade goods for barter among the western tribes. according to reports which have lately come to mr. morrison through the indians, le lande has reached santa fe and there settled, without intention of accounting for the property intrusted to him."
"i understand, your excellency," said i. "this claim is to serve as a cloak for my spying."
"no need to use so harsh a term," he mumbled.
"it is the term the spanish authorities will use if they detect me," i answered.
"we are at peace with spain. i reached a good understanding with general herrera before coming up the river. there will be no hostilities for some months, at the least. the spaniards will not dare to resort to extremes against you."
"their authorities bear us no love," i rejoined. "those in so remote a province as nuevo mexico may well argue that it will be quite safe to hang a spy, war or no war."
he took up the document, with a frown. "then you do not care to venture it?"
"your excellency mistakes me. i wish merely to point out the risk. in my opinion, the danger could be no greater if hostilities had already begun."
"and if i admit the risk?" he demanded.
"it is, in a sense, a military service. supposing it successful, is it not your excellency's opinion that a recommendation to a commission might be in order?"
he studied me for some moments. then: "a commission as a subaltern—possibly."
"sir, i could obtain that by means of a little political begging. i had in mind a captaincy."
"captaincy!" he repeated, taken aback by my audacity. "captaincy! that is beyond all reason."
"yet if i succeed beyond reason—?"
"in such event—but let that wait until your return."
"if ever i do return," i added.
"true; but you can thank yourself that you are thrusting your head into the noose, with your eyes open."
"then your excellency gives me leave to join as a volunteer?"
"we shall see—we shall see."
"but, your excellency, a man likes time for preparations."
"that is your own affair, sir,—though i may say that, at present, i feel disposed to grant you the favor. i shall let you know in good time."
with this i was forced to be content. the general rose to enter his office, with a pompous gesture of dismissal.
but upon my return to my friend's quarters, he and mrs. pike and lieutenant wilkinson joined in assuring me that, since the general had not refused me point blank, i had every reason to expect a favorable decision.
