Part 33 (2/2)

At that point a party of friends and representatives of the press, met the travelers and escorted them to the city, where thousands of people lined the bank to extend a welcome. One man, who probably intended to commit suicide, threw off his coat and shouting that he could swim as well as that fellow, jumped in and was drowned. Boyton had great difficulty in getting through the crowd to a carriage which conveyed him to a hotel.

That evening, after a wash and getting into suits of clothes which they had s.h.i.+pped ahead, Paul and Creelman met a party of friends and newspaper men in their room and entertained them with an account of some of the adventures of the trip.

On leaving Omaha after a pleasant rest of a day, the voyagers realized that winter was sweeping down from the northwest with such rapidity that it was necessary for them to exert their best efforts if they would reach St. Louis before ice enclosed them. The character of the country through which they now pa.s.sed was entirely different from that above. While there were still many wild stretches, instead of bare b.u.t.tes covered with buffalo gra.s.s, the hills were loaded with timber, and well kept fences told that instead of a strictly cattle grazing country, immense farms stretched from either sh.o.r.e. At places, corn stalks rustled for miles along the bank and fat swine came to the sh.o.r.e to wallow in the mud.

The first night out from Omaha, they pa.s.sed the mouth of the Platte river and next morning reached Nebraska City. Many towns and villages were pa.s.sed and at every place large crowds were looking for the voyagers and expressed much disappointment when they refused to halt even for a few moments. As they were enjoying their pipes over a splendid camp fire one night some miles above St. Joseph, they were somewhat startled at hearing a gruff voice call out, ”h.e.l.lo, there.”

And immediately two men heavily armed, stood by the fire. One was a tall, muscular fellow and the other shorter and slighter built, both having the appearance of men that were not to be trifled with. They were very friendly, however, and chatted pleasantly for some time; inquiring all about the trip down the river and displaying a keen interest in everything concerning it. They were intelligent conversationalists and the two hours they remained in camp pa.s.sed quickly. On going away they shook hands and wished the travelers good luck. Later, Paul found out that the midnight visitors were no other than the notorious Jesse James and his pal Bob Ford who afterward a.s.sa.s.sinated him.

The voyagers sighted St. Joseph at sunset next evening but having grounded in the mud they did not reach the city until after dark and found the bank jammed with people. They had been watching for them at St. Joseph all day. During their stay they were honored by a continual round of receptions, serenades and other entertainments and on leaving, the crowd was just as enthusiastic as on their arrival. They were joined there by Mr. Baker, a correspondent of a Kansas City paper, who had been a.s.signed to accompany them as far as that city. He bad purchased a rather unwieldy skiff in which to accomplish the trip, and started along with them pulling a vigorous stroke. Toward night the weather grew very cold.

Every drop of water that splashed into the boats was quickly frozen.

Paul's head covering was iced. About eleven o'clock he pulled alongside the boats.

”Boys,” he said, ”this is going to be a rough night on you and the best way for you to get along is to pull one hour, turn about and sleep one hour. I will keep time and call you up.”

The plan met with favor and was immediately put into execution. Creelman was to pull the first hour and Baker rolled himself in the buffalo robes and laid on the bottom of his boat. He was fast asleep in a moment. At the expiration of fifteen minutes, Creelman softly called Boyton alongside.

”Say, Captain, Baker hasn't pulled all the way do n from Bismarck. He's fresh. Suppose we wake him up and you tell him it's twelve o'clock,” he suggested.

Paul fell in with the spirit of the joke and after pulling away from the boat, he blew the bugle and aroused Baker with the information that it was twelve o'clock. The Kansas City man took the oars and Creelman rolled up for a good nap. After fifteen or twenty minutes, Baker hailed Paul, who hauled up.

”Say, Captain, Creelman has pulled all the way down the river and is innured to this sort of thing. I'm not. It's just about knocking me out. Suppose you call him and tell him his hour is up.”

”All right,” said the Captain, and in a moment Creelman was rubbing his eyes.

”Confound it, Captain. It seems to me that was an almighty short hour,”

he said.

”It's one o'clock,” sung the Captain, ”time's up. Creelman took the oars without the least suspicion that Boyton would play a joke on him.

”Call Baker up again,” he said to Paul after pulling several minutes, and Baker was called up accordingly.

”By George,” exclaimed Baker, rubbing his eyes, ”I must have slept awfully sound. It doesn't seem to me as though I have been down ten minutes.”

He went to work, however, and Paul enjoyed himself calling them up, each thinking he had the best of the other. At three o'clock, they began to scan the horizon for daybreak. According to the hours they had pulled, it should have been five o'clock. As daylight did not appear, Creelman began to grow suspicious and as Baker was called up again he saw Creelman with a lighted match consulting his watch.

”What time is it?” inquired Baker.

”Three o'clock,” replied Creelman in a mournful voice.

”What?” almost screamed Baker, ”only three o'clock?”

They favored each other with a cold, hard look and each seized his own oars again. So they rowed through the bitter morning hours.

Leavenworth and other towns were saluted, crowds always cheering on the banks, and the following afternoon, almost frozen, they landed at Kansas City, where for two miles the bank was a solid ma.s.s of humanity.

Among those who greeted them was an uncle whom Paul had never seen, Mr.

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