m their funnels. A great crowd had gathered on the river bank to watch the departure; and while drays and wagons rattled over the cobblestones and long lines of negro roustabouts ran bac

wellbeing since her husband's death. But she bore it as bravely as a good mother always bears such trials, smiling brightly at him through her tears as the head-lines were slipped from the Island City's bow and her great stern wheel began slowly to revolve. Al, his own eyes misty, watched his mother until in the distance she became blur

amers along the bank, Al stood at the rail looking back. When at last he turned away, with

lt just the same way less than three years ago when I marched off from home to Washington and the first Bull Run. But it does no good to feel blue over it; you'll come back again al

t continued running until nearly dark, when they laid up for the night at Penn's Woodyard, four miles above. Excepting in high water, when the channel is broad and deep, it is very unusual for boats to run at night on the Missouri owing to the danger of striking snags or going aground on

d one. Early next morning, at the mouth of the Gasconade, they encountered the first of the obstacles which they had been dreading. As is usual below the mouths of tributaries, where the eddy created by the muddy current of the main river coming in contact with that of the tributary causes the mud and sand to sink to the bottom, a sa

o Captain Feilner, whom he found standi

sound for a passage,"

sually called,-the tall, bronzed captain of the Island City, lea

yawl, there! S

manned by six stalwart deck hands and carrying, besides, a steersman at the stern and a leadsman with a sounding pole at the bow, pulled

there be for us to ge

by sparring or warping. Have you never seen those things done? Well, you will probably have a chance in a few minutes,-and plenty more before w

r, until it had approached quite near to the north bank, the leadsman constantly thrusting his pole d

who had acted as leadsman as he came aboard, speaking to Capta

river, re-echoing from the forest-clad bluffs on either side. One by one the steamboats behind

g for?" asked Al. "Are they trying

g to back up. There isn't room to turn in this channel and all th

this time, however, close in by the north shore. As she went ahead the strokes of her pistons became m

aimed Lieutenant Dale, coming up at this mome

so quickly that those who were standing on her decks were nearly thrown down, and then, after scraping along for a few feet slowly and painfully she came to a full stop. For a moment the stern w

ng out of the pilot-house window. "She's ne

ahead until the spars had tilted forward so far as to let the bow down again into the sand. Then they were dragged forward and set upright once more, and the process was repeated. Before a great while the crest of the bar was passed, and the Island City floated on into deeper water and continued her journey. But though it had not been what river men would consider a hard crossing, she had lost nearly six hours in sounding and sparring, and it was noon by the time she had left the Gasconade out of sight behind her. The vessels following her each forced its way across the bar in the same manner as she had done, excepting the Chippewa Falls and the Alone, boats of smal

mated the average speed which the fleet could maintain. For days they continued travelling through the State of Missouri, contending with sandbars and head winds. The interior of the State was in a deplorable condition as a result of the war. Guerillas were overrunning it everywhere, and the boats rarely landed at a town without hearing either that some of the marauders had just left on the approach of the fleet or that they had been raiding there a day or two before. General Sully's vessels were so numerous and well armed that the guerillas did not

erters from the Confederate army, tired of fighting but still rebels at heart; and others were Southern sympathizers, fleeing from the draft in the Northern States. Most of these men hoped, when they should draw near to Montana, to find opportunities for slipping away from the expedition and making their way to the gold

n board. As might naturally be supposed, he was usually with some of them. But one day he was standing on the main deck near the boilers when one of the deck hands, a young fellow a few years older than himself, came by carrying a couple of heavy sticks of cordwood to the furnaces. Al had once or twice in the past noticed this fellow staring at him in a disagreeable way and felt instinctively that it must be because the deck h

e Yankee snipe! What are you l

replied Al, controlling his t

blue-bellied Yankee officers. They oughtn't

gathered round, grinning at the excitement, t

ticed, especially before the other men, "I have as much business here as you have. As for being a Yan

ore," shouted the young ruffian, flinging down his wood and advancing on Al with clench

r deck hands crowde

ne, Jimmy. He ain't

ou'll get in troubl

shing. "I thought so. If you're so much attached to them, why

lew from under him and he fell to the deck with a heavy thud, completely dazed for a moment. Then he scrambled to his feet with a string of imprecations pouring from his lips, and jerking an ugly, broad-bladed knife from a sheath on his belt, again leaped at Al. Seeing his intention, his comp

f you want to stay on this boat you've got to quit that kind of talk about Yankees or I'll see that you are put off. It's very plain you are a rebel and you've no business getting your li

the crest-fallen rowdy, deliberately walked away, foll

d him right." "You'

o Lieutenant Dale and Captain Feilner, who pro

said Al. "I can take care of myself with him. Besides, it may

en and he made no more trouble for Al during the voyage, thou

college. So thereafter they spent an hour or so every day in sparring. By the time the voyage was over, Al had become as skilful as his instr

e had known were off in one of the armies, Confederate or Union, and the women were not often venturing from their houses in such times. In the residence section the scene was still worse. House after house stood deserted and going to decay. With slow steps Al went on to the place which had been the home of his family in the dear old days when they were happy and prosperous. The gate was fallen from the hinges, weeds were growing thickly over the gravel walks, several panes of glass were broken out of the windows, and a loose shutter creaked dolefully in the wind. He rested his hand on a weather-beaten fence picket and gazed out into the garden he remembered so well, where he and Tommy and An