I took the helm again while Sim ate his breakfast, and then went to bed myself; for I found, after my night of watching and excitement, I was in no condition to work. My companions were as considerate of me as I had been of them, and permitted me to sleep till the middle of the afternoon.[202] I was "as good as new" then; and, after we had dined, I put up a table, and made a couple of stools.
During the day, we met two steamboats, and passed a huge flat-boat loaded with grain; but no one on board of them seemed to take any particular notice of us. Every kind of a craft is seen on the great western rivers, and none is so strange as to excite a sensation in the mind of the beholder7. At six o'clock we had been afloat about twenty hours; and, according to my estimate, it was nearly time for us to see the Mississippi. The Wisconsin had widened as we advanced, and I was sure that we should be in the great river before midnight.
After supper, I discussed with Sim the subject of keeping watch during the night, and we decided8 that four hours were enough for each of us to steer2 at one time. But we had no means of measuring time in the night, and we could only guess at the length of the watch. I was to serve from eight till twelve, and Sim from twelve till four, when I was to take my place again.
Flora retired9 early on the second night, and I [203]sent Sim to bed as soon as it was fairly dark. I was alone again, in the solitude10 of that waste of waters. The novelty of the scene had in some measure worn off. I had nothing but my own thoughts to amuse me. The river appeared still to be widening, and, as I had anticipated, before my watch had ended, the raft entered the Mississippi. The river was high, the current much stronger than it had been in the Wisconsin, and the progress of the raft was correspondingly increased. I met a steamboat struggling against the stream, and passed quite near to her. The swell11 that she left behind her caused the raft to roll heavily for a moment; but it did not disturb the sleepers12 in the house.
I called Sim at twelve o'clock, as nearly as I could judge, and he faithfully promised me that he would keep awake till daylight. I left him alone on the platform, and turned in, though not without some doubts in regard to his ability to be true to his promise. I went to sleep very promptly13, and I must do Sim the justice to say that I found the raft all right when he called me at sunrise, an hour later than the time agreed upon. He told me [204]that nothing had happened during the night, except that a steamboat had nearly upset the raft.
I do not intend to make a daily record of our voyage down the river. One day was very much like the next day, and all days were alike. On the afternoon of the first day on the Mississippi, we approached a village, where there was a steamboat landing. We were in want of supplies for our table, and I decided to stop for an hour or two. But I found that it was an easier matter to go ahead than it was to stop, for the raft had got into the habit of doing so. The water was too deep to permit the use of poles, and we were helplessly carried past the village.
I was vexed14 at this mishap15, for I did not like to drink my coffee without milk. However, we came to another and a larger village about sundown, and, making my calculations in good season, I succeeded in driving the raft into the shallow water where we could use the poles. We struck the shore some distance above the place; but a walk of half a mile was not objectionable, after our long confinement16 on the raft.[205]
At this town I purchased a cheap clock, and an old, patched sail, which had been used on a wood-boat, as well as some provisions and groceries. Sim and I lugged17 these articles to the raft, and immediately cast off again. I put the clock up in the house, where it could be seen through the door without leaving the platform. The lantern hung over it, so that we could tell the time by night.
I had great hopes of the sail, and the next day I rigged it upon two poles, serving as yards. On one corner of the sail I found a block, which had been used for the sheet. I fastened it at the masthead, so that we could hoist18 and lower the sail at pleasure. I was no navigator, and no sailor; and I had to experiment with the sail and rigging for a long while before I could make them work to my satisfaction.
My inventive powers did not fail me, and by attaching a rope to each end of the two yards, I obtained the control of the canvas. When I had completed the work, and hoisted19 the sail, I was delighted with its operation. The wind came pretty fresh from the north-west, and I think the raft made [206]five, if not six miles an hour with its help. With the sail drawing well, the labor20 of steering was reduced more than half. The raft had no tendency to whirl round, and it was really a pleasure to steer her. We were not obliged to follow the current in its broad sweeps around the bends of the river, and we saved many miles by taking "short cuts." I found, too, that the raft was under better control, and, instead of being at the mercy of the current, we could go where we pleased. When there was any wind, and it came from the right direction, I could make a landing where and when I wished with very little difficulty.
Day after day we continued on our voyage, Sim and I dividing equally between us the labor at the steering oar. We could not use the sail all the time, but it was a vast help to us when the wind was favorable. As time permitted, I made improvements on the house, which added to our comfort. I put up two berths21, which we filled with hay obtained from the prairies. I made a closet for the dishes, and a well in the body of the raft, where the kettle of milk could be kept cool in the water.[207]
We made a landing almost every day at some town, and on Sunday we hauled up and went to church, whenever we were in a place where we could do so. On our sixth day it rained in torrents22, and I hauled up at the bank of a river, and made fast to a tree. It was not comfortable to stand on the platform, wet to the skin, and steer. Sim and I slept nearly the whole day, while Flora read the books and newspapers which I had bought at the towns. I had done all the work I could find to do on the raft, and had fitted up the house to my mind. I had an easy time of it.
At one of the large towns I found what was called "A Panorama23 of the Mississippi River," which I bought and put up in the house. After this we knew just where we were, for the Panorama was a kind of chart, with all the towns on the river, the streams which flowed into it, and the distances from place to place, indicated upon it. With a good breeze we made about a hundred miles in twenty-four hours, and when we could not use the sail, the current carried us sixty miles.
When we reached the mouth of the Missouri, the [208]prospect24 seemed to me, who had never seen a considerable body of water, to be like a great inland sea. Flora was appalled25 at our distance from the land, and Sim shouted, "Hookie!" Our raft, which had seemed so large on the stream where it had been built, now loomed26 puny27 and insignificant28. Great steamboats, three times as large as any I had ever seen, and looming29 up far above the water, dashed by us. Huge flat-boats floated lazily down the river, and the scene became more lively and exciting as we advanced. A new world had opened to us.
From the broad river we saw the great city of St. Louis, and we gazed with wonder and astonishment30 at its dense31 mass of houses, its busy levee, and the crowds of steamboats which thronged32 it. We had never seen the great world before, and we were overwhelmed with surprise. Flora was silent, and Sim cried "Hookie" a hundred times within an hour.
The swift current and the steady breeze carried us away from this stormy scene into the quiet of nature; for the great river has its solitudes33, though many times in the day we saw steamboats going up [209]and down, or encountered other craft voyaging towards the Gulf34.
On the tenth day we approached the mouth of the Ohio. Again the expanse of waters increased, till it seemed to my narrow vision to be almost an ocean. It was nearly dark, and the weather was as pleasant as a maiden's dream. We had advanced about seven degrees of latitude35 towards the south, and Nature was clothed in her brightest green. We had stepped from the cold spring of Wisconsin to the mild summer of the South. Ten days before we had been among leafless trees; now we were in the midst of luxuriant foliage36. Flora sat in her arm-chair, near the platform, enjoying the scene with me.
"If you are tired of the raft, Flora, we will go the rest of the way in a steamboat," I said, after we had spoken of the changing seasons we had experienced.
"I am not tired of it—far from it," she replied.
"We have over a thousand miles farther to go."
"I think I shall only regret the river was not longer when we get to New Orleans."[210]
"I wonder what Captain Fishley thinks has become of us," I added, chuckling37, as I thought of the family we had left.
"He and his wife must be puzzled; but I suppose they won't find out where we are till we write to them."
"They will not know at present then. We have got rid of our tyrants38 now, and I am in no hurry to see them again."
"Twig39 the steamers!" shouted Sim, from the roof of the house, where he had perched himself to observe the prospect. "They are having a race."
I had seen them before, and I wished they had been farther off, for one of them seemed to be determined40 to run over the raft, in her efforts to cut off her rival. Our craft was in the middle of the channel, and one of the steamers passed on each side of us, and so close that we were nearly swamped in the surges produced by their wheels. I breathed easier when the boats had passed, for I knew how reckless they were under the excitement of a race. I could hear them creak and groan41 under the pressure, as they went by.[211]
We watched them as they rushed forward on their course. They were just rounding into the Ohio, on their mad career, when we saw one of them suddenly fly in pieces, torn, rent, shivered, the atmosphere filled with fragments. Then came a terrific explosion, like the din6 of an earthquake, shaking the raft with its violence. The boiler42 of the steamer had exploded.
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1
flora
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| n.(某一地区的)植物群 | |
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steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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7
beholder
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| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
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8
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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9
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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sleepers
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| n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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mishap
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| n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸 | |
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confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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lugged
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| vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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berths
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| n.（船、列车等的）卧铺( berth的名词复数 )；（船舶的）停泊位或锚位；差事；船台vt.v.停泊( berth的第三人称单数 )；占铺位 | |
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torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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panorama
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| n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置] | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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26
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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puny
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| adj.微不足道的，弱小的 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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looming
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| n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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31
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
solitudes
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| n.独居( solitude的名词复数 )；孤独；荒僻的地方；人迹罕至的地方 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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36
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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37
chuckling
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
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38
tyrants
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| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
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39
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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40
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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41
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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42
boiler
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| n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等) | |
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