The Pioneer Boys of the Mississippi; or, The Homestead in the Wilderness

BOB, despite his long tramp, as well as the excitement that had been his portion during that day, felt little like sleeping. It seemed to him as though something weighed upon hi...

THE daring voyagers on the beamy flatboat knew that no matter how their adventure might turn out in the end, whether for good or evil, at least they were now on the home stretch...

"THE great day has come at last!" said Sandy, early one morning, as they started down toward the river from the blockhouse, where they had been quartered ever since the flood, t...

AS Bob Armstrong and his brother drew near the well-beloved cabin which had now been their home for almost an entire year, their hearts beat high with anticipation of a reunion...

IN that moment of alarm Sandy forgot all about his lame ankle. He realized, as soon as the crash came, that the dugout was about to sink, for water began to pour in over the sid...

BOB did not need the warning from Sandy to put him on his guard. The mere fact that there was a panther near by was sufficient reason for his alertness, because no animal that r...

"THERE was an arrow shot; I saw it sticking in the side of that buffalo before it fell over, after running off a little way!" whispered Sandy, excitedly, when both he and his br...

In a choice between two evils, Bob Armstrong could always be depended on to take that which seemed the less. To go on down the flood was a dreadful outlook; and almost anything...

It was the voice of Mr. Armstrong that uttered these words; and hardly had the men who manned the sweeps and poles thrown themselves flat, than there came flashes of flame from...

"Both together, then, Bob. There! that looks like business! and, just as you say, our dugout can lie safely under the shelter of that tongue of land, while we're off 'tending ou...

"WHO are they, Pat?" asked Bob, half under his breath, as he saw Blue Jacket gravely salute the other Indian, whom he knew to be a chief among the fierce Miamis, both by the fea...

With the rising of the water the stout cabin had finally been lifted from its foundations, and, the last they saw of it, the current was making a plaything of what had only a sh...

THERE was nothing that mortal hand could do to ward off the impending peril that threatened to take the Armstrong cabin down the river, after those of the other settlers that ha...

"The box is certainly gone," replied Bob, trying not to show his feelings more than he could help, because he felt sure Sandy must be close to the breaking-down point.

"I FEEL just wild for fresh meat, and I mean to ask father if we can take a little hunt this very afternoon," said Sandy, two days later, while the flatboat was speeding quite m...

"It is that same, by the token," grumbled Pat. "Av yees give me a hand, byes, it's mesilf will thry to sthand up, and say how well I can walk."

"PULL hard, Sandy; father wants to land at that spot where the big crooked tree hangs over the water. Pat has told him that it was there he spent the night a year ago, when he w...

"I'm to flash a bit av powder to till them we're waitin' beyant the p'int av land," he remarked; "and 'tis mesilf as had better be gettin' ready to do the same in a hurry, for t...

Of course that could be no one but Sandy making such a remark, under the circumstances. He was leaning over the side of the bulwark of the flatboat, and looking back up the rive...

"WHAT have we here, Henri?" exclaimed the man Kate had seen. She was struggling in the rude grasp of the other fellow, but was like a baby in the clutch of his powerful hands.

CREEPING along, with their guns held in readiness for instant use, the three gradually approached the sleepers. Pat frequently paused to observe closely. Bob knew what he was ke...

AS this thrilling cry rang through the settlement, supplemented by the wild peals of the alarm bell in the block house, all the inmates of David Armstrong's cabin were on their...

"And our wampum belt, which Pontiac presented to us with his own hands!" echoed Sandy, as he once more let his gaze rest on the object he had discovered, thrown aside in the gra...

"Nothing would please me better, Bob. This meat pack is very heavy, and it seems to me as if the air had grown much warmer. Summer has come, down here, surely. Oh! how good it f...

"About one in ten," answered Bob. "Something might cause them to stop, and go into camp. Then, as evening came on we would sight their fire, and be able to steal up close to the...

WHEN Bob Armstrong parted from his brother he quickened his steps. The next trap was not very far away; but, as he had just said, he did not like the looks of the cloudy sky, an...

But Pat, who kept quite cool, knew what he was doing. He was also well aware of the fact that, in their eagerness to save the others, the boys would not take any precaution with...

All this time the flatboat had made good progress down the river, which continually opened up new and most beautiful pictures to the eyes of the voyagers. It was very slow trave...

AS he followed along the strip of open shore, Bob saw his impetuous brother drawing nearer and nearer to the floating dugout. He half expected to see some grim figure start sudd...

THE swimmer had timed himself so as to reach the side of the flatboat as it swung past; and, in order to create a diversion in his favor, Pat called on his friends to send in a...