ndred and
fifty miles up the river, and over three weeks out, but we're only
halfway to the Yellowstone, and still a good deal more than six hundred
miles below the Mandan Villages, though I've counted fifty-three towns
and cities we've passed in the river, coming this far. It certainly does
look as though we'll have to winter up there, sure enough."

"Oh, I don't know," demurred Rob, consulting the pages of his own
notebook. "No fellow can ask an outboard motor to do better than ours
have. I'll admit we're just inside our forty-mile-a-day stunt, but
that's five miles an hour and only eight hours a day. I'll bet they
would have been mighty glad to do half that."

"I've been wondering how they were able to spurt so much, north of the
Platte," said John.

"I'll bet I know!" broke in Jesse. "It's because the shores were more
open, so they could use the cordelle! They'd been doing it, too, for on
August 26th they made a new 'Toe line' out of braided elk-hide. Clark
killed an elk on August 25th, and Reuben Fields killed five deer that
day, and George Shannon killed an elk that day, too. So they 'jurked the
meet,' and made the hides into a tracking line. That beats rowing or
paddling to get up a river. We saw that on the Peace River and the
Mackenzie, didn't we?"

"I believe you're right, son!" said Rob. "These long sandy reaches,
where the men could trot on the line--that was where they got their
mileage, I'll warrant."

"George Shannon?" said Uncle Dick, who was listening as he sat on his
bed roll near the fire. "George Shannon, eh? Well, he didn't bring in
any more elk meat after that for many a day, that's sure."

"I know!" Rob nodded. "That's the man that got lost!"

"Yes, and trouble enough it gave the party and the leaders. They sent
out two men, Shields and J. Fields, to find him and the horses. That was
the second day. But they didn't find him. He didn't show up for sixteen
days. Luckily, he kept on ahead of the boat all the time, but, as we
all know, the most confusing way on earth to get lost from a party is
while you are on foot and the party is in a boat. Even Sir Alexander
Mackenzie got lost that way, on the Findlay River; and so have we all of
us."

"Well, poor Shannon nearly starved to death. I don't think he was a
first-class hunter, either, or he'd not have gone out without his
ammunition. In a country swarming with game he went for twelve days with
only grapes to eat, except one rabbit that he sho