“napoleon has come! napoleon est ici! vive napoleon!”
for a time the simple french habitants were mute with astonishment. then an answering shout rose: “vive napoleon! vive la france!” it was like putting a match to fireworks. an indescribable excitement ensued. the settlers crowded the river bank. trappers fired their guns in the air. and now from all the more distant houses, from the fort and from the watch-tower, many others—traders, soldiers, and even the governor and his secretary—came hastening to the landing-place.
within five minutes more than a thousand people collected, all vastly astonished and overjoyed at the strange tidings.
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a babel of eager questions now burst forth. was it true? where was the mighty frenchman? and who was worthy to entertain him? all looked to governor delassus. with inward consternation the good governor bethought himself as to his somewhat scanty accommodations. in short, the prank was even more successful than the waggish grimsby had anticipated. intent on securing the full dramatic effect of his joke at the proper moment, the frivolous lieutenant had kept the bear out of sight, in the horse stalls, till the boat drew in to the bank. then hauling him suddenly forth by his chain, he made him rear on his haunches in plain sight of all and shouted, “voila napoleon!”
lewis and moses, from the deck above, also cried, “here’s napoleon!” and burst into shouts of laughter.
a jest of this kind was quite in keeping with the rough humor of frontiersmen,
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but with these french people it fell very flat. they neither understood nor appreciated it; they were simply bewildered.
“un ours!” (a bear!) they murmured, with glances of displeasure and many shrugs of disgust.
“un ours!” what did it all mean, and what in the world were these americans laughing at? where was the joke? they failed to see anything laughable. “un ours!”
no one laughed, and at last the lieutenant tried to explain his joke. “son nom est napoleon!” said he, pointing to the bear. “that is his name! napoleon! he has come to see you!” and grimsby burst out in another laugh.
dismal silence continued to prevail ashore, except that several, still shrugging with comical little grimaces, muttered that monsieur, l’americain, appeared to be un farceur—a joker!
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“ah, well,” cried grimsby, disgusted in turn by their lack of humor, “you had better take a good look at him! it is the only napoleon that you will ever see come up the mississippi! your grand napoleon has sold you out to the united states. within ten days your new american governor will be here!”
at this juncture capt. meriwether lewis, who had recently come there, made his way down to the bank, and hailing captain royce, whom he had previously met at marietta, lent his aid to explain the matter to the governor and others. captain lewis was at this time completing his preparations for the famous lewis and clark expedition, which, under direction of president jefferson, set off from st. louis on the 10th of may following.
lieutenant grimsby had not seen the last of his joke, however. on setting off from the milly ayer the next morning, to
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lead napoleon to the governor’s house, at the northeast corner of main and walnut streets, he was stoned by some young loafers; and in his efforts to catch one of them he lost hold of napoleon.
the bear, alarmed by the stones, galloped up the street and turned in at the open gate of one of the palisaded courtyards.
immediately a great outcry ensued inside. children and women screamed, and presently a gun was fired. napoleon was creating a terrible commotion, and it was uncertain what damage to life or property he might be doing. but grimsby, being overmatched by his assailants, was unable to go in pursuit of him. after a scuffle the lieutenant ran back to the river bank and called on moses, lewis and wistar royce to return with him.
the four set off together at a run, and on reaching the scene of the skirmish, found that grimsby’s assailants had beaten a retreat,
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and a worse outcry than ever was issuing from within the courtyard of the house where the pet bear had taken refuge. but now the cries were those of pigs instead of human beings. the gate had swung to and latched, and the palisades were too high to scale.
after some delay grimsby and his friends forced the gate,—for the case seemed urgent,—and found an odd state of affairs prevailing within. in one corner of the yard was a sow with a large litter of young pigs. to these napoleon was paying assiduous attentions. but for each one that he seized he was forced to fight a pitched battle with the sow, which, in defense of her young, attacked him with great intrepidity, squealing and clacking her jaws in a most ferocious manner. with a stroke of his paw the bear was able to prostrate the sow, but immediately she was on her feet again, quite as fierce as before.
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there was such an uproar that the rescue party did not at first notice what had become of the people of the house till they heard them calling out from the roof.
the man, a french trader, had a gun, the flint-lock of which he was endeavoring to put in order. he had fired once, but had failed to do the bear much injury. the trader’s wife, children and two or three female servants were behind him on the roof, and they all besought the arksmen to drive out the bear and save their poor pigs.
grimsby and moses laid hold of the chain and tried to pull napoleon away, but he had become excited in the affray with the sow. he was bleeding from several slight wounds; and, moreover, had had a taste of young pork. he turned upon his masters so savagely that they were obliged to let him go, but they finally succeeded in driving him out of the enclosure.
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attracted by the clamor, a considerable crowd had collected in the street outside the gate, and when the bear rushed forth another hubbub rose. napoleon ran up market street, however, which was then a mere country lane, and escaped through the broken gate of the stockade which enclosed the hamlet.
outside the stockade there were clearings, fifty or sixty acres in extent, where the people raised wheat, corn and vegetables. it was while cultivating these crops a few years before that the settlers were surprised by the savages from the british post at michilimackinac during the american revolution. across this cleared tract napoleon was now escaping. on reaching the gateway of the stockade, lewis caught sight of his shaggy black coat as he bounded over the charred logs that still encumbered the fields.
they all gave chase after him, for
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grimsby was very desirous of presenting him to major stoddard; but the bear ran fast and reached the woods. for the time being, at least, he appeared to have had more than enough of civilization and its dubious luxuries—including young pigs with savage mothers. lewis and moses called after him in most endearing accents, but he still ran on. they could hear his long chain jingle as it dragged over logs; and now and then they sighted him, but could not overtake him.
thinking, however, that he would stop after awhile, they followed on for several miles, through what was then a virgin forest of chestnut, walnut and sycamore.
at last they crossed a creek and saw the bear ascending a hill. near the top of this hill they came upon him, hung up hard and fast by his chain, the ring in the end of which had caught between two fallen tree trunks. he was panting hard, and
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appeared to have had all the exercise he desired. he licked moses’ hand when the boy patted his head, and went back with them in a very docile frame of mind to the governor’s house.
the arksmen were far too desirous of reaching home to dally longer than was necessary in st. louis. having landed his passenger according to agreement, and disposed of his venture in coffee and sugar, captain royce lost no time in returning down the river. he was not sorry to part company with the waggish grimsby, whose propensity for practical joking rendered companionship with him both embarrassing and unsafe.
having now the river current in aid of the paddle-gear, they reached the confluence with the ohio in a little more than two days. after what had taken place there a week or more before, they judged it prudent to go past “cairo” during the small hours
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of the night. beyond doubt this was a wise precaution. it was learned subsequently that the population of the old “broadhorn” was watching the river for them. practical jokes have an unpleasant habit of coming home to roost.
on march 19th they “cordelled” up letart’s “falls,” the scene of their encounter with the shawnees, and a little before sunset, three days later—just a year and two days from the time when they had started—the milly ayer rounded the bend below fish creek, and came in sight of home.
as the familiar hillocks and clearings came into view, lewis, moses and wistar waxed wild with excitement and delight. they danced and whooped; moses actually stood on his head, and marion royce felt his own heart beating hard and fast. but he was pondering gravely on all that might have happened during their long absence,
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and on the evil tidings that he must bear to the mother of louis gist and the wife of john cutler.
not one word from home had reached them in all that time; but he supposed that corson and macafee had arrived long ago, bearing his message that the horse-boat was on her way.
in point of fact, however, no news had come to the home people since that black day in early june, when gist had found his way back and reported the capture of the ark by the indians.
gist’s account had been doubted by many, and for a long time those anxious little homesteads had waited and hoped that further tidings would come. but when september and october passed and winter drew on, even the most sanguine grew hopeless; and how disconsolately the spring opened! for, not only had these pioneer families lost the fruits of two years’ hard
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labor, but also their most efficient young men. there seemed nothing left them with which to begin another year; not even heart and courage to labor on.
in the royce and hoyt families there was mourning for both their sons; and at the ayer farmhouse grief more silent, perhaps, but even more poignant, was felt. milly was among those who had hoped bravely on till midwinter. she and molly royce were the last to give up faith that marion, lewis and moses had somehow escaped and would yet come back.
but when march passed and no tidings came, despair fell on them, too, and the despair of such hopeful young hearts is sad to witness. the little settlement was in mourning none the less sincere that there was no black crape or sable plume for outward symbols of it.
yet one emblem of their grief these sad-faced women and girls were able to
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contrive. they wove and fashioned little shoulder capes from homespun linen, and dyed them black with an “ink” made by boiling the twigs of the swamp-maple. nine of these little black capes were worn that spring, and one of those pathetic little tokens of pioneer sorrow is still in existence, the property of a lineal descendant of milly ayer.
that afternoon milly and molly chanced to be coming from mrs. merrick’s cabin, when, as they climbed the hillside, where a vista of the ohio opened to view, molly saw the “keel” rounding the bend.
“there’s a boat coming, milly,” she said, soberly enough; but milly, thinking of one that would never return, had hardly the heart to look.
boats on the river were always objects of interest then, however, and molly presently turned.
“it’s a keel,” she said. “it must be a horse-boat, too, it comes so fast.”
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“a pittsburgh keel, it is likely,” milly replied, apathetically; “or, maybe, marietta.”
“perhaps it is from new orleans,” said molly. “oh, i wish we could hail them and ask if they had ever heard anything.”
they had no real intention of doing so bold a thing, yet for some moments they stood watching the approaching craft, which, to avoid the more rapid current, had been keeping well over to the virginia shore.
“it’s going to cross!” molly exclaimed, at last. “it’s heading this way! what a noise the paddles make!”—for the wind was southerly.
sturdily the little keel stemmed the river current, making for the creek mouth.
“they are going to call at our landing!”
“o milly, i do believe they are going to call at our landing!” the younger girl now exclaimed in excitement. “yes, they are coming right into our creek! hear the horses’ feet clatter!”
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“perhaps they want to buy something—eggs, or milk, or potatoes,” said milly. “we have a few eggs. we will go out on the bluff above the landing, and answer if they hail.”
there was a little belt of hickory and oak to pass through, and by the time the two girls had come out on the bluff the keel of our returning arksmen had entered the mouth of the creek, but was passing behind the thick, tall fringe of sycamores that bordered the stream.
a moment later it emerged into the cleared space about the jetty, and there stood moses on top of the cabin roof. he had discovered them upon the bluff, and was swinging his cap, shouting:
“there’s milly! there’s molly!”
thereupon marion and wistar, who were forward with pike-poles, to fend off, and lewis, who was at the sweep aft, all looked up the bank and joined in moses’ joyous shouts.
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so sudden was the transition from sorrow to joy, it is not strange that instead of rushing down to the landing, the two girls, after a feeble effort to answer, sat down, quite overcome, and burst into tears. when captain royce and the others jumped ashore and ran up to where they were, milly and molly were found smiling, indeed, but with such wet cheeks that, noting the little black capes, marion cried, “o milly, who is dead?”
and it is said that milly’s faint little reply was, “nobody, marion—except—except—you!”
we may be sure that these brave youths were not long convincing the girls that they were still very much alive; and, not only milly and molly, but all the rest of the little community. for just then mrs. ayer, who had seen the keel heading in, came hastening to the landing. the hoyt boys’ father also made his appearance, and immediately
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the glorious news was shouted from house to house.
the last to hear of the safe return of the arksmen was uncle amasa. he had broken in the long months of grieving for the disappearance of jimmy, whom he believed dead, and he came in slowly, with as much heaviness in his heart as he had of sympathy for those whom he was coming to congratulate. but when he neared the group about the landing he saw a figure that made his heart quicken. jimmy saw him at the same moment.
“i—i’ve seen pa,” jimmy said in strange, inconsequent sort of haste. “he sent his love to you.”
old uncle amasa laid trembling hands on him, and wordlessly drew him close.
jimmy looked about at the familiar place, scarred with the fire where the shed had stood. “the man that set it is killed,” he said. “he did it to spite you, grandfather,
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for an old, old grudge. he broached the barrels and then when he couldn’t drink any more he set fire to the shed and rode away, and i found him.” he looked back at the old man.—“governor claiborne of mississippi sent his regards to you. he says we’re cousins. he was right at the head of everything. you would have liked that. i tell you, if you’d been at new orleans, you’d have been proud of the family.”
marion came up and shook uncle amasa’s hand. “you would have been proud right along,” he said, eagerly. “it was jimmy that pulled us through.”
uncle amasa chuckled and patted jimmy’s shoulder. “i kinder thought it would do jimmy right much good to go out into the world,” he said.
master hempstead now came up and shook jimmy’s hand. “when we last met did not sir balin smite sir lanceor until the
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blood flowed over his hawberk? zounds, son, i am glad that you’ve found that somebody else was the incendiary.”
“i owe you an apology, sir,” said jimmy with great respect. “i was too hasty.”
“it’s a grand thing to be hasty,” murmured uncle amasa, rubbing the bald side of his head where the indians had scalped him.
“i guess the governor thought so when jimmy saved him from the assassin’s bullet,” laughed marion. “it seems to be all a question of being hasty in the right place. don’t you think so, jimmy?”
“i guess that’s it,” said jimmy, happily.
then began such a jubilee as this small settlement had never known before. “brush college” had another holiday, and master hempstead became vastly exhilarated—wholly from joy, let us hope. no one, it is said, slept at all that night,—unless a few infants,—and dawn surprised the entire
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population at the capacious royce cabin, still listening to the story of that memorable voyage.
otherwise, too, the arksmen had great news to tell. new orleans was no longer a spanish possession, but an american city, where western keels, arks and barges could go without let or hindrance; and the mississippi was a free river from st. louis to the gulf.
it was then—along toward morning—that master hempstead waxed wondrously eloquent, and made a great speech, still remembered, in which, with prophetic vision, he predicted and portrayed the future glories of the middle west.
so much remains to relate that i bring the narrative to a close most reluctantly. the annals of the royce and ayer families have it that milly and marion made the most remarkable wedding tour of those times, journeying even to philadelphia and
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to the new capital city of washington, where they attended one of president jefferson’s very democratic receptions. but those things belong to the annals of other years. our task was but to tell the story of the ark of 1803.
