gh intensely beautiful. The poor darkey cowered in fright on the
bottom of the boat with covered eyes, while Paul and the Doctor were so
impressed with the grandeur of the manifestation, as to be unmindful of
the danger. After that, whenever dark masses of clouds began to roll up
in the sky and the wind commenced to sough mournfully through the
willows, no power on earth could prevent the darkey from pulling in
shore and staying there until the storm had passed.

"Ole Mastah above kin hit me evah w'en he wants to; I knows dat; but den
Ise gwine to climb fur the shoah foah dat lightnin' play tag aroun'
dis niggah's head agin, dat's shoah as yo' libe," he explained to Paul
after one of his hurried retreats into the bushes.

Twelve days after the start the party arrived at Davenport. Paul had
been greatly retarded in his progress on account of false channels
and sloughs into which he wandered and through which he paddled many
weary miles. Early one morning, emerging from one or these sloughs just
as the sun was rising, he was treated to a concert such as he had never
heard. The music seemed to him almost heavenly--so exceedingly beautiful
that he remained motionless on the water, charmed by the entrancing
melody. It burst from the throats of thousands of birds on one side
of the river, and the refrain was taken up by a swelling chorus of
feathered warblers on the other shore. It was a concert that paid him
for the labor of a thousand miles of paddling.

At Davenport, and in fact at all the river towns, the party was tendered
enthusiastic receptions. All the members of the boat clubs at
Burlington rowed up to meet them and formed an interesting flotilla into
the city. They frequently encountered rafts of logs, containing
millions of feet of lumber. The raftsmen were always glad to meet Paul
and converse with him as long as he would paddle alongside.

Below Davenport, the Doctor's passion for hunting was again displayed,
much to the disgust of his dusky boatman. He insisted on firing at some
blackbirds and the promise of a quarter to the negro, persuaded that
worthy to row him close in shore. He took deliberate aim and fired into
a tree that was covered with birds. Not one of them fell; but a cow that
had been drinking among the willows, ran wildly up the bank with her
tail in the air, bellowing mournfully. The darkey received the promise
of another twenty-five cents for pulling aw