of my farm is on this ere boat an' I don't reckon its goin' to cost
me much trouble to take care of it an' locate anywhare outside of this
country. This ere cantankerous river has done me up, done me up brown,
straanger."

"It is a curious sort of river."

"Cur'ous! Wall, I should snicker, Cur'ous ain't no name for it. I think
God Almighty built her all right enough, but I don't think He's made up
His mind whar to locate her yit. She's running wild, straanger; she's
runnin' wild."

He leaned back against a worn mattress with a melancholy sigh and his
boat dropped astern.

The next day was dark and gloomy and Paul felt an unaccountable falling
of spirits. The atmosphere was oppressive and he could not overcome a
premonition of evil that effected him all day. About the middle of the
afternoon, he was startled by a peculiar noise above him. Black, heavy
clouds hung low on the prairie lands. An ominous roar caused him to look
up stream and he beheld a funnel shaped cloud driving to the eastward
across the river. In less than half an hour, another one bore down from
the buttes and swept across with a terrible roar, about one mile below.
While congratulating himself on having been sandwiched between these
fearful whirlwinds and thus escaping them, he was horrified to see
another bearing directly on him from the west. He made all possible
speed to reach the willows on the windward shore; but before he could
grasp them, the outer circle of the cyclone struck him and he was
enveloped in a whirling mass of buffalo grass, twigs and dust. He
grasped the Baby close to his sides fearing to be separated and the
next moment felt himself lifted with a great volume of water and borne
away as if he was of no more weight than a feather. When he
recovered from the shock, he found himself stuck in the mud on the
opposite shore. It was some minutes before he recovered
sufficiently to proceed on the journey, fortunately uninjured.

Paul was favored with fairly good weather after the cyclone and in a few
days ran into Bismarck, where he was welcomed and entertained on board
the Northern Pacific transfer boat, by Captain Wolfolk. He was joined
there by the correspondent of the New York Herald, Mr. James Creelman,
who was sent out by that paper to accompany him the rest of the way and
write up the Indian country.

After a brief rest at Bismarck, Boyton continued his course down the
muddy river followed by Mr.