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The Conquest of the Missouri
first stage of her long trip to Fort Lincoln, where the wounded were to be brought as soon as steam could carry them. Plenty of fuel had been stored up during the days of idleness, everything was ready and Captain Marsh was just preparing to have the lines cast off when he received a message asking him to come to General Terry?s cabin. He found the General alone and, as he entered, Terry arose and closed the door. Then, turning, Terry said to him, with great earnestness:
? Captain, you are about to start on' a trip with fifty-two wounded men on your boat. This is a bad river to navigate and accidents are liable to happen. I wish to ask of you that you use all the skill you possess, all the caution you can command, to make the journey safely. Captain, you have on board the most precious cargo a boat ever carried. Every soldier here who is suffering with wounds is the victim of a terrible blunder; a sad and terrible blunder.?
The last words were spoken with a depth of emotion surprising to the captain, who had never seen his usually self-controlled commander so strongly moved. But the contrast to his usual manner only served to make his speech the more impressive. With equal feeling Captain Marsh assured him that he would use his best efforts to complete the journey successfully. He then left the cabin and returned to the pilot-house.
It was now full daylight. Down on the main deck George Foulk stood by his levers, waiting for the pilot?s bell to start the engines. But as Captain Marsh stepped
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The Aftermath of Battle
into the pilot-house and put his hand on the familiar spokes of the steering-wheel, a strange weakness such as he had never before felt, swept over him and he dared not pull the bell cord. He leaned back against the wall and looked out over the narrow river, rushing between the main bank and the islands below, while into his mind came the vision of all the helpless men lying on the decks under him. The thought that all their lives were depending on his skill alone, the sense of his fearful responsibility, flashed upon him and for a moment overwhelmed him. It seemed that he could never turn the boat in that restricted channel and head her down past the island. Dave Campbell and Mate Ben Thompson were sitting on the pilot?s bench behind him. He turned to them, saying, weakly:
? Boys, I can?t do it. I?ll smash her up.?
?Oh, no, you won?t,? answered Campbell, reassuringly. ?You?re excited. Cool off a minute and you?ll be all right.?
The captain took his advice. After a moment which seemed an hour, his strength began to return and presently he pulled the bell cord. The boat swung slowly around, headed down, clearing the island nicely, and after he had gotten her straightened out and had crossed a couple of bends, the captain recovered his composure. But he declares that never again does he want to experience such a sickening sensation of utter helplessness as gripped him that morning in the pilot-house of the Far West.
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