Captain W. W. Withenbury's 1838–1842 "Red River Reminiscences"

16. To the Raft

The Reminiscences  101 16  To the Raft • Having entered the Red River, the Relief proceeded immediately downstream to the raft. Withenbury was reminded by Ross of a bear story connected with another trip to the head of the raft.  [First part not used.] I sat down to pen this article after having had a conversation with “Uncle Joe,” to-day, on the subject of Red River reminiscences, and he reminded me that I had not yet told his best Red River bear story; and so my readers must bear with me while I try to tell a long story with a few words. “Uncle Joe” has told this story himself a good many times, and never yet had an audience where, if a vote had been taken, the majority would not have been largely against a belief in its truthfulness ; and now I want it understood that my version of the affair I am about to relate, if not in his exact words, is intended as a full endorsement of Captain Ross’ bear story. The last account I gave of the Relief was on the night of January 1, 1842, when I left her lying in Red River opposite the mouth of Red Bayou. From this point her first move was down stream twenty-five miles to the head of the Raft, alias the “Dead Fall,” George Alban’s headquarters, (not his “Gut.”) At this point we were sometimes delayed many days, waiting for the arrival of boats at the foot of the Raft from New Orleans, for from those boats we got our up freights. On one occasion while waiting there, some of our crew in their rambles discovered the tracks of an im- 102  Red River Reminiscences mense bear, where he was in the habit of coming down to the river to drink. Several efforts were made, by watching through the entire night, to get a shot at the old fellow, but he was too “keen on the scent” for us, and all our schemes failed. Finally Captain Ross thought of a plan to capture bruin with whisky; and whether the idea of getting him drunk was original with “Uncle Joe,” I will not attempt to decide; but that a part of the appliances for the capture of his bearship were of his sole invention , I will bear full testimony. He took an empty mackerel kit,1 and after washing it thoroughly, filled it with honey in the comb, and then poured hot whisky over it to the full capacity of the kit; and after mixing it in the most approved manner known in those primitive days, we carried it to the place (a mile, at least) where the bear came to drink, and placed it on a drift pile just at the water ’s edge. Here the bear always came, and at this precise spot he drank every morning just before the break of day. We ascertained this fact by rubbing out his tracks on the sand-bar, and finding them renewed in the same spot on several succeeding mornings. We took our positions at a respectful distance from the bear trap, and from midnight to near daylight we kept silent. Every man of us was provided with some sort of weapon, except “Uncle Joe,” and he had provided himself with a trace chain and a long rope for a lasso, determined, if the bear took all the toddy and got drunk, to capture him alive and take him to the boat. Just as day began to break we were rewarded for our long watchfulness by hearing a splashing in the water, and very soon after such an unearthly howling as nothing but a bear (and a drunken one at that) could make. We hastened to the spot, and by this time it was good daylight, and there was our bear “as drunk as a beast.” He seemed to realize fully the situation, but was totally unable to help himself, and “Uncle Joe” forbade any man to harm The Reminiscences  103 him until he had made an effort to put the chain around his neck. This, with a little help, he soon accomplished; and then we all took hold of the rope with a will, and we soon had our prisoner on a smooth sand-bar, where we all had fair play. We found him too heavy in his dead drunk condition to manage; and...