Now, the old pioneer, although a bold hunter, and an intrepid warrior,
was a mere child in matters of interest, and in less than two months he
had lost the whole deposit, the only "gentleman" he ever trusted having
suddenly disappeared with the funds. In the meanwhile Finn had gone down
the Mississippi, to the thirty-second degree of north latitude, when,
entering the western swamps, where no white man had ever penetrated, he
forced his way to the Red River, which he reached a little above the old
French establishment of Nachitoches. Beyond this point, inland
navigation had never been attempted, and Finn, procuring a light
dug-out, started alone, with his arms and his blanket, upon his voyage
of discovery. During four months he struggled daily against the rapid
stream, till he at last reached, in spite of rafts and dangerous eddies,
its source at the Rocky Mountains. On his return, a singular and
terrible adventure befel him: he was dragging his canoe over a raft,
exactly opposite to where now stands his plantation, when, happening to
hurt his foot, he lost hold of his canoe. It was on the very edge of the
raft, near a ruffled eddy: the frail bark was swamped in a moment, and
with it Finn lost his rifle, all his arms, and his blanket[27].
[Footnote 27: Rafts are an assemblage of forest trees, which have been
washed down to the river, from the undermining of its banks.
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