The Mississippi River Floater

The Mississippi Floater

Looking back now I know I should never have bought the floater on impulse. It was just when I first saw him I was hooked. He looked like the perfect mountain saddle horse. Tall -16 hands Big-1350 pounds- slab sided with good withers, long straight legs with good bone, at least 80 inches around the girth – nice head- in short it was love at first sight.

I was at the spring horse sale at Patterson’s Auction Mart in Dawson Creek looking for a saddle horse. I was walking through the pens before the sale started casually checking out the horses in the sale. The floater was alone in a pen. He was saddled indicating his owner was going to ride him through the sale ring hoping for a higher price. In the back of the pen squatting against the rail rolling a smoke was the owner; dressed in black and wearing a magnificently tanned elk hide vest. “Your horse,” I asked nodding towards the gelding. “Yep”, came the grunted reply. “Is he broke?” Ever used him in the mountains?” I queried. “Yep” he again grunted in reply. “Ever cross any rivers with him”? I asked as my enthusiasm for this horse began to show. “Yep”, he grunted again. “Ever swim any big rivers with him”? (meaning in my mind the Prophet or Muskwa) He looked up and pushed his hat back his flat black eyes showing no emotion and said “Well I never swam anything as big as the Mississippi with him.” That did it! I ignored the tiny warning bells going off in the back of my head and headed for the sale ring.

An hour later I the bill of sale in my pocket, I was loading my new horse. Not knowing his name I decided to call him Mississippi in view of the owners comment. I rode Mississippi quite a bit throughout the summer. He was quiet and responded well to commands and I was silently congratulating myself for getting such a great horse for only $2,000.

It was now late July and my hunting partner and best friend Jon R and I were again heading for the Prophet Bench sheep hunting. A late snow melt and heavy rains had the rivers running high. There are two ways to get to the Prophet Bench. Across the Minaker Flats at Mile 200 and up the Prophet to the Bench, a three day trip. This is the tough way. Pack strings face three major obstacles on this trail; The Minaker Flats and the Besa and Prophet rivers. The Minaker Flats are a great big muskeg that stretches from the Alaska Highway clear to the Prophet River and after two weeks of rain would be tough slugging. The Besa crossing is just above the mouth where the river is at it crest; dangerous when the river is high. The Prophet is a bad river to cross in high water. Lots of big rocks and poor crossings. The other way is to go up Nevis Creek at Mile 178, hit the Besa and follow it down to Keilly Creek, cross the Caribou Range to Richards Creek and follow the high trail to the Bench crossing the Prophet higher up where it is smaller with less water. It is a day longer but the scenery is spectacular. We chose this route.

We hit the Besa on the second day. The river was high and the first crossing didn’t look good. We worked our way down stream a mile or so to where a gravel bar separated the river into two channels. We crossed there without incident. Down stream three or four miles is the second and most difficult crossing. Here the river narrows, and makes a ninety degree turn to the left and slams into a sheer rock wall. It then turns sharply North through the narrows for about two hundred yards widening out and forming two channels separated by a big gravel bar. At normal water levels the trail goes straight across at the top of the turn then turns down stream 200 yards below the narrows and crosses again on the gravel bar; two crossings in a short distance. Reaching this spot I sat on Mississippi and looked the situation over. The river was high and rolling. I knew we were going to swim both crossings. Swimming a pack string for me is always accompanied by a pucker factor, but is not too difficult to do if a couple of things are in your favor. Calm water even if high and a good landing spot on the opposite bank make things easier. This crossing wasn’t going to be easy. The strong current would carry us downstream away from the lower bank and towards a log jam making reaching the far shore dangerous. I turned to Jon and said “it might be safer to swim downstream with the current and come out on the gravel bar instead of going straight across; then having to swim back across. We will be in the water longer but will only have cross once.” “Looks like the best option,” he replied, “you go first.” We took a couple of minutes and checked the packs and make certain our diamonds were tight and ready to go. Satisfied things were OK I confidently eased Mississippi into the river.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/...ium/river1.jpg


The rest of the string followed behind. We were about two steps from reaching the deep water and heavy current when Mississippi panicked. Instead of swimming he stuck his head completely under the water. I pulled up on the reins with all the strength I had. Mississippi raised his head and blew water out of both nostrils and reared on his back legs almost going over backwards. He began floundering around in the water jumping into the current. It became immediately clear to me this horse wasn’t going to swim the Mississippi or any other river. Not a good time to find out! The current caught us and it rolled us completely over with me still in the saddle. When I surfaced Mississippi was floating on his side not even attempting to swim and the rolling waves were taking us headlong into the cliff. I could see Jon and the rest of the string swimming by, none were close enough to grab a tail and get pulled to shore. I flipped over on my side and saw I was headed towards a large somewhat flat ledge at the base of the cliff. As the current swept me by I reached out and grabbed onto it with a two handed grip and with every ounce of strength I had pulled myself out of the river. I could see Mississippi about 100 yds downstream still floating on his side; his head barely above water. The current carried him to the edge of the gravel bar to where Jon and the rest of the horses were now safe on the gravel bar in the middle of the river. Jon was able to grab the reins and get his head up out the water and get him on his feet. In shallow water now he stood up trembling from the effect of the cold water and I imagine fright. I didn’t care at that point; I had my own problems. Besides being wet and cold I was still perched on the ledge at the rivers edge. To get to safety I would have to climb about 60 ft. more or less straight up the cliff. At least I had washed up on the right side of the river. I wouldn’t have to worry about getting across the river again. Pretty soon Jon and I were re united and all the horses accounted for.

“Well he don’t swim too good,” Jon said with wicked smile, “but he floats well.” “He’s going to float all the way to the next horse sale”, I stated emphatically “and I’ll be having a word with the guy who sold him to me.” “Well look at it this way”, Jon said in the practical way he has, “You’re safe; I’m safe, all the horses are safe. It could have been worse.” Now we just have to cross the Caribou Range and go sheep hunting.”
We did just that, but that is a story for another day.

Thanks for the story. Very entertaining. We are in the process of planning a horseback sheep hunt this fall. It will be my first total horse hunt, so i am excited and cautious.

Wow what a story !
I've hunted that area and know where your coming from, heard of a couple disasters and loss of life to one guy on the Prophet who didn't get his feet out of the stirrups. Them's the chances you take, as if Sheep hunting isn't hard enough !

Thanks for sharing, your stories are great !
CT

Bridger, great story man... keep them coming! I really want to do a trip on a horse some day... captures the imagination!

would love to hear the hunt part of the story ,but do tell us about the trip home ? I can apreciate the story as I have been in a couple jack pots myself ,nothing wuite like that though .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Laurence_Erickson

would love to hear the hunt part of the story ,but do tell us about the trip home ? I can apreciate the story as I have been in a couple jack pots myself ,nothing wuite like that though .

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will post it when i get a minute had quite a time with the outfitter before it was all over

Can't wait to hear the rest as well. Don't forget to add the outfitters names.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by curly top

Wow what a story !
I've hunted that area and know where your coming from, heard of a couple disasters and loss of life to one guy on the Prophet who didn't get his feet out of the stirrups. Them's the chances you take, as if Sheep hunting isn't hard enough !

Thanks for sharing, your stories are great !
CT

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the hunter who drowned in the prophet was a former sheep guide hunting with his friends for the first time as a resident hunter. his horse got caught in the current in high water and he was thrown and hit his head on a boulder. I knew him quite well. high water is always dangerous