The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1849-07-18

the ensgy of desperation. Hotter and hot
ter thear became, but on he careered blind:
and hadlong. The fire has struck him with
roaing surge! His hair flames crlsply,
stir flesh of his body seems to be burn
ing! The frantic and painting horse at
tempt to shy, but no. the fierceness of the
agonyhas turned that riders arm and will
to iron. 1t canatot shy-lhe poor horse!
On. o. scorching thro' the sitting blaze!
A few bounds more and the terrific surgcs
are passed! The fresh air has met him He
tore liz envelope from his face and leapcd
from he staggering horse upon the hot
ground The blanket is torn away from lis
mouth and the animal begins to revive
quickly though it;shivers and can scarcely
stand fer mortal terror. lie is saiel lie has
ACCOMPLISHED an unparal le!ed fca at. He
hears family above the cracking and roar of
the retiring flames howl of triumph from
his punuers, who imagine that they have
driven him INTO the fire, and that he is burnt
horse ana all. He makes feeble attempt
to answer hem de6anllv, but can scarcely
hear bis own vcice. Stunned and gasplng
to recover the use of their almost slItied
lungs he and his horse stand side by SIDE, up
on that bIackened plain, without moving
step. for more than an hour. But the perI!s
Of the day were by 10 means passed.
Before him as far as the eye could reach,
there was only one charred levelIcd, snonl-
dering waste, which had to be crossed before
he could reach any water for which both
himself and horse were now almost perish
inc, He started ON at last, taking his course
al random, for one seemed 10 his bewlder-
ed sense about as good as another. He did
not ride at first, but mercifully led his poor
horse. until the heat of the ground and the
still smouldering stubs Of grass became nm
sufferabIe to his feet, and then he turned to
mount. He now, for the first time, looked
at the animal carefully, and to his horror,
saw that every hair upon lis body was gone,
and nothing but the bare skin left, and that
so badly scorched in places. that it came of
to the slightest touch! This was dreadful
enough, but water, water, he must have, or
thew both would die. lie sprang into the
saddle, and urged the wretched creature a
long with the las, energies of his sinking life.
In an hour he had begun 10 grow dizzy, and
the blackened earth swan round and round.
and tossed him to and fro. Now stlange
noise was about him, and as the lifting waves
of the earth would seem almost to leap up in
10 his face, he would Catch gllmpses huge
wolves careering on them. who would turn
up their fiery eyes TO his, and howl at hl'n
with -c,. hot open mouths and olIing tongues
Suddenly his horse rushed down sleep
bank, and there was great splashlng. Wa
ter-blesscd God, waterl He tumbled from
his saddle into the cold delicious fluid. In
an instant his senses had returned, and he
saw himself surrounded by thirty or forty
prairie wolves, some of them swimming III
the water after him, while others sat upon
the blnk Of the small lake, as he now dis
covered it to be, and howled 6ercel Y at him.
He struck those which were nearest with
his gun barrel and beat them off, while he
had time 10 draw his heavy knife. One OF
them had seized his passive horse, who while
it was endeavoring to pull him down. stood
sill and drank-the long eager draughts.
He split the VOLTS heal with his knife. and
sooD sent the rest ont of the wafer, yelling
with their wounds. But those upon the
bank onlv howlcd the louder, and they were
answered near at hand and from atar by
hundreds of others. who were swiftly gath
cring in at the wellknown call 10 banquet.
He now remembered that these wary and
Internal brutes always collect in large num-
Bers, TO follow in the wake of great fire
and tear the carcasses of those animals that
are killed, or band together, to chase and
drag down those that come through alive,
but scorched blinded and staggering as his
poor horse. They became very savage.
with blood, impuni,y and numbers. and very
few creatures which have escaped from the
hungry flames can escape rom their ycl
more ravcnous Jaws. The creature at 9th
er times, is utterly contemplate for lis cow
ard,ce. but he shutldercd when lie called to
mind the dreadful stories he had heard of
their deadly fcrceness at such lImcs as this.
"My God!" he moaned aloud" Wasn't it
bad enough for me to pass that hell OF flames,
bacI, yonler; end have only escaped that to
meet a E.lc thousand times more hdeous -
He looked at his horse the animal was now,
too. refreshed, and began to feel conscious of
the new danger, as it gazed around with star.
ing eyeballs upon the eager and swiftly gath.
eriny crowd that bowcd along the shore. He
snorIcd in alright, and lifted his head with a
wildly mourn(ul neigh, that seemed 10 poor Dan
The most pileous that ever rung upon his ear
before. There was some comfort though, the
horse had life enough left in him to make one
mare run for safety He mounted, and after
having fred his rife with deliberate aim, into
the lhickest of them, charged right through al
full speed. They lcaped at his feet. and
attempted to seize his horses legs, but the ami.
NAL was too mortally frightened for them to i'm
pede his way for an instant. Through he
trampcd, and away across the prairie he flies
snorting with terror, and moving with as great