Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1851-05-22

nteu HtIt NtIG OlltI IObhtls~Ol, Mdu-
anne, though ! needed them not then but
many stood by and pitied the stricken VIC
Tins of that fell disease, for it was dreary
sight even to the lghest-hear,ed to look up
on those three little fresh-made graves with
the mother IN the midst; they should have
pitlied me--they should have wept over the
desolaie spirit Of the one leffP
I When all was over turned homeward
or rather | made my miserable way back to
the empty hut which had SO lately been my
home, and where had been husband aud
father but neither smile nor voice greet
ed me now. 1t was only when | closed the
door behind me- aud that my eyes, as they
wandered over the empty beds aud the sill
cnt floor, until at length they rested upon
that dog--it was only then, as / Canced,
that he had understood all, and tina, my sor-
row was his sorrow, that felt all the bitter
ness of my anliciion, and the full value Of
even his companionship And we have
clung together ever since, he added, rally
ing into an accent Of greater cheeriulness 4;
Baptisie, the gruG Fleming, and his dog
Buou, are never seen apart further than the
length Of the deck, or the turn of the corn
er, either on board or shore. lie is my
friend, my messmate, and ny comrade.-
He cares no more for the COMPANY of other
dogs than do for that Of other men. Of
ten think that neither of us will lose the
memory Of that death-room, and those three
little graves; aud so we live on together,
and SO (by the help of the Virgin J we shall
always dc, tall one Of MS follows after those
we have lost-and voc be to that one who
lasts the longest
Surely this was eoquence, simply as the
words were strung together. ! can only
say that al the moment feH 1t TO be such A.;
and thence forward the manned and ll-con-
dluoued dog became to me an object Of real
interest
| have already alluded to the prevalence
Of drought during the preceding summer
and Its consequent effect upon The river
As we advanced the difficulty became great
er and at length, some doubt having been
expressed Of the practlcabiity Of our pass
ing between the shore and a shoal near the
centre of the stream, steamboat belong
ing to the same company as that in which
we we're embarked, but which had dischar-
ged her cargo, and was lying at anchor,
was directed to attempt the passage, az, in
the event of her grounding, the inconyeni-
ence would be comparatively trivial in her
case, and We could at once he transferred
into some of the flat-botlomed boats which
ply in the harbor,in order to proven, further
loss of time This was accordingly done,
and having passed the shoal, she lay-to, be-
side it, as further protection to US; but as
II subsequently proved, with better intention
than judgment, for. owing to the limited
space thus Afforded 10 our boat, the pilot
perceived, an instant too late, that IN order
to keep MS clear off the shore, we had no
alternative but to stop short, or to run foul
of the steamer, which had been designed to
prevent disaster lie, of course attempted
the former eXpedieni, but he had lost his
chance by a hairs breadth. Before his
mandate could be oheyed, and the steam
backed, one turn Of the paddle-wheels drove
our iigure-head crashing through the side
of the other boat, and almost threw US off
our feet
Great was the cutlery; for nothing is ef-
iccted on board foreign craft without noise
and vociicration. The river, the shoal, and
the boats, lnJurer and injured alike, were
freely made over To his Satanic Majesty
without the trammel OF any legal iormall-
ties and the courtsey was very efficiently
and promptly returned by the crew of the
other vessel. Ultimately after great exer-
lions, we got clear, something like order
was restored and my friend Baptste, who
was evidentlya an individual ofmark on board
resigned the helm To another of the crew,
and went forward to ascertain the extent Of
the damage which we had ourselves sustain
ed The figurc-head had been carried a.
way, and he strobe over the bows of the
boat to examine the evil in detail Unfor-
tunatelv, he was, according to custom, fol-
lowed by his faithful iaSorlie, who, on the
disappearance of its master behind the bul.
warks of the vessel, instantly sprang after
him. The man had found footing upon
some projecting piece of timber, but the
poor dog vas less happy. The leap which
It took to clear the side of the boat carried
II beyond help, and 1t fell into the river
We were n full career --steaming at that
moment nine or ten knots an hour, for we
had at length left all appointments behind us
, and the consequence was inevitable. The
next revolution of the wheel drew the wretch
ed animal into the vortex Ii was caught up,
dropped from paddle to paddle until 1t had
made It's miserable circuit, anS-then cast
back NAMED, disloca;ed, aud dying amid
the ioamlng and Missing waters
The cry of "a man oyerboard" at sea,
must be thrilliug-irightlul Ii has SO chan
ced that it has never been my fate 10 hear il
during my wanderlngs do hope
that II never may foi the catastrophe ofthe
helmsman's dog was 10 me sufficiently shock
ing. Never shall forget il The wretch
ed Bapllste-ioT at that moment | am con-
vlnced he ,cdS wretched-had staggered
once more to the deck and my own shrek
was not more shrill nor more wild than that
with which it was echoed by the desolate
and heart wrung man beside me. ] am per-
suaded that the dog heard and recognized
the voice TO which IT had so long been ODE
: dent for, ere ii was lost to sight, caught
last transient view of its dying eyes, and
they were still following the yessel.-Bap-
!, tlste had sprung upon the raised platform OF
the ,ller, and was still gazing eagerly IN the
direction of the qulyerlng aud agonized an-
lmal, when IT disappeared; aud then he COW
cred his weaiher-beaten face with his large
hands and wept.
He was now, indeed alone! In the
excitement of the moment | enireated the
captain of the steamer to lay-to for a few