Des Moines courier. ([Ottumwa] Iowa) 1848-1854, 1853-01-13

cdue' pdWPaW ahu oiber snTuDOy CROWN
The travellers left Burlington IN good
season TO have arrived home by dark,
but unfortunately, the youth. not being
prac,iced in measuring his capacity for
spirits, allowed himself to indulge too
freely. and was compelled to stop for
several hours in consequence, proceed
ing that excited The wrath Of the patriarch
20 an unlimited extent, but whether he
was most offended at the delay, or at
Jeremy's weakness, canno, at this late
period be ascertained. Sunset over
shadowed the prairies before the boy
could be sufficiently aroused to proceed
on the journey. Difficulties now CON.
menced IN earnest, for there was Egy plian
darkness just as they entered the bottom.
Not moon was in the sky-it never is
on dark night when most wanted-and
. as for the stars though there were thou
sands of them winking over that .beauti
ful prairie landscape. not one is sharp
enough TO wink through papa v thicket.
The road was mere pathway, some
times travelled by OK wagons il is true--
not by such oxen nor such wagons as
anybody ever saw except border set
tlers--but by oxen that can go through
hardships, aud wagons to match. Our
rule in the baekwoods is the scripturai
one in its most literal Interpretation.
''where the tree falleih, there il shall lie, /"
and when one blows across the road we
yield the :out 10 IL. Ii is true that a
Du,chman once innovated upon our Gus
tom. by cutting large tree out of the
way, but we sneered al him so much for
his folly. that he never repeated it--and
since that time the principle has been
universally acknowledged.
/, fnllows, therefore. that Uncle Bob.
by Box and his nephew Jeremy Cossit.
each nonpareils in The way of travelling
by bee line, would nevertheless find
considerable difficulty ia travelling ,hro'
Skuak river bottom in the dark; the more
especially, as the uncle bad but one eye.
and the nephew had obfuscated both OF
his by getting drunk three hours before.
The first catastrophe was the fall OF uncle
Bobby over a swinging grapevine, by
which he broke his gun stock short off;
the second was flying visit of Jeremy
down sharp ravine, which cost The loss
of the Jug; the third was their leaving
the path and finding themselves CON.
pleiely out of their bearings-these three
tollowing each other in close succession,
and the last Gaping the climax of their
miseries. Out of breath at last. the ell.
der withdrew the cob from his keg and
commenced tp drown his sorrow as rap
idly as possible by getting drunk, a feat
he would have soon achieved had i, not
been for n certain sharp, ringing sound
which thrilled through the forest and
caused him suddenly to drop The keg and
spring to his feet. For n.oment all
was still. save the beating Of two terrified
hearts. and then arose a wailing sound
like the voice of many mothers crying
for :heir lost babes, that chilled the very
blood in their veins.
''ll's young one that's got lost" /"
whispered Jeremy, to which his venel-
able guardian siernly replied
"Young one! It's psinter!'
Another and another scream echoed
through the woods, and by theirincreas-
ing loudness gave token that the animal
was rapidly approaching them.
No time was to be lost If they would
escape; but where would they go; to flee
was impossible, ole bound of the animal
would settle that; to climb was even less
secure in the face of brute whose leap
was thirty feet.
"Hunt out hollow cried the old
man, and at il they went. Those of my
readers who have travelled on the upper
Mississippi, have dnubiless been struck
with the immense size of the larger syc-
amores, that range from six feel 10 twenty
10 diameter. Alter they gov 10 GER
tain size, they are universally hollow,
and then they furnish to the settlers
cnnvenien, receplacles for grain. cur5s
for wells, and with small trouble Of saw
ing ani removing. These cavities are
USUALLY open at the ground, aud give
fine shelter TO swine in winter as well as
to wilder animals --if indeed a wilder
animal can be found in the world than
an un,amec hog.
Uncle Bobby knew these things well
enough, and his wits a, this crisis did nol
Iorsake hin; so, leaving the keg, pre-
cinus indeed, bu' not so precious as life
he commenced feeling around the base
OF larger trees for hole. closely follow.
ed by the boy who was in an alarming
slate of apprehension. II was not long
until they succeeded in the search. A
sycamore stood on the bank OF small
creek, that runs into Skunk, and leaned
considerably over the water. On It's up
per side was hole. but lllle larger than
a mans body, and nearly level with the
ground; in. this hole Jeremy first intro,
duced himself. and after him the elder,
who had taken the precaution to procure
chunk Of wood as barrier in case Of
attack.
The few minutes spent in this way
would doubtless have been fatal to both,
fur The panther by few mighty bounds
thai crushed through The thick cane like .
tornado, reached the very spot where they
first heard lis cry, bu,the smell Of ,ohis
a u