Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1853-08-25


{ Of man, the reptiles scuttled off, and plunging
Fl hurriedly into the lake, hid their hideous bod
E les under the water. r.it
f The incident in some measure revived me-
, / saw that was not alone; there was compa-
ny even in the crocodiles. I gradually became
, more myself and began to reflect with some
degree of GOODNESS on the circumstances that
, surrounded me. My eyes wandered over the
islet every inch of it came under my glance;
every object upon it was scrutinized-the
i moulted feathers Of wild-fowl, the pieces of
mud, the fresh-water mussels (,naios) strewed
upon its beach-all were examined. Still the
barren answer-no means of escape.
The islet was but the head of a sand-bar,
formed by the eddy-perhaps gathered togeth-
er within the year. 1t was bare of herbage,
with the exception of few tufts of grass
There was neither tree nor bush upon it-not
T stick. A raft indeed There was not wood
enough to make rsft that would have f1oated
frog. The idea of raft was but briefly en-
tertained; such thought had certainly crossed
my mind, but single glance round the islet
dispelled it before it had taken shape.
paced my prison from end to end; from
side to side walked it over. | tried the wa
ter's depth; on all sides sounded it, wading
recklessly in; everywhere it deepened rapidly
as | advanced. Three lengths of myself from
the islet's edge, and l was up to the neck
The huge reptiles swan around, snorting and
blowing; they were bolder in this element
| could not have waded safely ashore, even
had the water been shallow. To swim it
no-even though swan like duck, they
would have closed upon and quartered me be-
fore could have made dozen strokes. Hor-
rifed by their demonstrations, hurried back
upon dry ground, and paced the islet with
dripping garments.
| continued walking until night, which
gathered around me dark and dismal With
night came new notes.-the voices of the noe
turnal swamp; the qua-qua of the night-heron,
the screech of the swamp-owl, the cry of the
bittern, the el-luk of the great water-toad, the.
tinkling of the bell-frog, and the chirp of the
savannah-cricket-al fell upon my ear
Sounds still harsher and more hideous were
heard around me-the FLASHING of the alliga-
tor, and the roaring of his voice; these re-
minded me that must not go to sleep. To
sleep! | burst not have slept for a single in
stant. Even when lay for few minutes
motionless, the dark reptiles came crawling
around me-so close that could have put
forth my hand and touched them.
| At intervals, I sprang to my feet, shouted,
swept my gun around, and chased them back
to the water, into which they betook them
selves with a sullen plunge, but with Little
semblance of fear. At each fresh demonstra-
ton on my part they showed less alarm, until
/ could no longer drive them either with shouts
or threatening gestures. They only retreated
few feet, forming an irregular circle round
me. Thus hemmed in, became frightened
in turn. loaded my gun and fired; killed
none. They are impervious to bullet, ex-
cept in the eye or under the forearm. 1t was
too dark to aim at these parts; and my shots
glanced harmlessly from the pyramidal scales
of their bodies. The loud report, however,
and the blaze frightened them and they fled,
to return again after long interval. was
asleep when they returned; had gone to sleep
In spite of my efforts to keep awake. | was
startled by the touch of something cold; and
half-stifed by strong musky odor that filled
the air. | threw out my arms; my fingers
rested upon an object slippery and clammy
it was one of these monsters-one of gigantic
size. He had crawled close alongside me, and
was preparing to make his attack; as saw
that he was bent in the form of bow, and
knew that these creatures assume that attitude
when about to strike their victim. | was just
in time to spring aside, and avoid the stroke
of his powerful tail, that the next moment
swept the ground where / had lain. Again
fired, and he with the rest once more retreated
; to the lake.
All thoughts of going to sleep were at an
end. Not that felt wakeful; on the contrary,
; weared with my days exertion-for had had
a long pull under hot tropical sum could
; have lain down upon the earth, in the mud,
anywhere, and slept in an instant. Nothing
but the dread certainty CT my peril kept me
awake. Once again before morning / was
compelled to battle with the hideons reptiles,
and chase them away with shot from my
gun.
Morning came at length, but with it no
change in my perilous position. The light only
showed me my island prison, but revealed no
way of escape from it. Indeed, the change
could not be called for the better, for the fervid
rays of an almost vertical sun burned down up
: on me until my skin blstered was already
specked by the bites of thousand swamp-fies
and mosquitoes, that all night long had preyed
upon me. There was not cloud in the heav-
ems TO shade me and the sunbeams smote the
surface Of the dead bayou with double inten-
: sity Towards evening, began to hunger !;
no wonder at that; had not eaten since leav-
: ing the village settlement To assuage thirst
l drank The water of the lake, turbid and slmy
as it was. drank it in large quantities, for
it was hot, and only moistened my palate with
out quenching the craving Of my appetite. Of
: water there was enough; had more to fear
the want Of food.
What could eat The ibis. But how to
cook II There was nOfhin0 whnrowith IN