The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1853-09-01

Hod ana you uemble in his arg alone with
swlmi your nrain reels; you are afraid y al senses
ssueratb;na sIse your own mind DeserteJ ~
you There is horror in thsit i ~. may iorsake
il Is hard to bear; but have lorra = horrlhe-
bear il again twenty times over rafha~ anu would
once more the nrst hour spent on thar lo.sl
in that lonely lake. Your prison nay - isiet
SILENT but you feel that you are NOT nst, aark and
beings like yourself are near though thay -
jaiIors Lost on the prairie, you are alons L y your
are free In the slet felt that was aIone ty.
was not free: in the islet experienced the fseI;a
of the prairie and the prison combined.
Law IN state of stupor-almost unconscinr.
how long know not, but many hours am certain.
knew this by the sun-it was going down when
awoke if may so term the recovery OF my stricken
senses | was aroused by strange circumstance;
was surrounded by dark objects of hideous shape
and hue-reptiles they were They had been be-
fore my eyes for some time, but had not seer
them. | had only sort of dreamy consciousness.
of their presence; but heard them at length: my
ear in better tune and the strange noises they
uttered reached my intellect. II sounded ike the
blowing of great bellows, with now end then anote
harsher and louder like the roaring of bull This
startled me, and looked up and bent my eyes upon
the objects: they were forms OF the crocodftdo the
giant lZards-they were aligators.
Huge ones they were, many of thern; and many
were they in number--a hundred at least were
crawling the islet, before, behind, and on all
sides around me. Their long, gaunt jaws, and
channe4ed snouts, projected forward so as almost
to touch my body; and their eyes, usually leaden,
seemed now to glare.
Impelled by this new danger, sprang TO my feet
when, recognising the upright form of man the rep
tiles scattled Off and plunging hurriedly into the
lake hid their hideous bodies under the water.
The incident, in some measure, revived me-
saw that was not aane: there was company even
in the crocodiles. l gradually became more my
self; and began to reflect with degree of cool
ness 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
scrutinised-the moulted feathers of wildfowl the
pieces of mud, the fresh water mussels (aHios)
strewed upon its beach-all were examined Still
the barren answer-no means of escape. 5
The islet was but the head of a sand-bar, formed
by the eddy-perhaps gathered together within the
year. 1t was bare of heritage, with the exception
OF few tufts of grass There was neither tree nor
bush upon it-not stick. raft indeed There
was not wood enough to make raft that would
have heated frog. The idea of a raft was but
briefly entertained such thought had certainly
crossed my mind but single glance round the
islet dispeled it before it had taken shape.
paced my prison from end to end; from side to
side walked it over. tried the waters depth; on
all sides sounded it. wading recklessly in; every
where deepened rapidly as advanced. Three
lengths OF myself from the islets edge and was up
to the neck. The huge reptiles swan around
snorting and blowing they bolder in this ele-
ment. | 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 before | could have made
a dozen strokes. Horriied by their demonstra-
tons, 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 hideous voices of the nocturnal swamp;
the qua-qua of the nightheron, the screech of the
swamp-ow the cry of the bittern the el-luk of the
great water-toad, the tnking of the bellfrog, and
the chirp of the sayanna-cricket-al fell upon my
ear. Sounds stih harsher and more hideous were
heard around me-the plashing of the alligator and
the roaring of his voice; these reminded me that
must not go to sleep. To sleep l burst not have
slept for single instant. Even when | lay
for few minutes motionless, the dark reptiles
came crawling round me-so close that could
have put forth my hand and touched them
At intervals, sprang to my feet, shouted, swept
my gun around, and chased them back to the water,
into which they betook themselves with sullen
plunge, but with little semblance of fear. AT each
fresh demonstration 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 imperyious to bullet, except in the eye
or under the forearm. 1t was too dark to aim al
these parts, and my shots glanced harmlessly from
the pyramidal scales of their bodies. The loud re
port, however, and the blaze frightened them and
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 halfstiied by
strong musky odour 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 at
tack; as | saw that he was bent in the form of &
bow, and knew that these creatures assume thai
attitude when about to strike their victim | wal
inst in fpn IN md the etralxf
of his powerful tail, that the next moment swep
the ground where had lain. Again ! fired, anG
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, weariet
with my days exertion-for had had long pul
under hot tropical SUM- could have lain dowI
upon the earth, in the mud anywhere and slept il
an instant. Nothing but the dread certainty of m,
peril kept me awake Once again before morning
was compelled to battle with the hideous reptiles
and chase them away with shot from my gun
Morning came at length, but with it ne
change in my perilous position The light only
showed me my island prison, but revealed no way
of escape from it, Indeed, the change conld not bt
called for the better for the fervid rays of an al
most vertical sun burned down upon me until my
skin blistered. | was arerdy speckled by thu
bites of thousand swamp flies and mosquitoes
that all night long had preyed upon me- There
was not a cloud in the heavens to shade me; anC
the sunbeams smote the surface of the dead bayou
with aidouble intensity. Towards evening" be
gan to hunger; no wonder at that had not eater
since leaving the village settlement. To assuag,
thirst, drank the water of the lake, turbid ant
Shiny as it was. drank it in large quantities, fol
it was hot, and only moistened my palate withou
quenching the craving of my appetite. Of waite
there was enough; had more to fear from wan
of food.
What could eate The ibi. But how to cool
it, There was nothing wherewith to make fire
not a stick No matter for that. Cooking is
1It1rfa