The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1854-09-12

evidently suffering dreadfaIly from disease, and
they had no means Of procaring medical atten.
dance. Application for measures Of relief was
made in course of the morning to the board OF
health, but at the last accounts from st. Mary
street. nothing had been done. We passed
through that foul alley about noon yesterday,
but the; stencil was such that could not stay
our steps to make any investigation; and we
came away wondering how anything human
could survive many days in such a place. :
A Frightful Case of, DeliriuE, Tre-
mems.
Suddenly Amos reused himself from one Of
his lethargic fits" The demons arc after me, !" !,
cried he. There they are grinniBg, grinning
at me, and their horrible looking vissges.-.
They seek to- chastise me with their red hot
iron sco6rges. Oh! how they scowl and hiss !!
whilea stream of livid fre issues from their
mouths! And now they rush towards me-
Away! away I! I will not be taken and thrown
among the loathsome, ,venomous reptiles in that
deep and dark pit keep of! will not go
with you!' -
Saying this and uttering screams of terror,
this unhappy being, exerting a pretenatgral
strength, burst from the bands which had con.
fined him during the night, and in spite of
Sanson's exertions threw him from his berth.
He. .sprang to the forescuttle and pushed the
cook, who sought % prevent his leaving the
forecastle, with violence against the bulkhead.
He rushed up the ladder and in q moment was
on deck fully impressed with the idea that a le-
gion of devils were in close pursuit, bentnpon
tortufing him to death. s.
His appearance at that moment was angu-
larly wild aud terrifc-he was clad in no gar
mehts, excepting his shirt-his long black hair
hungfin elf locks on his shoulders-his eyes
werel lighted up with the fires of insanity-his
teeth were firmly set, and his lips apart, exhibit
! ing ghastly ,grin; his visage was haggard,
beaIsag the stamp-of uuutterable wo-and his
voice was clear; and shrill, and unearthly as he
cried jout, "Oh, help me-for Gods sake,
help, me. Save me from these devils who are
clutching me. Away-awny--away! All!
they have got me now. feel their burning
breath on my shoulders. Oh, ,mother-M0TH-,
ER4A-heIp your son! Ifeel their talons buried
In my throat, and thus and thus l dash them
to the earth r
Here The hapless sailor. escaped the hands Of
Mr.. Culpepper and Ned Hopkins who had
seized him as he was running ait. after having
with almost incredible agility Ieaped over the
windlass and the fife rail. He sprung upon
the beak Of the quarter deck. and was instant.
ly within the powerful grasp of Captain Branch
bill, but notwithstanding his great strength, he
was,anahle to arrest the career of the madman
to destruction. Amos caught the Captain By
the +windpipe, and COMPRISING it with all the
.fusref madness, threw him, as if he had been
d dwarf, with tremendous force against the
pinnacle, and in a moment after, the maniac
was standing alone on the taft rail, unincum-
bered and free With one hand he pointed to
the fathomless deep, which seemed to yawn
beneath his feet, and he fercely shook the 9TH
er at his fancied pursuers, exclaiming in hol.
low but exulting tone, ".Accursed fends! /
have escaped from your withering grasp. |
am now beyond your reach, and | defy you!
Ha ha ha l"-and his maniac laugh swept
over the waters, and sent chill to the bosom
of his shipmates.
A rush was made by the crew to the stern
of the ship, to save the unhappy man from the
fate which he involuntarily seemed to covet
But ere hand could be laid upon his pcrson,
he sprang high in the air, and alighted in the
waters. over which the ship had just passed.
He disappeared for moment beneath the sur.
face, and then his head suddenly rose high up
above the waves. The poor fellow uttered a
: hril and piercing shrek which seemed to
Sc the very embodiment Of horror which rang
in the ears of his shipmates for days, and
months and years afterwards He then sank
beneath the waters, and was never seen again.
The main top.sail slaid aback--the quar-
ter boat was lowered and manned-Mr. Ring
bolt himself sprang into the stern seats and
seized the tiller, and the boat was showed of
and pulled in the direction of the ships wake,
where Amos was last seen-but no trace of
this miserable victim Of ,intemperance could be
found. The waters which had parted to re-
ceige him, were now closed over him-and not
ripple remained to mark the spot
Such was the fate of Amos Chaunceyl
The CALIFORNIA SNAKE BIRD.-Alexan.
der s. Taylor, of Monterey, in bis "Famil.
lar Sketches of the Natural History of Cal
ilornia," says that in the coast counties of
Southern California there exists singular spe-
cies Of bird, generally called, on account of
his we'll known mortal aversion to all mem
bers ofsthe snake tribe, the asnake bird" It is
not bird of prey, but lives entirely on grain,
like the gallinacia. When full grown, it mea-
sures two feet from the end of its tail to the
tip ofits 6eak. The tail has four or five long
feathers tipped with white. Its feet are fur
nisbed with four, toes, two in. front and two,
behind, and all are guarded with sharp, needle
like claws. The color of the bird is mot.