Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1858-03-25
THE WILD GOOSE.
A DAN GEROUS FEE 7
BYA TRAVELLING NATURALIST.

A DANGEROUS FEAT.
BY A TRAVELLING NATURALIST.
Many daring adventure had Aleck Brent
in his lonely quarters by Pawah lake Dur
ing Indian times it was esteemed courage
Gus thing for the noted braves to Turk around
Alexis cabin and wait for his scalp; but
every such attempt proved a miscarriage,
and every miscarriage cost an Indian life or
two. So they learned discretion at length,
and sought other war trails, wherein there
was less danger.
Then Aleck remained unmolested, and
was allowed to grow grey headed, and in
time to disappear altogether from the field OF
human action without further interruption
The history of this man, hermit yet hos
pitable, taciturn, yet full of interesting lore,
is the history of race whose fortunate des-
crption immortalised Cooper. They are
fading fast away, and to find them, even
now, requires journey far beyond the ulti-
ma thule of cockney travellers and city sports
men, The reader will not complain, espe
cially he who loves wild romance and startl-
ing peculiarities of character, if 1 rescue
from oblivion some fragments that have long
remained fading and useless in my memo
randum book.
Many daring adventure had Aleck Brent
in his lonely quarters; of such was the fol-
lowing:
The lake by which his cabin was pitched
was horrid pool; Summer the head quar-
tiers Of alligators, water moccasins, snakes
and gar fish; in Winter, backed up by the,
Mississippi river. until it frequently backed
Aleck clean out of his little home and drove
him to the hills. Why he lived in such an
aguish spot, none could say. Probably It'll
was for the convenience of the fish, which,
were abundant, and to be handy to the deer
and bear that came down to the lake to drink.
But whatever the cause there lived Aleck.
Summer and Winter, for thirty years, fish.
ing when he chose it, hunting a day or two.
in the week-just long enough in fact to.
knock down fat buck or bertrand drink
ing the lake water until its very slime was:
relished as sauce piquante to Frenchman.s;
With this introduction enters the sfery d
the Wild Goose.
One rainy, bleak March day, Aleck found
upon examination Of his larder that his pro-
visions were out Bread he had never cared
for, and there had been so much wet wea-
ther, that the hunter, who was getting rheu-
matte from life Of continued exposure, had
kept within doors, smoking his Indian pipe,
till the last piece of dried vension gave out
So with an i'll natured growl, he shouldered
his old gun that had done him service since.
boy, and took the way to his favorite deer
haunts. But the deer were closely housed,
and did not afford him a single shot. Weari-
ed and wet he turned back with the un-
comfortable prospect of sleeping supperless.
when his eye fell upon large gander that
had pitched into the lake some sixty yards
about, quite regardless Of his propinquity.
With but little reflection Aleck levelled
the piece, and had spread the bird headless
upon the water, before he had time to think
how he was to get it out.
The aligators were so abundant that
dog could not swim across without being
picked up, and even the deer were frequent
ly attacked attempting the passage.
But night was coming on, his canoe was
mile off at least, and it was the gander or
no supper.
Aleck stripped his buckskins for the at
tempt. He attached his hunting knife by
a thong to his neck, took stout chunk for
support; and club for defence, then bold
y plunged in. The first dash nearly chill
ed him to the heart; but he reached the
prize, fastened it around him and started
back. Scarcely had he turned. however,
when he was startled bya we'll known sound,
and glance over his shoulder assured him
that an old soldier, bull alligator, to use
the expression of the frontiers, was upon his
track; length ten or fifteen feet, teeth long
enough to carve him at nip, stomach suf-
ficiently capacious to to hold every ounce of
him. and an appetite to match all three 1t
is unnecessary to remark upon the velocity
with which Alexis fins were moved, follow
ing this interesting discovery. Danger may
sometimes render men reckless. but the pros
poets of such an ending to his wild goose
adventure, only rendered Aleck swift; he
had seen fellow hunter dissected at his
very side, when their canoe was upset, and
the sight was one of unmittigated horror.
The alligator struck two to his one, and |
the race was short one Aleck tossed the .
bird from his back, and to his great salts
faction the reptile st 'pped moment to smell
it, which slight delay saved his life. But
he had only reached the top of the bank as
his pursuer thrust his ugly nose high up on
the mud at his feet. His gun being alrea- :
dy loaded-for when did genuine hunter fail
to load before leaving his tracks ?-gave him
now an advantage and an opportunity for
revenge; and as the alligator, stimulated
to unwonted rapacity by his long winters
fast. came on up the bank, in his clumsy
way: the enraged hunter putting the muzzle
Of his piece into his very mouth, fred ball