Weekly Trinity journal., 1862-10-25

a Night OF Horror on the Amazon.
BY JOHN OF LANCASTER.

The mi ghtv AmaZon-the great equatorial riv'
or of South Amer ica4A1ows thruuehan immense
region of country, part OF which is dense
wilderness-a tangled labyrinth of vines and
creepprs sweet towering shrubs and gigantic
forest trees. the latter of which have withstood
the fierce tropical tarnadoes for centuries. The
bideous wilderness inhabited by savage beasts
and enormous hoas, besides myriads OF reptiles
of every imaginable species render It exceed
ingy dangerous for man to penetrate the solitude
of these dismal wlds.
A government expedition was dispatched to
the Amazon in the year 1853, under the command
of Leuts Hrrndon and Gihbon, for the purpose
of giving il an exploration. They encountered
many difficulties, aud had some rrmarkable ana
thrilling adventures. some of which have never
been related The following adventure, by
private IN Lieut. G bhon's company, named Cros
bv. is so coupled with horror that the mind can
scarcely form just conception OF the misery he
was compelled to- endure one night while separa-
ted from his companions:
Late in the afternoon of day in September
Crosby accidentally got separated from his com
pnnions, and before he was aware of his situation
had penetrated some distance in a contrary di
rpction into dense forest that lined the banks
of the mighty river He found himself alone,
and every effort to extricate himself from the
tangled labyrinth proved fruitless The solitud"s
of the wilderness were only awakened by the
chirping of troops of monkeys sporting among
the branches, the believing Of alligat"rs, and
the kissing of enormous serpents that crossed MS
path
He soon became conscious Of his alarming sit
uation and redouhled his efforts to regain the
open ground and rejoin his comrades. But he
seemed to only penetrate the farther, and the
dread reality at once flushed upon his mind that
he was lost-and probably doomed man. The
idea of having to remain alone during the night
in this condition, surrounded by wild animals and
hdeous serprnts, was horrible and drove him
almost to despair But there seemed to he no
other alternative night was rapidly approaching
he was bewildered and lost-what could he doY
Unfortunately, he had left his rife in the boat,
and the only weapon of defense in his possession
was large bowie knife.
The shades of tropical night were fast settling
around him The sound of thunder was distinctly
heard in the distance, and it was evident that
storm was approaching. 1t soon became Intense
ly dark-sharp flashes of lightning shot athwart
the sky--the artillery of heaven commenced to
I play---t the monkeys howled, tho cougar Rereely
roared in his den, the alligators beloved, and
the Shiny scrpents Kissed fearfully. Horrors OF
horrorsl The terrific gale came on-the vaulted
dome OF heaven was Illuminated by the vivid
lightning, while the roar Of thunder, and the
crashing of huge trees, as they were torn up by
the fierce hurricane, was appalling in the extreme.
and calculated the stoutest heart TO quail
with fear. But the hurricane passed over him,
aud he escaped. only to encounter more terrific
danger. 1t was now so dark that he could scarcely
perceive anything, and as he was slowly cropping
along not knowing what to do, huge boa darted
out of a tree overhead, and quickly encircled
him in its powerful folds. He felt each contrac-
ton of the serpent TO grow tighter, aud he knew
that in few seconds his body would be crushed
into shapcless mass But he was man OF
Herculean strength and firm resolve, aud instant
ly grasping his knite, he commenced cutting the
fol Of ilp which htsspu
in his face Every stroke separated coil AT
this juncture some wild animll-probably cou-
gar-sprang upon him, but luckily seized that
portion OF the serpent containing the head, and
bore it off instead Of our hero. What II deliver
ance was this
Crosby was so terribly excited that he swooned
away, and lay in state of unconscon'ness' he
knew not how long. As soon as his consciousness
was partially restored. he was aroused by prcu-
liar sensation of indispensable horror, aud found
himself encirced by number OF small snakes
He sprang to his feet and with the ierocity Of
madmau commenced tearing off the Shiny reptiles
thut had coed around him He threw them
from him right aud left, and soon relieved him
self of such hideous companions They hssed
and writhed fearfully but he escaped without be-
ing bitten.
This was a dreadful situation to be placed in,
and his escape was truly miraculous. lie was
now so overcome by fear and excitement that he
was almost helpless aud knew not what ne was
doing. Ia the morning he was found wandering
about by lis companions, who were searching Tor
him, wildly staring aud furionsly throwing his
arms in the air. His appearance is represented
to have been piliful in the extreme aud 1t was
with some difficulty that they succeeded in get
ting him back to camp. 1t required several days
before he recovered fairly, when he related the
horrible suffering, as detailed above, that he en-
dured that night.
In a f.y wpeks hp waa takpn with n violent fe
yer, aud soon became completely deranged. and
in his rawlings talked about serpents, aud wildly
threw his arms around him. He continued raw
ing in this way for several days when he expired
in the most horrd cOnvulsi0Ds. so ended poor
| Crossb's adventures on the Amazon.