Baton Rouge tri-weekly gazette & comet. [volume] (Baton Rouge, La.) 1865-18??, 1868-06-16
yoI T. LA MORNING NO
,Tbe 6a3ftte allD Comet.
TnE HOUNDS OF THE JUNGLE.

night9" said to Manuele az We
were by the camp fire. ..'',a
II heard the coyotes moving" he I
answered. "and Iiknew there was
danger. You see, they are not, like
other beasts, afraid Of FIRE; wild and
untamable as the creatures now are.
they have not forgotten the instincts
Of their forefathers. Coyotes know
well enough there's food Of some sort
to be found in camp, and 90 they
cluster round at night; and the
larger your fire the more coyotes.
Ay! there's cause to fear when one
is alone and the pack is out. They
arc worse than tigers or cowardly
pumas, though there are few who
believe it. They come sneaking up
through the black glades. noiseless
and silent. and they squat round on
,heir haunches. and their eyes shine
like stars. They wait and watch,
and will not be driven of. You
shoot one and others come. They
sit like ghosts, Ike pale devils,
round your frr, never stirring. never
taking their shining eyes from oil
your face. All! tell You, senor,
| It is terrible to be beset by these
coyotes Hour by hour they sit
there. lust out of reach, in q circle
about. It is a nightmare From
very WEAKNESS you doze of, and.
awaking with horrid start, you
shout to see how near the devils
have crept. As you spring up. they
sink back again, and take thsformer
ring. licking their foxy jaws, but
making no sound. And you-you
rush at them, and they glide away,
and vanish on the instant in the
black underground. But, as you re-
turn, they come forth again, they sit
down again, and stare with never a
wink in their eyes. 1t is very terri.
bls, senior 7" said Manuele. whose
gaze was fixed in front as if detail
ing horrid memory. b..
"Has such an adventure happened
to you then ?" s.|
Isl, Senior, once-pray the saints
| I may never have such . night
again! I was up in Segovia where
| | had been washing gold. l was
camping all by myself in the forest,
journeying toward one Of the streams
Of the Waux, for my comrade had
taken all our dust to Segovia Mejo
to exchange for many things we
| wanted, and was to meet me up the
river; SO I was by myself. At that
time-and it's not SO long ago-I
should have laughed, like yourself.
had any one warned me against the
dogs, or told me there was danger to
be feared from them. And yet l
had lived in the woods all my life.
Jaguars and pumas and leopards
were the only beasts ] should have.
been afraid to meet at night; against
them, one can, in a manner, protect
oneself by lighting big fire. To
coyotes / had never given thought.
though they are in great plenty
about those parts.
well, I was camping all alone.
AS said, travelling toward Waux.
At sundown, one day, l found my
self in a deep old wood, such as are
not common on the hills. 1t was
more like one Of those great forests
Ivy the river bottoms on the plains.
T'he ground was black and oozy un-
,orfoot, the lower growth scanty, the
lianas thick as a mans waist just
the place for tigers to breed in, |
thought, if there be any carib ruins
near, or any caverns. But it was
growing dusk, aud there was no
time to lose. had ealabash Of
water and provisions, SO it seemed
best to risk the tigers rather than
run a chance Of losing oneself. So
l built fire a,d cooked some char
quiz and layed down under tres.
it was about midnight | awoke,
reused by warm breath upon my
face. I sprang to my feet just in
time to catch a glimpse of some big
pale beast, vanishing round the
trunk. / looked about. In a circle
round the fire, just as | have de.
scribed, sat dozen huge creatures.
pressing almost into the blaze, and
staring at me with eyes that shone
like emeralds.
They were scarce six feet from
me. For moment, while the start
lasted, I fancied I was still dream
ing; but pretty soon I recognized
these unexpected guests, and laughed
aloud. Only pack of coyotes !! l