Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-07-11

J because my husband W0Hlu kRo
that the Mississippi had defsate
ID his wife. The negroes who wei
near at hand were crowding on tt
unbroken part of the levee, som
f'miie above, and / could see the
dark forms relieved against th
glare of the fire they were build
ing. Aso 7 saw the women an
children and cattle Slowly moyini
up the broad embankment to safe
ground, Lsfelt that great loss wa
likely to, occur, and so said to Aun
Sarah, who had silently joined M
with ashawl. She looked at me {
moment, and said, "You won't b.
scared? y SiE)I HfY STT II
4 ssNo,p said /, for | should rather
like it were it not for the loss te
my husband and the wetting tt
you. How did you get wetp'' -
| She answered, "I went out wild a
hoe when 1 see the ribber gittin up,
but it come too strong, an like to
washed me away. Icouldn't find
de horn to blow for de quarter peo-
ples." s5eat .ifsgl ~ asal . sJg..a
.You foolish old woman ? said
| sfneyer try to mend a break by
yourself. But as you are safe j
don't mind the crevasse"
She was silent for a little while,
and then said, SHY laws, dis is no
ereyasse; dis is a cut off,"
-'Ars you dreaming" said l, with
a laugh that was mixed with a
vague terror. 856!i.syI H.3I F..
She pointed to the timbered land
back Of the garden, where l could
see that the ripping water, of only
two or three feet depth, that lay
around the house changed to a
deeper and more rapid current.
''Look at dem trees leanin' ober,"
said she. sDare, two of 'em goes
down. ~ zC --.-s p -ru..f---
! | felt my heart stand still, and
my limbs trembled as looked and
comprehehded the worst. On each
side of the swift path of the water
the giant oaks, with their hoary
boards of gray moss, were leaning
together over the mid~current. and
as she spoke two went down with a
splash. Perhaps a thousand years
before that had been the old chan
mel of the river Some raft or drift
of a million interloeked trees had
checked the rush of some past
food, and the retarded waters bad
whirled away to cut new channel
around the elbow of some twenty
miles. Centuries had passed-mold
had covered the sand and mud on
the raft. Oaks and tall magnolias
had taken root down as they grew
up; and for half century man
had locked out the annual flood
with huge bars of earth, and, re-
the virgin mold from ma
ture, had built his home, and gath
cred that richer golden fleece"
than Jason dreamed of. Now the
autocrat river claimed its ancient
bed, and swept down with its
hOarse Iebuke to the forest and to
man. Our home stood directly in
the old path, and the leaning and
falling trees showed how terribly
sure was the great plow making It's
furrow. Nature had harnessed the
Mississippi.
Aunt Sarah was perfectly calm as
she said: Now you is looked
enough. Get, all de warm dresses
and jeWelry an some blankets,
while l puts on my close an gets
an axe"
Gan axe" said /; "what for -
"To prize up the porch floor an
make a raft, my precious. Dis house
will wash away by daybreak. "
I saw that too, and hesitation
and delay were over. My husbands
valuable papers we're first secured,
and then clothing, money, plate
and jewelry. By the time l had
begun to roll up blankets Aunt Sa-
rah was in warm, dry clothes, and
l heard the crash, as her strong arm
smote down doors and window
blinds, and soon began to cut and
pry at the long, narrow planks of
the veranda floor. l brought an
iron bar from the tool room on the
first floor, and by our united
strength we oveycame the tenacious
nails, and stripped up board after
board. A few blows on the lower
ceiling made hole, and we dropped
them through, where they lay al
most on level with the water. l
never knew before that / was so
strong when excited, aud the sore
ness and blistered hands were not
thought of till the next day. Still
it was my old nurse who thought
of everything, and talked to me in
her queer way, as if was still her
child. There were some large and
massive French bedsteads in the
sleeping rooms on the first floor,
and by our united strength we
turned them edgeways and pushed
them through the windows that
opened to the veranda floor While
the stout old woman arranged the
long boards across them, l was
sent to the store of farm imple-
ments in the building, and told to
bring every rope and ploW-line and
ball Of twine 1 could find. These
were abundant, and the boards were
woven together like the bottom of
huge basket, and laced to the
sides and ends of the bedsteads.
Then we tied strong cords for ca
bles, and rolled them off into the
water. They dipped down and were
wet, but that did not matter, so they
fioated again. We got the two side
and side and securely fastened to-
gether; then doors and window
shutters were laid on or tied up for
sides; and finally cotton mattresses
were put on to keep US above the
water. Then came trunks and
blankets, and when we had all that
was safe to take, or that was at
once small and valuable, we paused
to see if our peril grew. The yard
fence, not one hundred yards away,
was leaning on the verge of some
unseen gull, and the oaks for half
mile wide were all gone. 1t was
their splash we had heard as we
worked. We had no oars, nor skill
to use them if we had, and the best
poles we could find for pushing
were the long, slender canes used