Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1869-10-15
A'MORtss ADVENTURE.

4 VI ttiN bItlllIN' ONill OI IONTlSlS, DuN
otherwise remarkable for nothing but its
| general air Of blcakncss and stcrilty
The place was very quiet, and helodgings
were cheap and tolcrably comfortable
These essentials being secured, we had to
put up with the scenery, which was not
very attractivc A long low line of beach,
surmomtcd by high ridge, leading on
the one hand to the loot Of some bold iut-
| ting cliffs, and on the other losing itself
in an estuary; behind this n black and
dreary looking bog, stretching three or
four miles inland, and interscctcd in every
| direction by wide, artificial bitches, and
| deep, natural fissurcs connecting the inky
| pools. A small river flowing into the
estuary divides the bog, its course being
marked by mounds Of peat cut from the
| firmer ground which forms lis banks.
Branching out ut right angles TO the rivcl
arc other lines of peat stacks, following
the course of the larger drains, which
herald the attempt to cultivate the dreary
waste.
Thiswas the view / behcld, as, standing
one evening on the top of the stony ridge,
| faced eastward. The sinking sun threw
my shadow far over the bog, distinctly
scertas it fell over the gilded rushes and
crimsoning pools. had been strolling
out with my gun, in the hope of adding
some specimens to my cabinet, and was
thinking of returning homewards, when
a long-legged heron slowly sailed high
overhead, in the Objection of the river.
watched the bird till il alighted near one
of the peatstacks, and careiullynoting the
| spot, proceeded to careful stalk, hoping
to secure an acquisition. l contrived to
| get within seventy yards of the heron,
and as there was no cover of any kind
nearer l lay down behind the last mound
had reached, and with finger on the trig-
ger, watched patiently in the hope that
my quarry would feed towards me. l was
not disappointed: it gradually approached
some yards. nearer my hiding place, and
then either caught sight or sceut Of me,
for it suddenly rose, but in so doing came
within range. Bangl went both barrels.
| Uttering a hoarse croak, the heron flew
heavily away keeping close to the ground,
and evidently hard hit. sprung up and
| followed, jumping the ditches and avoid
ing the soft ground as best could Dur
ing one particularly long jump, l lost
sight of the heron for moment; 1 caught
sight of II again just in time to. see ittall
| to the ground as softly as snowflake, and
lie still with its wings spread to their full
| stretch. Between the bird and me, how
| ever, there was crevasSe wider than any
l had yet leaped, and dozen yards on the
other side lay the object of my pursuit.
The black Shiny sides of the ditch over
hung the water, which lay deep and still
some sixor seven feet below, and few
| yards to the right connected with large
pool, having equally high and muddy
banks. To the left was a labyrinth of sim
liar ditches Some distance in front, q
broader and straighter crack in the fiat ex-
panse showed where the river lay. The
bank on which | stood was foot or two
| the situation thus minutcly in order to
make the reader understand what after.
wards happened.
/ Not liking to lose the prize so nearly in
my grasp, resolved to risk the Jump
Laying down the gun, and taking my coat
Oft, made the effort, and cleared the
ditch, only, however, by a few inches.
secured the heron, and smoothing its beau.
titul plumnge, but littleinjursd by the shot
threw it across to the bank from which
had just come. Then, ON looking around
l found myself in a sort of Guide sac. The
bit of firm ground on which stood was
an island, and the only way Of escape was
the one by which had arrived, Having
to " "talse-ofp from a lower level, it was
much harder to get back than ii had been
to come; but as there was no alternative,
it had to be tried. did not leap quite far
enough, and pitched with hands and knees
together against the edge. There was no
vegetation to catch hold OF, and after hang
ing on the balance for few moments,
vainlE clutching at the mud, fell back
wards with,a heavy splash into the water
Fortunately, am good swimmer, and
at first, while treading water, the ludicrous-
ness of fthc affair alone struck me but
when began to sec that it might be diff
cult to get up those Shiny, overhanging
banks, must confess felt rather fright
ened. 1t was impossible to get out at the
| spot where had fallen in. | swan far
ther up the ditch, and trying to bottom it,
felt my feet touch the soft tenacious mud,
that gave no support, but was ten times
more dangerous than the water. The
water became shallower as | struggled on,
| but the muddy bottom refused TO give me
a standing place, and the banks afforded
no hold for my hands. 1t at last became
so shallow that had to turn on my back
toaYoid kicking the mud as / swan, and
whGnl in this position, | could push my
arms into it with almost as much case as
| eoultl-push- them through the water
| but to draw them out again was far from
easy.
| With horrid fear of being unable to ex-
| tricate myself from the mud, and of a slow
4 suffocation, l made sudden dash back
I into the deep water, and tried the other
bitches, only to be rcpulsed in the same
manner. i swan round and round the
pool, seeking for an outlet, and beginning
to feel my boots and clothes very heavy.
Even now l inVoluntarily smiled at the
comparison which suddenly occurred to
me between myself in this plight and q
mouse swimming round a bucket of water;
but the thought that /, too, like 1t, might
be swimming for my life soon drove all
ludicrous thoughts out of my head
! Matters now began to look very serious,
I when saw root or branch of some long
buried tree projecting out of the bank. l
caught hold of it but it was not strong
enough 10 enable me 10 lift myself out of
the water. All that could do was to sup
port myself with my hands just sufficient
ly to keep my head above the surface. /
took this opportunity of kicking or my
boots. jf s-,iia1
my position; but now the conviction be-
| gan 20 dawn upon me that | might never
kagain see the mother and sisters had left
1 in1he cottage mile and half away.I /
looked npto the sky, in which hetwilight
was fast giving place to the moonlight, snd
across which the clouds were merrily
driving befDfe the evening breeze; ana
then looked at the black and Shiny walls
which hetnmed me In, and felt as though
| were about to scream with terror. From
7 my childhood, have always had horror
of confinement of any kind. haye felt
strangely uncomfortable when 7 have been
persuaded into exploring cave, or when
have been shown through n prison This
hfeeling felt now more strongly than the
4 fear of drowning. TO die hcimed in by
skthose gloomy walls would be terrible Il :
To add to the weirdness q holioW boom,
ing sound, almost amounting 10 a roar, ran
through the quivering bog, intensified to
me, no doubt, by my imprisonment IN the
heart OF the moSy THUS, though / had
never heard It before, knew TO be the
note Of the bittefn During the night It
was repeated several times, and anything
more weird and dismal it would be hard 10
| imagine