Litchfield enquirer., 1874-05-07

i --------7--T ; T7--7J 1l9 57I DI12 ,sf' l could not and rahnote account afor1mH escape. 1t seems to me the bullet, aime& ] by the captain at the alligator, glandedaoh
 the water and went fin one ear and out slfi ! the other. I amsashamed to say that I had n0ts sae the M0Haent, iAn ful1zssense oe '; gratitude. The dog seemed not unreason-
 ably tO think he was at the wrong. end of
 the gun, and was making back, when re-
 called him. He was reluctant, and I launch
 ed the small iron crow at him. It brought him to heel; but it was very odd, and is. i I could not find the iron, a foot long, thrown into plain space of bare ground l free of undergrowth. I marked the spot
 where it should fall, but 1t was not there, nor anywhere. 1t went vigorously to not
 hing from my hand. I never heard of the i ghost of an iron poker, gentlemen, but 1t
 vanished like that, in the broad, bright
 blaze of full noon. ...9.
 sThis, however, i@not the story of my adventures Here was one sudden and 1 singular escape from death; 1t was not
 the last. 1t was to be followed by others, with infinitely more terror and hazard. The dog, after that, followed me steadily. 1 The alligator disappeared at the;shot,' but 1 l had a vague recollection of noticing him, or another large one, far out in the
 lake west of me, as I entered the first hummock The peninsula is divided, you | observe, and contains three hummocks.
 The first is on the extremity of the main l peninsular iand Between it and the sec l ond Is sslue'* or bay.
 1 'sThe first hummock had been burned off and was now brilliant with pink and purple orchids, late as the season was,
 and the varied, beautiful wild phlox. I was delighted to find the cream white, the pearl white with purple heart, and other
 white varieties with magenta edging. It | was charming garden, and no one is so apt as myself to forget the botanist in the IOv- CT of flowers. waited an hour or more
 before leaving this spot Bragg amused himself with a huge. gopher.t After n pleasant nooning in this way, I went on toward the second hummOck. I found the water risen in the bay to knee deep,. and, in the slue or narrow passage, waist high The second hummock did not de- tain me. It is larger, but less luxuriant
 in floral vegetation, and pushed on al- most immediately.
 ''I was soon satisfied I should have to swim The water was deep in the chan nel or slue on the far side. On the near side, however, for two hundred yards, it was scarcely deeper than the first bay. But as you approach within fifty yards of the hummock, it deepens, and now cov- cred the tall maiden cane with a smooth. shining sheet of water. l was provoked at my neglect or thoughtlessness in not using the skiff. which I might easily have had; and what wretched twenty-four hours should have been spared if had done so!
 "But to turn back from 8 swim of fifty yards in smooth water was absurd. I threw off my light linen coat, bound my cottOnade pantaloons and shoes and socks on my head, and waded in, Bragg, the dog, following. The maiden was in every way embarrassing. Familiar as I am with Florida, had the sensation of putting my bare feet on snapping turtles, water moccasins coiling in the spears of grass about my ankles; and the bearded tops hindered the view, and were unpleasantly familiar with my nose-which, as you ob- serve, is conveniently large to poke straws. Tn. It vas with a sense of relief rolled Eearelessly into . swimming posture n-the, open water, and struck out for the other shore. Bragg padding manfully or dog fully in my wake. I was in no hurry. The water was of delicious, enervating warmth, and the change from the rasping. nervous touch of the grass, very grateful. l put out therefore with a leisurely sweep of the arms, Tn which lies the strength of good swimming; the body is lightly sus- tained just under the surface without ef
 fort, and the lungs inflated at every full, regular stroke. know the faculty disap- proves of noon or midday bathing, and perhaps would hesitate to prescribe it to one of my patients; yet I believe, in my frequent excursions, I have derived as much refreshing. healthful vigor from as if taken in dewy eve or under the servant. Certainly never enjoyed any bath as I did that one The slightest movement kept me afoat, and indeed, the art of swimming, once fully acquired, ceases to be an art, and becomes nature. Your gentle Galilee here, like its proto- type, is unusually clear. There is 8 sparkle of salt in it, not enough to flavor but quite enough to give 1t brilliance and transparency. I could see the bottom six or eight feet below, with its. pure white sand; and now the surface was brok- en into bright prismatic nipples, till I seemed to be floating on sea of pearls. charming languor,, the exquisite luxury of ease and relief, was almost akin to pain in its delicious rclaxntion and repose
 This state of entrancing rest and refresh ment was interrupted by the dog. Bragg jumped upon my back as I swam, with something between yelp and whine. My first thought was that the old fellow was as hugely content as myself, but more boisterous, and was for a splashing romp in the water. Nothing loath, turned to give him a good tousle for his liberties, when horror! not twenty yards away, his long snout and saw-hke spine bubbling sinuous above the waves, was the accurs- ed dragon of Old Nile, huge alligator,
 making right at us! -...
 'There were two of the monsters; one at greater distance to the right but nearer the shore to which I was swim ming; and the other between me and the impossible haven had left. was utter ly and instantaneously nnnerved. The woman's nature in me has never yet been so overcome by my studies as to familiar l ize into indifference an instinctive abhor- renee of anything of the serpent kind. An innocent chameleon lizard, with his pret- | and his changeabie green and gray coat,
 is repugnant to me; the garden snake. l fangless and harmless as a butterfly,
 arouseth old Adam as much as the coiled
 adder; and crocodile adds his grisly,
 unredeeemable ugliness to intensity the dread and hate. a57 atsls "The blood curdled i1f my heart, and per ossa. as the Latin strongly puts it. I
 struck out madly, furiously, without
 sense or discretion; but was checked and
 recalled to my proper self command by
 one dreadful fact: tAe dog scas out-s,oins-
 sOiag nae. Now knew IS we'll as if it
 were thing done, that one of us must
 be sacrificed for 1the other One might possibly escape from those two mon-
 sters but two could not. A man having
 any self-controll can easily outswim a
 dog. Aroused by this reflection, I struck
 out again vigorously ;..but with strong.
 steady, oar.stroke sweep. Not overland,
 which gives only an appearance of speed,
 like MT. Pecksniffs high trotting horse,
 but long regular frog swimming. I soon
 saw the effect of it. passed the dog, ' IL as- A. K&---l