Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1874-05-08
A Race for Life,

A CHARMING languor, the exquisite lux
ury of ease and relief, was almost akin to
pain in its delicious relaxation and re-
pose. This state of enhancing rest and
retreshment was interrupted by the dog.
Bragg jumped upon my back as l swan,
with something between yelp and a
whine. My first thought was that the old
fellow was as hugely content as myself,
but more boisterous, and was for splash.
ing romp in the water Nothipg 10th, |
turned to give him good tousle for his
liberties, when horrorl not twenty yards
away, his long snout and saw-like spine
bubbling sinuous above the waves, was
the accursed 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
to the shore to which l was swimming;
the other between me and the impossible
haven had left. / was utterly and in
simultaneously unnerved. The woman's
nature in me has never yet been so over.
come by my studies as to familiarize into
indifference an instructive adherence of
anything of the serpent kind. An inno-
cent chameleon lizard, with his pretty
gorget of striped carmine and white, and
his changeable green and gray coat, is
repugnant to me; the garden snake, fang
1853 obA hhl hllCoo DO u y, dIOuoGlu
old Adam as much as the coiled adder;
and a crocodile adds his grisly, unre.
deemable ugliness to intensity the dread
and hate.
The blood curdled in my heart, and
per OssG, as the Latin strongly puts it. /
struck out madly, furiously, without sense
or discretion; but was checked and
called to my proper selfcommand by one
dreadful fact: the dog toas Outs,oimming me.
Now | kneweas well as if it were a thing
done, that one of us must be sacrificed
for the other. One might possibly escape
from those two monsters, but two could
not. A man having any selfcontrol can
easily outswim a dog. Aroused by this
reflection, l struck out again vigorously,
but with long, steady, oar-stroke sweep.
Not overland, which gives only an ap-
pearance of speed, like Mr.. Pecksnifns
hlgh-trotting horse, but long, regular frog
swimming. | soon saw the effect of it.
passed the dog, who turned in toward me
with whine and effort, as l passed. A
crocodile or alligator-they are one and
the same-swims quite rapidly; but he
does not dart like fish. The dogs nose
or foot touched me, and looked over my
shoulder involuntarily. An alligator's
jaw in the dry skeleton is terrible to look
at; the serried fangs are all made for de-
suuCllNt Ieuulugi NOT UdSllCdIlOn: als
horrid Jaws agape with double fang" as
Hschylus describes it. But that huge
tongueless, lipless nav
" And that more wondrous was in either jaw
Three ranckes of yron teeth enraunged were,
In which vet trickling blood and gObbets raw
OF late-devOured bodies did appear
Ugh that saw, as live to tell it, with
the exaggerated monstrosity of destruc
tive power in its eighty teeth fitting in al
ternate sockets; the Sits of narrow eye.
glOwering above; the long, serrated spine
bubbling above the water right at my
heels.
There was a dull, deadened chumpf, thu
drowned yelp of poor Bragg, and dog
and dragon disappeared in a surge O.
bubbles.
l was spared this time, but not yet safe
Sliding over the spot where they had dis
appeared came the second alligator, no
ten yards away. At the moment caugh
the overhanging limb of stout, black
jack oak, clustered with jasmine ant
green. brier, and, needless of scratches
swung myself aloft. had the satisfac
tlon of seeing the disappointed monster
nOsing. about below.-AtIdntIc Monthlyt1
Man