The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1877-08-30


be apt to affect the senses terribly. vet
the Captain says he was never calmer.
never less troubled, and never less afraid
OF death His mind7 however, was un-
usually active; every circumstance of
his life came before him with the clear.
ness of MONDAY, The scenes of his,
youth in particular passed before him
in vivid coloring. He saw the old
farmhouse in which he was born
the hills, woods, and meadows sur
rounding it, the distant village, the.
church spire, the fiocks on the plain, the
winding river, the cows browsing in the
fields; he heard the clatter of the MILL.
the songs of the mowers, the birds sing.
ing in the groves, and the gun echoing
among the hills. He heard, too, the
voice of one dearer to him than all of
earth the voice Of one-but all this took
place while a rapacious monster was
floating within few feet of him, wait
ing only for moments pause in his
movements to- rend him in pieces What
is consciousness? A mystery What is
peril? A terror to the coward, an in
spirer to the courageous Meanwhile.
the ships company had discovered the
mishap which had befallen the boats
crew and stood toward them, at the
same time signaling the second boat to
pull to their aid. More than an hour
elapsed, however, before the second
| mates boat came within hailing dis
tance. The Captain then called to Jim
Watson, the mate, and told him to take
the men off the rcapsized boat, adding
1 that a shark was near waiting to seize
him the instant he ceased to move.
I He told the mate to keep
cool and follow his instructions,
as on his GOODNESS and address his
life depended. The mate promised !;
and, though usually Ia laundering,
harum-scarum fellow, in this instance
proved equal to the emergency The
terrible peril of his fellow-officer sharp
ened his wits, and endowed him with a
GOODNESS and sagacity not common to
his nature. He succeeded in taking
every man from the keel, proceeding
which the shark watched with an ap-
/ parently absorbing interest, expecting
to make a meal of at least one of the
| poor fellows clinging to it.. Not sue.
hceeding, the monster swan toward the
Captain and resumed it's original station
about fathom below him, moving only
as he moved, and turning now and then
on its side as ifto seize its prey. The
4 Captain, however, moved continually
and the fish returned to its original po-
sition. The men being all aboard, the
Captain now told the mate to lay his
| boat for him, to set all hands to the
oars, and let them pull their utmost
7 shooting the boat at full speed past him
/, AS it passed he would grasp the gun
vale and spring in, the critical moment
being WHEN he would lose motion, and
when the shark would be likely to SEIZE
him. However, that, risk must bt
taken The Z mate faithfully
carried out his directions. The meI
strained every sinew. They were whale
men, and as such topgallant oarsmen
and the speed at which they sent tha
boat driving through the water woult
have shamed the light of the swiftes
sea-bird. The boat itself was scarcely
seen, buried in double wall of foamins
1 spray, the oars bending like reeds, ant
,the gunwales quivering at each stroke
1t took a steady nerve, an eagle glance
and a lightning grasp to secure the fly
ing craft, but the Captain had these
and, as it passed, seized the starboart
gunwale, and was thrown like shot int
the boat. At the same instant the shark
head rose above water, and its jaw
snapped with sound audible for dis
tance of several longfurs. The Captain
as he himself remarked, escaped "onl.
by scratch - the moment he was sta
tionary the shark snapped at him, TIN
velocity of his subsequent motion Onl..
saving him from hideous death. Blu
the danger was past, and with grateful
hearts the crew pulled for. the ship, bi!
with another adventure to note down OF
the log of a whaler's experience. s19n
The value of trees, in sanitary poin
of yiew,, in large and over-crowdet
cities, says the London Medical Er
anai1er, can scarcely be over-estimated
= Apart from the sense of relief and cool
ness which they impart, their infuenc
as purifiers of the atmosphere is almes
incredible. 1t has been calculated tha
good-sized elm, plane or lime tree
will produce 100000 leaves, having
united area of 100000 square feet. Th
competent authority above quoted pro
ceeds to show that not only do tn
leaves absorb deleterious gases, but the.
exhale oxygen. They must, therefore
:. be of immense benefit in ever-crowde'
and unhealthy districts. When to thi
it is added that trees modify tempera
4 ture, promoting GOODNESS in summer AM
warmth in winter; also that they pqrif
the soil below as well asthe atmospher
above, we have very powerful lsanitar
argument for tree-plantiag-
!. = .~1sxf 77-T-TTlII57S II, La ls.l.t