The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1878-02-08


stay of a month in my present quarters,
but 1 was, nevertheless, very anxious TO
get home again. | approached my host on
the subject
''Mr. r. is there any possible wav
out "f the swamp except the Greenwood
route ?''
'In July and August there is, and if
You We got pluck enough ~ try it YOU may
get out that way now, possibly o.
| replied that believed | had pluck
enough FOR anything, to which he answer
ed
well. / reckon Won have as yol CT osseG
the race course. You can ride down the
river bank till you come to a little apen
space, three miles below, where big dead
sweet gum stands by itself Here You
must turn square to your left, and ride
about twelve miles across the cuuntr- to
the bank of the lalabusha. It's through
the woods all the way, and is pretty well
covered with wateI, which NAV be SWIM
ming deep in some places. But, if you
once reach the Ialabusha, you'I have
good road-with a swimming slough ti,.y
and then-down 20 the ferry, ten or twelve
miles below. There you must cross, and
you IL have high ground--but the ferryman
! will direct you. II you get that far You
will have no trouble, but I'm afraid you IL
fnd it difficult to get that far. You'd bet
ter make up your minG To stay and 60 fish
ing with NE.
Declining his hospitality took my de-
parture. When | turned from the ralla-
hatchie and undertook TO cross he Yala-
busha, | found the country under water
In places II was too deep for wadiDg, but
by swimming these, and resting my horse
III the shallOwer parts, | thought | could
succeed in Crossing. Just as | was start
ing, however, another difficulty Of a rather
alarming sort presented. itself. The sky
was overcast, aud when | should once be
in the over bowed forest, there was danger
of becoming confused aud losing my way
In that event, with water all around me, I
must inevitably perish, and the thought of
death 10y slow torture, there III the gloomy
swamp, appalled, me. | had seen some
! thing of surveying in my time, and presently
| hit upon plan of procedure which 1
thought might serve my purpose.
L knew, in n vague, general wav, i'll
which dire ertion the Yalabusla lay, and if
| could follow a straight line after starting
i'll that direction, ] must get 20 that river
sooner or later, | thought. Iu starting,
therefore, | selected two trees, in a line
witn each other and with me- and rode for
ward, keeping them in a line before me
until | reached the first. Then pauSing, |
chuse a new second tree as far i'll advance
as possible, aud repeating Ibis from time
totime, | was able to work sl,%ly forward
in the direction l ished to follow There
was good deal of swimming to be doHe,
| however, and the horrible stiffness of the
forest oppressed me terribly. After | had
been in the woods and i'll the water for
several hours. faucied some times. that af-
ter ali, | must have LOST my way, and that
had already travelled many times further
than | ought; to reach he banks of the
1alabusha. The water made my head
swim, aud attributed the fact TO failing
! reason. | fancied that ny in elect was de-
parting, and that | was wandering hope
leSsly about in the water.
The sameuess of appearance everywhere
| fed this fear, until | could with difficulty
| convince myself that | was not travelling in
, a ia al circuit. | became SO nervous that
| the splaslIiug of my horses feet IN the wa
! ter gave me acute pain. II there had been
! a spot of earth visible anywhere, | might
| have dismounted for rest, but there was
/ none. The water was nowhere less than
| three or four feet deep. | felt that ! was
! in fever, and presently | grew SO blind
| that could with difficulty make ont my
| guide trees. Finally they faded out en-
/ tiIely, and everything grew hazy and in
| distinct arouud me. 1 reeied in my saddle,
and was forced 10 lean forward aud clasp
! my horses neck To keep from falling. y
| horrible vision of my family waiting week
/ after week for my return until hope ahould
! turn to despair. came upon me, dud-jus.
then BROADLY stopped, shnnk himself and
neigbed. | looked up. We were upon
| dry land. aud IalabusLa rfyer lay just be-
! fore me.
Three days later l rode mp to Mi n
| Ms aud handed in my great bundle OF
swamp applications, the commissions ON
/ which amounted to something like a tbous-
! and dollars. The Major WAS supposedly
/ exasperated. AS bade him good day,
! said
! I've insured everybody who has any
money down there, Major, brt there are =
/ good many people whom you can insure on
credit when you rake your trip