Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1880-12-18
ATURDAY PRESS.
A Morasa Adventure.
DECEWBER Is, 1880

ecanfy purhe lod mr., III cohp'uy WIN HpWt
relntIvee, to apcud my holidays nj l'ilo
village on ths Welsh conn', out of tho or
binary boat Of ion,iate, but otherwise 70.
mnrksble for nothing but ite general mir
Of blenkncas and atcr,liy. Tho place was
very quiet, aud tho lodginga were cheap,
and tolcrably comfortable Those essentials
bong occurred, we had to put up with the
scenery. which wnn not very attractive. a
low limo Of beach, aurmounted Ivy high
pebble ridge loading on the ono hand 10 tho
foot of somc bold intting cliffs, and on tho
other losing itself in mn oatuary behind
this, black and droary.looking bog,
strctching three or four miloa inland, and
intorpcctcd in every direction by wide nrti'
hcini dichce, mud deep, natural hhanrea
connecting the iuky poola. ANAL river
flowing into tho estuary divides tho bog,
H. ooursc being marked by mounds of peat,
cut from the irmor ground which forms
iis banks. Branching out nj right anglcs
TO the river arc other lines Of pcat.etncks,
following the course of tho lnrgor drains,
which herald tho attempt to cultivate the
drenry wastc.
This was the view | bchold, ns, standing
ono evening ON tho top of tho stony ridge,
I faced eastward. Tho sinking sun throw
my shndow far over the bog, distinctly acou
NJ IT fell over the gidcd PUSHES and the
crimaoning pools. | had been strolling
with my gun, in tho hope of adding some
specimens to my cabinet, and was thinking
of returning bomownrds, when a long-lcg.
god heron slowly sailed high overhead, in
tho direction of tho river. | watched the
bird till IL nligbtsd near ono Of tho peat.
stacks, and carefully noting the spot, !
proceeded to careful stalk. hoping to sc.
euro mn acquisition. l contrivcd to get
within seventy yards of tho heron, and as
there was no cover of any kind nearer, |
lay down behind tho last mound | had
reached, and with finger on tho trigger,
watched patiently, in tho hope that my
quarry would feed towards me. was not
disappointed il gradually approached some
yards nearer NY Kidding place, and then
either caught sight or scent of me, for it
suddenly rose bnt in 40 doing came within
range. Bang went both barrels. Uttcring
hoarso croak, tho heron flew heavily
away, keeping close to tho ground, and
evidently hard hit. sprang up and fol-
lowed, jumping tho bitches, and avoiding
tho soft ground ns bcst ! could. During
one particularly long jump, lost sight of
tho heron for moment; l caught sight of
il again just in time to see it fall to the
earth as softly ms snowflake, and lilo still
with wings outspread to their full stretch
Between the bird and me, however, there
was crevasse wider than any had yet
leaped, and a dozen yards on the other side
lay the object Of my pursuit. The black
Shiny sides of the ditch ovcrhung the water,
which lay deep and still some six or seven
feet below, and a few yards to the right
connected with large pool, having equally
high and muddy banks. To the left was
a labyrinth of similar bitches. Some dis.
crack in the fiat expanse showed where tho
river lay. The bank on which stood was
n foot or two higher than the opposite bank
l describe the situation thus infinitely in
order to make the reader understand what
afterwards happened.
Not liking to lose the prize so nearly in
my grasp, resolved to risk the jump. Lay-
ing down the gun, and taking my coat off,
l made tho effort, and cleared the ditch,
only, however, by few inches | secured
the heron, and smoothing its beautiful
plumage, but little injured by the shot,
threw it across to the bank from which l
had inst come. Then, on looking round,
l found myself in n sort Of cM de sac. The
bit of firm ground on which l stood was an
island, and the only way of escape was, the
one by which l had arrived. Having to
stake Off from lower level, it was much
harder to get back than it had been to
come; but as there was no alternative, it
hol 70 In tvnA I 1,l g.
enough, and pitched with hands and knees
together against the edge. There was no
vegetation to get hold of, and after hang.
ing on the balance for a few moments,
vainly clutchiug at the mud, fell back.
wards with heavy splash in the water.
Fortunately, am good swimmer, and
at first, while treading water, the ludi-
crousness of the affair alone struck me; but
when | began to see that it might be diff
cult to get up those Shiny, overhangng
banks, must confess felt rather fright
ened. 1t was impossible to get out at the
spot where had fallen in. swan farther
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 tho water. The water be-
came more shallow as l struggled on,
but the muddy bottom refused to give me
= standing place, and the muddy sides af.
forded no hold for my hands. 1t at last
became so shallow that had to turn on
my back to avoid kicking the mud as l
swan, aud when in this position, / could
push my arms into it with almost as much
ease AS l could push them through the
water but to draw them out again was far
from easy. With horrid fear of being
unable to extricate myself from the mud
and Of a slow suffocation, made sudden
dash back into the deep water, and tried
the other bitches, only to DO repulsed in the
same manner. l swan round aud round
the pool, seeking for an outlet, and Begin
ming to feel my boots aud clothes very
heavy. Even now involnntarily smiled
At the comparison which suddenly occurred
70 me between myself in this plight aud q
mouse swimming round bucket Of water
but the thought that too, like it, might
be swimming for my life soon drove oil
ludicrous thoughts out of my head.
Matters now began to look very serious,
when saw . root or branch Of some long
buried tree projecting out Of the bank. /
caught hold of il; but it was not strong
enough to enable me to lift myself out OF
the water. All that could do was to sup
port myself with my hands just sufficiently
to keep my head above tho surface. / took
this opportunity of kicking of NV boots