The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1880-04-21

of strings of jaguar and monkey
teeth around her neck completed her
costume, if costume it could be
called.
AS she fell leaped to her assis'
lance, followed by my cook and the
little water.carrier, but our best
efforts to restore her to conscious
ness were unavailing, until three
year old boy, naked and shapely as a
bronze Cupid, came toddling out Of
the thicket. At sight of her pros
trate figure he threw himself upon it,
exclaiming:
Mamma, mamma
The piercing voice of the child
effected what all our attentions had
failed to do. Anita opened her eyes,
gasped, and shudder galvanized her
rigid form to life.
1sMy husband!" she cried in a
broken voice, clutching the old wo-
man by the wrist as she bent over
her. "Vicente where is he ?"
What has happened to him? ,"
"The twelfth VICTIM" grumbled
the old crone, dwelling on the num-
Der with that species of hideous sat-
isfaction that her class always
takes in the hideous and revolving.
GEL Cebado is living well. The
twelfth one he has eaten In SIX
months"
"And the last one he ever will
eat ?" exclaimed the beautiful Indian.
bounding to her feet with a hoarse
cry, like the dangerous snarl OF an
angry beast.
"But, Anita" l cried. Selling her
arm, "what are you about to do"
"To avenge my husband" she re-
sponded, glaring at me with eyes
that fairly Dlazed. "Caramba, senior
Let me 60"
And she wrenched herself free, and
caught up her child in one arm, and
with her free hand seized long iron
shod staff which l used IN my noun.
tam climbing. l knew the spirit OF
her race too well to oppose her, and
hurrying into the cabin, seized my
rifle and ran out again, buckling on
the belt which supported my machete
and revolver. Brief as my absence
had been, she was already hundred
yards away, bounding over the beach
like greyhound in spite of the by
no means despicable weight of the
boy whom she had perched upon her
shoulder. 49,,
Z coulo not keep pace with her. Ii
prosecuting the survey Of the coas
on which l was employed, we haC
cut rude path through the tangl'
OF brushwood and virgin forest tina
ended only at The beach, in order u
avoid making long and useless de
tour about a rocky point. Down
this path she plunged, tearing he
feet on the thorny ground, crushing
as she ran innumerable of the blue
backed crabs which at morning ant
evening swarm out of their burrow
in countless numbers. Even had
not been able to keep her i'll sight,
could have traced her by her blood,
footprints and the massacred crusta
ceans on the ground
But did not lose sight of her
When l reached the end of the patti
and emerged on the broad banl
beyond which the Culebra rive
rolled its yellow waters swiftly ant
silently into the sea, she was stand
ing on the verge of the stream
loosening the sash from her waist
1t was at the ford which crossed tn,
river here that Ell Cebado, the dread
ed man-eating alligator, had been TO
the past year lying i'll wait for prey
His tavorite haunt was sand banl
which rose from the middle of til,
river, and even as l looked in tina
direction a commotion disturbed tn,
quiet flood, and the monster himsel
numbered out upon the bar. He wa
indeed hideous brute. An alliga
tor Of the largest size, SO old, tina
his horny hide was covered will
shelly parasites, and dripping witt
mud and water, he was a revolving
apparition, enough to inspire the
most intrepid heart with terror
There were a couple OF cranes stalking
about on the sand when he emerged
from the river. AT sight of then
his vast and savage jaws opened and
closed again, the fierce teeth coming
together with crash, like the spring
OF bear trap, and the birds flew
away, uttering harsh cries OF alarm.
AT this noise Anita, who with Sc,
teeth and rigid face had been staring
into the river at her feet, looked up.
she saw the monster, and uttered a
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