The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1882-09-29
TREED BY A CROCODILE.
BY ROBERT MORRIS, IL. D.

In the spring Of 1851, Charles Ackworth,
of our parts, took tour through Louisiana,
and upon his return related to me some curl
Gus adventures. In the cane-brakes of Lou
isiana he was engaged one day in a bear
! hunt and, losing his horse, wandered to the
| north side of Lake Pontchartrain. Seeing
the probability of ofremaining there until morn
ing, he rugged up his hooks and set himself
to catch a supper of fish. Those Southern
lakes have muddy, shelving banks, and it
was necessary to seek leaning tree, from
which the fisherman might cast his lines into
deep water. After little search Ackworth
found one exactly to his taste, an ancient
, beech tree daring enough to spring up OF the
edge of the bank, so near in fact that slight
cave-in had effected its centre OF gravity un-
til it had bent In humble obeisance far over
the lake. With his fishing tackle always in
his pocket and a couple Of frogs caught nap
ping near by, Mr. Ackworth crept along the
STOPPING trunk, out to the very extremity of
the tree, full sixty feet from shore, and set
him self to his work.
The close of the day was beautiful and
Ackworth had the sensibiIities of a natural
ist. The deep green of the spring leaves in
that intense climate reminds one Of looking
through green glasses, and at that particular
hour the verdure seemed more dense than
usual. 1t was, in fact, so green as to appear
dark, as washer women mix indigo in their
suds until our shirts become white enough
TO appear blue. He had scarcely got ais
hook in the water before the birds, frighten-
ed away at his approach returned, and,
after n little prudish twisting of necks to.
ward him, went on with sport and labor un-
/ disturbed An immense heron. whose legs
/ dangled under him as he flew, settled upon
| a dead branch halfway up an old cypress
| and eyed him pleasantly A gang of pea
/ cocks came screaming and circlIng in their
/ accustomed manner, their gayish plumage
/ glittering in green and gold. and their un-
drilled voices piercing the ear as harsh as
/ piccOlo flutes A maternal duck led her
feet of ducklets directly under him as he
sat. nor entertained any suspicious Of his
! presence.
A good time had our hero accommodating
spoil that afternoon. Such destruction of
the finny tribe must have devastated entire
families. Gar, google eyes, Olim, white
perch, red perch and cat yielded successive
ly to the attractions Of frog meat, exercised
their various evolutions as if 10th to leave
the lake and come to his pouch. In the ex-
citemeDt Of the hour he had scarcely noticed
that the great top in which he was suspend.
ed was gradually settling near the water
His weight so far from the fulcrum had borne
heavily upon the roots and they gave wav
bringing down a great mass Of soil, until
half the trunk was under water
Now, Ackworth was never a good hand tC
I
ished through torrent and ravine he had al
ways taken the safer way about in prefer
ence to the straighter way across, and tho
he had walked the great beach trunk will
some boldness when out of water, it wa,
quite a different affair to retrace it with fifty
pounds of fish on his back. Standing Ions
enough in suspense to see that every mo
ment made the matter worse, gloom anC
personal trepidation increasing, he decided
to leave his fish until daylight and make tn,
passage unloaded. He tied his spoils to
stout branch and begun the march. Witt
arms extended as if on the tight-rope h,
fixed his eye on the shore. felt the log will
his feet and shuffled awkwardly along at th,
rate of two steps to the minute.
But the shuttle forward was suddenly ex
changed to back action, as there rose up OF
: the log before him the head Of an enormous
alligator that fixed a pair of wicked little
eyes full upon him. The monster hat
doubtless been watching him all the time
and observing his movement shoreward haC
cut in just in time to stop it. Charles Ack
worth found himself about the going dowr
of the sun sixty feet from shore and guarded
by Pontchartrain crocodile.
ca
man's) feet slipped on the slippery log. ant
he was completely soused in the water be
fore he could scramble back to his footing
Then he betoolI himself to large limb
leaving his fish below and made a deliberate
survey of the situation. While doing this
and wringing the water from his clothes, hi.
horror was intensified by seeing the monster
quite as deliberately draw himself on the los
at full length and begin q slow movement
toward him. AS the black knobs on hi.
back rose above the water in undulatory
motions he could reckon to an inch the
length of the saurian from the tip Of snout tc
the last scale upon his swinging caudal.-
This was not, however, like measuring a
dried specimen with 2 tape line. Every foot
of that fifteen was animated and eager. The
body was reeking with slime his mouth as
he opened and closed it in his awkward
shamhIe, displayed full rows of those large
round teeth so coveted by hunters as charg-
ers for rife guns.
The reptile breathed with siching sound
and Ackworth imagined there was an odoI
of carrion upon the air. AS the hideous rep
tile reached the first fork in the tree his
weight brought down another ton of earth
from the bank, and had not Ackworth been
confident that the longer bough rested upon
the bottom he would have given up all for
lost. As it was, he was obliged TO seek a
Softor poeitiou and thore TIED hirneplf with