Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-11-10
TREEp BY A CROCODILE.


wandered to the north SIDE of Lake Point
chsrtrain. Seeing the probability of remain.
ing there until morning, he rugged up his
hooks and set himself to catch a supper Of
hsh. Those southern lakes have muddy,
shelving banks, and it was necessary to seek
leaning tree, from which the fisherman
inighs 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 on the edge Of the
oank, so near, IN fact, that slight cave. in
mad ahected its center of gravity until il
had bent IN humble obesance far over the
lake With his fishing tackle always in
his pocket, and a couple of frogs caught
mapping near by, Mr.. Ackworth crept
along the STOPPING trunk, out to the very
extremity of the tree, fully sixty feet from
shore, and set himself TO his work.
The close of the day was beautiful, and
Ackworth had the sensibilities of natural.
lat. 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 looked more
dense than usual. 1t was. in fact, SO greer
as to appear dark, as washerwomen mix
indigo in their suds until our shirts become
white enough to become blue. He had
scarcely got his hook in the water before
the birds, frightened away at his approach
returned, and, after little pgudish twist
ing of necks toward him, went on with
sport and labor undisturbed. An immense
heron, whose legs dangled under him as he
flew, settled upon dead branch half. way
up an old cypress and eyed him pleasantly.
A gang of peacocks came screaming and
clrciing in their accustomed manner, theil
gayish plumaga glittering in green and
gold, and their undrilled voices piercing
the air as harsh as piccclo flutes.
A maternal duck led her fleet of buckets
directly under HIM as he sat, nor enter.
tanned any suspicious of his presence.
A good time had our hero accommodating
spot, that afternoon. Such a destruction
of tie tinny tribe must have devastated en-.
tire families. Gar, goggle.eyes, Grim, wh..e
perch, red perch, and cat, yielded success.
siyely 10 the attractions of frog meat, ex.
ercised their various evolutions as if 10th
to leave the lake and come to mis- pouch,
In the excitement of the hour he had
scarcely noticed that the great tree top in
which he was suspended was gradually
settling near the water. His weight. go
far from the fulcrum, had borne hsavily
upon the roots, and they gave way, bring
ing down q great mass of soil, until half
the trunk was under water.
Now Ackworth was never a good hand
to walk log As long as he had hunted
and tshed through torrent and ravine, ne
had always taken the safer : az about in
preference 10 the strsighter way across,
and though he had walked the great beech
trunk with some boldness when out OF
water, it was quite different affair to re-
trace it with fifty pounds of fish on his
back. Standing long enough in suspense
10 see that every moment made the matter
worse, gloom and trepidation increasing,
he decided to leave his fish until daylight.
and make the passage unloaded. He tied
his spoils to a stout branch, and began the
march. With arms extended, as if on the
tight rope, heifxed his eyes or the shore.
felt the log with his feet, and shuffied
awkwardly at.the rate of two steps to the
minute.
But the shuttle forward was suddenly ex.
changed to back action, as II ere rose III
on the log before him the head of an enor.
nous alligator that fixed pair of wicked
little eyes full upon him. The monster
rad doubtless been watching him all the
time, s.siaobse,ving his movements shore.
ward had cut IL Just in time to stop it.
Charles Ackworth fS1nd himself, about the
going down Of the SUP, Si1ty feet from
shore and Guarded by a Pontcharssain
crocodile.
In the fret moment of surprise his 9TH,
mans feet clipped on the slippery log, suc
he was completely soused in the water be
fore he could scramble back TO his footing
Then he hetook himself to large limb
leaving his fish below, and made deliber
ate survey of the situation While doins
this, and wribging the water from hi
clothes, his horror was intensified by seem!
the monster quiie-as deliberately draw him
self on the log at full length and begin
slow movement toward him As the blaci
knobs en- his back rose above the water il
undulatory motions be could reckon to al
inch the length of the saurian from tip o
snout to the last scale upon his swingin!
caudal. This was not, however, lik,
measuring . dried specimen with tape-line
Every foot of that fifteen was animated
and eager. The body was reeking witt
slime his mouth, as he opened and CLOSED
it in his awkward shamble, displayed full
rows Of these large round teeth SO covete,
by hunters as chargers for rifle guns.
| The reptile breathed with sighin
sound, ard Ackworth imagined there wa
an oder of carrion upon the air. As tn
| hideous reptile reached the first fork in tn
| tree his weight brought down another to-
of earth from the bank, md had not Ack
worth been confident that the longer bougI
rested on the bottom he would have give
up all for lost As it was, he was oblige,
to seek loftier position, and there tie,
himself with suspenders and handkerchie
and prepared to pass the night. The ALI
gator, seeing the fish hanging to limb
took them in at a guIp, lines and all.
This feat being accomplished the baas
spread himself at full length, and, fixip
his eye upon his prey, suggested in hi
own crocodilean style "Be in no hurry
l am patient. | have had my snack. Whel
you get tired roos!ing there l will hav
you.
As the two faced each other thus th
man, who was not patient, cursed his i'll
| fortune that he had neither gun nor pisto
to match those villainous teeth. There
in plain sight, leaned in dogwood fork
the gun, good at twenty PAGES to bloy
!
head. There, hanging by their side, tn
rifled pistols. Oaly one shot to bore GU
that little red eye, and he almost felt tina
he could die happy. A wide yawn from
the alligator indicated desire for sleep
An immense owl of the gray species thel
took up his station over the now useles
weapons, and began so dismal hootiu
sounds so unnatural and unexplainabl
upon ordinary principles-that Ackwortl
could only feel that they were INTENDED
| for his Geath-song, though why the ow
| should colleague with the alligator b
could not imagine. All this was discour
| aging enough. But there was an addet
horror. Before the owl had finished tn
first chapter of his dirge splashing il
the water called his attention to tn
| fact that another alligator had com
on duty. Another reptile, allured by
some instructive sense of prey, wa
swimming round the tree top, as if seekin!
an entrance and welcome. How many
times that circuit was made will never b
known. How many times Ssurian No.
raised himself to his feet at the man
slightest movement and opened his moutl
| to its limit need not be told. How man,
water snakes (noccasius), with cold, slim,
skiing, crept over Ackworth's hands anC
feet as they squirmed through the tret
tops-ugh The night in length was Polal
Arctic in horrors, Tartarean. 1t recalled
Bunyan's hero as he passed in the darkness
through the valley of the shadow of death
Would morning never come? Not sta
was visible, for heavy banks Of cloud
came up over the lake, and smart shower
OF rain beat upon the unprotected fisher
man clinging now to that treetop. Thel
it ceased, the wind veered to the north
and it became cold, very cold. Ackwortl
| shivered as though he would break hi
fasteniDgs. And still sentinel No. . con
tinued MS circuit splashing, No. hi
yawning watch, the gray owl his heart
| rending dirge.
At last daylight, oh, blessed light, came
Natures long sleep ended. The day bird
left their perches. A gang of Jay bird
n ha oyrl olaar 4 r. IL