The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1884-03-09

HOW THE INSECTS LIVE AMI,
THE PEOPLE SUFFER.
An Experience in the Wild Woods Of
the far South.
For the News.

For the News.
During the month Of March, 1878, my
self and three friends were on Indian
river. with two dogs, the usual amount
of fishing and hunting traps, and abund-
ant health and spirits. The charm OF
a Florida winter had sunk deep in our
souls everywhere game was plentiful !;
the waters abounded in fish and oysters,
and we slept comfortably in our boat on
under trees with one blanket after leav-
ing snowdrifts and good sleighing- We
were more than satisfied.
The woods were afiame with the Grim
son flowers Of air-plants gorgeous birds
flew in and out of shadows cast by
swinging lianas; and the OWLS plaintive
hoot was often hushed by the wailing
cry of the panther. We had put up
'sshantv'' under some of the finest live
oaks ever saw. Their immense
branches were 50 long that they seemed
slender and graceful their huge trunks
were gnarled and knotted and twined
and twisted around with vines till they
gave one the horrors by suggesting giants
subjected to torture; the whole was so
draped andfestooned with moss that shade
was funeral, and silence depressing. No
lively squirrel chatted or played in the
distance or ran barking up to stop sud
denly and gaze seriously upon US; no
droning beetle alighted suddenly near TO
make a journey up our legs with solemn
stride and bulging eyes. But the soil was
bored everywhere by the large blue crab,
who ceased from his labors at sight OF US,
and held up his spade-like claw by way
Of proclaiming himself a native sexton
and TO show his readiness for inmed: 1te
work in case OF accident to lis. At the
brink of little pool solitary crane
would stand for hours on one foot utter
ly oblivious of the careless frog. am
fully convinced he was crossed in love.
We stopped here just before sunset one
afternoon tired and cramped with days
confinement in the boat. Positively the
air and aspect Of the place ruined my
nights rest ! amused the boys while
smoking by giving them q version of
Poe's Fall OF the House of Usher. The
crabs crowded around US, till [ fell
asleep, and dreamed that one as large as
panther had crawled slowly up my right
leg; then my body; then crouched on my
breast with glaring eyes and waving
arms. With terrible spring he caught
me by the throat and nipped off my head
IS easily as a child decapitates her paper
doll with mama's big scissors. | distinct
" heard him chuckle over his feat, and
he sat beside my bleeding head and rat
tied his great claws together like casta-
nets to call up companion as hideous as
! himself And the two raised their little
! unwinking eyes and leered pleasantly at
each other. When mutual cOngratula-
! tions had been exchanged on the feat
which had 50 successfully made me a
dead man, they began digging industri-
Ously to hide the evidence of their crime.
| They shoveled off the soil briszlv. but |
soon saw they We're guided i'll their la
bOrs by some creature underneath. The
porous earth heaved and rolled; the two
crab-sextons silently worked till pair of
enormous jaws, cavenOus as those of
the nstrictOr-attaChcd to an eve
less head-dripping with horrible slime,
showed above the sand and yawned to
engulf my head. With a yell [ awoke,
and Allen said gruftiy why in the Blank
do you let in so many mosquitoes Z"
When told him why my hair stood on end
and my whole body was quivering with the
horror of my dream, he only asked what
had eaten for supper. Even next morn
/ ing the effects on my spirits made me
confident | should be bitten by a snake.
or the disgusting ''muIe-killer' would
cause me to swell up and burst; but moth
ing happened in this line, 50 that grad
ually the impression wore off, and we
reused the gloomy corridors of the sol
emn woods with full-throated shouts Of
triumph, or perfuned the lofty aisles
with wreaths of fragrant smoke from
! pipe or campfire.
So it was with no gloomy forebodings
that l set out one memorable morning to
cross the river, simply because I had too
much animal life in me to be still. I had
tOrmented my friends till they mildly in
sinuated that if any sections dweIt amid
these primal shades their services would
be needed shortly; after placing crumbs
and bits of oyster shells among the blan-
lzets where they would do the most good
picked up light harpoon, stepped into
a small row-boat and pushed out The
sunshine quivered in the air like posi-
tive weight of glory; the water was
greenish blue, far down in the cool, crys-
tai depths delicate grasses swayed lazily
in response to every movement Of thou
sands of beautiful fish clothed in gor-
geous scales. I hung over the vessel as
I glided slowly across and feasted every
I faculty of my SpnSuOllS ORGANISM Fairy