Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-11-10
AsTRAY N A swAMP.
The Terrible Experience of Hunter ia
Mississippi jungle.


Mississippi jungle.
From, the San Franoisoo Esaminer.
There is weirdness, feeling Of awe
and utter loneliness, as ! push slowly
through the swamp. 1t is ia Mississippi,
and a swamp in that region means a spot
on Gods green earth which God himself
has seemingly cast outot his mind. such
utter desolation turks nowhere else.
Such loneliness was never called up be-
fore. | was lost. | had realized that
fact an hour ago. 1t had cl0uded up iii
! could 30 longer see the sun, and. IN
making a detour to avoid pond, had
become hOpelessly confused. on all sides
Of me grew the canes. Ahead, behlnd,
right or lett. was rank grass, sloughs OF
dark and filthy water, and no ground on
which the foot could rest long IN SAFETY.
And there WAS worse. AS | stood for
moment wondering what could DO,
hidCOus black snake clded away nom
under my feet and plunged into the water
ahead. HIS passage across was disputed
BY huge cotton mouth, and as the two
writhed and twisted, the noise OF the com
bat called out other denizene. A water
m0ccasn ran Kissing past me. great
lizard flashed his fiery eyes at me and dis
appeared under the roots OF dead
cypress. The odor Of musk foated
through the swamp, and presently an
alligator uttered his horrible "snifl
Sniff and heard him plunging about
not far off.
Which way? l stood and turned slowly
until / had made a circuit 1t was the
same on every side-cypress, cane, reeds,
water. and here and there humm0ck. |
could not stand still, knowing that | was
lost, and yet, realizing the same fact, one
route was as good as another. 1t was no
use 10 shout. ! was miles from the near
est cabin, and there was no hope that any
other hunter was in the swamp. Shout
ii life depened on il | would not dare TO
break that awful silence. A scream
might collect the serpents about me
might tell the 8lligat0rs where to look for
a victim.
l crept carefully forward. but had not
progressed 100 feet when the ground be-
gan to give way under me. l let 90 OF the
heavy rifle, made q wild leap and scram-
BILE, and as my feet touched firm ground
again ] was defenseless. The weapon
had sunk out of sight in the black waters.
Then l shouted, Aye! / raised my voice
and shouted, "Help! helpW with all the
hercenes OF a man who sees death before
MIN. 1t was unmanly, but I was I'M
nerved. The serpents were gliding about
me, and that utter des0latiOn-that awful
loneliness was breaking me down.
/ could look back over my trail for
about 800 feet. As | stood there after the
loss Of the rifle, voice called TO me.
w 18th my heart almost in my mouth l an
sWered it. The voice called again.
81 am here, right ahead Of yOu-thank
GOdp l answered.
] could see no more, but now and then
the reeds waved in a manner to prove
that a body was being forced through
them. l waited for another call, but it
a Nv - Oh,
parted, and a gaunt, wild-eyeG beast
paused TO look at me from distance OF
only 10 feet. 1t was a panther, and he
had been stalking me.
''Nr-r-r-r!" he growled, as he 1attened
his ears and parted his lips TO show his
long, yellow fangs.
How sleek he was Such eyes! How
those cruel teeth would rend and tear!
what power in those short limbsl
laughed and beckoned to him.
"Nr-r-rI" he growled.
"Ah! ] know you! You were sent
from the house to show me the way out OF
this awful spot. Come, | am ready"
With no more effort than a cat makes
to spring over a stool, he leaped the space
and alighted beside me.
And how did you find me p | asked as
i rubbed the soft fur on his back.
"Nr-r.r-meoWw
'sTracked me by scent, l suppose.
though you must have had hard time Of
IL. say, let's be going. | am all unnerved
by this terrible loneliness"
'MeOwl MeOwv
''They talk about the horrors of solitary
confinement Tor murderers, but what Is
the dungeon cell compared TO this? No
man would live here half a day. He
would end his life by plunge into one OF
these pools"
tspurri purrf,S
'Look out for the snakes! 1t seems as
II all the serpents in America had congre-
gated here to-day. The bite of the mecca
sin or the cOttOn-mOuth means death with
IN the hour. On these dryer hummocks
there must be rattlesnakes. Obi 1t
makes the blood chill to think Of being
struck by the poisoned fangsp
"Nr-r-r-rV
"Did pun your ear too hard? am
getting terribly tagged out. Let me sit
down for few minutes on this old tree.
Did you know that 1t Isn't the horrible
snakes and lizards and alligators which
unnerve me so much as the tact that |
am lost. IL brings such feeling of help
lessness that | want to cry like a woman.
To think that one might wander through
this awful swamp for days and DAYS, and
finally die herel And the nlght-great
heavens! Think Of night shutting down
on Us in this placer"
"Meow meow"
"We'd better move on now. You must
know the swamp, and ! hope you will
take me the shortest way out. 1t was
good in you 10 come and hunt me up. and
you will find that 1 am grateful. That's
right. Brighten the snakes away by your
growls, but don't be so touchy when /
take hold OF your ear, need something
20 hold me up. Such horrible walking i
never saw. Is it coming might, or is il
the clouds tbiCkening upP'
"Well, boy, Pm glad on it," said the
colonel, in his hearty voice.
"WhatYv
''Io see you yourself again. We found
you on the second day raving and wan
dering and nearly naked, and you've been
here in.0ed exactly fourteen days. rush,
now, but don't do any talking. With care
you will soon be All right again. How on
earth you escaped death can't make out;
but here you are, and the doctor saws
you'll come out AS tidy as a new half
dollar"
A DERBY WINNER FROM ENG.