Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-04-01

SAID. "A lille way out Of Little Mud
lake, and about an hour, or maybe an
MOURN haH, by sun, seen pretty con-
sid'rable smoke a-pilin' up to the s'utb-
ard. The wind was in the north, and
hits slow work for a fire to eat hits way
up 10 windwald; 81 pulled my boat out
OF the river into little lagoon. lust big
enough to turn her around in. took a cold
bite OF supper. rolled up in my blanket,
ana went to sleep in the boat. don't know
now long | had been asleep, but some
time in the nignt was woke up BY a roar
IN noise. put my head out from under
the blanket aud found that the wind
had changed around to s'uth'ard and was
oioWin' right su0 gale. Hit didn't take
me long to see thai the sky was all lit up
with a red glare. l could hear the crackle
OF flames pretty considerably close up,
and saws to myself, i reckon the fires
a,comin' this way, and I'd better see
aDout IT. ia seen good many prairie
fires, but when [ stood up in the boat |
was sorter surprised. HIT seemed as if
everything to the s'utb'ard Was-a burnin'
up, aad the flames was sweepin' north
EASTERN mule could canter.
~ looked back toward the north, and
saw ia applied out OF tue river good
deal iurdePn | thought / had, and ] saw
tnat, IN the strange glare that lit up all
the little waterways, tWa'nt much use to
try to pull back into the river ahead of the
rushin' flames. the little pond had run
into was the end OF a sort o. pocket, and
the tall dry grass stood all around it ten
feet high, 'ceptin' the open places on the
side where | came in, The roots Of the
grass was a grOwin' in water lust deep
enough to cover 'em, though twas dry
time. In wet weather you could pull u
boat right through the tops of the grass,
or run steamboat over 1t. Well, SEEM
AS how somethln' had got to be done
right of, | showed the skitf Into the mid
die OF the pond. stuck down an oar in the
mud, and tied ner nose 10 II, close up. Be
lore I'd got her made fast the fire had
come so cloee that the sparks and cinders
was nlgb-a-mOst bindin' me, ana the
wind whlrlin' upward with the flame
made my mar stand on end. Hit
seemed as If the whole world was-a-gOin'
up in the flames. Laws! you never seen
such wild sight, and IN front OF the
rushn' fire, sailn' around in the blood
red sky, was herrins, marsh hens, black
birds, cranes, and sucn, all a-squakin'
and takin' on, and streakin' 1t through
the tops OF the grass was ducks and coots.
But 'twa'n't no place for me to be stand
in and loOkin' on; so / sOused my blan-
ket in the water, got down in the bottom
of the boat, and covered myself ali up
with the wet blanket. Just before / put
my head under got a glimpse OF a good
sized critter, a deer or painter, | reckon,
g0in' by lickety-cut, with the flames just
catchin' onto his tail.
Il hadn't been under the blanket
more'n second, seems as if, when the
red showed through the blanket, and
could feel the hot air over me. While
NO haf1
I'd ever fell in with in these yer parts.
there came a tremenjus crashin' and
swishin', louder even than the roar and
craclde Of the flames, and the water in the
smaller little lagoon began to splash and
the boat to rock. What's thisY says / 10
myself, and then there came funk agin
my boat that nigh-a-most turned her over.
Then she was hit on t'Other side and sent
spinnin', and the crashin' and swishin' in
the grass and the splashin' and b'ilin' in
the water was all the time CROWN loud
erin louder. By this time, too, my boat
was rOckIn' and bObbln' about, now hist
ed clean out OF the water and now most
sunk by sOmethn' floppin' down on the
gun'l. l couldn't stand iC no longer, and
riz up my bead and peeped out. ga
tors, by snuckeyP SAYS | to myself. /
couldn't hold my eyes open but second,
in the edge OF the flame, almost; but tear
in along right under the leapin' tongue of
fire was solid drove OF gators, big and
little, chiBked IN with water mOccasins,
and they was a-pumpin' into the little
pond, which was already fOamin' and
Oilin' with them that was already in there.
had to get nv head under right away,
but l could tell pretty well what was 20
in on by the commOtion in the water and
the bObDin' Of the boat. All this took
~, in, n =
takes me to tell it, you know. Then came
blast OF heat that singed the hairs of my
blanket, and at the same time a-hOppin'
in the water thar seemed like hit was 90
in to smash the skitf into splinters. Hit
seemed as II TINS lasted a terrible time,
and then the neat began to moderate. But
the smoke settled down enough to choke
a body, and the cOmmOtiOn in the water
kept up. If you're bettin' man you can
bet yer boots l wanted that sklh to hold
together.
when the smoke had cleared away so
that, after two or three trials 1 could keep
my head out from under the blanket, |
sot up in the skift; and such sight,
Wen. sir, whether you believe me or not,
that little pond was plume full OF gators
and mOccasins, and was actually over
flOwin' with ZEN. They was wedged 20
thick around my boat that she was h'isted
malt way out OF the water, aud l couldn't
have got her away any more than if she'd
been ketched in a jam OF sawlogs. '1er's
a pretty kettle Of iisn' says to myself;
'hOw'm goin' to get out Of hit, with
these yer gators a iermeutln' ana chaw-
in at each Other,and the mOceasins strik-
in right and left, and the skIf nigh-a-
most high and dry for want Of room in
the water among 'emY
''Well, while l was a-settin' there pom
derin' it over and watchin' the dirty
smoke and flame that crawled along in
the rear OF the IRE that had passed over, ]
saw big gator maxim mis- way out Of
the pond by the course l bad come in.
Others followed him, and pretty soon
there was 8 general movement in that d.
rectIon, and my skih began to settle down
% her usual flOatin' position. The moe
casins cleared out, too, some squirmin'
Oft with the gators and other crawlin' up
on the warm stubble that the ire had
burned over, and in less'n an hour | was
aloae in my boat, in the little lagoon, in
the midst OF a blackened prairie"
"You might have killed quite number
of alligators," suggested the Doctor, "lf
you had gone at u just when they were
the thickest about YOU"
0Didu,t Kill gator that trip said the