Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-01-07
STORIES on THEPREsENT DAY.
jackson OF Chicago Wipes Outa Family
OF Human wolves.


had been employed by the Great I'm
'provemsnt and Reclaim Company OF Mo-
bile to explore and map certain lauds in
Florida lying well down on the edge Of
the great Cypress swamp. The company
had purchased 100000 acres OF Wild
land in the location have mentioned,
and it was necessary for some one to Wis
81 it and walk over most OF the ground be-
fore it could be put into market in the
manner contemplated. had been on the
ground three weeks, having two men with
me. when the adventure happened which
i am about 70 relate.
One morning The three Of US left our
camp beside one OF tue lakes on the upper
81. Johns tor tramp, intending to re-
turn by evening. While Imade notes and
kept the topography the men noted the
varieties OF woods. nature Of the soil, and
other details of interest. On three dlier-
ent occasions we had encountered white
men la the dense ana lonely forest, ana
knew from their looks and surroundings
that Jley were renegades from ciYlliZa-
ron. Twice we had stumbled upon rude
camps occupied ny negroes, and they
We're q t0Ugn-oOhiug lot.
W e mad Travelled a distance Of perhaps
three miles when ! MAS stung on the back
fui tne right hand by an insect resembling
% hornet, although much larger. In If
teen minutes the pain brought me to
lait%aBd my hand was swollen ike "A
put-5an. After consultation, 10 was
decided that should return TO camp, and
the meu would push on by compass and
cover certain area, aud come IN toward
might. Before ! had covered the distance
70 campI was near screaming out with
1.-THE pain, and my arm was pulling up
with the poison.
There was a remedy IN the medicine
ichest. but Ii was a full hour before the
lTain was relieved. Then began to feel
sleepy. and | bunked down and was soon
Hast asleep. AT about noon. after nap
fOl two hours, / Was awakened py the
Sound Of a human voice.
'Say, your
: opened my eyes to find white rene
tpade standing over me, holding one of my
'Tevolyers IN his hand.
"Gitup!"
sat UP. All our goods in camp had
been packed up ana taken away. The
IMAM " no confronted me was the wicked
est-looking fellow we had yet met in the
swamps, His nail and Whiskers were so
Gong and uukempt that4tCle Of his face
ieXceps his ugly black eyes and yellow
N@cth could be seen. Ills clothing was
part cloth and part skins, and it was
plain that he had avoided civilization for
years.
"GIt up and come" he growled.
"WhO are you and what do you want?'
q demanded, az 7 reached my feet.
Wa ~ he commanded, pointing TO the
west.
At that moment a third actor appeared.
1T was woman-tall, gaunt, ferocious,
and dressed in the same nOHdescript cos
tune as the man. She came out of the
Jungle to the west, and as soon as near
enough 10 make her words understood,
she said:
III he won't move down him and tie his
hands and feet. We can tote two sich as
him.
she had the other revolver in her hand,
and / noticed that both had hunting
knives. / was unarned, still weak from
the effects of the poisonous sting, and en-
tirely in their power. The woman struck
1nto the jungle. 1 followed. and the man
brought up the rear.
After a walk of about a quarter Of a
mile we reached the bank OF the lake.
Tied to Tree by rawbide rope was a
floating cabin. The foundation was a
TOugh-made scOW. and the upper works,
As they may he termed, consisted of a
long. narrow, and lstoutly.made hut of
logs. There was alchImney OF mud and
pticks, lrom'Which smoke issued. and two
/pefsols were on the bank to receive us.
One was a boy OF II or 10, and the other a
girl two or three years older. rhey
looked more like Wild animals than hui
man beings, and talked in a language
so strange that 1 could not understand a
word.
$50 ahead" said the man, as l halted
on the bank; and l followed the woman
,, YQard Of the scOw and into the cabin. 1t
X ~ house in which there was but one
To6s, with the hides Ofcattle thrown over
the wild Southern moss for beds. There
was no stove, Int a sort OF fire.
place made OF stones, with two or three
iron kettles on the hearth AS kitchen fur
niture.
All our camp equipage had been re-
moved to the cabin, and my Winchester
rifle stood In the corner. IA this was
then new arm did not believe they
knew how to use il, but my reyolvers
were Colts old pattern and loaded with
powder and used percussion caps.
''SOt thar said the old woman as she
pointed 10 a corner.
went over and sat down on the bed. 1t
was Mt the corner in when my rife
stood, bat the weapon was not more than
len feet away. the woman then said
something 60 the children in their own
monaFel dialect, and both OF them sat
down facing me and only three or four
feet away Then man and wife cast OF
tine rope, seized long poles, and presently
9he boat slowly moved down the lake to
Inc. uoEhus rue ldhe dpptatHu 10 ne ABOUT
three miles vide by i've long, and was
shut in by the dense forest.
The views / had through the open door
and the chinks between the logs showed
me that the craft was kept near the shore.
While the people seemed in no great hur-
by TO get down the lake, they kept the
BcOw moving at a fair pace until we were
about three miles from the place where
we had embarked. A landing was then
made ia the mouth OF a creek, and the
Ecow was entirely hidden from sight of
amy one on the lake. Hunters and tour
lists, aud even small pleasure steamers
rame up from the nam river as far as
inns lake.
1t was mid-afternoOn when the boat
was made fast. The pain and swelling
had now entirely departed from my hand
md arm, and the helpless feeling which
had come over me when first captured had
given way TO a determination to help N.Y.
self out of the scrape. III ! could gel hold
Df my rife J would be a match for tie
whole four Of them. l counted them as
four, because the boy and girl had hunt
1ng knives, and would surely take part
in any scrimmage brought on. Their
looks and actions proved tails. They main
tanned their places directly Ia front OF me,
and their eyes never left me for a sec
and. They held their knivesa as n they ex-
1Dcrtpd Hu attempt TO escape, and meant