Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-02-06
THE BEAK AND rms 7STEAMER.
Culture EnaOuntssrs the Savage on the
st, JOhn'EGsThaEfuiit sr ahdVhe Hunted
FT4ME1 the RdsaEtsai7 F5a.l Yelos.

st, JOhn'EGlThaHuIise ahdbhe Hunted
FraM the R6Ea!ta2 jFSa.l yeps.
1t was high7noDn. oyFrom above a food
of golden stinshine poured down upon the
dimpling waters of Lake Dexter as If the
freeze had never been other than a dim
recollection handed down from 1885, aud
oaks and palmettoes and distant pines
stood green as In summer, and opened ev-
cry pore to The grateful warmth.
Nor was inanimate nature alone in its
sensuOus enjoyment of the kindly heat,
the soft b. eeze and the joyous influence Of
the hour. A fisherman mad pushed his
light boat far into the lily-pads and was
now rocked with ITEM by the gentle
waves wPich rose and fell with a regu-
larity, musicalandrbythm to his dreamy
ear. That he nad1been busy was proved
by the victims at his feet, but the rod hal
dropped from his hand when he reached
Tor mis- pipe, and he had abandoned him
self laisly to the lisJiessness which urged
that since enough tsn had already been
caught for dinner it WAS useless as well
as cruel to break dream for the sake of
killing more.
But the hunters FIRE flashed into his
eyes and electrified every muscle into
new lite rs he caught the sound of "a
heavy tread in the thIcket near him, and
he nOiselessly igraspFd the rife which lay
ready TO his n and.l steadily the tramp,
tramp .OOntinued, 4illoza bear brushed
aside the underground and paused on
the margin on ithe4sLkelniEvid ently Bruin
was suspicious, f0fs he sat upon bis
launches atds tur19d 6is face eagerly
upwards as 6e solight "the tain ted gale
for warning Of Possible foes, But he
wrinkled his nose in vain, for the only
enemYnear waS the quiet fisherman who
smiled to thinsDtha0 Is was down the
wind" lhenUBruin, stood on his feet
again ana iistehed.t There were no sounds
save the rustlfnk Or che spalmettoes, the
sharp patter ofthe oaks, the distant vail
ing OF the pines, anu the shsti-p notes
of a cat-bird sc9ldipg the stranger who
was evidently an unusual visitor. No
DOUBT the forest voices aroused IN his brute
heart dim yesrnings for the time, iradi-
tiOnary TO him, when the rife had not
vet extingulshed ALI A0pei of successful
issue to a combat with man; OF this,
however, be said nothing TO the silent
fisherman, but only walked boldly into
the lake and bsganJto sWim Outwafds.
Did he intend to iasi sti0n snare OF the
1shermaH's dinner Tue rifie WAS raised
for a second, hut then 'ibwered with
smile and the pipe resumed as the bear
struck out tor tbe'0bpeeite shore, distant
nearly three miles. How bravely the
forest monarch ~ ath-hbw his sturdy
limbs tossed aside the water and how
well ne bore himself 81 al element 80 diff
ferent from his native heath.
But q sound asOi distSnt thunder sa-
luies his ears. aud his measured strOkeas
changed 10 one quckened by fear as he
anxiously turns his bead southwark. The
same SOUND eOnles, also 10 the fisherman,
for he laughs long and loud and watches
the scene with renewed interest. The
Phlistines are upon thee, SAMPSON the
strength OF the many threaten the brute
force of the giant With a rush rs of
thousand wlngs-guided by the thought
Of "a century, wherein the wlld beast aud
the savage has no piace-with shrek
that sounds to poor Bruin like
a roar OF triumph, The steamer Anita
emerges from tue narrow river into the
lake. Captain Bravo himself Is in the
pilot house, ana at his summons Purser
TRAY, marshals the passengers 70 see the
poor bears agony. Faster swims the
sayage-onward rushes the steamer, and
more eager is tue mass Of cultured hui
manity TO see the poor beasts terror.
They scream and point as he rolls his eye
In frenzy not poetic--they laugh more
wildly as be plunges through the
waters and delicate ladies' who pet
their kittens and kiss their pOOdles
watch delighted till the bear, almost ex-
hausted, reaches the shore and brushes
through the thicket in fear and tremb-
ling. Then the steamer returns 70 her
course, civilization sits down " dinner.
and has new experience OF which 70
boast Ia detailing the adventures OF
winter In Florida. Poor Bruln, ALEC, has
met with new experience, OF which
the memory will never die until the iney-
table bullet Of the hunter transforms the
huge muscles from living desn % market
able meat, and the stupid brain loses at
last the Impression made by the first con-
tact with the ''mOst cultured civilization
OF the century" The captain OF the
steamer has a new tale for his thirsty
passengers-those who saw aud be who
suffered will soon be widely separated,
aud the moral eeen by the fisherman is Of
interest 10 none but himself.