Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1886-02-25

family lay down in such way as to
hem me in. For the first three or four
hours they were like cats, starting up
at the slightest move, but toward mid
night / was satisfied that all were
asleep. I could not reach the firearms
without stepping over the bodies, and
they knew that any effort on my part
to loosen log would arouse them.
About midnight, after a long and
cautious effort, / sat up. 1twas star
light night, and, as there was no door
| to the cabin, / could see out. / was
| fully determined to make an effort to
escape, but when I,came to canvass the
chances, had to abandon the idea.
The alligators were constantly about
us, often rearing up to paw at the logs.
and unless l could get hold of the fire.
arms and begin the fight, / should be
wiped out in any effort l made, |
think slept for an hour or two, and
what aroused me can not tell. was
still sitting, and, as looked out upon
the night saw human figure draw
itself up on the bows of the boat. at
first supposed it was one of the family,
but moments observation convinced
me to the contrary. This figure moved
cautiously, as if desiring its presence
unknown and was long time in reach
ing the door. 1t then leaned against
the logs and made long survey of the
interior, and finally sank out of sight.
My heart was beating like a trip-ham-
mer and l could not fathom the mys-
terry. Was it an Indian or another out
law? Moving so cautiously, what OBJ
ject had he in viewp Had l once
thought of Jackson, l should not have
dared to hope he had come to my res
cue through that water; and, too,
could not have believed he knew of my
whereabouts.
From the time first caught sight of
the figure to daylight was probably an
hour and half, but it seemed to me
as if / lived five years. had no
hopes that the man was friend, and
vet | could not look for a new enemy.
Perhaps, after all, it was only one of
the refugee negroes, of whom scores
were hiding in the swamps, who had
made his way to the scow in hopes to
lay hands on provisions or clothing. /
kept my eyes on the spot where l had
last seen him, and, as he did not reap
pear, / began to feel that he had
slipped back into the water, and re-
turned to the shore. u .-a.r
Did you ever watch the coming OF
: daylight when you felt that with i,
, might come some life OF death trans
actionP The first signs came from
the birds! Then, afar up the lake,
Q came the cries of water fowl A fox
, or some other animal stood on the
g shore near where we had tied up the
1 night before and barked in an angry
g voice. The stars paled and drifted oui
of sight, and the interior of the cabin
. began to light up until | could distin
guish the forms of the sleepers.
: Where was the strange man--frient
OF enemyP As if in response to my
query he suddenly rose up, stepped
noiselessly inside the door, and mex
5 instant voice shouted at me:
keep down, Colonel hug thu
Il fioOr!"
rolled over on my face, and IhearC
-, yells, screams and groans. 1t was al
over in thirty seconds, and some ont
called: "All right, Colonel-Tve wipet
/ the varmints out!'
Isprang up to find Jackson standing
in the center of the cabin, and on tn,
u floor lay the outlaw, wife and children
all dead. 1t was as l had argued tn,
o day previous. The two men had sepa
d rated in the woods-Sheen to return
d directly to camp and Jackson to hun
e for supper. The outlaw had ambushei
II Sheen and killed him, and Jackson ha'
k heard the report of the gun and becom
suspicious. He hurried to camp to fin,
If me gone and everything taken, and ha
e traced us to the lake. He found indi
e cations to prove that boat had beel
d used, and he followed the shore of tn
d lake down until he found the scow a
anchor.
Not one in thousand would hav
shown his nerve. He knew of the ALI
rs gators, could see dozen of them NOV
ing about, and yet he disrobed, tied hi
l. weapons across his head, and swar
p straight for the scow, and reached
a unmolested He saw that the only wa
Of was to wipe out all the gang, and a
ID soon as daylight would guide his air
ly he began his work
IN When we had buried our conrad
e we made close search of the floatin
e. cabin, and we found indisputable proc
of the murder of five or six persons.
ne an old wooden bucket were two gol
and three silver watches, several pool
ct knives, half dozen rings, and eigl
hundred and twenty-five dollars
,it gold, silver and greenbacks. As nor
. of these articles could be traced bac
to their owners. and as vengeance ba
overtaken the murderers, we felt Il
IS, hesitation in taking possession of ever.
of thing for the benefit of Sheen's widow
lie. The last act was to set fire to Il
IL scow and push it out into the lake.
, was as merciful to consign the bodi
de to the flames as to see the alligato
ed fight over them. Such human wolv
is, did not deserve burial.-N. Y. San.
hi DUTCH HOUSES.