The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1889-02-08

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Found himself .foumderimg IN the ricer.
BILE rapidity. She had hard work to
weather long promontory on the east
ern shore, round which the river turned,
and which completely shut her from
Dolphs view.
It was on point of the western shore
that he landed, and, scrambling up the
rocks, he threw himself, faint and ex-
hausted, at the foot of tree. By de-
grees the thunder gust passed over. The
clouds rolled away to the east, where
they lay piled in feathery masses, tinted
with the last rosy rays of the sun. The
distant play of the lightning might be
seen about the dark bases, and now and
then might be heard the faint muttering
of the thunder Dolph rose, and sought
about to see if any path led from the
shore; but all was savage and trackiess.
great trunks of trees lay shattered about,
as they had been blown down by the
strong winds which draw through these
The rocks, too, were overhung with
wild vines and briers, which completely
matted themselves together and opposed
q Ddl lCl w oil lllSICoos cNCly llONClu
that he made shook down shower from
the dripping foliage. He attempted to
scale one of these almost perpendicular
heights; but, though strong and agile,
he found it an Herculean undertaking.
Often he was supported merely by
crumbling projections of the rock, and
sometimes he chung to roots and branches
of trees, and hung almost suspended in
1,o ~, la
ing his whistling flight by him, and the
eagle screamed from the brow of the i'm
pending cliff. As he was thus Chamber
ing, he was on the point of Selling hold
of a shrub to aid his ascent, when some
thing, rustled among the leavet, and ne
saw 8 snake quivering along Like light
ming, almost from under his hand. It
coiled itself up Immediately, in an atti-
tude of defiance, with fattened head,
distended jaws. and quickly vibrating
tongue, that played Like a little flame
about it's mouth. Dolph's heart turned
faint within him, and he had well nigh
let go his hold, and tumbled down the
precipice. The serpent stood on the de-
fensive but for an instant; it was an in
stinctive movement Of defense; and find
ing there was no attack, it glided away
into cleft of the rock. Dolph's eye fol-
lowed with fearful intensity; and he saw
at glance that he was in the vicinity
of nest of adders, that lay knotted, and
writhing and kissing in the chasm. he
fastened with all speed to escape from
so frightful neighborhood. His lmag-
ination was full of this new horror; ne
saw an adder in every curling vine, and
heard the tail of rattlesnake in every
dry leaf that rustled
At length he succeeded in scrambllng
to the summit of a precipice; but it was
covered by a dense forest. Wherever
he could gain a lookout between the
trees, he saw that the coast rose IN
heights and cliffs, one rising beyond an,
other, until huge mountains overtopped
the whole. There were no signs OF Gull
tivation, nor any smoke curling amongst
the trees, to indicate human residence.
Everything was wild and solitary. AS
he was standing on the edge OF precl-
pice that overlooked a deep ravlne
fringed with trees, his feet detached
great fragment of rock; it fell, crashing
its way through the tree tops, down into
the chasm. A loud whoop, or rather
yell, issued from the bottom of the glen;
the moment after, there was the report
of gun; and ball came whistling over
his head, cutting the twigs and leaves,
and burying itself deep in the bark OF
chestnut tree.
Dolph did not wait for second shot,
but made precipitate retreat; fearing
every moment to hear the enemy in pur-
suit. He succeeded, however, in return
ing unmolested to the shore, and deter
mined to penetrate no farther into
country so beset with savage perils:
He sat himself down, dripping, discon-
solately, on a'wet stone. What was to
be done? Where was he to shelter him
self? The hour of repose was approach
ing; the birds were seeking their nests;
the bat began to fit about in the twi-
light, and the nighthawk soaring high
in heaven, seemed to be calling out the
stars. Night gradually closed in and
wrapped everything in gloom; and
though it was the latter part of summer,
yet the breeze, stealing along the river,
and among these dripping forests, was
chilly and penetrating, especially to
half drowned man.
As he sat dropping and respondent in
this comfortless condition, he perceived
the shore, where the winding of the river
made a deep bay. It cheered him with
the hopes that here might be some human
habitation, where he might get something
to appease the clamorous cravings of his
stomach, and, what was equally neces-
sary in his shipwrecked condition,
comfortable shelter for the night. 1t was
with extreme difficulty that he made his
way towards the light, along lodges of
rocks down which he was in danger of
sliding into the river, and over great
trunks of fallen trees, some of which had
been blown down in the late storm, and
lay SO thickly together that he had to
struggle through their branches. At
length he came to the brow of rock that
overhung a small dell, from whence the