The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-14

bloody river o. fire under the roarin'
ocean. / can hardly believe it myself, as
l sit here an think it all over. When ]
think of the turrible serpents, nigh onto
seven hundred an fifty feet long,
which SWIM along side o. me with
their scales all a-dripprng with the fire;
the mermaids which would be a-sittin' on
some rock a-combin' their bloQmin' THAR,
an then scuttle- AWAY. as I wodld cali TO
them the bloody old devil fishes, all in a
bloomin' tangle with themselves: the ire
menjeus star fishes as big as mainsail
cllngin' to the walls. Oh it was a won
derful sight, sir, an one 1 shall never for
get! Well. sir, | was that dazed that
never thought where | was. a-comin' to-
when one day, (mayhap it was night
though, for 1t was all the same TO me-,
heard lot o. quick, sharp reports. Just
IKE our little gattling gun aft there when
she's speakin' in hurry, an the water
began to jump an spout in places as
though. some one was sittin' on the bot
tom an shoOtin' a squirt gun up at the
surface. The reports got thicker an
louder, an the Jets o. water higher an
stronger. Billy, my boy says l, there's
trouble goin' on below, an if you don't
look sharp you'll be in it
EThem's the'identical words SAYS, an
no sooner had | said 'em, than sure enough
there was bucket o. trouble. First came
one bang an spout which capsized my
craft an spilled me in the water No
sooner had it stopped spouting the bloom
in lire, than there was one most outrage
Gus noise. All the cavern seemed TO fall
outward. The sea came runnin' and
tumpin' in. the roof blew off and great,
bloody, bloomin' blazin' spout o. water
burst right under me, and shot up, up,
up, with me on top, it's bloomin' force
cuttin' through the bloody ocean like
knife through cheese. l don't know
how long kept goin' up; pretty near an
hour, guess, an a mighty uncomfortable
hour it was, with me holdin' my breath
ali the time.
"All at onct, just before was again
about to give myself up to despair the
bloomin' thing burst through the bloody
oceans top, an with me on top, like
ball on top of one o. those juggler feller's
feet, that bloody water spout tried to
reach the bloomin' sun! You can inn
agine, sir, as how felt very queer lynn
so comfortable like on top o. that water
spout, with all the bloomin ocean at the
other end, but just as was gettin nerv-
Gus like that mayhap that bloody old
waterspout would reach the sun, | heard
gun fired, and looked just in time to see
clipper ship standin' off from the spout
| hadn't more nor time to wonder
what ship she was, when a shot
STRUCK the spout, an the next
minute it had dropped, busted to
smithereens an left me swimmin' in the
ocean. Raisin' high in the water, hailed
the clipper, but she was out o. hearin'.
didn't know wot to do then, beini as how
l was too tired to swim, when all at once
dead fish began TO come to the surface
thousands of 'em, millions of 'em-all
killed, L 'spose by the bloomin' explosion
which sent me up from below. but bein'
as / amt no scientist can't positively say
as to how they died but there they was,
so'thick for a mile that all had TO do was
to climb up on them, an run from fish to
fish as easy as if l was runnin' along this
very deck. AS I run I waved my hands,
an the clipper SEEM me, put off boat to
where the fish ended, and waited for me
to come up.
Imagine my surprise and delight, sir,
when | found that ship to be the identical
one had left eight days before Yes,
sir, it was the old Comet, and you may
believe my mates were glad enough to see
me, bein' as how they thought I'd fallen
through the hawsehole an been snapped
up by sharks. Only eight days away,
but, tell you, sir, it seemed like year,
for six days spent at the bottom of the sea
seems long time in mans life, sir"
STEVENS VAIL.