The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1906-02-10

GleC
trical storms any of us had ever en-
countered. 1t was beyond the powe
Of description. However, we came on
Of it unscathed. and arrived at oul
destination.
II was the most weird. uncann,
place we ever saw. A narrow, slug
sish stream, with banks bordered with
virgin forests. and no sign of human
habitation; the trees were full OF
birds and monkeys, and they kept ur
an incessant racket that was new and
novel to us, and when night came
| bowls, snarls. growls and screeches
! aDounded till the very air was aquiver
with the animal din. A nice place to
get water, thought we. But the morn
ing brought relief to our ears, and in
Its turn the silence was painful, it
was SO deathly. When daylight came
and it comes all at once in the trop-
ics-a boat was sent on shore to see
how the land lay.
My record as a good shot caused
me to be ordered into the boat as the
"A
short pull brought us to fine pebbly
beach, fringed by soil that showed the
slightest footprints. Within a few
yards OF where our boat landed we
found a beautiful rivulet. running cry
stall waters in abundance. and BY it's
side we saw the footprints of animals
OF all sizes, but what they were we
could only conjecture, though we could
well understand that the din of the
previous night had proceeded from
this watering place" Not long after
our return to the ship the water casks,
"becketed and RATED" were being
towed to the springside, and we work
ed we'll and quickly in filling the
casks, keeping the meanwhile a good
lookout for visit from animals.
Two days were spent in watering
ship, and on the morning of the third :
day the captain concluded he would |
make an excursion a few miles up the |
river. Accordingly his boat was fitted !
out with some provisions, a gun for
each man was put in the boat. with
plenty Of ammunition. and he taking
his rifle, which, by the way, was the
only weapon of its kind on board.
The wind was fair. and we set sail
ana proceeded up the river at a good
pace, enjoying the new and novel
scenery. The captain was in excel
ent humor and interested us very
nuch with yarns of his voyages and ,
adventures, and the time passed rapid
y and very pleasantly all the fore
loon. We ate our lunch. and took in
al and began our return journey. es- |
mating that we had gone up the river I
bout Is miles. 8
The wind was now dead ahead, and
'e out oars for 15-mile pull. mere
rife for well-seasoned whalemen.
sending to the ash, we made the boat }
pin along at lively gait. and were {
ONE five miles away from the turn I
lg point, when suddenly the captain :
Great heavens! Look at
lat t1ser!" And sure enough, lying E
ell out on an overhanging branch J
tree. under which we must pass, I
y a magnificent tiger, evidently
atchlng its chance to spring into our 8
BAT. 10 say that the captain was =
CALLED" conveys but a faint idea OF /
S mental condition. and as for my 2
llpmates, they were sight to be- u
ia. Perhaps my experience at An =
few days previous had fitted me q
be selfpossessed, and perhaps con- g
lent Of my skill with a gun, and r l
lille the captain was in such funk s
said. Captain. let me have your B
lie and l feel sure that can knock al
at fellow off his perch" ~
will confess that the situation was
embarrassing one to those that
the first time were placed in such S
awkward position. c
The captain handed me the rifle, and
an instant l drew a bead and fired,
It as the captain was saying: Now,
ok, don't miss him. l will con-
IS l felt bit shaky myself, for l
ew that if l missed him the chances
re that when he made his spring
meant that he would land in our
lie frail boat, and that would be the
OF the boat, the captain and the
ITS crew. But the bullet went to
mark.
like an arrow from bow the beau
IL creature shot through the air,
We felt the wind Of his form as he
sed only few inches over our
IDS, and with fearful splash went
ow the surface of the water It
; terrible moment of suspense to
of us. but the instant he struck
water the captain regained his
yer Of speech and roared like
Now pull, boys. pull. for Gods
e, boys, pull; let's get out of this
,rnal hole"