Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1907-05-10
On Barton's
Reef
By GEORGE fTRElBfRT WALSH
Copyright, 1908. by George E. Walsh


ass, too-me an the rest Of the hunt
ers down here bein' mostly the jack
asses-but live animal is all onsartan
commodity that has what Captain Ken
nelly calls possibilities" I'm meann'
by that that an old diamond back rat
tiers skin an teeth an rattles amt
wurth much pore'n S. down here, but
a live RATHER shipped up north in
cage may bring $50, an, ag'in, it may
be knocked down for an even hundred.
So Captain Kennedy amt never been
in the KILN bisness An was brung
Sby Captain Kennedy! Live an let
i've" that's been our motto, an we've
walked fat-the captain weighs 200. an
/ amt far behind-an' wealthy, not
millionaires exactly, but middlin well
to do.
We amt never regretted bein' kind
an consolidate to the animuls an birds
never except onct, an then the cap
tain said twas my fault. / amt dis
putin him in that, but there Is room
for q Offence Of opinion.
We'd been up the Caloosahatchie one
winter tryin' to bag snakes, birds an
other creepin, crawlin' an flynn crit
tiers when we got wind of mighty Dig,
sassy mountain lion rendOOvooin' up
near Wadin' Landin' The captain de-
cided at onct that we'd bag the critteI.
= Mountain lions was bringing pretty
handsome prices then-the Floridy va
riety bein' little underpriced, for they
amt no biggern a good size dog.
The captain an l sailed up the Ca
loosahatchie ar went campin' on that
big fellows trail, an before a fort
night we had him clip an clean aboard
the Marthy Ann, tied toe an nail an
a-roarin' in box on deck as though
he'd like to eat us alive. We was
mighty tickled at our prize, an we fig
gered on couple of hundred apiece
when we landed him north.
The Marthy Ann warn't much OF q
sailboat, but she was lubbcrln' OLD
craft that did dooty for us for well
nigh q dozen years. When we set sail
down the Caloosahatchie the captain
says:
steve, can't you take the Marthy
Ann to Charlotte Harbor alone? You
can hand the critter over to the rail-
road people there en- get q receipt FOR
- him. | want to get off at Fort Myers
an run up spell to see Cousin
Obadiah. He's real sick, they say"
/ warn't goin' to stand in the way OF
the captains SEEM his sick cousin, SO
l answered with affermashun an SAID
I'd run back to Fort Myers in couple
of days an pick him up. The captain
was mighty pleased, but when / landed
him at Fort Myers he sort of suspish-
-1onedSsomethin an said:
''You f1ink you can manage it alone
all right, Steye?"
"TIl land this old patriarch in Char
lotte Harbor before night or I'll drown
him in the gulf tryin' it," I answered
promptly.
/ didn't know that was maxim a
pretty sure guess of what I'd be dom
before shutdown. jest hove off from
s the dock an turned the Marthy AIMS
nose toward the gulf. l amt much OF
deep water sailor, but l knew the
coast up to Charlotte Harbor toPrably
well an didn't have no misgivin's.
That lion was mighty Quiet-like at
first, but when we got away from the
land an he began to sniff the salt air
of the gulf he sort of got Uneasy. He
was gettin' out of his element, an he
felt sort Of hOmesick. Mebbe 1t was
seasickness. dunno which. Anyhow,
he roared an whined an scratched to
beat the band. He jest kept me COM
pany with his noise, an l didn't have
no time to get lonesome. Onct or twice
he got so scratchy that / took a look
at his cage to see If twas all right.
BartOn's reef is jest ten miles SOU
west of Charlotte HarbOr-a nasty lit
tie, treach'rous shOal that sticks out OF
water at low tide an keeps out OF
sight at food. faint charted, an
sometimes q ship trips up on it an jest
nachurally rips herself to- pieces tryin'
to get off agin.
I don't know what made me forget
Barton's reef, for I'd been round it a
dozen times, an, come to think OF II
now. I'd been nigh wrecked on it Onct
or twice. / amt got no excuse to make
excvpt that lion must have made me
forgetful by his everlastin' roarin'.
First thing l knowed a puff Of wind
keeled the Marthy Ann over, an before
1 could ketch her up ag'in we struck
somethin'. 1t was only sand an mud,
but the keel stuck there, an the next
wind slambanged the old lubberin'
craft clean over on her side. 1 wasn't
foremost through the air an landed
bout twenty feet away.
When went down into the water
expected to find bottom somewhere
less than mile or two, but the sudden
way in which / stopped showed pe
that I was on BartOn'S reef. / was
standin' OH my head in bout foot of
water There was some mud, an that
made sticky standin', but when final
~ got my head out Of it an the water
cleaned out of nose an mouth the
Marthy Ann had drifted away in deep
water.
ran after her, but she was holdin'
Aer own so tantaliZin'-like that l
couldn't gain an inch. swan rOun'
.s3or some minutes, an then to save my
life TUNED back to the reef. l could
see the bare back of it jest shinin'
above the gulf not mOre'n ten yards