Year: 1874

to the forest and to man. Our hOm'


stood directly in the old path, ant


the leaning and falling troes showei


how terribly sure was the great plov


making its fdrrow. Nature had har


messed the Mississippi. y I,


Aunt Sarah was perfectly calm


as she said SNOW You is looked


enough. Get all lie warm dresses


an jewellery an some blankets


while l puts on dry close an gett


an axe" ,s.mW" s.ei3m


can axe" said /; ,"what forir'
ITO prize up the porch tlo Or an


make q raft, my precious. Dis house


will wash away by day break" IL p
y, I. saw that too, and hesitation and


delay were over. My husbands


valuable papers were first secured,


and then clothing, money, plate and
jewelry. BY the time I had begun


to roll mp blankets Aunt Sarah was


in warm, dry clothes, and l heard


the crash, as her strong arm smote


down doors and window. blinds, a. nd


soon began to cut and pry at the


long, narrow planks of the veranda


floor. I brought an iron bar from


the t0olrOom on the tlrst-h00r, and


by our united strength we overcame


the tenacious nails, and stripped up


board after board. A few blows on
the lower ceiling made a hole, and


We dropped them through, where
they lay almost on level with the


water. I never knew before that l


was strong when excited, and the


soreness and blistered hands were
not thought OF till the next day.
Still it was my old nurse who
thought Of everything, and talked
to me in her queer way, as if l was
still her child. There were some
large and massive French bedsteads
in tho sleeping-room on the first
floor, and by our united strength we
turned them edgeways and pushed
them through the windows that
opened to the veranda floor. While
the stout old woman arranged the
long boards across them, l was sent
to the store of farm implements in
the building, and told to bring ev.
cry rope and plow.line and ball of
twine I could find. These we're
abundant, and the boards were wo-
ven together like the bottom. of a
huge basket. and laced to the sides
and ends of the bedsteads. Then
we tied strong cords for cables, and
rolled them off into the water.
They dipped down and were wet;
but that did not matter, SO they
floated again. We got the two side
and side and securely fastened to.
gether; then doors and window.
were laid on or tied up for
sides ; and finally Gotten mattresses
were put on to keep us above the
water. Then came trunks and val.
and when we had all that
it was safe to take, or that was at
onoe small and valuable, we paused
to see If our peril grew. The yard
fence, not one hundred yards away,
was leaning OH the verge of some
unseen gulf, and the oaks for half
a mile wide we're all gone. It was
their splash we had heard as We
worked. We had no oars, nor skill
to use them if we had, and the best
poles we could find for pushing were
the long, slender canes used for
fishing. Then came a supply of
food and candles; and as the lull
followed the heat and excitement of
labor, the terror Of the inexorable
river and of our frail raft eoould
come and make the heart sick.


We had no time to delay. BY
means of poles and ropes we man.
aged to push and warp the clumsy
raft around the corner of the house,
and then tried to make it float up |
INTO the elbow, where the cutoff was
not likely to follow us. We got |
! little ways, but the suck Of the
current was too strong for us. So
W. tied up to a crape.myrtle, and
waited for the crumbling bank to
,each US. The moon went down
md there were only the silent stars
above the low monotone of the wa.
;ers.


Silently We waited and prayed.
We were warm and dry, as only the
bottom mattress became soaked.
About the break Of day the house
began to lean. The negroes on the
evee had retreated from the widen.
ng river, and their fire been sub
As the sun arose the house