Thrilling Adventures by Land and Sea - James O. Brayman
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On the 30th of August, 1813, Fort Mimms, which contained one hundred and
fifty men, under the command of Major Beasely, besides a number of women
and children, was surprised by a party of Indians. The houses were set
on fire, and those who escaped the flames fell victims to the tomahawk.
Neither age nor sex was spared; and the most horrible cruelties, of
which the imagination can conceive, were perpetrated. Out of the three
hundred persons which the fort contained, only seventeen escaped to
carry the dreadful intelligence to the neighboring stations.
This sanguinary and unprovoked massacre excited universal horror, and
the desire of revenge. The state of Tennessee immediately took active
measures for punishing the aggressors. General Jackson was ordered to
draft two thousand of the militia and volunteers of his division; and
General Coffee was directed to proceed with five hundred mounted men to
the frontier of the state. The former, having collected a part of his
force, joined General Coffee on the 12th of October, at Ditto's landing,
on the Tennessee. They then marched to the Ten Islands, in the same
river. A few days afterward, General Coffee was detached with nine
hundred men to attack a body of the enemy, posted at Tallushatchee. He
arrived early in the morning within a short distance of it, and,
dividing his force into two columns, completely surrounded it. The
Indians, for a long time, made a desperate resistance, and did all that
was possible for men to do who were in their situation. But they were
finally overpowered, with the loss of one hundred an eighty-six men.
THE FRESHET.
The freshet at Bangor, Me., in the spring of 1846, is thus described in
"Forest Life and Forest Trees:"
The first injury to the city was from the breaking away of a small
section of the jam, which came down and pressed against the ice on our
banks. By this, twenty houses in one immediate neighborhood, on the west
bank of the river alone, were at once inundated, but without loss of
life. This occurred in the daytime, and presented a scene of magnificent
interest. The effect of this small concussion upon the ice near the city
was terrific. The water rose instantly to such a height as to sweep the
buildings and lumber from the ends of the wharves, and to throw up the
ice in huge sheets and pyramids. This shock was resisted by the great
covered bridge on the Penobscot, which is about one thousand feet in
length, and this gave time to save much property But meanwhile another
auxiliary to the fearful work had been preparing, by the breaking up of
the ice in the Kenduskeag river. This river flows through the heart of
the city, dividing it into two equal portions. The whole flat, on the
margin of the river, is covered with stores and public buildings, and is
the place of merchandise for the city. The Kenduskeag runs nearly at
right angles with the Penobscot, at the point where they unite. The
Penobscot skirts the city on the eastern side, and on the banks of this
river are the principal wharves for the deposit of lumber.
I must mention another circumstance to give you a just idea of our
situation. There is a narrow spot in the river, about a mile below the
city, at High Head, in which is a shoal, and from which the greatest
danger of a jam always arises, and it was this that caused the principal
inundation.
The next incident occurred at midnight, when the bells were rung to
announce the giving way of the ice. It was a fearful sound and scene.
The streets were thronged with men, women, and children, who rushed
abroad to witness the approach of the icy avalanche. At length it came
rushing on with a power that a thousand locomotives in a body could not
vie with; but it was vailed from the eye by the darkness of a hazy
night, and the ear only could trace its progress by the sounds of
crashing buildings, lumber, and whatever it encountered in its pathway,
except the glimpses that could be caught of it by the light of hundreds
of torches and lanterns that threw their glare upon the misty
atmosphere. The jam passed on, and a portion of it pressed through the
weakest portion of the great bridge, and thus, joining the ice below the
bridge, pressed it down to the narrows at High Head. The destruction,
meanwhile, was in progress on the Kenduskeag, which poured down its
tributary ice, sweeping mills, bridges, shops, and other buildings, with
masses of logs and lumber, to add to the common wreck.
At that moment, the anxiety and suspense were fearful whether the jam
would force its way through the narrows, or there stop and pour back a
flood of waters upon the city; for it was from the rise of the water
consequent upon such a jam that the great destruction was to be
apprehended. But the suspense was soon over. A cry was heard from the
dense mass of citizens who crowded the streets on the flat, "The river
is flowing back!" and so sudden was the revulsion, that it required the
utmost speed to escape the rising waters. It seemed but a moment before
the entire flat was deluged; and many men did not escape from their
stores before the water was up to their waists. Had you witnessed the
scene, occurring as it did in the midst of a dark and hazy night, and
had you heard the rushing of the waters, and the crash of the ruins,
and seen the multitudes retreating in a mass from the returning flood,
illumined only by the glare of torches and lanterns, and listened to the
shouts and cries that escaped from them to give the alarm to those
beyond, you would not be surprised at my being reminded of the host of
Pharaoh as they fled and sent up their cry from the Red Sea, as it
returned upon them in its strength.
"The closing scene of this dreadful disaster occurred on Sunday evening,
beginning at about seven o'clock. The alarm was again rung through the
streets that the jam had given way. The citizens again rushed abroad to
witness what they knew must be one of the most sublime and awful scenes
of nature, and also to learn the full extent of their calamity. Few,
however, were able to catch a sight of the breaking up of the jam,
which, for magnitude, it is certain, has not occurred on this river for
more than one hundred years. The whole river was like a boiling
cauldron, with masses of ice upheaved as by a volcano. But soon the
darkness shrouded the scene in part. The ear, however, could hear the
roaring of the waters and the crash of buildings, bridges, and lumber,
and the eye could trace the mammoth ice-jam of four miles long, which
passed on majestically, but with lightning rapidity, bearing the
contents of both rivers on its bosom, The noble covered bridge of the
Penobscot, two bridges of the Kenduskeag, and the two long ranges of
saw-mills, besides other mills, houses, shops, logs, and lumber enough
to build up a considerable village. The new market floated over the
lower bridge across the Kenduskeag, a part of which remains, and, most
happily, landed at a point of the wharves, where it sunk, and formed the
nucleus of a sort of boom, which stopped the masses of floating lumber
in the Kenduskeag, and protected thousands of dollars' worth of lumber
on the wharves below."
THE PANTHER'S DEN.
The occupants of a few log cabins in the vicinity of the Bayou Manlatte,
a tributary of the noble Bay of Pensacola, situated in the western part
of the then territory of Florida, had been for some weeks annoyed by the
mysterious disappearance of the cattle and goats, which constituted
almost the only wealth of these rude countrymen; and the belated
herdsman was frequently startled by the terrible half human cry of the
dreaded panther, and the next morning, some one of the squatters would
find himself minus of a number of cloven feet. About this time I
happened into the settlement on a hunting excursion, in company with
another son of Nimrod, and learning the state of affairs, resolved, if
possible, to rid the "clearing" of its pest, and bind new laurels on our
brows. The night before our arrival, a heifer had been killed within a
few rods of the cabin, and the carcass dragged off toward the swamp,
some two miles distant, leaving a broad trail to mark the destroyer's
path; this being pointed out to us, Ned and myself resolved to execute
our enterprise without delay--this was to "beard the lion in his den."
Having carefully charged our rifles and pistols, and seen that our
bowies were as keen as razors, we set out on the trail, which soon
brought us to the edge of the Bayou Manlatte swamp--which covers a
surface of some thousands of acres, being a dense muddy hammock of teti,
bay, magnolia, cane, grape vines, &c. A perpetual twilight reigned
beneath the dense foliage supported by the rank soil, and our hearts
beat a few more pulsations to the minute, as we left the scorching glare
of the noon day sun, and plunged into the gloomy fastnesses of the bear
and alligator; to these latter gentlemen, whose clumsy forms were
sprawling through the mud on every side, we gave no further heed other
than to keep without the range of the deadly sweep of their powerful
tails, with which they bring their unsuspecting prey within reach of
their saw-like jaws; the bears we did not happen to meet, or we should
most assuredly have given them some of the balls designed for
the panthers.
Well, we followed the trail half a mile into the swamp, when on an
elevated spot, we suddenly encountered the half-devoured body of the
unfortunate heifer, apparently just deserted by the captors. We
cautiously advanced a few paces further over a pavement of bones, "clean
scraped and meatless," and entered an open space, when a sight met my
eyes which certainly made me wish myself safe at home, or in fact,
anywhere else but where I was. About twenty-five feet from us we saw,
instead of one, an old she-panther and two cubs nearly grown, while
directly over them, on the blasted and sloping trunk of an immense
gum-tree, crouched the "old he one of all," lashing his sides fiercely
with his tail, and snorting and spitting like an enraged cat, an example
which was imitated by the three below. Here was a dilemma, on the
particularly sharp horns of which we found ourselves most uncomfortably
situated. To retreat would induce an immediate attack, the consequence
of an advance would be ditto, so we stood _en tableaux_, for a brief
second, our guns cocked and aimed, Ned drawing a bead on the dam, while
I did the same on the sire. It seemed madness to fire. We were not long
uncertain as to our course, for the old fellow suddenly bounded from the
trunk upon me, with a deafening roar. I fired as he sprang, and the
report of my piece was re-echoed by that of Ned's. I sprang aside,
dropping my rifle and drawing my long and heavy knife; it was well I did
so, for the mortally-wounded beast alighted on the very spot I had left.
He turned and sprang upon me. I avoided the blow of its powerful paw,
and grappling with him I rolled on the turf, winding my right arm tight
around his neck, and hugging close to his body to avoid his teeth and
claws, while I dealt rapid thrusts with my knife. I was very powerful;
but never was in a situation where I felt more sensibly the need of
exerting all my muscle. The contest was soon decided--my knife passing
through the brute's heart--
"And panting from the dreadful close,
And breathless all, the champion rose."
And it was full time that I should do so, for Ned, having put a ball
through the head of the dam, was now manfully battling with her two
cubs; the poor fellow was sore pressed, streaming with blood from
numberless scratches, and almost in a state of nature, for the sharp
claws of the cubs had literally undressed him by piecemeal. His savage
assailants also, bore upon their bloody hides numerous tokens of his
prowess in wielding his bowie.
Their system of attack seemed to be to spring suddenly upon him,
striking with their paws, and as they did so, in most instances,
simultaneously, it was impossible for him to defend himself, strong and
active as he was; and had no assistance been at hand, they would
undoubtedly have gained the victory. It was a brave sight though, to see
the tall, strong hunter, meeting their attacks undauntedly, standing
with his left arm raised to defend his head and throat, and darting his
knife into their tough bodies as he threw them from him, but to meet the
next moment their renewed efforts for his destruction.
All this I caught at one glance, as I rushed to his rescue. "Ned!"
shouted I, mad and reckless with excitement, "take the one on your
left!" And we threw ourselves upon them. I met my antagonist in his
onward leap, and making a desperate blow at him, my wrist struck his
paw, and the knife flew far from my hand. There was nothing else for me
but to seize him by the loose skin of the neck with both hands, and hold
on like "grim death," keeping him at arm's length, while his paws beat a
tattoo to a double quick time on my breast and body, stripping my
garments into ribbons in a most workmanlike manner, and ornamenting my
sensitive skin with a variety of lines and characters, done in red--a
process which I did not care to prolong, however, beyond a period when I
could soonest put a stop to the operation.
As I was debating how to attain so desirable an end, the remembrance of
the small rifle pistol, in my belt, and which, till now, in the hurry of
the conflict I had forgotten, suddenly flashed upon my mind, and,
disengaging one hand, I drew it forth, cocked it with my thumb, and the
next moment the panther's brains were spattered in my face.
I turned to look for Ned, and found him trying to free himself from the
dead body of the panther, whose teeth were fastened, in their death
grip, to the small remnant of his hunting coat which hung around his
neck; I separated the strip of cloth with my recovered knife, and we
sank panting to the ground, while our hearts went up in thankfulness for
deliverance from so imminent danger to life and limb. After resting
awhile, we washed the blood--our blood--from our bodies, and decorating
them with "what was left," somewhat after the fashion of the Indian who
wears only a "breech clout," we took the scalps of the four panthers,
and started on our homeward march. Our success was speedily known in the
clearing, and in the evening a barbecue was had in oar honor, to
furnish which a relation of the unfortunate heifer met with a fate
scarcely less terrible. This exploit added not little to our reputation
among the hunter folk.
ADVENTURE WITH ELEPHANTS.
On the 27th, as day dawned, says Mr. Cumming, I left my shooting-hole,
and proceeded to inspect the spoor of my wounded rhinoceros. After
following it for some distance I came to an abrupt hillock, and fancying
that from the summit a good view might be obtained of the surrounding
country, I left my followers to seek the spoor, while I ascended. I did
not raise my eyes from the ground until I had reached the highest
pinnacle of rock. I then looked east, and to my inexpressible
gratification, beheld a troup of nine or ten elephants quietly browsing
within a quarter of a mile of me. I allowed myself only one glance at
them, and then rushed down to warn my followers to be silent. A council
of war was hastily held, the result of which was my ordering Isaac to
ride hard to camp, with instructions to return as quickly as possible,
accompanied by Kleinboy, and to bring me my dogs, the large Dutch
rifle, and a fresh horse. I once more ascended the hillock to feast my
eyes upon the enchanting sight before me, and, drawing out my spy-glass,
narrowly watched the motions of the elephants. The herd consisted
entirely of females, several of which were followed by small calves.
Presently, on reconnoitering the surrounding country, I discovered a
second herd, consisting of five bull elephants, which were quietly
feeding about a mile to the northward. The cows were feeding toward a
rocky ridge that stretched away from the base of the hillock on which I
stood. Burning with impatience to commence the attack, I resolved to try
the stalking system with these, and to hunt the troop of bulls with dogs
and horses. Having thus decided, I directed the guides to watch the
elephants from the summit of the hillock, and with a beating heart I
approached them. The ground and wind favoring me, I soon gained the
rocky ridge toward which they were feeding. They were now within one
hundred yards, and I resolved to enjoy the pleasure of watching their
movements for a little before I fired. They continued to feed slowly
toward me, breaking the branches from the trees with their trunks, and
eating the leaves and tender shoots. I soon selected the finest in the
herd, and kept my eye on her in particular. At length two of the troup
had walked slowly past at about sixty yards, and the one which I had
selected was feeding with two others, on a thorny tree before me.
My hand was now as steady as the rock on which it rested; so, taking a
deliberate aim, I let fly at her head, a little behind the eye. She got
it hard and sharp, just where I aimed, but it did not seem to affect her
much. Uttering a loud cry, she wheeled about, when I gave her the second
ball close behind the shoulder. All the elephants uttered a strange
rumbling noise, and made off in a line to the northward at a brisk
ambling pace, their huge, fan-like ears flapping in the ratio of their
speed. I did not wait to load, but ran back to the hillock to obtain a
view. On gaining its summit, the guides pointed out the elephants: they
were standing in a grove of shady trees, but the wounded one was some
distance behind with another elephant, doubtless its particular friend,
who was endeavoring to assist it. These elephants had probably never
before heard the report of a gun, and, having neither seen nor smelt me,
they were unaware of the presence of man, and did not seem inclined to
go any further. Presently my men hove in sight, bringing the dogs; and
when these came up, I waited some time before commencing the attack,
that the dogs and horses might recover their wind. We then rode slowly
toward the elephants, and had advanced within two hundred yards of them
when, the ground being open, they observed us and made off in an
easterly direction; but the wounded one immediately dropped astern, and
the next moment was surrounded by the dogs, which, barking angrily,
seemed to engross all her attention.
Having placed myself between her and the retreating troop, I dismounted
to fire, within forty yards of her, in open ground. Colesberg was
extremely afraid of the elephants, and gave me much trouble, jerking my
arm when I tried to fire. At length I let fly; but, on endeavoring to
regain my saddle, Colesberg declined to allow me to mount; and when I
tried to lead him, and run for it, he only backed toward the wounded
elephant. At this moment I heard another elephant close behind; and
looking about, I beheld the "friend," with uplifted trunk, charging down
upon me at top speed, shrilly trumpeting, and following an old black
pointer named Schwart, that was perfectly deaf and trotted along before
the enraged elephant quite unaware of what was behind him. I felt
certain that she would have either me or my horse. I, however,
determined not to relinquish my steed, but to hold on by the bridle. My
men, who, of course, kept at a safe distance, stood aghast with their
mouths open, and for a few seconds my position was certainly not an
enviable one. Fortunately, however, the dogs took off the attention of
the elephants; and just as they were upon me, I managed to spring into
the saddle, where I was safe. As I turned my back to mount, the
elephants were so very near that I really expected to feel one of their
trunks lay hold of me. I rode up to Kleinboy for my double-barreled
two-grooved rifle: he and Isaac were pale and almost speechless with
fright. Returning to the charge, I was soon once more alongside and,
firing from the saddle, I sent another brace of bullets into the wounded
elephant. Colesberg was extremely unsteady, and destroyed the
correctness of my aim.
[Illustration: CHARGE OF THE ELEPHANTS.]
The friend now seemed resolved to do some mischief, and charged me
furiously, pursuing me to a distance of several hundred yards. I
therefore deemed it proper to give her a gentle hint to act less
officiously, and, accordingly, having loaded, I approached within thirty
yards, and give it her sharp, right and left, behind the shoulder, upon
which she at once made off with drooping trunk, evidently with a mortal
wound. I never recur to this day's elephant shooting without regretting
my folly in contenting myself with securing only one elephant. The
first was now dying, and could not leave the ground, and the second was
also mortally wounded, and I had only to follow and finish her; but I
foolishly allowed her to escape, while I amused myself with the first,
which kept walking backward, and standing by every tree she passed. Two
more shots finished her: on receiving them, she tossed her trunk up and
down two or three times, and, falling on her broadside against a thorny
tree, which yielded like grass before her enormous weight, she uttered a
deep, hoarse cry, and expired. This was a very handsome old cow
elephant, and was decidedly the best in the troop. She was in excellent
condition, and carried a pair of long and perfect tusks. I was in high
spirits at my success, and felt so perfectly satisfied with having
killed one, that, although it was still early in the day, and my horses
were fresh, I allowed the troop of five bulls to remain unmolested,
foolishly trusting to fall in with them next day.
THE SHARK SENTINEL.
With my companion, one beautiful afternoon, rambling over the rocky
cliffs at the back of the island, (New Providence, W.I.,) we came to a
spot where the stillness and the clear transparency of the water invited
us to bathe. It was not deep. As we stood above, on the promontory, we
could see the bottom in every part. Under the headland, which formed the
opposite side of the cove, there was a cavern, to which, as the shore
was steep, there was no access but by swimming, and we resolved to
explore it. We soon reached its mouth, and were enchanted with its
romantic grandeur and wild beauty. It extended, we found, a long way
back, and had several natural baths, into all of which we successively
threw ourselves; each, as they receded further from the mouth of the
cavern, being colder than the last. The tide, it was evident, had free
ingress, and renewed the water every twelve hours. Here we thoughtlessly
amused ourselves for some time.
At length the declining sun warned us that it was time to take our
departure from the cave, when, at no great distance from us, we saw the
back or dorsal fin of a monstrous shark above the surface of the water,
and his whole length visible beneath it. We looked at him and at each
other in dismay, hoping that he would soon take his departure, and go in
search of other prey; but the rogue swam to and fro, just like a frigate
blockading an enemy's port.
The sentinel paraded before us, about ten or fifteen yards in front of
the cave, tack and tack, waiting only to serve one, if not both of us,
as we should have served a shrimp or an oyster. We had no intention,
however, in this, as in other instances, of "throwing ourselves on the
mercy of the court." In vain did we look for relief from other quarters;
the promontory above us was inaccessible; the tide was rising, and the
sun touching the clear, blue edge of the horizon.
I, being the leader, pretended to a little knowledge in ichthyology, and
told my companion that fish could hear as well as see, and that
therefore the less we said, the better; and the sooner we retreated out
of his sight, the sooner he would take himself off. This was our only
chance, and that a poor one for the flow of the water would soon have
enabled him to enter the cave and help himself, as he seemed perfectly
acquainted with the _locale_, and knew that we had no mode of retreat,
but by the way we came. We drew back out of sight, and I don't know
when I ever passed a more unpleasant quarter of an hour. A suit in
chancery, or even a spring lounge at Newgate, would have been almost a
luxury to what I felt when the shades of night began to darken the mouth
of our cave, and this infernal monster continued to parade, like a
water-bailiff, before its door. At last, not seeing the shark's fin
above the water, I made a sign to Charles, that cost what it might, we
must swim for it, for we had notice to quit by the tide; and if we did
not depart, should soon have an execution in the house. We had been
careful not to utter a word, and, silently pressing each other by the
hand, we slipped into the water; and, recommending ourselves to
Providence, struck out manfully. I must own I never felt more assured of
destruction, not even when I once swam through the blood of a poor
sailor--while the sharks were eating him--for the sharks then had
something to occupy them; but this one had nothing else to do but to
look after us--we had the benefit of his undivided attention.