Thrilling Adventures by Land and Sea - James O. Brayman
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My sensations were indescribably horrible. I may occasionally write or
talk of the circumstance with levity, but whenever I recall it to mind,
I tremble at the bare recollection of the dreadful fate that seemed
inevitable. My companion was not so expert a swimmer as I was, so that I
distanced him many feet, when I heard him utter a faint cry. I turned
round, convinced that the shark had seized him, but it was not so; my
having left him so far behind had increased his terror, and induced him
to draw my attention. I returned to him, held him up, and encouraged
him. Without this he would certainly have sunk; he revived with my help,
and we reached the sandy beach in safety, having eluded our enemy, who,
when he neither saw nor heard us, had, as I concluded he would,
quitted the spot.
Once more on terra firma, we lay gasping for some minutes before we
spoke. What my companions thoughts were, I do not know; mine were
replete with gratitude to God, and renewed vows of amendment; and I have
every reason to think, that although Charles had not so much room for
reform as myself, that his feelings were perfectly in unison with
my own.
We never repeated this amusement, though we frequently talked of our
escape and laughed at our terrors, yet, on these occasions, our
conversation always took a serious turn; and, upon the whole, I am
convinced that this adventure did us both a vast deal of good.
[ILLUSTRATION: HUNTING THE TIGER]
HUNTING THE TIGER.
A Gentleman in the civil service of the British East India Company,
relates the following:
"When a tiger springs on an elephant, the latter is generally able to
shake him off under his feet, and then woe be to him. The elephant
either kneels on him and crushes him at once, or gives him a kick which
breaks half his ribs, and sends him flying perhaps twenty paces. The
elephants, however, are often dreadfully torn; and a large old tiger
clings too fast to be thus dealt with. In this case it often happens
that the elephant himself falls, from pain, or from the hope of rolling
on his enemy; and the people on his back are in very considerable danger
both from friends and foes. The scratch of a tiger is sometimes
venomous, as that of a cat is said to be. But this does not often
happen; and, in general, persons wounded by his teeth or claws, if not
killed outright, recover easily enough.
"I was at Jaffna, at the northern extremity of the Island of Ceylon, in
the beginning of the year 1819: when, one morning, my servant called me
an hour or two before my usual time, with, 'Master, master! people sent
for master's dogs--tiger in the town!' Now, my dogs chanced to be some
very degenerate specimens of a fine species, called the _Poligar_ dog,
which I should designate as a sort of wiry-haired grayhound, without
scent. I kept them to hunt jackals; but tigers are very different
things: by the way, there are no real tigers in Ceylon; but leopards and
panthers are always called so, and by ourselves as well as by the
natives. This turned out to be a panther. My gun chanced not to be put
together; and while my servant was doing it, the collector, and two
medical men, who had recently arrived, came to my door, the former armed
with a fowling-piece, and the latter with remarkably blunt hog-spears.
They insisted upon setting off without waiting for my gun, a proceeding
not much to my taste. The tiger (I must continue to call him so) had
taken refuge in a hut, the roof of which, as those of Ceylon huts in
general, spread to the ground like an umbrella; the only aperture into
it was a small door, about four feet high. The collector wanted to get
the tiger out at once. I begged to wait for my gun; but no--the
fowling-piece (loaded with ball, of course) and the two hog-spears were
quite enough. I got a hedge-stake, and awaited my fate, from very shame.
At this moment, to my great delight, there arrived from the fort an
English officer, two artillery-men, and a Malay captain; and a pretty
figure we should have cut without them, as the event will show. I was
now quite ready to attack, and my gun came a minute afterward. The whole
scene which follows took place within an enclosure, about twenty feet
square, formed, on three sides, by a strong fence of palmyra leaves, and
on the fourth by the hut. At the door of this the two artillery-men
planted themselves; and the Malay captain got on the top, to frighten
the tiger out, by worrying it--an easy operation, as the huts there are
covered with cocoa-nut leaves. One of the artillery-men wanted to go in
to the tiger, but we would not suffer it. At last the beast sprang; this
man received him on his bayonet, which he thrust apparently down his
throat, firing his piece at the same moment. The bayonet broke off
short, leaving less than three inches on the musket; the rest remained
in the animal, but was invisible to us: the shot probably went through
his cheek, for it certainly did not seriously injure him, as he
instantly rose upon his legs, with a loud roar, and placed his paws upon
the soldier's breast. At this moment, the animal appeared to me to about
reach the center of the man's face; but I had scarcely time to observe
this, when the tiger, stooping his head, seized the soldier's arm in his
mouth, turned him half round staggering, threw him over on his back,
and fell upon him. Our dread now was, that if we fired upon the tiger,
we might kill the man: for a moment there was a pause, when his comrade
attacked the beast exactly in the same manner as the gallant fellow
himself had done. He struck his bayonet into his head; the tiger rose at
him--he fired; and this time the ball took effect, and in the head. The
animal staggered backward, and we all poured in our fire. He still
kicked and writhed; when the gentlemen with the hog-spears advanced, and
fixed him, while the natives finished him, by beating him on the head
with hedge-stakes. The brave artillery-man was, after all, but slightly
hurt: he claimed the skin, which was very cheerfully given to him. There
was, however, a cry among the natives that the head should be cut off:
it was; and in so doing, the knife came directly across the bayonet. The
animal measured scarcely less than four feet from the root of the tail
to the muzzle There was no tradition of a tiger having been in Jaffna
before; indeed, this one must have either come a distance of almost
twenty miles, or have swam across an arm of the sea nearly two in
breadth; for Jaffna stands on a peninsula, on which there is no jungle
of any magnitude."
INDIAN DEVIL.
There is an animal in the deep recesses of the forests of Maine,
evidently belonging to the feline race, which, on account of its
ferocity, is significantly called "Indian Devil"--in the Indian
language, "the Lunk Soos;" a terror to the Indians, and the only animal
in New England of which they stand in dread. You may speak of the moose,
the bear, and the wolf even, and the red man is ready for the chase and
the encounter. But name the object of his dread, and he will
significantly shake his head, while he exclaims, "He all one debil!"
An individual by the name of Smith met with the following adventure in
an encounter with one of these animals on the Arromucto, while on his
way to join a crew engaged in timber-making in the woods.
He had nearly reached the place of encampment, when he came suddenly
upon one of these ferocious animals. There was no chance for retreat,
neither had he time for reflection on the best method of defence or
escape. As he had no arms or other weapons of defence, his first
impulse, in this truly fearful position, unfortunately, perhaps, was to
spring into a small tree near by; but he had scarcely ascended his
length when the desperate creature, probably rendered still more fierce
by the promptings of hunger, sprang upon and seized him by the heel.
Smith, however, after having his foot badly bitten, disengaged it from
the shoe, which was firmly clinched in the creature's teeth, and let him
drop. The moment he was disengaged, Smith sprang for a more secure
position, and the animal at the same time leaped to another large tree,
about ten feet distant, up which he ascended to an elevation equal to
that of his victim, from which he threw himself upon him, firmly fixing
his teeth in the calf of his leg. Hanging suspended thus until the
flesh, insufficient to sustain the weight, gave way, he dropped again to
the ground, carrying a portion of flesh in his mouth. Having greedily
devoured this morsel, he bounded again up the opposite tree, and from
thence upon Smith, in this manner renewing his attacks, and tearing away
the flesh in mouthfuls from his legs. During this agonizing operation,
Smith contrived to cut a limb from the tree, to which he managed to bind
his jack-knife, with which he could now assail his enemy at every leap.
He succeeded thus in wounding him so badly that at length his attacks
were discontinued, and he finally disappeared in the dense forest.
During the encounter, Smith had exerted his voice to the utmost to alarm
the crew, who, he hoped, might be within hail. He was heard, and in a
short time several of the crew reached the place, but not in time to
save him from the dreadful encounter. The sight was truly appalling. His
garments were not only rent from him, but the flesh literally torn from
his legs, exposing even the bone and sinews. It was with the greatest
difficulty he made the descent of the tree. Exhausted through loss of
blood, and overcome by fright and exertion, he sunk upon the ground and
immediately fainted; but the application of snow restored him to
consciousness. Preparing a litter from poles and boughs, they conveyed
him to the camp, washed and dressed his wounds, as well as circumstances
would allow, and, as soon as possible, removed him to the settlement,
where medical aid was secured. After a protracted period of confinement,
he gradually recovered from his wounds, though still carrying terrible
scars, and sustaining irreparable injury. Such desperate encounters are,
however of rare occurrence, though collisions less sanguinary are not
infrequent.
BEAR FIGHT.
A sanguinary encounter with bears took place in the vicinity of
Tara-height, on the Madawaska river, a few years since:
"A trap had been set by one of the men, named Jacob Harrison, who, being
out in search of a yoke of oxen on the evening in question, saw a young
bear fast in the trap, and three others close at hand in a very angry
mood, a fact which rendered it necessary for him to make tracks
immediately. On arriving at the farm, he gave the alarm, and, seizing an
old dragoon sabre, he was followed to the scene of action by Mr. James
Burke, armed with a gun, and the other man with an axe.
"They proceeded direct to the trap, supplied with a rope, intending to
take the young bear alive. It being a short time after dark, objects
could not be distinctly seen; but, on approaching close to the scene of
action, a crashing among the leaves and dry branches, with sundry other
indications, warned them of the proximity of the old animals. When
within a few steps of the spot, a dark mass was seen on the ground--a
growl was heard--and the confined beast made a furious leap on Jacob,
who was in advance, catching him by the legs. The infuriated animal
inflicted a severe wound on his knee, upon which he drew his sword and
defended himself with great coolness.
"Upon receiving several wounds from the sabre, the cub commenced to
growl and cry in a frightful and peculiar manner, when the old she-bear,
attracted to the spot, rushed on the adventurous Harrison, and attacked
him from behind with great ferocity. Jacob turned upon the new foe, and
wielded his trusty weapon with such energy and success, that in a short
time he deprived her of one of her fore paws by a lucky stroke, and
completely disabled her, eventually, by a desperate cut across the neck,
which divided the tendons and severed the spinal vertebrae. Having
completed his conquest, he had ample time to dispatch the imprisoned cub
at leisure."
"During the time this stirring and dangerous scene, we have related, was
enacting, war was going on in equally bloody and vigorous style at a
short distance. Mr. Burke, having discharged his gun at the other old
bear, only slightly wounded him; the enraged Bruin sprang at him with a
furious howl. He was met with a blow from the butt-end of the
fowling-piece. At the first stroke, the stock flew in pieces, and the
next the heavy barrel was hurled a distance of twenty feet among the
underwood by a side blow from the dexterous paw of the bear. Mr. Burke
then retreated a few feet, and placed his back against a large hemlock,
followed the while closely by the bear, but, being acquainted with the
nature of the animal and his mode of attack, he drew a large hunting
knife from his belt, and, placing his arms by his side, coolly awaited
the onset.
"The maddened brute approached, growling and gnashing his teeth, and,
with a savage spring, encircled the body of the hunter and the tree in
his iron gripe. The next moment, the flashing blade of the _couteau
chasse_ tore his abdomen, and his smoking entrails rolled upon the
ground. At this exciting crisis of the struggle, the other man,
accompanied by the dog, came up in time to witness the triumphal close
of the conflict.
"Two old bears and a cub were the fruit of this dangerous adventure--all
extremely fat--the largest of which, it is computed, would weigh upward
of two hundred and fifty pounds. We have seldom heard of a more
dangerous encounter with bears, and we are happy to say that Mr. Burke
received no injury; Mr. Jacob Harrison, although torn severely, and
having three ribs broken, recovered under the care of an Indian doctor
of the Algonquin tribe."
THE MINERS OF BOIS-MONZIL.
On Tuesday, February 22, 1831, a violent detonation was suddenly heard
in the coal mine of Bois-Monzil, belonging to M. Robinot. The waters
from the old works rushed impetuously along the new galleries. "The
waters, the waters!" such was the cry that resounded from the affrighted
workmen throughout the mine. Only ten miners out of twenty-six were able
to reach the entrance. One of them brought off in his arms, a boy eleven
years old, whom he thus saved from sudden death; another impelled by the
air and the water, to a considerable distance, could scarcely credit his
escape from such imminent danger; a third rushed forward with his sack
full of coals on his shoulders, which, in his fright, he had never
thought of throwing down.
The disastrous news, that sixteen workmen had perished in the mine of M.
Robinot, was soon circulated in the town of St. Etienne. It was regarded
as one of those fatal and deplorable events unfortunately, too common in
that neighborhood, and on the ensuing Thursday it was no longer talked
of. Politics, and the state of parties in Paris, exclusively occupied
the public attention.
The engineers of the mines, however, and some of their pupils, who, on
the first alarm, had hastened to the spot, still remained there,
continuing their indefatigable endeavors to discover the miners who were
missing. Nothing that mechanical science, manual labor, and
perseverance, prompted by humanity, could perform, was left undone.
Thirty hours had already elapsed since the fatal accident, when two
workmen announced the discovery of a jacket and some provisions
belonging to the miners. The engineers immediately essayed to penetrate
into the galleries where these objects had been found, which they
accomplished with much difficulty, by crawling on their hands and feet.
In vain they repeatedly called aloud; no voice, save the echo of their
own, answered from those narrow and gloomy vaults. It then occurred to
them to strike with their pickaxes against the roof of the mine. Still
the same uncheering silence! Listen! yes! the sounds are answered by
similar blows! Every heart beats, every pulse quickens, every breath is
contracted; yet, perhaps, it is but an illusion of their wishes--or,
perhaps, some deceitful echo. They again strike the vaulted roof. There
is no longer any doubt. The same number of strokes is returned. No words
can paint the varied feelings that pervaded every heart. It was (to use
the expression of a person present) a veritable delirium of joy, of
fear, and of hope.
Without losing an instant, the engineers ordered a hole to be bored in
the direction of the galleries, where the miners were presumed to be; at
the same time, they directed, on another point, the formation of an
inclined well, for the purpose of communicating with them.
Two of the engineer's pupils were now dispatched to the mayor of St.
Etienne, to procure a couple of fire pumps, which they conducted back to
the mine, accompanied by two firemen. In the ardor of youthful humanity,
these young men imagined that the deliverance of the miners was but the
affair of a few hours; and, wishing to prepare an "agreeable surprise"
for the friends of the supposed victims, they gave strict injunctions at
the mayoralty to keep the object of their expedition a profound secret.
Notwithstanding the untiring efforts made to place these pumps in the
mine, it was found impossible. Either they were upon a plane too much
inclined to admit of their playing with facility, or the water was too
muddy to be received up the pipes; they were therefore abandoned. In
the meantime, the attempts made to reach the miners by sounding or by
the inclined well, seemed to present insurmountable difficulties. The
distance to them was unknown; the sound of their blows on the roof, far
from offering a certain criterion, or, at least, a probable one, seemed
each time to excite fresh doubts; in short, the rock which it was
necessary to pierce, was equally hard and thick, and the gunpowder
unceasingly used to perforate it, made but a hopeless progress. The
consequent anxiety that reigned in the mine may be easily conceived.
Each of the party, in his turn, offered his suggestions, sometimes of
hope, sometimes of apprehension; and the whole felt oppressed by that
vague suspense, which is, perhaps, more painful to support than the
direst certainty. The strokes of the unfortunate miners continued to
reply to theirs, which added to their agitation, from the fear of not
being able to afford them effectual help. They almost thought that in
such a painful moment their situation was more distressing than those
they sought to save, as the latter were, at any rate, sustained by hope.
While most of the party were thus perplexed by a crowd of disquieting
ideas, produced by the distressing nature of the event itself, and by
their protracted stay in a mine where the few solitary lamps scarcely
rendered "darkness visible," the workmen continued their labors with
redoubled ardor; some of them were hewing to pieces blocks of the rock,
which fell slowly and with much difficulty; others were actively
employed in boring the hole before named, while some of the engineers'
apprentices sought to discover new galleries, either by creeping on "all
fours," or by penetrating through perilous and narrow crevices and
clefts of the rock.
In the midst of their corporeal and mental labors, their attention was
suddenly excited from another painful source. The wives of the hapless
miners had heard that all hope was not extinct. They hastened to the
spot; with heart-rending cries and through tears alternately of despair
and hope, they exclaimed, "Are they _all_ there?" "Where is the father
of my children? Is _he_ among them, or has he been swallowed up by
the waters?"
At the bottom of the mine, close to the water-reservoir, a consultation
was held on the plan to be pursued. Engineers, pupils, workmen, all
agreed that the only prospect of success consisted in exhausting the
water, which was already sensibly diminished, by the working of the
steam-pump; the other pumps produced little or no effect,
notwithstanding the vigorous efforts employed to render them
serviceable. It was then proposed remedying the failure of these pumps
by _une chaine a bras_, viz, by forming a line, and passing buckets from
one to the other; this method was adopted, and several of the pupils
proceeded with all speed to St. Etienne. It was midnight. The _generale_
was beat in two quarters of the town only. The Hotel de Ville was
assigned as the place of rendezvous. On the first alarm, a great number
of persons hurried to the town-hall, imagining a fire had broken out,
but, on ascertaining the real cause, several of them returned home,
apparently unmoved. Yet these same persons, whose supposed apathy had
excited both surprise and indignation, quickly reappeared on the scene,
dressed in the uniform of the National Guard. So powerful is the magic
influence of organized masses, marching under the orders of a chief, and
stimulated by _l'esprit de corps_.
It was truly admirable to see with what address and rapidity the three
or four hundred men, who had hastened to Bois-Monzil, passed and
repassed the buckets, by forming a chain to the bottom of the mine. But
their generous efforts became too fatiguing to last long. Imagine a
subterranean vault, badly lighted, where they were obliged to maintain
themselves in a rapid descent in a stooping posture, to avoid striking
their heads against the roof of the vault, and, most of the time, up to
the middle in the water, which was dripping from every side; some idea
may then be formed of their painful situation. They were relieved from
this laborious duty by the _Garde Nationale_ of St. Etienne, whose zeal
and enthusiasm exceeded all praise. But a more precious reinforcement
was at hand; the workmen from the adjacent mines now arrived in great
numbers. From their skill and experience every thing might be expected;
if they failed there was no further hope.
The _chaine a bras_ was again renewed by companies of the National
Guard, relieved every two hours, who, at respective distances, held the
lights, and under whose orders they acted. It was a cheering spectacle
to behold citizens of all ranks engaged in one of the noblest offices of
humanity, under the direction of poor colliers.
The immense advantages of the organization of the National Guard, were
never more strikingly exemplified than on this occasion. Without them,
there would have been no means or possibility of uniting together an
entire population; of leading the people from a distance of more than
three miles, night and day, so as to insure a regular and continued
service; all would have been trouble and confusion. With them, on the
contrary, every thing was ready, and in motion, at the voice of a single
chief; and the whole was conducted with such precision and regularity
as had never on similar occasions, been witnessed before.
The road from St. Etienne to Bois-Monzil, exhibited a scene of the most
animated kind. In the midst of the motley and moving multitude, the
National Guards were seen hurrying to and fro; chasseurs, grenadiers,
cavalry and artillery-men, all clothed in their rich new costume, as on
a field day. Some of the crowd were singing _a la Parisienne_, others
were lamenting, praying, hoping, despairing, and, by "fits and starts,"
abandoning themselves to those opposite extravagances of sentiment so
peculiarly characteristic of a French population. When night drew her
sable curtains around, the picturesque of the scene was still more
heightened. Fresh bands of miners, conducted by their respective chiefs,
coming in from every side; their sooty visages lighted up by glaring
torches; National Guards arriving from different parts of the country,
to join their comrades of St. Etienne; farmers and peasants, on
horseback and afoot, hastening to offer their humane aid; sentinels
posted--muskets piled--watch-fires blazing, and, in short, the _tout
ensemble_ rendered the approaches of Bois-Monzil like a bivouac on the
eve of an expected battle; happily, however, the object of these brave
men was to preserve life and not to destroy it.
On Saturday, the _chaine a bras_ was discontinued, as the engineers had
brought the pumps effectually to work. Suddenly a cry of joy was echoed
from mouth to mouth, "They are saved! they are saved! six of them are
freed from their subterraneous prison!" shouted a person at the entrance
of the mine. The rumor was instantly repeated along the crowd, and a
horseman set off at full speed for St. Etienne, with the gratifying
news; another followed, and confirmed the report of his predecessor. The
whole town was in motion, and all classes seemed to partake of the
general joy, with a feeling as if each had been individually interested.
In the exuberance of their delight they were already deliberating on the
subject of a _fete_, to celebrate the happy event, when a third horsemen
arrived. The multitude thronged round him, expecting a more ample
confirmation of the welcome tidings. But their joy was soon turned to
sorrow, when they were informed that nothing had yet been discovered,
save the dead bodies of two unfortunate men, who, together had left
eleven children to lament their untimely fate.