Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ft?ft STOMTKK WATCHMAN, Established April, 1850. Consolidated Aug. 2, 1881.1 "Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at, bsr thy Country's, thy God's and Tran's SUMTER. S. C.. "WET>NESDJLY, OCTOBER 19, 1887. THE TRUSS SCTJTHEON, Established Jane, 180** Kew Series-toi. YII. Ko. lh Sublimed ?Tory Wednesday, BY * N. Gk OSTEEN, SUMTER, S. C*. TSRM8: Two Dollars por an nam 'in advance. A D V C R TI 3 5 K B HOP S . J**e Square, first insertion.$1 00 ?very suksequen !. insertion. 50 . Contracts forthree*TnonAs%.or longer will 1? made at reduced rates. All communication? whick-subserve private interests will be charged for as advertisements. Obituaries and tributes of respect will be ^narced for. NEW STORE, Fresh, Sweet Goods. Before bayiog yoor Groceries call st oar ' Store and Examine oar Stock and j Price oar'Goods Toa will Sod . j PRICES TO SUIT THE TIMES. We don't want a fortune, it is onlj a liv- | iog, therefore .we believe in "Quick Sales and Small Profitsr ! ts our Stock one can find everything that is ? kept in a well assorted Fancy Grocery Store. - In future there will be NO USE OR EXCUSE for one to send to Charleston for anything in the Fancy Grocery Line, because they can get wnytfmrg ihat they want or tbeir appetite Craves at our Store, and by buying here ooe wi?> have the satis/action of knowing what they are getting. Njot ooly that, but we can Ave buyers freight on their goods X?. Frank E. Taylor, of Charleston, says: Ofife Brisp More Moiey in Sumter thau-it does in Charleston. Now, why does it bring more here than it does in Charleston ? The Noes axd Courier correspondent of Sum? ter answers that question io bis com m a men? tion of the 14th, when he says' toe fanners sell the cotton to the merchants with .the under? standing thal a part?V not the whole value of j the cotton xs to be traded out with tbe boyer, and if this contract is carried out io good faith, the merchant tnust charge an additional profit to that which he would sell for cash to Cover the probable loss OD the cotton, ?c. Now we handle no cotton. We Bay and Sell For- Cash, and we have no cotton losses, stariag-os ip the face, therefore one need bave no fear of our - charging an additional profit. I?&iMteeFtWfflitste.M, A5nd money refunded if goods do notxome up to recommendation. . We allow DO misrep Mseotation. We sell good Coffee at 22Je ; the best at ?c. perpoood. Pure Sugars from 6c. np. fry "our teas *: 65c. ;. they are as good as tie dollar tea. We bandle Slaty 38 W*H & Fancy Groceries, ANT) WE SELL AT BOCK BOTTOM PRICES. In oar ORV GOODS, Shoe and Hat Stocks. there will ->e fo -nd many bargains. No " trouble to show gooda: its fine Ba! and Congress Shoes at $1.50, $3 00" ? - Boys Bala, at $1.15", worth" fully $1.50 anywhere. Women's Shoes frorr. $1.00 up. You ought to see what a stylish shoe we have for ladies from No. 1J to 8, at $1.75. Call and see c T goods-it will pay yon to do so. We deliver goods to any part of tbe" CKy free, and at once, if necessary. fi. L & C. W, KINSMAN, Next to C. E. Stubbs' Office. Sept 21 cerras BITTEST MATTRESSES. YTTHER8 WE SPEND ALMOST HALF W of oar life shoald be made as comfort? able as possible, and for the purpose of j aiding this good work, and making some money, we now offer the best COTTON BAT? TING MATTRESS ever pot opon tbis market. Three grades now made-$5.00, $6.00, $7.00. Sample and foll information at Store of Treasurer, A. Moses. Satisfaction guaranteed in every case, or Boney refunded. SUMTER COTTON MILLS SOOTH CAROLINA COLLEGE. Sixteen Instructors : 5 Scientific, 3 Literary degree Courses, 5 Shorter Courses, Post Gradoate and Law Courses. Tuition $40 Matriculation $10, Room* Free, TaUe Board $11 and $12.50 per month. Ez jNMMf about $190. Tuition free by Law to applicants filing with College treasurer a certificate of inabili? ty to pay, signed by himself and guardian or parent with opinioo of Connty Commis-, sjiooers, or Judge of Probate, or Clerk of the Court, that the statement, is tme. For farther particulars apply to President J. M. McBRYDE, Colombia, S. C. The largest and mott complete establishment South SEO. S, HACKER & SON, B OD -J ? ca co a ? o OD to Manufacturers of ^ Sa$ Ms, Kiiiii ^ JDStB BUXLPPre IsfrtTTOTAL \> OmCK AH? WA?KB00MS, ^1 Kingi opposite Cannon Street, \ CHARLESTON, S. C. Atef\W> ? BART & CO., and Wiwlesare Dealers in _UIT ! CHARli^TON, S. C., osivfofr |jy ?tWvjBer and rail from the Nerta*od West fall supplies mth* wee* ot f3HOIC? APPLES, PEARS. LEMON?, PO XAiTOS8i CABBAGES, ONIONS, N?TS KINDS, Bro., ETC. ?rQt?atto?stot Promptly filled; i ! POWDER Absolutely Pure. This powder never varie--. *A marvel Of purity, strength and wholesomeness. More economical than the ordinary kinds, and cau oot be sold in comp?tition with the multitude of low test, short weight, ai nm or phosphate powders. Sold only in eon?. ROYAL BAK? ING POWDER CO- 106 Wall-sr.. N y Should te used & few months before confinement, Send fox book " To MOTHERS," mailed free: BBADTXXLD REGULATOR Co., Atlanta, Ga. THE StTMTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR BOYS. Location Healthy and Pleasant. Course of Instruction Thorough Good Boarding. Accommodations. Terms reasonable. Pupils prepared for College or Business. FALL SESSION-Sept 5 to Dec. 23, 1887. SPRING SESSION-Jin. 2 to June -, 18SS. Best refeienees given. For Circulars or other information, applv to . * A. c. MCINTOSH, A. M. Principal. Lock Box No 49. Oct. 5. Sumter, S C. THE BISHOPVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, AT 9 BISHOPVILLE, S C. A SCHOOL FOR- . Young Ladies and Gentlemen. THE COURSE OF - STUDY is thorough, practical and exhaustive Complete in ali-departments: Primary, Grammar ~nd High School, embracing len crades. It pre? pares rodents for College or for business, so? ciety and life. In point of climate, health and morality. BishopvUle bas few equnls and no superior in Sotrtb ?arolvsa. With the pure air and free? dom of* the country it combineB^ many of the conveniences ot" the town. Board can be secured inrthe best families of the town at eight ch>Hars per month. The Trustees have secured the services of Prof. Nash and Miss Annie Lucas, and no pains will be spared* to make the school in every way worthy of public patronage. Prof. Nash is a graduate of Davidson Col? lege, and baa been engaged for several years in teaching. The Fall Session of this School begins Sep? tember 5, 1887, and continues until December 23. The Spring Session bepina January 2, 1888. and continues to June h Tuition reasonable. For circulars and in? formation regarding board, tuition, ?fe, ad? dress, inclosing stamp, SHEPARD NASH, Principal, BishopVille, 3. C. BOARD OF TRUSTEES; J. L. PARROTT. PRES., W. J. BARRETT, SEC, A. C. DURANT, W. D. SCARBOROUGH, W. R. DIXON, JNO.'F. KELLY. Aug. 17_T 1873. 1887. MACON SCHOOL. ENGLISH, CLASSICAL, MATHEMAT ical and Commercial, preparing boys either for College or Business. For Circular, address, .W. -A. BARRIER, Principal. ' F. P. M ATZ, Pb. D., Vice Prin. Sept 14. 4 Charlotte, N. C. MIS? MUHllIU FOE SALE, FOR CASH, OR ON GoOD SECURITIES. All io first-class order. One Frick k Co , 8 horse power En? gine and Boiler, $250 00 OneSteanrs 35 horse bower Engine, '400 00 One Lane Saw Mill Carriage with set works, Rack Irons, Cheers and Rollers Complete, for 200 00 One Edging Saw, Mandril and Table with twenty-Svefeetof "V" and Flat Track, twenty-two feet of Carriage and two Saws, for 100 00 j The above is at BARGAIN PRICES and j could not be replaced new for twice the ! amount. MOSES & HARBY. Sept 21_Sumter, S. C. I c. ?pal, GASH DEALERS IN General Merchandise. ALS!), AGENTS FOR STAUNTON LIFE ASSOCIATION, OF STAUNTON, VA. i LIBERTY STREET, Oct. 5-v> SUMTER, S. C. By H. RIDER HAGG1RD; AUTHOR OP "KIS'O SOLOMON'S MIXES," "SHE," "?E3&," '*THE ITCH'S El SAD," ETC. tCOXTETCED.l This disaster left us in a very awkward po? sition, as vre had now no means of transport whatever, though, on the other hand, we had not much to carry. Ammunition,, too, was very short, amounting to but 150 rounds of rifle cartridges and some fifty shotgun car tridg a. How to get on we did not know; in , deed it seemed to us that we had about reached the end of our tether. Even if we had been inclin d to abandon, the object of our search, which, shad w as it war, was by no means the case, it was ridiculous to think of forcing our way back some 700 miles to the coast in our present plight; so we? came to the conclusion that the only thing ; o be done was to stop where we were-the natives being so well dispo ed'and food plentiful-for the pres? ent, and abide events ar d try to collect infor? mation as to the countries beyond. Accordingly, having purchased a capital log canoe, large enough to hold us all and our baggage, from the. headman of the vil? la, e we were staying in, presenting him with three empty cold drawn brass cartridges by way of payment, with which he was perfectly delighted, we set out to make a tour of the lake in order to find the most favorable place to make a camp. As we did not know if we should return to ibis village, we put all our gear into the canoe, and also a quarter of cooked water buck, which when young is deli? cious eating, and off we setj natives having already gone before us in light canoes to warn the inhabitants of the other villages of our approach. As we went we began to pass a considera? ble accumulation of floating rashes, weed, boughs of trees, and other rubbish, brought. Good supposed, to this spot by some current, which he was much puzzled to account for. While we were speculating about this, Sir Henry pointed out a flock of large white swans,"which were feeding on the drift some little Way ahead of us. Now I had already noticed swans flying about this lake, and having never come across them before in Africa, was exceedingly anxious to obtain a specimen.' I had questioned the natives about them, and learned that they came from over the mountain, always arriving at certain periods of the year in the early morning, when it was very easy io catch them, on ac? count of their exhaust d condition. Well; we set to work to stalk the swans, which kept drawing as they fed nearer and. nearer to the precipice, and at last we pushed the canoe under shelter of a patch of drift within forty yards of them. Sir Henry had the shotgun loaded with No. 1, and waiting for a chance, got two in a line, and, firing at their necks, killed them both. Up xose t.:e rest, thirty or more of them, with a mighty splashing, and, as they did so,-, he gave them the other barrel. Down came one fellow with "a broken wing, and I saw the leg of another drop and a few feathers start out of his back, but he went on quite strong. Up went the swans, circling ever higher till at last they were mere specks level with the top of the frowning precipice, when I saw them form into a triangle and head off for the unknown northeast. Meanwhile we had picked up our two dead ones, and beautiful birds they, were, weighing not less than about thirty pounds each, and were .chasing the winged one. which had scrambled over a mass of drift weed into a pool of clear water beyond. Finding a difficulty in forcing tho canoe through the rubbish, I told our only remain-. : ing Wakwafi servant, whom I knew to be an excellent swimmer, to jump over, dive under the drift, and catch him. knowing that as ] .there were no crocodiles in this Jake he could ? come to no harm. Entering into the fun of | the thing the man did sorand soon was dodg- . ing about after the winged swan in fine style, 1 getting gradually nearer to" the rock wal?, i against which the water washed as'he'd id so. Suddenly he gave up swimming after the ; swan, and began to cry out that he was being carried away; and indeed, we saw that, thou0h he was swimming with all his strength toward us, he was being drawn slowly toward tue precipice. With a few desperate strokes of our paddles we pushed the canoe through tho ; crust of drift and rowed toward the man as ? hard as we could, but, fast as we went, he j was drawn faster toward the rock. Suddenly I I saw that before us, i.:st rising eighteen j inches or so above the surface of the lake, was what looked like the top of the arch of a sub? merged cave or rail way- tunnel. Evidently, from the water mark on the rock several feet above it, it was generally entirely submerged ; but there had been a dry-season, and the cold had prevented the snow from melting as freely as usual, so the lake was low and tho arch showed. Toward this arch our poor servant was being sucked with frightful rapidity. He was not moro than twenty paces from it, and we were about'thirty when I saw it, and with little help from us the canoe flew along after him He struggled bravely, and I thought that we should have saved him, wheff suddenly I perceived an ex? pression of despair come upon his face, and there before our eyes he was sucked down into j tho cruel, swirling, blue depths, and vanished; at tho same moment I felt our canoe seized as with a "mighty hand and propelled with resist? less force toward the rock. We realized our danger now, and rowed, or rather paddled, furiously in our attempt to get out of the vortex. In vaiu; in another second we were flying straight for the arch like an arrow, and I thought that we were lost. Luckily, I retained sufficient presence of mind to. shout out, instantly setting the ex? ample by throwing myself into the bottom of the canoe, ''Down on your faces-down!1' and tho others had tho sense to take the hint. In auother instant there was a grinding nois?. and tho boat was pushed down till tho wj-ter began to trickle over the sides, and I thought that we were gone. But no; suddenly the grinding ceased, and we could again feel the canoe flying along. I turned my head a lit? tle-I dared not lift itv-and locked up. By the feeble licht that yet reached tho canoe I could make out that a dense arch of rock hung just over our heads, and that was all. In another minute I could not even make out as much as that, foi? the faint light had merged into shadow, and the shadows had been swallowed up in darkness utter and complete. For an hour or so we lay there, not daring to lift our heads for fear lest the brains should be dashed out of them, and scarcely able to speak even, on account of the noise of the rushing water which drowned our voices. Not, indeed, that we ha/1 much inclination to speak, seeing that we wero overwhelmed by the awfulness of our position and Ibo immi? nent fear of instant death, either by being dashed against the sides of tho cavern or on a rock, or being sucked down in tho raging waters, or perhaps asphyxiated by want of air. All of these and many other modes of death presented themsehvs to my imagina? tion as I lay at the bottom of the canoe listen? ing to the swirl of the hurrying waters, which ran whither we knew not. One other sound only could I hear, and that was Alphonse's intermittent howl of terror coming from tho center of the cayoe, and even that seemed faint and unreal. Indeed tho wholo thing overpowered my brain, r ^d I bogan to l>e lieve that. I was the victim of sonic ghostly, spirit shaking nightmare. CHAPTER X. THE ROSE OF FIRE. On we flew, drawn by the mighty current, till at last I noticed that the sound of the water was not half so deafening as it har! i been, and concluded that this must be be- : cause there was more room for the echoes to dis]i>erse in. I could now hear Alohonse's bowls much more distinctly; they were made up of the oddest mixture of invocations to the Supremo Power and the name of his be? loved Annette that it is possible to conceive; and, in short, though their evident earnest? ness saved them from profanity, were, to say the least, very remarkable. Taking up a paddle, I managed t-r? drive it into bis ribs, whereon he, thinking that the end bail come, ; howled louder than ever. Then 1 slowly and j cautiously raised myself on my knees and j stretched JKTlitf'BB^foif1^ co^fo"* no roof, y ext 1 took the paddie and li? above ruy head as high as I could* but the same result. I also thrust lt out lat? to the right and left, but could tquch no except water. Then I bethought mo thero was in the boat, among our othc mainiug possessions, a bull's eye lauten a tin of oil.* I groped about and four and having a match on me, carefully 1 and as soon ns the flame bad got a bold o wick I turned it on down tho boat, k happened, the first thing thc light lit on the whity and scared face of Alphonse, . thinking that it was all over at last, and he was -witnessing a preliminary lestial phenomenon, gave a terrific and was with difficulty reassured the paddle. As for the other three, ( was lying on the fiat of his back, his glass still fixed in his eye, and gazing bia iuto the upper darkness. Sir Henry bad head resting on the thwarts of the canoe, with his hand was trying to test the spee the water. But when the beam of light upon old Umslopogaas I could really! laugbe % *i think I have said that we had a roast quarter of water buck into the ca "Well, it so happened- that when we all i trated ourselves to avoid being swept ot the boat and into the water by the rock i Umslopogaas'head had come down une monly near this roast buck, and so soon a had recovered a little from the first" shoe our position it occurred to him that lie hungry. Thereupon ho coolly cut off a c with Inkosi-kaas, and was now employee eating it, with every appearance of satis tion. As he afterward explained, he thot that be was going "on a long journey," preferred to start on a full stomach. It minded me of the people who are going t hanged, and who are generally report?e the English daily pupers to have made excellent breakfast." As soon as the others saw that I had n aged to light up the lamp, we bum Alphonse into the farther end of the ca with a threat, which calmed him worn fully, that if he would insist upon mal the darkness hideous with his cries we wc put him out of suspense by sending bin join tho Wakwafi and wait for Annette another sphere, and began to .discuss situation as well as we could. First, h ever, at Good's suggestion we bound i paddles mast fashion in the bows, so t they might give us warning against j sudden lowering. cf the roof of the cav< water way. It was clear to ns that we w in an underground river, qr, as Alphonse fined it, "main drain," which carried off the superfluous waters; of the lake. rivers are well known to exist in many pi of the world, but it has not often been evil fortune of explorers to travel by tb< That the river was wide we could clearly i for the light.from tho bull's eye lani, failed to reach from shore to shore, althoi occasionally,when the current swept useit to one side or the other, we could distingo the rock wall of the tunnel, which, as fal we could make out, appeared to arch ab twenty-five feet above our heads. As for the current itself, it ran, Good estimated, least eight knots, and fortunately for us w as "is usual, fiercest in the middle of i stream. Still, our first act was to arrai that one of us with the lantern and a p there was in the canoe should always be the bows ready, if possible, to prov? Os from being stove in against 1 side of the cave or any proje ing rock. "Umslopogaas, having airea dined, took the first tura. This was ab lutely, with one exception, all that we coi do towards preserving our safety. Tbe< ception was that another of us took up a ] sition in the stern with a paddle, by means which it was possible to steer the canoe mc or less, and to ; eep her from the sides of t cave. These matters attended to, we mad? somewhat sparing meal off the cold buc meat (for we did not know how lons it mig have to last UP) ; and then feeling in rat! better spirits, 1 gare my opinion that, serie as it undoubtedly, was, I did not consider o position altogether without hope, unless, i deed, the natives were right, and the riv plunged straightdown into the bowels of t earth. If not, it was clear that it must emer somewhere, probably on the other side of t mountains, and in that case ali we had think of was to keep ourselves alive till - got there, wherever "there" might be. Bt of course, cs Good kigubriously pointed oi on the other hand we might fall victims to hundred unsuspected horrors, or the riv might go winding away inside the earth t it dried up, in which case our fate would i deed be an awful one. ""Well, let us hope for the best and prepa ourselves for the worst," said Sir Henry, wi is always cheerful and even spirited-a vei tower of strength in tho time of troubl "We have come out of so many queer scrap together that somehow I almost fancy v shall come out of this," he added. -This was excellent advice, and we procee< ed to take it each in our separate ways-th: is, except Alphonse, who had by nowsunk inl a sort of terrified stupor. Good was at tl helm and Umslopogaas in the bows, so thei was nothing left for Sir Henry and myself 1 do except lie down in the canoe and thinl It certainly was a curious, and indeed almo: 'a weird, position to bo placed in-rusbin along, as we were, through the bowels of tl earth, borne on the bosom of a Stj-gian rive; something after the fashion of souls bein ferried by Charon, as Curtis said. And ho' dark it was I the feeble ray from our li ttl lamp did but servo to show the darknes; There in the bows sat old Umslopogaas, lik Pleasure in tbe poem, watchful and untiring the pole ready to his hand? and behind in th shadow I cculd just make out the form c Good peering forward at the ray of light i: order to make out how to steer with the pad die that he held, and now and again dippe into the water. ""Well, well," thought I, "you have come h search of adventures, Allan, my boy, and yoi have certainly got them.- At your time o life tool you ought to be ashamed of your self, but somehow you are not; and awful a it all is, perhaps you "will pull through af te: all; and if you don't, why, you cannot help it you see I And when all's said and done, ai underground river will make a very appro priate burying place." It was nearly mid day wu en we made otu dive into darkness, and wo had set our watel (Good and Umslopogaas) at 2, having agreed that it should bo of a duratioi: of five hours. At 7 o'clock, according!}*, Sit Henry and b went on, Sir Henry at the bow and 1 at tho stern, and the other two lay down and went to sleep. For three hours ail went well, Sir Henry only finding it neces? sary once to push us off from the side; and I that but little steering was required to keen us straight, as tho violent current did all that was needed, though occasionally the canoe showed a tendency, wfiicb had to ho guarded against, to veer and travel broadside on. When I had boen for three hours or so ct the helm I began to notice a decided change in tho temperature, which was getting: warmer. At first 1 took no not ?co of it, but when at the oxpiratiou of another half hour. I found that it was getting hotter and hotter, I called to Sir Henry and uskod him if ho no? ticed it or if it was only my imagination. "Noticed il!"' he answered, "I should think so. I am in a sort of Turkish hath." Just about then tho others woke ->p gasping an<l wero obliged to l>cgin to discard their clothes. Hero Umslopogaas bad tho ad vari tage, for he did not wear any to speak of except a moocha. Hotter it ?rew, and hotter yet, till nt last we could scarcely breathe, und the perspira? tion pon red out of us. Half an hour more, an?l though we were all now stark naked we could hardly bear it. Th?' placo was h ko an antechninl>er of tho infernal regions proper. I dipped my band into the waler, and drew it out almost with a cry; it was nearij boiling. We consulted a little thermometer we bad the mercury stood at 123 dogs. From tho sur face of the water rose a dense clout! of steam. Alphonso groaned out that wo wyre already in purgatory, which indeed we were, though not in tho sense that ho mount, it. Sir ) fenn? suggested that wo must be passing near lite seat of some underground volcanic fire, and I nm inclined to think, especially in the light of what subsequently Occurred, that ho was right. Our sufferings for some time after this really pnss my powers ?>f description. We no longer perspired, for all tho pei spira tiod had been sweated out of us: wo simply lay in the bottom of tho l*vit" which we were now physically incapable of directing, feeling like hot embers, and I fancy undergoing very much tho same sensations that the poor fish do when they are dying, on lsnd, namely, that of slow suffocation. Our skins began to crack, and the blood to throb in our heads like the beating of a steam engine. This had been going on for somo time, when suddenly the river turned a little, and I heard Sir Henry call out from the hows in a hoarse, startled voice, and locking up saw a ?tl'ost wonderful and awful thing. About half a mile ahead of us, and a little to the left Of the center of the stream-which wo could now see was about ninety feet broad-a hugo pillar like jet of almost white flame rose from the surface of the water and sprang fifty feet into the air, when it struck the roof and spread out some forty feet in diameter, fall? ing back in curved sheets of fire sb'ai>ed like tho petals of a full blown rose.* Indeed, this awful gas jet resembled nothing so much"as* a great flaming flower rising out of the black water. Below was the straight stalk, a foot or more thick, and ajjpve the dreadful bloom. And as for the fearfulness of it, and its fierce and awesome beauty, who can describe it? Certainly I cannot Although . were now some 500 yards away, it, notwith.-' uidingtho steam, lit up the whole cavern as clear as day, and we could see that the roof was hero about forty feet above and washed perfectly smooth with water; The rock was black, and here and there Leonid make out long, shining lines of ore running through it like great veins, but of what metal they were I know not. On we rushed toward this pillar of fire, : which gleamed fiercer than any furnace ever ; lit by man. On we rushed toward the pillar of fire. "Keep the boat to the right,- Quatermain j to the-right," shouted Sir Henry, and a miu : ute afterward I saw him fall forward sense? ! less. Alphonse had already gone. Good was ; the next to go. There they lay as though ; j dead; only Umslopogaas and I kept our j ; senses. We were within fifty yards of it : i now, and I saw the Zul?es head fall forward j on his hands. He had gone, too, and I was I alone. I could not breathe; the fierce heat j dried me up. For yards and yards round the great rose of fire the rock roof was red hot. Tho wood of the boat was almost burniing. I ' saw the feathers on one of the dead swans be? gin to twist and shrivel up; but I wot Jd not i give in. I knew that if I did we should pass i within three or four yards of tho gas jet and j perish miserably. I set the paddle so as tc i turn the canoe-as far from it as possible, and ! held on grimly, j My eyes seemed to be bursting from my head, and through the closed lids I could see I the fierce light. We were nearly opposite j j now; it roared like all the fires of hell, and ! the w?tor boiled furiously around it. Five seconds more. We were past; I heard the ! roar behind me. Then I, too, fell senseless. The next thing ? that I remember was feeling a breath of air I upon my face. My eyes opened with great j difficulty. I looked up. Far, far above me ; there was light, though around me was deep 1 gloom. Then I remembered, and looked. ! The canoe'still floated down tko river, and in ? the bottom of it lay the naked forms of my companions. "Were they cead P I wondered. "Was I left alone in this awful placer I knew not. Next I becamo conscious of a burning thirst. I put my hand over tho edge of the boat into tho water and drew it up : again with a cry. No'wonder; nearly ?all the ; skin was burnt off the back of i;. Thc water, ; however, was cold, or nearly so, and I drank i pints and splashed myself all over. My body seemed to suck up tho fluid as ono may seo a brick wall suck'up rain after a drought; but I whee I was burned the touch of it caused in I tense pain. Then I bethought myself cf the i others, and dragging myself towards them : with difficulty, ? sprinkled them with water, : and to my joy they began to recover-Um? slopogaas first, then the others. Next they : drank, absorbing water like so many sponges. Then, feeling chilly-a queer contrast to our recent sensations-we began as best we could to get into our clothes. As we did so Good pointed to the port sid3 of the canoe; it was ? all blistered with heat, and in places actually j charred Had it been built like our civilized ? boats, Good said that the planks would have ! certainly warped and let in enough water to ! sink us; but fortunately it was dug out of j the soft, willowy wood of a single great tree, ; and had sides nearly three inches and a bot ! tom four inches thick/ What, that awful : flame was we never discov?red ; but I suppose j that there was at this spot a crack or hole in j the bed of the river through which a vast volume of gas forced its way from its vol , canichomo in the bowels of the earth towards the upper air. How it first became ignited it is, of course, impossible to sa3*-probably, I ?hould think, from somo spontaneous explo? sion of mephitic gases. As soon as we had got some things on and shaken ourselves together a little wo set to Work to make out whero We wero now. ? ! have said that there was light above, and on examination we found that it caine from the sky. Our river that was, Sir Henry said, a literal realization of thc wild vision of the poet, was no longer underground, but was running on its darksome way, not now I through "caverns -measureless to mau,1' but 1 between two frightful cliffs which cannot I have been less than 2,000 feet high. So high I were they, indeed, that though tho sky was ! abovo u<, whore we wcro was denso gloom ; not darkness, indeed, but the glomu of a j room closely shut tered in tbe daytime. Up ! on either side rose tho great straight; cJilfs, j grim and forbidding, till thc eyo grew dizzy with tryiug to measure their sheer height'. Tho little space of sky that marked whero they ended lay liko a thread of blue upon ; their soaring blackness, which was unrelieved by any tree or.creeper. Here and there, however, grew ghostly patches of a long gray lichen, hanging motionless to the rock, as tho white beard to the chin of a dead man. Is seemed ns though only tho dregs or heavier part of the light had sunk to tho bottom of this awful phi'V. No bright winged sunbeam could fall so low; tiny died far, far above our heads. By thc rivers edge was a little shorn formed of round fragments of rock washed into Hil!? rh.-ipo hy the constant action of water, and giving ilie place the appearance of being strewn willi thousands of fossil can? non bails. Evidently when the water of the underground river is high there i> no beach nt all. or very little, bet ween th." border of th*? stream and tho precipitous ciiiTs; hut nov/ there was a space ?f swven or eight yauds. And here, on this beach, wo determined to land, in order to rest ourselves a little after ali that ?'e lind gone t hrough, and to s? ret eh our limbs. It was *a dreadful place, but ir would give au hour's respite lrom tlx- terrors of the river, and also allow of our repacking und arranging the canoe. Accordingly wc selected what. look?*! like a favorable S]>or, and with some littl" difii'-ulty manage?! to j beach the canoe and scramble out on to the round, inhospitable pebbles. "JIV word,-ealIcil out Good, who was on shore the lust, "what an awful place! it's enough to giv?- one a fit." And he laughed. instantly a thundering voice took up his words, magnifying them a hundred times. '.(Jive one a I'd- ii?'! ho! ho!" "A fit- ho! ho! ho!" answered another voice, in wild ac- j c^nts. from far up 'he cliff. "A f:?! a fit! j n fit p chimed in voice af torvoice, each fling ing the words to and fro with shouts of aw? ful laughter to tbe fnvUiblo Hps of tl?o oth^r | till the whole placo echoed with thc words | and with shrieks of fiendish merriment, j which at hist ceased as suddenly as they bad I beam, "Ob, roon D?eul" yelled Alphonse; st quite out of sile h self command possessed. "Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu Titanic echoes thundered, shrieked and i in every conceivable tone. "Ah,5' said Umslopogaas, calmly, "I c perceive that devils live here. "Wei place lo?les like it." I tried to explain to him that the ca all the hubbub was a very remarkabh interesting echo, but he would not belie* "Ah," he said, "I know an echo when 3 one. There was one lived opposite my in Zululand, and the Intombis" (ma: ''used to talk with it. But if what we h a full grown echo, mine at home cari have been a baby. No, no-they are ( up there. But I don't think much of 1 though," he added, taking a pinch of i "They can copy what one says, but they seem to be able to talk on their own ace ?nd they dare not show their faces," an relapsed into silence, and apparently pa further attention to such contemptible fi After this we found it necessary to kee] conversation down to a whisper-for il really unbearable to have every word uttered tossed to and fro like a tennis ba precipice called to precipice. But even our whispers ran up the roc! mysterious murmurs, till at last they away in long drawn sighs of sound. Ek are delightful Mid romantic things, bu bad more than Enough of them in that di ful gulf. As soon as we had settled ourselves a 1 on the round stones we proceeded toi and dress our burns as well as we could, we had.but a little oil for the lantern wee hot spare any for this purpose, so we skii one of the *swans and used the fat ofl breast, which proved an excellent substil Then we repacked the canoe and finallj gan to take some food, of which I : scarcely say we were in need, for our ins? bility had endured for many hours, an was, as our watches showed, midday, cordingly we seated ourselves in a circle, were soon engaged in discussing our cold E with such appetite as we could m arter, wi in my case at any rate, wa6 not much, felt sick and faint after my sufferings of previous night, and had besides a rael headache. - It was a curious meal. The gl< was so intense that we coiild scarcely see way to cue our food and convey it to mouths. Still we got on pretty well, altho the meat was tainted by the heat thro which it !had passed, till I happened to 1 behind me-my attention being attracted a noise of something crawling over stones-and perceived sitting upon a rocl my immediate rear a huge species of bl fresh water crab, only it was five times size of any crab I ever saw. This hide and loathsome looking animal had project eyes ihat seemed to glare at one, very 1< and flexible antena ce, or feelers, and gigai claws. Nor was I especially favored with company. From every quarter dozens these horrid brutes were creeping up, dra* I suppose, by the smell of the food from tween the round stones and out of the h< in the precipice. Some were already qi close to us. I stared, quite fascinated by unusual sight, and as I did so I saw one of beasts ?treten out its huge claw and give Unsuspecting Good such a nip that jumped up with a howl and set the "w echoes flying" in sober earnest. Just th too, another, a very large one, got hold Alphonse's leg, and declined to part with and, as may be imagined, a considera scene ensued. Umslopogaas took his ax a cracked the shell of one with the flat of whereon it set up a horrid sort of screami which the echoes multiplied a thousand fo and began.to foam at the mouth, a procei ing that drew hundreds more of its frier out of unsuspected holes and corners. Tb on the spot, perceiving that the animal v hurt, fell upon it like creditors on a bai rupt, and literally rent it limb from Iii with their huge pincers, and devoured using their claws to convey the fragments their mouths. Seizing whatever weapc were handy, such ns stones or paddles,1 commenced a war upon the monsters, wh< numbers were increasing* by leaps a: bounds; and whose stench was overpowerir. So fast as we cracked their armer otb? seized the injured ones and devoured thei foaming at the mouth, and-screaming as th did so. Nor did the brutes stop at thi When they could they nipped hold of us and awful nips they were-or tried* to'ste the meat.. One enormous fellow got hold the swau we had skinned and began to dr; it off. Instantly a score of others flu? themselves upon the prey, and then began ghastly and disgusting scene. How the mo sters 'foamed and screamed; and rent t flesh and each other! It was a sickening'ai unnatural sight, and one that will haunt t who saw it till their dying day-enacted as was in the deep, oppressive gloom/and set the unceasing music of the many tone nerve shaking echoes. Strange as it rn? seerti to say so, there was something so shoe ingly human about "these fiendish creatures it was as though all the most evil passioi and desires of man" liad got into tho shell of magnified crab and gone itfad. They wei so dreadfully courageous and intelligent, ar? tney looked as-if they understood. The who scene might have furnished- material for ai other canto of Dante's "Inferno," as Curt said. "I say, j'ou fellows, let's get ctit of this, c we shall all go off our beads," sung out Gooc and we were not slow to take thc hint. Pusl ing the canoe, around which tho animals wer now crawling hy hundreds and making vai attempts to climb, off the rocks, we bundle into it and got out into midstream, leavin, behind ns the fragments of our meal, and th ? screaming, foaming, stinking mass of mon sters in fud possession of the grounds. "Those are the devils of the place," saif U,mslopogaas. with the air Cf One -who ha solved a problem; and, upon my word, I fell almost inclined to agree with him. Umslopogaas' remarks wero like his ax very much to the point. ..What's to be dono next?'' said Sir Henry blankly. "Drift, I suppose," I answered, and wc drifted accordingly. All the afternoon and well into the evening we floated on in the gloom beneath the far off line of blue sky, scarcely knowing when day ended and night began; for down in that vast gulf the differ? ence was not marked, till at length Good pointed ont a star banging right above us, which, having nothing better to do, we ob? served with groat interest. Suddenly it van? ished, the darkness became intense, aud a familiar murmuring sound filled the air. "Underground again," I said, with rt groan, holding up the lamp. Yes, there was no doubt about it.- I could just make out the roof. Tba chasm had come to an end and the tunnel had recommenced. And then bogan another long, long night, of danger and horror. To describo all its incidents would bo too 'wearisome: so I ?ill simply say that about midnight wo struck ou a flat projecting rock in midstream, and wero as nearly as possible overturned and drowned. However, at last we got off, and went upon the uneven tenor of our way. And so the hours passed until it was nearly 3 o'clock. Sir Kenn*, Cond a:;d Alphonse were asleep, utterly worn ?nit. Umslopogaas was ;it tho bor with I ho pole, and I wa.-: steoring when 1 perceived that the rate at which ive were traveling had perceptibly in - cruised. Then, suddenly, I heard TTinslOpo guas m.ike an exclamation, and next second caine a sound as of parting braurbos. and I became aware that tho canoe was bring forced through hanging bushes Or etwpcrs. Another minute and a breath of sweet open air fannell my face, and I f?'lt that wo bad ciiKTgct] from tho tunnel and were floating upon ?dear water. I say felt? for I cCuld soo nothing, the darkness being absolutely pitchy, as it often is just before ?lawn. I ?ut even rbis could scarcely dam',) my joy. We wore out of that dreadful river, and wherever wo nullit have gol to, this nt least was something to bo thankful for. .And sol sat down and inhaled the sweet night air and wailed for the dawn with such patience as 1 could com? mand. CTTAfTKR XT. THK FROWNTN-O CTTV. For nu hom- or more I snr. wnitmg (T7m slopognns having meanwhile gone to sleep also), till at length the east turned gray and Ung-? misty shapes mo^ed ovtg? th^^urface of - -*TT*-?~* - - tjintu . : . tbe water iike ghosts of long forgotten dawns. - They were the vapors rising from their watery bed to greetthe sun. Then the gray turned to. primrose, and the primrose grew to red. Next, glorious bars of light sprang up ? across the eastern sky, and through them the ! radiant messengers of the dawn came speed . ing upon their arrowy way. scattering the I ghostiy vapors and awaking the mountains i with a kiss, as they flew from range to range i and longitude to longitude. Another mo j ment, and the golden gates were open, and I the sun himself came forth as a bridegroom from his chamber, with pomp and glory ?md a flashing as of 10,000,000 spears, and em? braced the night and covered her with bright ! ness, and it was day. I But as yet I could see nothing save tho ? beautiful blue sky above; for over the water I was a thick layer of mist exactly as though the whole surface had been covered with billows of cotton wool. By degrees, however, the sun sucked up the mists, and then I saw ! that we were afloat upon a glorious sheet j of blue water, of which I could not make out j the shore. Some cigki or ten miles behind ! us however, there stretched as far as the eye could reach a range of precipitous hills that formed a retaining wall of the lake, and I have no doubt but that it was through some entrance in these hills that the subterranean j river found its way into the open water. In ? deed, I af terwards ascertained this to be tho fact; and it wiU be some indication of the extraordinary strength and directness of the j current of the- mysterious river that the canoe, even at this distance, was still answer? ing to it. . Presently, too, I, or rather ?ruslo pogaas, who woke up just then, discovered another indication, and a Very unpleasant one it was. Perceiving some whitish object upon the water, TJmslopogaas called my attention to it, and with a few strokes of the paddle brought the canoe to'the spot, where? upon we discovered that the object was the body of a man floating face downward. This was bad enough, but imagine* my horror when Umslopogaas having turned him od to his back with the paddle we recognized in the sunken features the lineaments of-whom do you suppose?" None other than our poor servant who had been sucked down two days, before in the waters of the sub? terranean river. It quite frightened me. I thonght that we had left him behind forever; and behold! borne by the current, he had made the awful journey with us, and'with ns had reached the end. His appearance also was dreadful, for he bore traces of having touched the pillar of fire-one arm being completely shriveled up, and all his hair being burnt off. The features were, as I have said, sunken, and yet they preserved upon them that awful look of despair that I had seeu upon his living face as the poor fel? low was sucked down. BeaUy the sight un? nerved me, weary and shaken as I felt with all that we had gone through, and I was heartily glad, when suddenly, and without any Warning, the body began to sink just as though it had had a mission, which having been accomplished, it retired; the real reason, no doubt, being that turning it on its back, allowed ? free passage to the gas. Down it went into the transparent depths-fathom after fathom we could trace its course, till at last a long line of bright air bubbles, swiftly chasing each other to the surface, alone re? mained where it had passed. At length these too were gone, and that was an end of our poor servant ?mslopogaas thoughtfully watched the body vanish. "What did he follow us for?* he asked. u 'Tis an Ol omen for thee and me, Macuma zahn." And he laughed. I turned on. him angrily, for I dislike these unpleasant suggestions. If people have such ideas they ought in common decency to keep them to themselves. I detest individuals who make one the subject of their disagreeable presentiments, or who, when they dream that ; they saw one hanged as a common felon, or some such horror, will insist upon telling one all about it at breakfast, even if they have to ' get up early to do it. Just then, however, the others woke up and began to rejoice exceedingly at finding that we were out of that dreadful river and once more beneath the bluo sky. When we had been sailing for an hour Good, who was searching the horizon with a spyglass, suddenly announced joyfully that he saw land, and pointed out that, from the change in the color of the water, he thought we must be approaching the^ mouth of a j river. In another minute w"e p??teived a great golden dome, not unlike th^t of St. ! Paul's, piercing the morning mists, and while we were wondering what in the world it could be, Good reported another and still more im? portant discovery, namely, that a small sail? ing boat was advancing toward us. This bit of news, which wo wera very shortly able u . verify with our own eyes, threw us into a considerable flutter. That the natives of this unknown lake should understand the art of* sailing seemed to suggest-that they possessed some degree Of civilization. In a few more ; minutes it became evident that the occupant or occupants of the advancing boat had made us out For a moment or two she hung in the wind as though in doubt, and then came tacking toward us with great swiftness. In ten mor? minutes she was within a hundred yaids, and we saw that she was a neat little boat-not a canoe "dugout," but built more or less in European fashion with planks, and . carrying & singularly large sail for her size. But our attention was soon diverted from tho boat to her crew, which consisted of a man and woman nearly as white as ourselves. Wo stared at each other in amazement, . thinking that we must be mistaken} but no, there was no doubt about it. They were not fair, but rho t*vo people in the boat were de? cidedly of a white as distinguished from a black race-as white, for instance, as Span? iards or Italians, lt was a patent fact. -So it was true, after nil; and, mysteriously led by a Power beyond our own, wo had discov? ered this wonderful people. I could have shouted for joy when I thought of the glory and the wonder of the thing; and as it was, we all shook hands and congratulated each other on the unexpected success of our wild search. All my life had I heard rumors of a whito race that existed in the highlands of the interior of this vast continent, and longed to put them to tho proof, and now here X saw it with my own eyes and was dumfouuded. Truly, as Sir Henry said, ?tie old Roman was right when he ?rote: "Ex Africa semper aliquid novi," wbicb he tells me mca:>s that out of Africa there always comes some new thing. Thc mar* in the boat was of a good but not particularly fine physique, and had straight, | black hair, regular aquiline features, andan intelligent face. He was dressed in a brown cloth garment: something like a flannel shirt without thc sleeves, and in an unmistakable kilt of the same material. The legs and f'-et were bare. Round the right arm and left leg he wore thick rings pf yellow metal that I judged to be of gold. The woman had a j sweet face, wild and shy, with largo eyes and j curling brown hair. Her dress was made of ! the same matt*rial as tho man's, anil consisted, j as we afterwards discovered, first of a linea j under garment that hung down to her knee, j and then of a Milgie long strip of cloth, about ; four feet wilie by fifteen long, which was j wound round ti-.e body in graceful folds and i finally flung over the left shoulder so that the i end, which was dyed blue or purple or some ? oilier color, according * o the social standing ! of the wearer, hung down in front, the right i arm and breast being, however, left quito . bare. A moro becoming dress, especially ! when, as in the present case, tho wearer was i young and pretty, is quito impossible to cou- ! ceive. Good, who has mi eye for such things, i was greatly struck with it, and so indeed was ; f. lt wes so simple and yet so effective. .j Meanwhile, if we had been astonished at j the appearance cf the man and woman, ir. was clear that they were far more astonished at ns. As fer tho man. he appeared tobe overe?me with fear and wonder, and for a while hovered round our canoe, but would j not approach. At last, however, ho came j within hailing distance, and called to us in a j language that sounded soft and pleasing enough; but of w hich we could not understand ; or;e woy]. So we haded back in English, ! French, Ijatin, l?reek, Connan, Zulu? Dutch, ' SisiUu, Kukuana, and a few other native ? dialects that I am acquainted with, but our visitor did not understand any of these tongues; indeed, they appeared to bewilder bim. As for tho lady, she was busily em? ployed in taking stock of us, and Go d was returning tho compliment by staring at her ; hard ih:-o??jh his eyeglass, a groceeoiay *^2t /w-~^-y-- - - - ? _ she seemed rather to enjoy' tiian othorwka, At length, the man, being unable to make anything out of us, suddenly headed bia boat j round ana began to head off for the shore, - : his little boat skimming away before"* the; ; wind like a swallow. As she passed airca ' j eur bows, the man turned to attend to the ' j large sail; and Good promptly took the oppor j tiinity to kiss his hand to tho young lady. I ; was bonified at this proceeding both cnr I general grounds and because I feariedthatr"' j she might; take offense, but to my delight she ' ; did hot, for, first glancing ronnd and seeing ! that her husband, or brother, or whoever it. was, . was e: gaged, she promptly kissed he? ; back. *AhF said I, "it seems that we have at last found a language.that the people of this country undersrand.9 "In which-sxsse," said* Sir BenryV ??o?d* will prove an invaluable interpreter.'' I frowned, for I-do not approve of Goodes frivolities, and h? knows it, and I turned the' conversation to more serious subjects. "It ia ? very clear to me," I said, "that the man will be back before long with a host of his fellows, . so that we hod best make np our minds aa to how we are going to receive them,-9 "The question is, bow will thVy receive"n?3*~ said Sir Kemy. ' . . As for Good, he made no remark, bethe-"' ' gan to eztract a small square tin -case the* *. had acccrijpanied tis in all our wahdering? - from under a pile of baggage. Now. we'ha?*. often remonstrated with Good about this tin case, inasmuch as it had been an awkward thing to carry, and he ' bad never given any , very explicit account as to its contents;"bet" he had iiisisted on keeping it, saying mysteri? ously that it might come in very useful oct - day. _ ~ ..What on earth are yongoimg??d?, Goo?* .* asked Sir Henty. . ... . ~ "Do?-"why dress, of course! Your don't' expect me to appear in a new ountry ?a: these things, do you?" and * he r pointed to* WM* soiled and worn garments, which were, how? ever, like all Good's tilings, very tidy, and*, with every tear neatly mended. We'said no more, but watched hV proceed ings with breathless intei-est His first step was to get Alphonse, who was thoroughly' competent in such -matters,- to trim his hair* end beard in the most approved fashion. I think that if he had had some hot water, and a cake of soap at hand he would have 'shaved off the latter, but bo bad not This ?one, ba ? suggested that we should lower the sail of-the* canoe and all fete a bath,- which- Wa" didi; t. .stly to the horror and astonishment of ' Alp" -ise, who lifted his hands and ej?tOr' lated that these English were indeed. a. won? derful people. - Umslopogaas, who, -thoogh he* was, like most high bred Zulus, scrupulously' cleanly hi his person, did not see the inn- of swimming about in a lake, also regarded tho-' proceeding with mild amusement.- We'gcfe back into the canoe much refreshed by the., cold water and sat'to dry in the sun, while. Good undid his tin box and produced first a beautiful clean white shirt, jest as it had left ' a London steam laundry, and then some gar- ~ ' ments wrapped first in brown, thea m white*-* and finally in silver paper. We watched this:. undoing with the tenderest interest and mn.ch speculation. One by one Good removed the dull husks that held their ^spiendOrs, -catefoBy' f olding and replacing each piece of paper at he did so; and there at iast lay, in all the majesty of its gold epaulets, lace and buttons, - a commander of "the royal na^'s fa^^esf' uniform-dress sword,- cocked hat, shiny patent leather boots and all We literally gasped. - . " "What!" we said, "what: Are you'going', tb put those things on?" "Certainly," he answered, ccmposerHy: \j?ir Bee so much depends upon ? first inxpr?s?da^ especially,"7 he added, "as I observe that there J are ladies about. One at least of us ought to? be decently dressed." : - We said no more; we were simply darn founded, especially when we considered tbo artful way in which Good had -concealed tb? contents of that box for all these months. Only one suggestion did we make, namely, < s that he should wear his mail shirt next his skin. He replied that he feared it would spoil the set Of his coat, now carefully spread in- ' the sun to take the" creases out, but finally consented to this precautionary measure. - The- - most amusing part of the affair, however, ? was to see old Umslopogaas' astonishment and- ? Alphonse's delight at Good's transforrnatfc?; *. v When at last he" stood up in all his glory,; even down to the medals on his breast, and' contemplated himself in the still waters 'of - - the lake, after the fashion of the young" gentleman in ancient history, whose hame ? can't remember, but who fell in love with - bis?* own shadow, the old Zulu could nb longer?*-' strain his feelings. - . "Oh. Bougwan!"ho said; "Ob, l?ougwaht", I always thought thee an ugly httie man,- - and fat-fat as the cows at calving tune;end now thou art like a blue jay when ho spreads his tail ont. Surely, Bougwan,ifc hurtar'my eyes to look at thee." Good did not much^o'this aUus??n to Mr. i-fat, which, to" tell tho truth;-was not very j well deserved, for hard exercise had brought - him down four inches; but on the whole be"* was pleased at Umslopogaas' adir?ration. . Ar for Alphonse, he was quito delighted. "Ah! but monsieur has the beautiful air-" tho air of the wc mor. It is the ladies who* will say so when we come to "get ashore?-' Monsieur is complete ; he puts me in mind of*- . my heroic graud"- - * Here we stopped Alphonse. . As we gazed upon the beauties thus revealed- " by Good a spirit of emulation filled our' breasts, and" we set to work: tb get Ourselves" ?p as well as we could. The most, however^ that we were able to *do ' was to'array our-, selves in our spare suits of "shooting ' clothes, . of which we each had one, . keeping on our ' mail shirts underneath. As for my appear-' ance, all the fine clothes in tho world could ; ^ never make it otherwise than scrubby and ia-* significant; but Sir Henry looked what bo iv a magnificent man in his nearly new tweed-, suit, gaiters and boots. Alphonso -also got - himself up to kill, giving an extra tum to his: enormous mustaches. Even old Umslopo gaas, who was not in a general. way given to ' the vain adorning of his body, took somo o? cut of the lantern and a bit of tow, antl^ polished IT] his head ring with it till it shone like Good"., patent leather boots. Then he' pit on the mail shirt Sir Henry had given* him and his "moocha,7" and. having cleaned" up Inkosi-kaas a little, stood forth cornpletc. AH this while, having hoisted tbs sail agaia' as soon as we had finished bathing, we hadj been progressing steadily for the land; orr rather, for the mouth cf a great river. Pre-' senth--in all abctit an boiir and a half after" the little float had left us-we saw emergiirg f rom the river or harbor a large number of 5 boats, ranging up to ten or twelve tons burden^ One of these was piv-ptdled by twenty-four oars, and most cf the rest sailed. I^bokin*3f"' through the glass wo soon made out that the** row boat was an oidcial vessel, her crew beingv all draged in a sort of uniform, while on the* half deck forward stood an old man of von-" erable appearance and with a flowing white* beard cud a sword istrapped to his side, who was evidently the commander of tho -craft, Tho other boats were apparently occupied by' peoplo brought ont by curiosity, and were rowing or sailing toward ns as quickly as they could. uNo-v for it." said T. "What is tho betting*-' Ar?? t?iey going to be friendly or to pot an' end to \xsV Nobody could answer this question, and not liking the warlike appearance of the old gentleman and bis sword, we felt a little' anxious. ust then 0 cod spied a school of hippopotami on thc water about 300 yards off us, and sug? gested that it would not be a bad'plan to im? press the natives with a sense of OUT pow??" by shooting some of them if possible. Tbis, mduckily enough, struck ns as a good idea" and accordingly we at Once got ont our eight bore rifles, for which we still had a few cartridges left, and prepared for action. There were four of the animals-a big bull, ? cow, and two young ones, ono three parrs grown. We got up to them without diffi-' cuity, thc groat animals contenting them? selves with sinking flown into tho water and rising again a few yards farther ojn; indeed, - their oxcessive tameness struck me as being peculiar. When the advancing bonte were' about 500 yards away Sir Hemy op^ued^inV 0? ball by fiting at the three parts grown yoong one. Tho heavy ballet struck it fair betweea' the eyes and crashing through the. skull, * killed it, and it sank, leaving a Jong t?liin t*f . : j's*?*-- ~ " :w>?!yO).'i .wirer" .