However, After I
Had Examined It With More Attention, I Was Convinced That It Was A
Distinct River, And As
The road evidently crossed it (for I could
see the pathway on the opposite side), I sat down upon the
Bank in
hopes that some traveller might arrive who would give me the
necessary information concerning the fording-place - for the banks
were so covered with reeds and bushes that it would have been almost
impossible to land on the other side, except at the pathway, which,
on account of the rapidity of the stream, it seemed very difficult
to reach. No traveller however arriving, and there being a great
appearance of rain, I examined the grass and bushes for some way up
the bank, and determined upon entering the river considerably above
the pathway, in order to reach the other side before the stream had
swept me too far down. With this view I fastened my clothes upon
the saddle, and was standing up to the neck in water, pulling my
horse by the bridle to make him follow me, where a man came
accidentally to the place, and seeing me in the water, called to me
with great vehemence to come out. The alligators, he said, would
devour both me and my horse, if we attempted to swim over. When I
had got out, the stranger, who had never before seen a European,
seemed wonderfully surprised. He twice put his hand to his mouth,
exclaiming, in a low tone of voice, "God preserve me!
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