It Was The First I Had Seen In This
Country, And My Eagerness To Catch It Was Proportionately Great.
I
hastened after it; thought neither of swamp nor of danger, and in
the heat of the chase did not observe that the mounds became every
moment fewer and farther between.
Soon I found myself in the middle
of the swamp, and could neither advance nor retreat. Not a human
being could I descry; the very animals were far from me; and this
circumstance confirmed me as to the dangerous nature of the ground.
Nothing remained for me but to fix my eyes upon one point of the
landscape, and to step out boldly towards it. I was often obliged
to hazard two or three steps into the swamp itself, in order to gain
the next acclivity, upon which I would then stand triumphantly, to
determine my farther progress. So long as I could distinguish
traces of horses' hoofs, I had no fear; but even these soon
disappeared, and I stood there alone in the morass. I could not
remain for ever on my tower of observation, and had no resource but
to take to the swamp once more. I must confess that I experienced a
very uncomfortable feeling of apprehension when my foot sank
suddenly into the soft mud; but when I found that it did not rise
higher than the ankles, my courage returned; I stepped out boldly,
and was fortunate enough to escape with the fright and a thorough
wetting.
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