man was armed, and a pretty sharp lookout was kept; but
for all that thar was places, back-waters, and cuts, and such like, whar
I wouldn't have been stuck in after dark, not for all the money in
Orleans. Even in the open river no one was safe from 'em, for they got
so bold they would go out, four or five boat-loads, and attack in broad
daylight; things got so bad that no one dared go up or down, unless it
was ten or twelve boats together for protection. It war the steamers as
broke 'em up; thar ain't no stopping a steamer, and every one took to
being towed up or down. Then the population increased, and regular
expeditions war got up to hunt 'em down. Altogether it got made too hot
for 'em, and the game didn't pay; but for some years, I can tell you,
they war a terror to the river."

"And were you never attacked, Hiram?"

"I was chased several times," Hiram said; "but I had a fast boat and a
good crew, and we generally had four white men on board then, and plenty
of arms. Yes, we had some skirmishes, but it was only once I had a
regular set-to with 'em, and that war a pretty bad job."

"How was it, Hiram?"

"Well, you see, the river was pretty full, and the wind had been light
for some time, and there warn't no way of making against the main
stream; I had waited for three weeks, and me and my mates got sick of
it. We had a cargo which was due up the river, and we made up our minds
at last that we would push on and take our chance. We had eight negroes,
all strong active fellows, armed with cutlasses and old ship muskets,
and we four whites had rifles and pistols. We allowed we could make a
good fight of it, so we agreed as we would go up the back-waters, so
managing as to be able to get out into the stream every night and anchor
thar. We shifted the cargo a bit, so as to pile it up round the sides,
stowing the rice-bags so as to make a sort of breastwork; then off we
started.

"For some days we got along well; the blacks poled thar best, and every
evening we just hit a pint where we could go out into the stream agin.
Two or three times we fancied we war watched, for we heard the snapping
of twigs, and sounds in the thick swamp jungle ahead; but I reckon they
thowt better of it when they saw two rifle-barrels peeping out from the
sacks on each side, and saw we war ready for a tussle. But one day--it
wasn't very far from the pint where we mended up that boat the other
day--we war later than usual; the stream war stro