to be dashed about
by several formidable 'grizzlies.'

'You smile, gentlemen, but really I was so impressed with this and
like extravagant creations of fear that my better judgment was
temporarily suspended. This deception, however, was only of
momentary duration.

'Suddenly the skiff encountered some obstacle and remained
immovable. Quickly clutching my gun and firing it aimlessly, I
sprang overboard, and, with extraordinary energy, made for the
other side of the river and safety.

'My remembrance of that hazardous crossing even now fills me with a
sympathetic thrill. The river, near where I had leaped in, varied
in depth from my middle to my neck, and the snaky stalks of tule
clung to me, retarding my retreat like faithful allies of the
enemy. An area of this plant extended to the channel, a distance of
some fifty yards, where a clear current rendered swimming feasible;
and this I essayed to reach, urged onward by terror, and regardless
of ordinary obstructions. So vigorous was my action that,
notwithstanding the frequent reversals of my head and 'head's
antipodes' as I tripped over reeds and roots, perhaps I should have
reached the 'point proposed' with only a loss equivalent to the
proverbial 'year's growth,' had not a hidden snag unluckily lain in
the way, which 'by hook or by crook' fastened itself in the part of
my trowsers exactly corresponding, when dry, with that 'broad disk
of drab' finally seen, after much anxiety, by the curious Geoffrey
Crayon between the parted coat-skirts of a certain mysterious
'Stout Gentleman,' and inextricably held me in check despite my
frantic struggles.

'Imagine my feelings while thus entangled by a bond of enduring
material, a bait for a fierce brute which eagerly pressed forward
to snap at me. Believe me, boys, this was _not_ the happiest moment
of my life. I knew no reason why I should resignedly submit to so
undistinguished a fate. My knife, however, was in the boat, so that
my release could only be attained by extreme exertion. Accordingly
I writhed and jerked with my 'best violence,' all the time
denouncing the whole race of bears, from 'Noah's pets' down; and
you may be sure, emphatically expressing not a very exalted opinion
of snags.

'Ah! how that brief period of horrible _susp