98 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 



stream, pressing them under by their weight ; but let 

 some unfortunate child of the genius of Robert Fulton, 

 as it passes up stream, be saluted by the visage of one 

 of these polite gentry, as it rises ten or more feet in 

 the air, and nothing short of irreparable damage, or 

 swift destruction ensues : while the cause of all this dis- 

 aster, after the concussion, will rise above the ruin as if 

 nothing had happened, shake the dripping water from 

 its forked limbs, and sink and rise again, rejoicing in its 

 strength. 



Other trees become firmly fastened in the bed of the 

 river ; and their long trunks, shorn of their limbs, pre- 

 sent the most formidable objects of navigation. A rock 

 itself, sharpened and set by art, could be no more dan- 

 gerous than these dread " snags." Let the bows of the 

 strongest vessel come in contact with them, and the con- 

 cussion will crush its timbers as if they were paper ; and 

 the noble craft will tremble for a moment like a thing 

 of life, when suddenly stricken to its vitals, and then 

 sink into its grave. 



Such are the " cut-offs," " rafts," " sawyers," and 

 " snags," of the Mississippi ; terms significant to the 

 minds of the western boatman and hunter, of qualities 

 which they apply to themselves, and to their heroes, 

 whenever they wish to express themselves strongly ; and 

 we presume that the beau-ideal of a political character 

 with them, would be, one who would come at the truth 

 by a " cut-off" — separate and pile up falsehood for de- 



