110 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 



of the Mississippi, the contemplated canal through the 

 Isthmus of Darien, and the ability of the steam war- 

 ships ; he saidj that in the contemplation of the subject, 

 " his feelings war propelled by five hundred horse- 

 power — that the bows of his imagination cut through 

 the muddy waters of reality — that the practicabilit}^ of 

 his notions was as certain as a rudder in giving the pro- 

 per direction — that his judgment, like a safety-valve to 

 his mind, would always keep him from advocating any 

 thing that would burst up, and that it was unfortunate 

 that Robert Fulton had not lived to be President of the 

 United States." 



With such enlarged ideas he wiled away the hours 

 of dinner ; — arriving at the mouth of " Dry Outlet " (a 

 little ditch that draws off some of the waters of the 

 Mississippi when very high), the pilot turned the bows 

 of the " Emperor " into its mouth, and shot down, 

 along with an empty flour barrel, with an alacrity that 

 sent the bows of the boat high and dry on land, the first 

 bend it came to. 



A great deal of hard work got it off, an'd away the 

 steamer went again, at one time sideways, at another 

 every way, hitting against the soft alluvial banks, or 

 brushing the pipes among the branches of overhanging 

 trees. Finally the current got too strong, and carried 

 it along with alarming velocity. The bows of the boat 

 were turned up stream, and thus managed to keep an 

 onward progress compatible with safety. 



