GEORGE RETAINS HIS HEAD AND LEGS. 229 



might be trusted to my men. My horror may well be 

 imagined when, after some noise, down in the bottom of 

 the creek, of the nature of which I was not aware, I saw 

 emerge from it, and up its very steep side, the fine mule 

 in a paroxysm of panic, running away, while George, 

 who had very improperly been permitted to drive over 

 such a dangerous place, having lost his seat on the driv 

 ing-box, was still on his legs, and running to keep so, 

 absolutely between the mule's hocks and the waggon, 

 and still tugging, but of course without any power, at the 

 reins. The mule, on reaching the summit of the bank, 

 bolted out of the track through the underwood, which, 

 luckily, impeded him, and made for a great hole, down 

 which, had he gone ten yards further, waggon, dogs, 

 George and all, would have been dashed to pieces. The 

 mule saw that he must be killed if he went on, and, turning 

 from the danger, bolted in another direction, still through 

 thicker brushwood, when my men, aided by other im 

 pediments, succeeded in stopping him. During the whole 

 of this struggle George never lost his head nor his legs 

 the one would Jiave been as certain death as the other 

 but when the mule was brought up, there stood George 

 between his hocks, or between his hocks and the cart, 

 with reins and whip still in his hands. The cause of 

 this difficulty was, that the place was so steep, and, I 

 believe, from some portion of the harness or cart giving 

 way, the driving-seat came on the mule's hocks, and shot 

 George out of his commanding position on to the ground. 

 None of the men, while I was occupied with the other 

 waggons, had held on behind, and thus we very narrow 

 ly escaped an accident by which I might have lost my 

 dogs, as well as my servant, waggon, and mule. The 

 damage done, as it happened, was not much ; it was soon 



