78 WILD SPORTS IN THE SOUTH. "^' 



Then the track went in a little further under some alders, 

 and there she had laid down agin, this time on her side, 

 and, Jehosaphat ! thar by her side, as clare as daylight, 

 was a dozen little tracks of a cub she had been a-carryin' 

 in her mouth all that way. She had tuck to these bushes 

 to give it some milk, and was goin' with it into the big 

 swamps t'other side of the river. It was all as clare as 

 if a schoolmaster had written it. That war the reason 

 why the she painter didn't come on to fight when I fired 

 at her ; she wanted to git her pups clare from the dog ; 

 that's the natur of a painter, and an oncommin consider- 

 in' natur it is, too. My 'pinion of that painter rose some. 

 Arter the trail left the alder bushes, it went right into 

 the river. 



" I soon found a log big enough for me and Yowler, 

 and, puttin' the dog on one eend on't, so as to save him 

 from the alligators, I slung my rifle on my back, and 

 paddled across. I soon found the trail, and went jogging 

 along pretty slow, for it was a tough kind of swamp, 

 when in a minute or so I heerd Yowler burst out in a 

 clear yell. I knowed he seed the painter, and I hurried 

 on as well as I could, but, Jimminy Peters ! that painter, 

 when he made a jump across the fallen logs, went as fur 

 in one minute as I in ten. I soon come to where I heerd 

 the dog break out so, and I seed somethin' kind o' 

 curious. The old tracks went straight on south, but 

 there were a set of new tracks that came right back on 

 top the old ones, and just where the dog had come up 

 they had turned off to the east. 



