130 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 
walked off from a tree, whar we might have tied up, was 
a caution to steamboats. 
“¢ Keep the current,’ said the captain, ‘and let us 
sweat it out.’ We went on this way some time, when I 
told the captain—said I, Captain, I have never been in 
these diggins afore, but if I haven’t seen the same land- 
scape three times, then I can’t speak the truth. 
“ At this the captain looked hard, and swore that we 
were in an eddy, and doing nothing but whirling round. 
“The lightning just at this time was very accommo- 
dating, and showed us a big tree in the river that had 
stuck fast, and was bowing up and down, ready to re- 
ceive us, and we found ourselves rushing straight on 
to it. 
“The owner of the bacon and other ‘ plunder,’ with 
which the boat was loaded, was on board,—and when 
he saw the ‘sawyer,’ he eyed it as hard as a small thief 
would a constable; says he, ‘ Captain, if that ar fellow 
at the sweep (oar) (fellow meant me)’ said he ‘ Captain, 
if that ar fellow at the sweep don’t bear on harder, and 
keep us off that tree, I am a busted-up pork merchant.’ 
I did bear on it as well as I could, but the current was 
too strong, and we went on the ‘sawyer’ all standing. 
The boat broke up like a dried leaf; pork and plunder 
scattered, and I swam, half dead, to the shore. 
“ T Jost in the whole operation just two shirts, eighteen 
dollars in wages, and half a box of Kaintucky tobacker, 
besides two game cocks. 
