AN EXPLORATION
The lake was a shimmering mirror, dashed with endless splashes of
colour, when my boat glided swiftly away in the sunshine of the early
morning. From the jungles that fringed the shores came many sounds of
birds, singing, screaming and calling out. The noise made by my oars in
the crude locks seemed to travel far and to echo back from every side.
Believing in systematic investigation, I chose the shore off to the
right, along which I intended to cruise that day. I would try the
left-hand side the following day, if necessary, and then, if the outlet
I was seeking were still undiscovered, I might be obliged to undertake a
much longer trip than either of these would become.
The alligators had apparently not begun to stir about on the shady side
of the lake. I skimmed along within fifty yards of the shore, constantly
watching for any indication of a stream flowing outward through the
trees. The first hour brought no results; in the second I came to “my”
creek, the stream down which I had plunged that evening of the storm,
with the savage ourang behind me. Its volume was normal now, and
therefore much less than when it had bowled me into the lake,
nevertheless it tumbled over its last rocky leap with a pleasant murmur
which sounded familiar enough, and bubbles of silver floated away on the
placid surface of the water. It was good to recognise this old “friend,”
for it gave me another guide and cleared up my mental map of the lake
and surrounding country.
Beyond this point there were miniature bays and tedious windings of the
shore, many of which I felt inclined to ignore, but any one of which
might have hidden the outlet I felt so eager to discover. In not a few
of the trees, which often overhung the water, I discerned troops of
curious monkeys. Of these there seemed to be almost endless variety, but
all were particularly shy upon beholding the strange creature out on the
lake, though I had no means of determining whether or not they classed
my boat and me among the ’gators.
From one rather narrow inlet I escaped as quickly as I could turn my
craft and drive her back to the main body of water, for I nearly pushed
my oar against a huge boa-constrictor, half hanging from a tree with its
body partially submerged beneath the surface. Although I saw this
reptile before approaching so near, I readily mistook it for a portion
of the branch from which it depended. What it might have done, had I
rudely disturbed the sleep in which it was quietly indulging, I did not
pretend to know; it was quite enough for me that the creature was there,
and that for all the snake family I have a great aversion.
The morning sped away. The heat of the day increased, so that rowing the
boat became an irksome task, particularly as I found nothing but
inconsiderable brooks, all of which flowed into the lake. Floating
quietly, with the oars shipped, I ate my lunch and felt somewhat
refreshed. A full hour of rest was spent in idly dabbling my feet in the
water. Later in the afternoon I had a swim, but in this the pleasure was
marred by a too persistent feeling of uneasiness about the monsters
which the place might contain.
It must have been as late as four o’clock when at length I rounded a
point and found a long, irregular estuary, not more than seventy feet in
width, rank with grass and giving evidence of being the slack-water of a
large stream. From its juncture with the lake, I was quite unable to
determine its nature; it could have been either an inlet or an outlet,
as far as I could see. Proceeding up the centre of this, I was not
particularly gladdened to observe that my boat and oars were frightening
three medium-sized alligators to the cover afforded by the growth on
either side. Also there were great swarms of pestiferous insects,
dancing above the water in the sunlight. However, if this did mark the
outlet, I had to know it; the gauntlet would have to be run. It would be
comparatively safe, I thought, as long as it was I who continued to
frighten the alligators, instead of having them perform the office for
me.
The place seemed literally alive with these monsters. I think it must
have been a breeding ground, for there were little ones by the score.
They all continued to be shy, but I confess I was not inspired with
confidence in any of the creatures, nor yet with a large pressure of
courage in myself. The insects settled upon me by hundreds. I slapped at
them constantly, but in a few minutes I was bitten in no fewer than
fifty places upon my hands, face and body and many of these spots had a
drop or more of blood oozing out to mark their location.
Made desperate, I rowed as fast as caution would permit, being afraid
every moment of incurring the wrath or exciting the hunger of some huge
mother ’gator. The estuary wound away tortuously, into a realm weirdly
luxuriant with creepers, giant exotics and trees overhung with parasitic
vines. It narrowed down, also, which brought me nearer the banks, with
their crawling life. I presently noted a number of water-snakes escaping
in all directions, some of them near enough for me to strike them with
the oars.
The sun was down toward the far horizon so that this place was in a
dense shade, amounting to gloom. It was just as much as I could do to
get my own consent to going further. It almost seemed as if I would
prefer to live with the Links forever than to have the nightmarish
features of this place increase or be nearer to me. I do not claim to be
a man of bravery and this estuary, I confess, gave me the creeps. I was
enormously relieved, in a moment, to hear a sound like rippling water.
Then I rounded a point on which a brood of alligators had just made a
landing, and saw where the water was in motion.
It was flowing into the lake, not out toward the sea. My investigation
of the place had been time and energy wasted, not to mention nerves. In
haste I swung my craft about and started back. As it stopped for a
space, to turn, a water-snake crawled up, near the stern and glided
across. The reptile was large, glistening and altogether as repulsively
headed as Nature ever constructs.
I hit at it viciously, and it dodged and plunged into the slimy water
like a shot. By that time my prow had drifted against the tail of an
alligator which must have been lying asleep, concealed in the grass. He
waked and gave the boat a bat with his great caudal extremity that made
her quiver, as he scrambled to shore. There was such a chorus of
dreadful sounds then that the creeps chased from my feet to the hair on
my head. Added to the maddening torture inflicted by the stinging
insects—some of which seemed large enough to be classed with
vampires—the place gave forth an animal stench comparable only to that
of a den of serpents. I grew “rattled,” in my frantic endeavour to get
out of the place, and rowed against the shore, in one place, and into a
tangle of reeds and vines at another. All of this added to my own
confusion as well as to the sounds of hissing, squirming away and
floundering in the water produced by the creatures whose home I had
rudely invaded. Had the beasts turned upon me in that maze of horrors, I
should have been wild enough to jump out of the boat and try to dash to
shore and away through the swampy tangle and the jungle.
As I neared the exit, I did have the misfortune to strike not only the
edge of a sort of grass island, but also the head of a baby ’gator,
therein hiding. The mother gave forth an angry snort and started to
overtake the boat. An oar got caught for a second but I jerked it loose
and plunged it deep for a stroke that shot me away toward the lake. The
furious reptile gained for a moment, but then I got down to boat-race
work and slid away in a desperate mood. Paying too little attention to
where I was steering, I forgot the tendency of the craft to yaw about to
starboard, and therefore sent it fairly through a mass of green drapery
hanging from a tree on the right-hand bank; and the tail of a snake
which was climbing hurriedly up in the branches, dragged slimily across
my neck.
I shuddered and nearly fell forward, but the boat had gained such
headway that it pushed through everything and was floating free on the
lake in a second. I bent to the oars anew, but Mrs. Alligator had turned
back, defeated. Without waiting for more experiences I headed for home
and commenced a steady pull.