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Show Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. XVIII. ~IONTIIS OF PERIL. TnE scs,rch for me ·was kept np ·with 1norc pcrscvcrcncc than I bad anticipated.. l began to t hink Lha L escape ·was i1npossiblc. I \Va in great anxiety lest I should in1plicatc the friend \rho harborcc11nc. I knew the consequences ·would Lc frightful ; and n1uch as I dreaded being caught, even that sccn1cd better ihan causing an innocent person to suffer for kindness to 1110. .A week had passed in terrible suspense, ·when n1y pursuers ca1nc into such close vicinity that I concluJocl they had tracked n1e to n1y hiding-place. I :flow out of tho house, and concealed 1nysolf in a thicket of bu hes. There I rcn1aincd in an agony of fear for two hours. bndJcnly, a reptile of 801110 kind sohecl 1ny leg. In n1y fright, I struck a blo\v ·which looscnccl iLt:i hold but I could not tell whether I had killc(l iL ; it was '· o dark, I could not sec ·what it \Vas ; I only knew it \vas son1ething cold and sli1ny. 'fhe pain I felt soon indicated that the bite was poisonous. I \Yas co1npellccl to leave n1y place of conccaln1out, and I groped n1y way back into tho house. The pain hacl bccon1c intense, and 1ny friend \Vas startled lJy 1ny look of anguish. I asked her to prepare a poultice of \vann ashes all(l vinegar, and I applied it to 1ny leg, \vhich ''?a a1rcrHly 1nuch s'lrollen. 'l'hc appliealion g,~Yc 1no Pon1c relief, but tho swelling <li(l not aLate. 'l'hc dread of lJei11g disa}Jlcd was greater than the lJhy. ieal pain I CllU ureu. Months of Peril. My friend asked an old woman, \vho c1octorcd a1nong the slaves, ·what \Vas good for the hitc of a snake or a lizard. She told her to steep a dozen coppers in -rincgar, over night, and apply the cankered vinegar to the infla1ned part.* I had succccclcd in caution ly conveying so1nc n1cssagcs to n1y relatives. 'rhcy \Yore harshly threatened, and despairing of Iny havino· a chance to c cape, they advised me to return to n1y n1astcr, ask his forgiveness, and let hi1n 1nakc an ex~unplc of mo. But such counsel had no iuflucncc vrith 1nc. \Vhcn I tartcd upon this hazardous undertaking, I had rc:olvod that, con1c what would, there should be no turning back. " Give me liberty, or give me death,'' was n1y 1notto. \Vhcn my friend contrived to rnakc known to 1ny relatives tho painful situat~on I had been in for twenty-four hours, they said no rnorc about n1y going back to n1y 1nastcr. Son1cthing n1ust be done, and that, pccdily; hut whore to turn for hoi p, they knew not. God in his n1crcy raised up "a friend in need." An1o11g the ladies vvho \vcrc acquainted wi t~l n1y grandn1othcr, '\vas one who had known her fron1 childhood, aud ahvays been very fricu clly to her. She had also known my n1othcr and her children, and felt interested for thcn1. At this crisi of affair · she called to sec my granchnothcr, as she not unfrcqu cntly <licl. She obserrcd. the sad and troubled expression of her face, and askecl if she knew where Linda was, and whether ;l! The poison of a snake is a powerful acid, and i · counteractetl by powerful alkalies, uch as potash, ammonia, l ·c. The Indians arc accustomed to apply wet ashes, or plunge the limb into strong b0. \ Vhitc men, empl oyt'd lo lay out r ailro;Hls in snaky pL.tces, often carry ammouia. with lht tn a.s clll a t t!tlutc.- t·:nr 10 1{. |