AN AWFUL ADVENTURE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1969, 14 November 1889, Page 1

AN AWFUL ADVENTURE.

A family named Lambert, living on Lake Charles Apopka, or Tsala Lake as it is called, reports a thrilling adventure, says the Los Angeles Express. The family consists of Mr and Mrs Lambert and three children, two boys and a girl baby, the boys being 8 and 15 respectively and the girl just able to toddle about. They moved there about two years j ago. The house is built about 200 feet ,from the lake and on a slight elevation, tho land in front sloping down gradually to the water’s edge. At the left, off some little distance is an immense sawgrass pond.. Near this Mr Lambert built an inclosure for bis pigs, one side facing the lake, and up to a month ago bad a magnificent lot of porkers. One night several weeks ago he heard a tremendous uproar in his hog pea, and hurrying out with his shotgun and lantern, he was just in time to see one of his hue hogs disappear in the

lake in the mouth of a hugs alligator while the scores of balls of fire seen glittering in the darkness on the lake showed the presence of others. From that beginning their inroads were kept up great with regularity, and though he killed a, dozen or more the pork was too nice for them to relinquish their

feeding : ground. Lately they have grown qo bold as to crawl into his yard in the daytime; and the predatory raids of these marauders on his hogs and fowls have rendered Mr Lambert’s life a burden. A recent adventure, however, of two members of his family with one of these dreadful creatures has so terrified the farmer that he seriously contemplates abandoning his place. .

One Saturday afternoon a abort time ago Mra Lambert, who was in the back part of the bouse, was attracted by the screams of her little girl and cries of “ Mamma! mamma! ” Hurrying to the front of the house she could not locate the little one’s whereabouts but her piercing screams con- , tinned, and the almost frantic mother soon discovered the flutter of her child’s dress near the lake shore, the palmetto bushes nearly hiding her from view, Snatching up an axe .from a woodpile, she flew to the water’s edge, and as she rounded the palmetto patch a sight burst upon her which nearly drove her crazy. On the edge of the bank, with its body half in the water; was a huge alligator, its forepaws outstretched, raising it from the ground, while its tail lashed the water into foam. Just in front of it and clinging to a palmetto root with her tiny hands for dear life was the little girl, her dress being held in the jaws of the alligator, who was slowly dragging the child. The alligator’s dull eyes gleamed with anger like red coals of fire, and when Mrs Lambert appeared the monster uttered a hoarse bellow and started backward tearing loose the child’s slight hold. The latter’s infantile features were drawn into an agonised appeal, and as the animal dragged her down she was too paralysed with fear to even cry out. The peril of her baby banished all fear, from Mrs Lambert, and she rushed up and hit the monster over the head with the axe, and seizing the child with both hands tried to pull her tl,way. The sharp blade cut into the alligator’s eye, and mad with pain, he opened his, jaw and half sprang at the woman. This left the child free and they both fell backward. Mrs Lambert said afterwards that at this moment she never expected to save her life. As she fell the alligator swung around his tail with a terrible sounding whish, but for fortunate fall of the two just placed them outside its deadly sweep. The alligator advanced as far as it could with its unwieldy waddle, and Mrs Lambert attempted to rise and escape. Her dress caught on a root, and before she could get up and free herself the alligator made a snap at her and missed, catching hold of her dress instead, finding that it had secured something, it commenced backing toward the water, dragging along the prostrate, woman, who now fully realised her,, peril and filled the air with cries for help. She frantically clutched at the roots as she „ was dragged over them, but her dress was of .stout , material, and the alligator’s strength, soon overcame her feeble resistance., Suddenly, with a heavy sinking of the heart, she felt that her .foot, was in the water, and that if no help came she was , doomed to, a terrible death. The, horror gave her strength for a moment, and she made another frantic effort to free herself, but it . was in vain, and she felt herself drawn ; into, the water. Suddenly her hands, yyhiph were nervously clutching at everything which seemed. to promise, support, passed oyer the axe-handle. With the swiftnesspf thought and with superhuman energy, she seized the helve and < scrambled up, and, how she cannot say, she managed to deal the alligator a heavy blow with the blade. With rare good, fortune it struck the other j eye and crashed into his head. The maddened and wounded reptile opened its jaws with a roar of mingled pain i and, rage, and Mrs Lambert’s dress slipped off his large teeth, Scrambling up she, seized her baby girl and flew wildly to the house, and fell on the floor in a dead faint Her husband on * returning home at night found her there unconscious, with the child patting her mother’s cheek, trying m her baby way to arouse her.