On rounding a point I caught sight of Simpson, running toward the water with the Sybaris clasped in his arms. She would weigh fully ninety pounds with her tent and bedding, and I was astonished to see him lug her along in that reckless manner; but in a moment a bull tore through a hedge and bore down upon him. The canoeist had a good start, and in another moment had run into the river, plunged head-first into the boat, leaving his heels sticking out from under a torn tent-flap as he floated away, while the bull stopped short on the shore, pawing and bellowing.
When my friend’s head emerged from the cockpit the boat was some rods away, and the bull had turned his attention to the potatoes. It was only by means of a red Jersey flaunted on the end of a paddle that the animal’s attention was diverted from the camp long enough to rescue the duffle. I diverted him, as Simpson flatly refused to again assume that rôle.
Nothing was injured but the letter, which had been trampled in the mud.
I naturally felt elated at escaping with so little loss, but Simpson was grumpy all the rest of the evening.
From Weedsport to Cross Lake the Seneca River winds through a rich, rolling country, and we were delighted with views of farm-yards with weather-beaten barns and stacks of grain. Fine cattle stood in shallow places in the stream, chewing their cuds and lazily switching of the flies, and herds of colts tossed their heads and galloped away as we came suddenly upon them. A settlement of old houses clustered about the end of a bridge bore the name of Mosquito Point. Though the place provided us with excellent bread and butter, we did not want to remain there, notwithstanding the inhabitants stoutly asserted that the village bore a misnomer. “It’s nawthin’ to Montezumy,” remarked one gray-bearded citizen, whom we took for the oldest inhabitant, and we believed him. They told us a legend here of the Great Swamp.
The story ran, that a single pair of mosquitoes had their abode there, and these specimens were so large they would devour an Indian without taking the trouble to peel off the canoe, much as a pig would eat a beech-nut. In time, the tribes grew restive under this annoyance, and organized a grand hunt, which resulted in the destruction of their enemies; but while rejoicing over the victory, myriads of a smaller breed rose from the carcasses, and have infested the country ever since.
One of the pleasantest spots along the whole course of the Seneca River is Cross Lake, a beautiful sheet of water crossed by the stream. Here we remained some time. The camp was made on a gravelly beach not far from the village of Jordan. The scenery had that peculiar quality found in an uneven, partially cleared country.
It composed well.
Some buttonwood grew near us on a side hill. A strip of swampy shore stretched away to the south, and above us some bars, opening through a rickety fence overhung with bushes, led into a pasture beyond.