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Entered according to Act of Congress, in June, 1867, by J. W. Burke & Cos., in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the So. District of Georgin. Yol. I. Written for Burke’s Weekly. JACK DOBELL; Or, A Boy’s Adventures in Texas. A STORY FOR BOYS. CHAPTER XVI. AGAIN ON THE ROAD STOPPED BY A CANE BRAKE —BEAR SIGNS AN UGLY BED-FEL- L 0W — T hE CENTIPEDE —TRYING TO CUT THROUGH THE CANE-BRAKE THE IDEA ABANDONED —ADVENTURE WITH A BEAR —HARD TO TELL WHICH WAS THE WORST FRIGHTENED —COMFORTABLE QUARTERS, AND A WARM RECEP TION —TROUBLESOME FRIENDS GIVING THEM “THE SLIP ” —FLACCO. i with my knap sack, fi 11 e and with provis ions, upon my should ers, and my tin cup and butcher kni f e slung to my belt, I again took up the line of march in a north- easterly direction, across the prairie. From the number of roads I crossed to day, I came to the conclusion that I had got to an older and more thickly settled portion of the country. Several of these roads had evidently been recently travel ed by many persons on horseback, proba bly, I thought, by marauding parties from the Mexican army. Towards evening I came to a dense cane-brake extending northwestwardly and southeastwardly as fur as the eye could reach. This I at tempted to penetrate, but owing to the thick growth of cane, everywhere matted together with briars, vines and creeping MACON, GrA., DECEMBER 7, 1867. THE WIG, CANE AND HAT. plants, I found it impossible to make much headway through it. By the time I had concluded to aban don the attempt in despair, night came on, and I encamped on the margin of a small lagoon, cut off from the open prairie by a narrow belt of cane, and other shrub bery. I quickly had a tire under "way, (for the locality looked like a very favor able one for wolves and other “var mints,”) and filling my cup with water at the lagoon, I poured into it a handful of parched coffee, and set it upon the coals. When it had boiled for a few moments, I took it off, and settling it by the addition of a little cold water, I sweetened it to my taste, and with this, and some of the provisions I had brought along with me in my knapsack, I made a hearty supper, and then laid down to sleep upon a bed of cane tops, which I cut with my butcher knife. I heard no wolves here, but several times during the night 1 was roused by the noise occasioned by some large animal in making its way through the dense cane-brake. I suppose it was a bear, for I saw many of their tracks in the soft mud near the margin of the la goon. Whilst lying awake the next morning upon my “ cane mattrass,” my attention was drawn to a rustling among the leaves near my head, and turning them over, I discovered an ugly reptile about six or seven inches in length, which from the description I had had of them I recogniz ed at once to be a “centipede.” Not fancying such a bed-fellow, I quickly dis- They are a most disgusting-looking rep tile, and are said to be exceedingly poison ous, but I have never known an instance of anyone dying from the effects of their sting. As soon as I had cooked and eaten my breakfast, I attacked the cane-brake with my butcher knife in hand, determined, if it were possible to do so, to cut my way through it, I worked faithfully till mid dav when I calculated I had made about four hundred yards from my point of starting. Such slow progress was ex tremely discouraging, for at that rate my journey through the cane-brake, if it were IST o. 23 patched him with a stick. Th e y some what resemble the in sect vulgarly called in this country the “thousand- legged worm,” but are much [larger, and flatter, land their legs are not |so numerous. They I are of a dark brown [ upon the back, and I some are found with la red head, but the most of them are of a uniform color. — They have a forked tail, and a long sting in the end of each, be sides a smaller sting upon each foot.—