ued, he beheld the identical mound he had ascended before dark, and
from which his unsteady and erratic riding in the night had fortunately
prevented a distant separation. They now led their horses forth, and,
mounting without delay, whipped forward for life or death. Could the
summit of the mound be attained, they were in safety--for there the soil
was not encumbered with decayed vegetation--and they spurred their
animals to the top of their speed. It was a noble sight to see the
majestic white steed flying toward the mound with the velocity of the
wind, while the diminutive pony miraculously followed in the wake like
an inseparable shadow. The careering flames were not far behind, and,
when the horses gained the summit and Glenn looked back, the fire had
reached the base!

Fortunately, that portion of the plain over which the scathing element
had spent its fury, was the direction the party should pursue in
retracing their way homeward.

The light, dry grass had been soon consumed, and the earth now wore a
blackened appearance, and was as smooth as if vegetation had never
covered the surface. As the party rode briskly along, (and the pony now
kept in advance,) the horses' hoofs rattled as loudly on the baked
ground as if it were a plank floor. The reflection of the fire in the
distance still threw a lurid glare over the extended heath. As the smoke
gradually ascended, objects could be discerned at a great distance, and
occasionally a half-roasted deer or elk was seen plunging about, driven
to madness by its tortures. And frequently they found the dead bodies of
smaller animals that could find no safety in flight.

THE CAPTAIN'S STORY.

At the close of the war with Great Britain, in the year 1815, I took
command of the brig Ganges, owned by Ebenezer Sage, Esq., then a wealthy
and respectable merchant at Middleton. I sailed from New York on the
20th of August, bound for Turk's Island for a cargo of salt, and, on the
5th of September, I arrived at my destined port. It being the season for
hurricanes in that region, it was thought most safe for us to go around
into a small harbor on the south side of the island. In order to reach
this harbor, we had to go through a narrow, crooked channel, with rocks
and dangerous reefs on every side, but, with a skillful pilot, we made
our way through safely, and came to anchor. On the next day we
commenced taking in our cargo of salt. On the 9th of September, a day
that I shall e