De river wuz a-risin', en dey wuz a good current; so I reck'n'd 'at by fo' in de mawnin' I'd be twenty-five mile down de river, en den I'd slip in jis b'fo' daylight en swim asho', en take to de woods on de Illinois side.
"But I didn' have no luck.

When we 'uz mos' down to de head er de islan' a man begin to come aft wid de lantern, I see it warn't no use fer to wait, so I slid overboard en struck out fer de islan'.

Well, I had a notion I could lan' mos' anywhers, but I couldn't--bank too bluff.

I 'uz mos' to de foot er de islan' b'fo' I found' a good place.

I went into de woods en jedged I wouldn' fool wid raffs no mo', long as dey move de lantern roun' so.