CHAPTER SEVEN.
FRANCOIS GETS AN UGLY FALL.
The next encampment of our hunters was upon the Bayou Crocodile.

This, like all the bayous of Louisiana, is a sluggish stream, and here and there expands itself into large ponds or lakes.

It is called Bayou Crocodile from the great number of alligators that infest its waters, though in this respect it differs but little from the other rivers of Louisiana.
The spot chosen for the camp was an open space upon the bank, at a point where the bayou widened into a small lake.

The situation commanded a view of the shores of this lake all round--and a singular view that was.
Giant trees rose over the water--live oaks and cypresses--and from their spreading branches the Spanish moss hung trailing down like long streamers of silver thread.

This gave the upper part of the woods a somewhat hoary appearance, and would have rendered the scene rather a melancholy one, had it not been for the more brilliant foliage that relieved it.