Bartholemy was now greatly in fear that, when his escape was discovered, he would be tracked by bloodhounds,—­for these dogs were much used by the Spaniards in pursuing escaping slaves or prisoners,—­and he therefore did not feel safe in immediately making his way along the coast, which was what he wished to do.  If the hounds should get upon his trail, he was a lost man.  The desperate pirate, therefore, determined to give the bloodhounds no chance to follow him, and for three days he remained in a marshy forest, in the dark recesses of which he could hide, and where the water, which covered the ground, prevented the dogs from following his scent.  He had nothing to eat except a few roots of water-plants, but he was accustomed to privation, and these kept him alive.  Often he heard the hounds baying on the dry land adjoining the marsh, and sometimes he saw at night distant torches, which he was sure were carried by men who were hunting for him.

But at last the pursuit seemed to be given up; and hearing no more dogs and seeing no more flickering lights, Bartholemy left the marsh and set out on his long journey down the coast.  The place he wished to reach was called Golpho Triste, which was forty leagues away, but where he had reason to suppose he would find some friends.  When he came out from among the trees, he mounted a small hill and looked back upon the town.  The public square was lighted, and there in the middle of it he saw the gallows which had been erected for his execution, and this sight, doubtless, animated him very much during the first part of his journey.

The terrible trials and hardships which Bartholemy experienced during his tramp along the coast were such as could have been endured only by one of the strongest and toughest of men.  He had found in the marsh an old gourd, or calabash, which he had filled with fresh water,—­for he could expect nothing but sea-water during his journey,—­and as for solid food he had nothing but the raw shellfish which he found upon the rocks; but after a diet of roots, shellfish must have been a very agreeable change, and they gave him all the strength and vigor he needed.  Very often he found streams and inlets which he was obliged to ford, and as he could see that they were always filled with alligators, the passage of them was not very pleasant.  His method of getting across one of these narrow streams, was to hurl rocks into the water until he had frightened away the alligators immediately in front of him, and then, when he had made for himself what seemed to be a free passage, he would dash in and hurry across.

At other times great forests stretched down to the very coast, and through these he was obliged to make his way, although he could hear the roars and screams of wild beasts all about him.  Any one who is afraid to go down into a dark cellar to get some apples from a barrel at the foot of the stairs, can have no idea of the sort of mind possessed by Bartholemy Portuguez.  The animals might howl around him and glare at him with their shining eyes, and the alligators might lash the water into foam with their great tails, but he was bound for Golpho Triste and was not to be stopped on his way by anything alive.