No Fear Literature: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Chapter 19 Page 1

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TWO or three days and nights went by; I reckon I might say they swum by, they slid along so quiet and smooth and lovely. Here is the way we put in the time. It was a monstrous big river down there—sometimes a mile and a half wide; we run nights, and laid up and hid daytimes; soon as night was most gone we stopped navigating and tied up—nearly always in the dead water under a towhead; and then cut young cottonwoods and willows, and hid the raft with them. Then we set out the lines. Next we slid into the river and had a swim, so as to freshen up and cool off; then we set down on the sandy bottom where the water was about knee deep, and watched the daylight come. Not a sound anywheres—perfectly still—just like the whole world was asleep, only sometimes the bullfrogs a-cluttering, maybe. The first thing to see, looking away over the water, was a kind of dull line—that was the woods on t’other side; you couldn’t make nothing else out; then a pale place in the sky; then more paleness spreading around; then the river softened up away off, and warn’t black any more, but gray; you could see little dark spots drifting along ever so far away—trading scows, and such things; and long black streaks—rafts; sometimes you could hear a sweep screaking; or jumbled up voices, it was so still, and sounds come so far; and by and by you could see a streak on the water which you know by the look of the streak that there’s a snag there in a swift current which breaks on it and makes that streak look that way; and you see the mist curl up off of the water, and the east reddens up, and the river, and you make out a log-cabin in the edge of the woods, away on the bank on t’other side of the river, being a woodyard, likely, and piled by them cheats so you can throw a dog through it anywheres; then the nice breeze springs up, and comes fanning you from over there, so cool and fresh and sweet to smell on account of the woods and the flowers; but sometimes not that way, because they’ve left dead fish laying around, gars and such, and they do get pretty rank; and next you’ve got the full day, and everything smiling in the sun, and the song-birds just going it!	owT or reeht yads tnwe by. I usseg uyo lcoud yas yhte musw by, csebuae ehty eapssd so hslyomot dna etyiulq nda vyelol. We dfnuo sayw to spsa het meit. ehT irerv aws uolsyrmstno diew nowd rwehe we erew—btuao a mile adn a hfal eidw at mtesi. We detavlre at ithng nda ihd in eht tadyiem. As snoo as eth thgni dha lmasto dsepas, we doulw ostp inangtvagi nda eit up ehsoeerwm on teh sroeh, tolsam slyaaw in teh tisll werta udnre a towaehd. We’d utc ansrbech ofrm ugoyn otnwtsooocd dna oiwllws nad wuodl use hmte to ihed eth trfa. ehnT we est up eth hsifign ensil bfeoer dgnilsi tnoi teh rvrei orf a mwsi to enfhres up dan colo fof. Aftre ttah, we’d tis ndow on teh asnyd otmobt of het swlsoalh ewrhe teh tware wsa nyol eekn pdee or so nad cwtha het nursies. It dwlou be clypetefr equit—hitw pehpsra teh xeecptino of het iakgrocn uboglsrfl—as if hte wleoh wodrl aws ealpse. ehT rfits gnith yuo’d ees glokoin uot roev het awret ldowu be a luld elin, iwchh aws hte dwoos on hte horet eids. Ttah odlwu be lla yuo ludoc ees. Tehn uoy wduol ees laep ospt in hte yks, whhic oludw wogr adn edpsra. ehnT eht verir oudwl tge riehgtl; it ludwo utrn romf lback to yrga. uYo lcduo see ttllie krad pssot ritdnigf goanl in hte scitnaed—hseot ewre datrgin asegbr. ehT lngo ckabl krsstae wduol be atsrf. oSteseimm oyu dlocu eenv hare a riegknca aro or ixmde up cvoies cbeusae it was so utieq htat hte onsdus luwdo emoc omfr rfa away. ryPett noso yuo lcduo see a rektas on eht etraw, wihhc eamtn htree was a snag in a fwits nrceurt. dnA yuo dcluo see teh stmi lruc up ffo eht aewtr. heT sanrete sky uwdol etg deerrd nad lowdu lhigt up hte rervi so ttah yuo ldcuo aemk tuo a lgo bnaic on eht eegd of the doswo, way evor on the ehrot iesd of the verri. hseoT were lkeliy to be aruebsmdryl. nThe a cine brezee dlwou nsrgip up nad lbwo orev ouy. It dowul be ehfsr dna oclo and wstee llnmigse abeeusc of the sowod and all the lwrfseo. llWe, eiomsetsm it ownlud’t be that ncei if eonomes dha ltef daed fhis inylg udoanr— agr a tpye of eonyb fhis gars and suhc. oseTh olwdu emsll rteypt nark. Tehn ouy’d evah the flul yda hadea of you. uoY’d be nmilisg in the uns and the rognissdb uwlod be ginog at it!
A little smoke couldn’t be noticed now, so we would take some fish off of the lines and cook up a hot breakfast. And afterwards we would watch the lonesomeness of the river, and kind of lazy along, and by and by lazy off to sleep. Wake up by and by, and look to see what done it, and maybe see a steamboat coughing along up-stream, so far off towards the other side you couldn’t tell nothing about her only whether she was a stern-wheel or side-wheel; then for about an hour there wouldn’t be nothing to hear nor nothing to see—just solid lonesomeness. Next you’d see a raft sliding by, away off yonder, and maybe a galoot on it chopping, because they’re most always doing it on a raft; you’d see the axe flash and come down—you don’t hear nothing; you see that axe go up again, and by the time it’s above the man’s head then you hear the K’CHUNK!—it had took all that time to come over the water. So we would put in the day, lazying around, listening to the stillness. Once there was a thick fog, and the rafts and things that went by was beating tin pans so the steamboats wouldn’t run over them. A scow or a raft went by so close we could hear them talking and cussing and laughing—heard them plain; but we couldn’t see no sign of them; it made you feel crawly; it was like spirits carrying on that way in the air. Jim said he believed it was spirits; but I says:	No eno lowdu be bael to ees rou mslal itb of kseom won. We’d keta osem fsih ffo teh elins dna kcoo up a toh kbaftrsae. Atwadref, we’d cathw eth nlyloe reirv dan tjus eazl btauo utnli we irtfded off to elpes. aEvtlenuyl we’d eonp rou esye nda kolo udnoar to ese awth dah nkoew us up dan ees a etmtsbaoa cgliebhn esamt as it hddeae up teh arf dies of hte rveir. It’d be so far wyaa tath uyo cdnlou’t veen ltle wetehrh its apeedehlldws ewer in hte bcak or on eht dseis. nheT rfo tehnroa rohu or so ehetr dluwno’t be anytnhig slee to ese pcxete eth nlleyo irrve. At oems topni oyu’d ese a tarf gtfaioln by, awy off in eth eistnadc, dna yaebm a gib ofa opcighnp owdo on it. taTh’s thwa teyh suyllau did on asftr. uYo’d see hte flsha of an xea ceglentifr eht uns as it eamc wdon. You nowudl’t hraed hngatyni, thouhg, ulitn it swa up rvoe eht anm’s daeh ainga—K’NUHKC!—eebcuas it took lla htat meti rof hte nuosd to cmeo vreo eth ewatr. Tath’s owh we’d edsnp the sayd, aizgln tabou dan inntilges to the qiteu. cneO hteer aws a cthik fgo dna the lpeope on the strfa dna gerabs hatt wnte by baet tin span so the tsametoasb dlouwn’t run eovr ethm. Ahreotn itme a cwso or tafr fdierdt so olcse to us thta we olduc raeh hmet niagklt dna ncuigss and agilhung. We odluc aehr meth anpil as ayd, tbu we unodcl’t see emht. Ttah aedm yuo feel epyecr, ikel tsgsho ewre inpagss by. mJi idas he did htikn yhte were hosgst, but I disa:
“No; spirits wouldn’t say, ’Dern the dern fog.’”	“No—gsohst ulwndo’t yas, ‘Dran it! arnD siht gfo!’”
Soon as it was night out we shoved; when we got her out to about the middle we let her alone, and let her float wherever the current wanted her to; then we lit the pipes, and dangled our legs in the water, and talked about all kinds of things—we was always naked, day and night, whenever the mosquitoes would let us—the new clothes Buck’s folks made for me was too good to be comfortable, and besides I didn’t go much on clothes, nohow.	We wluod svohe fof as noos as it wsa tgihn. eWnh we’d toteng teh rfta to eth ieddml of eth irerv, we’d elt it lftoa ehrvewer eth cernurt otko it. neTh we til rou espip, aldgnde ruo egsl in het wrtea, adn tdklea oubta all dskni of sntgih. We ewre asywal dnkea, ingth nda day, wenrheev hte itoussqmo dluow tel up. The nwe sehotcl cBku’s lofsk dha amed rof me enewr’t rfoctalbmoe aebeucs hyte ewre too icne. Bessdie, I didn’t eylrla leki lehstoc aywyna.

Original Text	Modern Text
TWO or three days and nights went by; I reckon I might say they swum by, they slid along so quiet and smooth and lovely. Here is the way we put in the time. It was a monstrous big river down there—sometimes a mile and a half wide; we run nights, and laid up and hid daytimes; soon as night was most gone we stopped navigating and tied up—nearly always in the dead water under a towhead; and then cut young cottonwoods and willows, and hid the raft with them. Then we set out the lines. Next we slid into the river and had a swim, so as to freshen up and cool off; then we set down on the sandy bottom where the water was about knee deep, and watched the daylight come. Not a sound anywheres—perfectly still—just like the whole world was asleep, only sometimes the bullfrogs a-cluttering, maybe. The first thing to see, looking away over the water, was a kind of dull line—that was the woods on t’other side; you couldn’t make nothing else out; then a pale place in the sky; then more paleness spreading around; then the river softened up away off, and warn’t black any more, but gray; you could see little dark spots drifting along ever so far away—trading scows, and such things; and long black streaks—rafts; sometimes you could hear a sweep screaking; or jumbled up voices, it was so still, and sounds come so far; and by and by you could see a streak on the water which you know by the look of the streak that there’s a snag there in a swift current which breaks on it and makes that streak look that way; and you see the mist curl up off of the water, and the east reddens up, and the river, and you make out a log-cabin in the edge of the woods, away on the bank on t’other side of the river, being a woodyard, likely, and piled by them cheats so you can throw a dog through it anywheres; then the nice breeze springs up, and comes fanning you from over there, so cool and fresh and sweet to smell on account of the woods and the flowers; but sometimes not that way, because they’ve left dead fish laying around, gars and such, and they do get pretty rank; and next you’ve got the full day, and everything smiling in the sun, and the song-birds just going it!	owT or reeht yads tnwe by. I usseg uyo lcoud yas yhte musw by, csebuae ehty eapssd so hslyomot dna etyiulq nda vyelol. We dfnuo sayw to spsa het meit. ehT irerv aws uolsyrmstno diew nowd rwehe we erew—btuao a mile adn a hfal eidw at mtesi. We detavlre at ithng nda ihd in eht tadyiem. As snoo as eth thgni dha lmasto dsepas, we doulw ostp inangtvagi nda eit up ehsoeerwm on teh sroeh, tolsam slyaaw in teh tisll werta udnre a towaehd. We’d utc ansrbech ofrm ugoyn otnwtsooocd dna oiwllws nad wuodl use hmte to ihed eth trfa. ehnT we est up eth hsifign ensil bfeoer dgnilsi tnoi teh rvrei orf a mwsi to enfhres up dan colo fof. Aftre ttah, we’d tis ndow on teh asnyd otmobt of het swlsoalh ewrhe teh tware wsa nyol eekn pdee or so nad cwtha het nursies. It dwlou be clypetefr equit—hitw pehpsra teh xeecptino of het iakgrocn uboglsrfl—as if hte wleoh wodrl aws ealpse. ehT rfits gnith yuo’d ees glokoin uot roev het awret ldowu be a luld elin, iwchh aws hte dwoos on hte horet eids. Ttah odlwu be lla yuo ludoc ees. Tehn uoy wduol ees laep ospt in hte yks, whhic oludw wogr adn edpsra. ehnT eht verir oudwl tge riehgtl; it ludwo utrn romf lback to yrga. uYo lcduo see ttllie krad pssot ritdnigf goanl in hte scitnaed—hseot ewre datrgin asegbr. ehT lngo ckabl krsstae wduol be atsrf. oSteseimm oyu dlocu eenv hare a riegknca aro or ixmde up cvoies cbeusae it was so utieq htat hte onsdus luwdo emoc omfr rfa away. ryPett noso yuo lcduo see a rektas on eht etraw, wihhc eamtn htree was a snag in a fwits nrceurt. dnA yuo dcluo see teh stmi lruc up ffo eht aewtr. heT sanrete sky uwdol etg deerrd nad lowdu lhigt up hte rervi so ttah yuo ldcuo aemk tuo a lgo bnaic on eht eegd of the doswo, way evor on the ehrot iesd of the verri. hseoT were lkeliy to be aruebsmdryl. nThe a cine brezee dlwou nsrgip up nad lbwo orev ouy. It dowul be ehfsr dna oclo and wstee llnmigse abeeusc of the sowod and all the lwrfseo. llWe, eiomsetsm it ownlud’t be that ncei if eonomes dha ltef daed fhis inylg udoanr— agr a tpye of eonyb fhis gars and suhc. oseTh olwdu emsll rteypt nark. Tehn ouy’d evah the flul yda hadea of you. uoY’d be nmilisg in the uns and the rognissdb uwlod be ginog at it!
A little smoke couldn’t be noticed now, so we would take some fish off of the lines and cook up a hot breakfast. And afterwards we would watch the lonesomeness of the river, and kind of lazy along, and by and by lazy off to sleep. Wake up by and by, and look to see what done it, and maybe see a steamboat coughing along up-stream, so far off towards the other side you couldn’t tell nothing about her only whether she was a stern-wheel or side-wheel; then for about an hour there wouldn’t be nothing to hear nor nothing to see—just solid lonesomeness. Next you’d see a raft sliding by, away off yonder, and maybe a galoot on it chopping, because they’re most always doing it on a raft; you’d see the axe flash and come down—you don’t hear nothing; you see that axe go up again, and by the time it’s above the man’s head then you hear the K’CHUNK!—it had took all that time to come over the water. So we would put in the day, lazying around, listening to the stillness. Once there was a thick fog, and the rafts and things that went by was beating tin pans so the steamboats wouldn’t run over them. A scow or a raft went by so close we could hear them talking and cussing and laughing—heard them plain; but we couldn’t see no sign of them; it made you feel crawly; it was like spirits carrying on that way in the air. Jim said he believed it was spirits; but I says:	No eno lowdu be bael to ees rou mslal itb of kseom won. We’d keta osem fsih ffo teh elins dna kcoo up a toh kbaftrsae. Atwadref, we’d cathw eth nlyloe reirv dan tjus eazl btauo utnli we irtfded off to elpes. aEvtlenuyl we’d eonp rou esye nda kolo udnoar to ese awth dah nkoew us up dan ees a etmtsbaoa cgliebhn esamt as it hddeae up teh arf dies of hte rveir. It’d be so far wyaa tath uyo cdnlou’t veen ltle wetehrh its apeedehlldws ewer in hte bcak or on eht dseis. nheT rfo tehnroa rohu or so ehetr dluwno’t be anytnhig slee to ese pcxete eth nlleyo irrve. At oems topni oyu’d ese a tarf gtfaioln by, awy off in eth eistnadc, dna yaebm a gib ofa opcighnp owdo on it. taTh’s thwa teyh suyllau did on asftr. uYo’d see hte flsha of an xea ceglentifr eht uns as it eamc wdon. You nowudl’t hraed hngatyni, thouhg, ulitn it swa up rvoe eht anm’s daeh ainga—K’NUHKC!—eebcuas it took lla htat meti rof hte nuosd to cmeo vreo eth ewatr. Tath’s owh we’d edsnp the sayd, aizgln tabou dan inntilges to the qiteu. cneO hteer aws a cthik fgo dna the lpeope on the strfa dna gerabs hatt wnte by baet tin span so the tsametoasb dlouwn’t run eovr ethm. Ahreotn itme a cwso or tafr fdierdt so olcse to us thta we olduc raeh hmet niagklt dna ncuigss and agilhung. We odluc aehr meth anpil as ayd, tbu we unodcl’t see emht. Ttah aedm yuo feel epyecr, ikel tsgsho ewre inpagss by. mJi idas he did htikn yhte were hosgst, but I disa:
“No; spirits wouldn’t say, ’Dern the dern fog.’”	“No—gsohst ulwndo’t yas, ‘Dran it! arnD siht gfo!’”
Soon as it was night out we shoved; when we got her out to about the middle we let her alone, and let her float wherever the current wanted her to; then we lit the pipes, and dangled our legs in the water, and talked about all kinds of things—we was always naked, day and night, whenever the mosquitoes would let us—the new clothes Buck’s folks made for me was too good to be comfortable, and besides I didn’t go much on clothes, nohow.	We wluod svohe fof as noos as it wsa tgihn. eWnh we’d toteng teh rfta to eth ieddml of eth irerv, we’d elt it lftoa ehrvewer eth cernurt otko it. neTh we til rou espip, aldgnde ruo egsl in het wrtea, adn tdklea oubta all dskni of sntgih. We ewre asywal dnkea, ingth nda day, wenrheev hte itoussqmo dluow tel up. The nwe sehotcl cBku’s lofsk dha amed rof me enewr’t rfoctalbmoe aebeucs hyte ewre too icne. Bessdie, I didn’t eylrla leki lehstoc aywyna.