Litchfield enquirer., 1835-08-13
From AsadsbOa's 'OtHith thOt0gicni Biogrophy. !. 33 maf THE LOST ONE,

l , Johns River, in East Florida, left his cab iH, situated on the banks of that stream. an,
 with his axe on his shoulder, proceeded
 towards the swamp in which he had severa
 times before piled his trade of felling aud
 squaring the gianttrees that afford tbe n,os l valuable timber for naval architecture aud
 other purposes. z e 3a.se, -at rue, ] At the season which is the best for this
 kind of labor, heavy !fogs not unfrequently cover the country, So as to render it dffi-
 cult for one lo see farther than thirty o, U,
 forty yards in any direction. The woods, 1 too, present so little variety, that every
 tree seems the mere counterpart of every
 oll'eE; and the grass, when it has not been ] hurnts is so tall that aman ofordinary stat { nre cannotses over it,t whence it,is nect,ss@
 ary for him to. proceed with great caitiun,
 lest he should unwitiingly deviate from the
 ill-defned trail wlicR lle follows. ro o iin- in- crease the difficulty, several trails often meet, in which case, unless the explorer he perfectly acquainted with the neiehbor- hood it would be well for him to lie down. and wait until the fog should disperse.-
 Under such circumstances tho best woods men are not unfrequently bewildered for a while; and ! well remember that such an occurrence happened to myself, at time when l had inprudently ventured to pur- sue wounded quadruped, which led me to some distance from the track. .,,. E ....e
 The live-oaker had been gogging on- wards for several hours, aud became aware, that he must have travelled considerably more than the distance between his cabin and the hummock' which he desired 10 reach. To his alarm, at the moment when the fog dispersed he saw the sun at its me- ridian height, and could not recognize sin- gle object around him. 5s3
 Young, healthy, and active. he imagined that he walked with more than usual speed and had passed tue place to which he .wasI boaad. He accordingly turned his back upon the sun, and pursued a different route guided by small trail. Time passed, and the sur headed his course: he saw it prad- ually descend in the west; but all around him continued as if enveloped with ,nyste- ry. The huge grey trees spread their gi- ant bongbs over him, the rank grass exten- ded on all sides, mol living being crossed his path, all was silent and still, and the scene was like a dull and dreary dream of the land of oblivion. He wandered like a forgotten ghost that had passed into the 1 land of spirits, without yet meeting one of his kind with whom to hold converse.
 The condition ofa man lost in the woods is one of the most perplexing- that can be imagined by person who has not himselfI been in. a like nEedicamenf. EyeRv ,,hiaea and while his whole mind is bent on search- ing for more that may gradually lead to his extrication, he goes on committing greater ] errors the farther he proceeds. This was the case with the live-oaker. The sun was now setting with a fiery aspect, and by degrees it sunk in its full circular form, as if giving warning of sultry morrow. My riads of insects, delighted atits departure, now filled the air on bnzzing wings. Each piping frog arose from the muddy pool in which it had concealed itself; the squirrel retired to its hole, the crow to its roost, and far above, the harsh croaking voice of the heron announced that, full of anxiety, it was vending its way to the miry interior of some distant swamp. Now the woods began to resounda to the shrill cries of the owl and the breeze, as it swept among the columner stems of the forest-trees, came laden with heavy and chilling dews. Alas, no moon win her silvery light shone on the dreary scene, and the Lost One, wearied and vexed, laid himself down on the damp ground. Prayer is always con- solatory to man in every difficulty or dan ger, and the woodsman fervently prayed to his Maker, wished his family a happier night than it was his lot to experience, and with a feverish anxiety waited the return of day. ~ ,..,, m ,4.f4s. 2, .a, s,.,
 You n,ay imagine the length ofthat cold dull, moonIess night. With the dawn of day came the usual fogs of those la.itudes. The poor man started on his feet, and with sorrowful heart pursued course which 1 he thought might lead him to some familiar
 object, although indeed he scarcely knew
 what he was doing. No longer had he
 the trace or a track to guide him, and yet as the sun rose, he calculated the many
 hours of day-light he had before him, and
 the farther he went he continuedto walk
 the faster. But vain were all his hopes that day was spent in fruitless endeavors to
 regain the path that led to his home, and
 when night again approached, the .errol that had been gradually spreading over hi
 mind, together with the nervous dcbilit, induced by fatigue, anxiety and hunger. rem
 dered him almost frantic. He told me tha al this moment he beat his breast, tore hi