Maumee City express. [volume] (Maumee City, Ohio) 1838-184?, 1839-04-27

to 90 in a house except he is i'll, and wished
to use it for hosi pital.' We'll, now,
don't know whether you are in airnest in
saying that, bat that's jist my way of think
ing. Twice ] have given up hunting, and
taken to farm: but always get sick af-
ter living long in housen. don't sleep
well in them; and sometimes when 90 to
see my friends, not wishing to seem partic-
ular-like, ! jst let them go quietly to bed,
and then slip out ofa window with my blank
ct, and geta good nap under tree in tie
open air. man wants nothing but a tree
above him TO keep off the dew, and make
him feel kind ofhome-hke, and then he can
e0j,y real Sleep 'But are you never
disturbed by any wild animal when sleeping
thus without fire Or campF one fus ask
ed. 'Werl, remember once being waken-
ed bya cretur. The dumb thing was stand
ing right over me, looking into my face. 1t
was SO dark, that neither Of US. suppose,
could see what the other was: but he was
more frightened than was, for when raj
sed myself little he ran off so fast that
could mt make out what it was: aud seeing
it was so dark, that to follow him would be
of no account, laid down again and slept
till morning, without his disturbing me
again Suppose it had been bearF
We'll, bear is not exactly the varmint to
buckle with so of f-hand; though lying on
your back is about as good IL way as any to
receive him, if your knife be long and sharp;
bni afore now We treed bear at nightfall.
and sitting by the root of e tree until he
should come down, have fallen asleep from
beng too tired to keep good watch, and let
the fellow escape before morning."
CAMPING oET. -" it amt so bad place
for camping out said John Cheney as he
rose from slakQg his thirst at feeble rlII
which trickcd from beneath the roofs of
rl!tcd cedar over which he leaned it amt
so bad place to camp. if it didn't rain 80
like all natur. wouldn't mind the rain
much, neither, if we hld good shanlee,
but you see the birch bark won't run at this
seasons and its pretty hard to make water
proof thatch unless you have hemork
bougbs--bows'Iver, gentlemen, III do the
best by'ye.' And so he did! Honest John
Cheney, thou art at once rs staunch hun
ter and as true and gentle a practiser o.
Woodcratt, as ever roamed the bread forest,
and bcshrew me when forget thy service.
that night in the Indian Pass. l'he frame
Of wIgwam used by some former party
was still Standing, and Cheney went to
work lndu>trously tying poles across i. with
wthes of yellow birch, and thllching tie
roof and sides with boughs and bllsom fir.
Having but one axe with Us, my friend and
myself were, in the meantime, unemployed,
and nothing could be more dlscunsuIatp
than our situation, us we stood dripping in
the cold rain, and thrashing our arms, like
hackney -coaCllmen, TO keep the blood in
circulation. My hardy friend, indeed, was
in much worse condition than myself. He
had been indispostd when he started upon
the expedition, and was now so hoarse that
could scarcely hear him speak amid the
gusts of wind which swept through the ra-
VINE. We both shivered MS if in an ague,
but he suffered under fever which was
soon superadded. We made repeated at
tenpts to strike fire, but the matches
would not ignite, and when we had resource
to flint and steel every thing was SO damp
around US that our fire would not kindle.
John began to look exceedingly anXious:-
: Now il We had only little day light left,
| would make some shacleberry-te for you;
but it will never do to get sick here, for if
this storm prove north-easter, God only
knows whether all of US may ever get away
from this notch again. guess | had bet
ter leave the camp as it is, and first make a
fire for you.'
Saying this, Cheney shouldered his axe,
and striking off few yards, he feed dead
tree, split it open, and took some dry chips
from the heart. then spread my cloak
over the spot where he laid them, to keep
off the rain, and STOPPING under it soon kin
died blaze, which we employed ourselves
in feeding until the camp was completed.
And now came the task of laying in sup
ply of fuel for the night. This the wood
man effected by himself with an expedition
that was marvellous. Measuring three or
four trees with his eye, to see that they
would fall near the fire without touching our
wigwam, he attacked them with his axe,
ielIed, and chopped them into logs, and
made his wood pile in less time than could
a city s, wyer, who had all his timber cart
I'd to hand. Blankets were then produced
from pack which he had carried on his
back; and these, when stretched over car
petlng of leaves and branches, would have
made a comfortable bed, if'the latter had not
been saturated with rain. Matters, howev-
er, seemed to assume a comfortable aspect,
as we now sat under the shade of boughs,
drying our clothes by the fire: while John
busted himself in broiing some bacon which
he had brought, within. But our troubles
had only yet begun; and l must indulge in
some details ofa night in the woods, for the
benefit Of gentlemen who sit at home at
ease.'
"Our camp, which was nothing more
than a shed of boughs open on the side to-
wards the fire, promised a sufficient protec-
ton against the ram so long as the wind
should blow from the right quarter; and an
outlying deer.stalker might have been con-
-eut with our means and appliances forcom-
fort during the night. Cheney, indeed,
seemed perfectly satisfied as he watched
he sayoury slices which were to form our
supper steaming up from the Goals. 'WelI,'
said the wo0dsman, 'you see there's no
place but what lta man bestirs hllnselfto do |
mis- best, he may find some comfort in it.
Now, many's the time that | have been in
he woods on worse night than this, aud
loving no axe nor nothing to make fire