Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian., 1859-05-28
Habits of Bewildered Persons.

1t is a fact well known to all frontiers men
that, when persons are bewildered, they fire.
quently travel in perfect circle, sometimes
keeping the same track until they have made
half dozen equal rounds; at other times
making circle larger or smaller each time
1t is not by any means always the case, when
person slost; but it is so frequent that it
is within the experience of every one who
has been much in the woods In calm and
cloudy weather, and in country of much
samencSs of appearance, the best woodsmen
get so bewildered as to stake the circles."--
Persons not accustomed to the woods will
sometimes do So when the sun is shining and
a steady breeze blowing. On the level or gulf
pralries OF this country, on n calm foggy NOR
ming, no man can travel without road 1t is
an incident of everyday occurrence in the
Spring and Fall seasons, that men are thus
becalmed on the prairie as effectually as ships
at sea !; nor will compass mend the matter,
for it cannot be carried steadily enough to
keep its meridian, and the course ofits points
cannot be kept by fifty yards if man at
tempts it he will make circle large
or small, generally in proportion to the densi-
ty Of the fog-sometimes a hundred yards in
diameter; at other times a mile, but seldom
more. The circles thus made are perfect
This kind of wandering seems to arise from
an attempt to 60 straight course when there
is nothing to guide the sense or when the
usual guides OF the sun, wind or the general
contour of the country are dsregarded. 1t
rarely befalls children, who do not attempt to
on course, but only run from one visible
point to another equally perceptible.
Many apparently trivial traits in the dispo-
sition of animals, which are of great use to
wOodSmen, are omitted in books of natural
history chiefly from ignorance, no doubt
One of these is the disposition of horse,
when frightened, to run against the wind if
any is blowing. Thousands of horses which
would be otherwise irrevocably lost annually,
on this frontier, are recovered by observing
this simple rule in pursuit. All animals have
similar inexplicable traits in their disposition;
and men are no exception to the rule. White
men, when they are scared, willretreat in the
same direction in which they came The In
dams know this, and lay their plans accord
ingly and many gallant company has been
cut to pieces, simply from ignorance of this
fact. But those who understand these mat
ters, when they find it necessary to make a
hasty retreat always do so in straight line,
and in direction different from the one in
which they came.
We frequently see notices in northern pa
pers of children being lost. Such things rare
y happen on this frontier though children
olten wander, and there are but few neigh
oors 10 help search for them. Perhaps the
cause OF humanity might be subserved in such
searches Any child will make a trail or
track PLAIN enough to be followed by the eve,
over any ground, unless there be much naS,
sing of men or animals to spoil the trail !.
and it can be followed by almost any person
of good sight, although he may not have had
any previous experience. Go to the place
where the child was last seen, and look for
the trail, glancing along the ground with a
sharp scanning look when it is found, faint