Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1871-1872, 1871-07-21
A LADY LOST In THE WOODS.
wevonty-two Hours without FOOD
-Her Adventures.

from the San Francisco Alta, July HI
A young lady, Miss Matilda steen' LETT
SAa Francisco six or seven weeks ago.
where she had been following the business
of . dressmsker, TO JOIN her brothers, who
are engaged in making ten bark IN the
nai1h borbood of the Garcia river, Point
Arena, Mendocine county. She had been
living with them some weeks, whom one
morning sbout ii O'Clock on the Goth ult. J
she discovered that she had forgotten TO put
knives in their lunch basket; so she deter
mined to take them to the spot where her
brothers we're working. She did so with
great difficulty--the forest being like those
of many parts of Oregon and British Colum-
bia, dense msss of underground, and i'm
mense fallen logs, etc., and very mountain
Gus country. She then started TO return, one
Of her brothers Offering to accompany her.
This she declined, saying IS she had found
her way in, she could surely find her way
out again. IL was at this time she got lost
Hear her story;
When first found / was lost, was badly
frightened. ran through the brush as fast
ss | could, bowling At every step, but after
awhile cooled down and confined my loco
motion TO fast walk. About an hour,
could .hink, after left my brother, l heard
the sound Of an axe, and hAllooed to the
chopper and plainly heard him answer. If
l had kept on hGllooing and had remained
where WAS, the chopper would soon have
come to me-, Is have learned since got
in, but / thought that | could surely follow
mp the sound of the axe, and | tried it. Alas!
! was following the echo. ! was going down
. deep canyon, and the sound died away,
and was left alone. Great God alone in
such . place For a while my very sight
grew dim-All things reeled around me.
What would become of me if should never
find my way out? All q bright thought
flashed through my mind. A thought which
gave me Joy in an instant-there ia g God
who is able to save From this time for
ward was perfectly resigned to my fate,
feeling that it was Gods good pleasure to
save me. He would do il in good time. All
day | travelled, now pulling myself up steep
brushy mountains, now rolling, sliding
tumbling down into the deepest canyons l
ever beheld Sometimes the mountains we're
so steep that il Was utterly impossible for
me to walk down them, and I was forced to
wrap my dress around my feet, and actually
slide down on my back.
The frat night found me on the side Of q
mountain, about half way to abe top. looS.
cd around me to find level place where ]
could rest through the night, but no such
place could End, so just placed my foot
against tree to keep from sliding down the
mountain, aud in this attitude remained
during she night. Occasionally | would
wake, and whenever awoke, l would hslloo
At the top of my voice, thinking perhaps,
some one Inighl hear me. Vain hope
had no fear Of any wild beasts.
IA soon Is morning dswned | resumed
my tollsome journey up, up, up, down, down,
down. The brights un seemed to greet me
with q smile, and beokoned me TO him as he
doomed Rrandly above the distant mountains
and wondered Nhs,her his bright face looked
upon another human being in all the wide
wide vide world so utterly lost, lost as poor
me.
The second day l came to two or three
mountains covered with chHpperal aud white
thorn, and was obliged to crawl through il
like snake. When l would ge. through
all torn and bleeding, I would involuntarilly
eIolAim, IS looked behind me, how in the
name Of God did ever get through that
As was going down a mountain heard
= step behind me, and locking around dis
covered that it was deer following me and
when picked up stick and threw at it, it
ran of and I saw it no more.
tried often, the first day, to retrsce my
steps, bat every time | failed, finding BY
shred OF my dress, a broken twig or some
thing or other, that was only going around
and around. have been asked wbv didn't
follow the streams as, if could they would
have led me out. But could not there
were so many large logs and rocks in them
that it was impossible. had gold watch
aud bunch of keys with nae, and, as q
evidence that | didn't go crazy, as many
| would, didn't lose either.
deeply regretted that didn't have the
key of the watch with me.
On Thursday, about noon, suddenly
came out to trail, add, like Robinson Cru
soc, l saw a human track! That track glad
dened my heart rs neves q track did before.
| followed the track and saw fence, and
next house Thank God l am saved
When got close to the house / stopped and
hAlloed, and some gentlemen came out and
invited me in. ! weutin and told them tina,
was the lost woman. They said they had
heard OF my being lost the night before, and
we're on the lookout for me. They prepared
some food for me, and were very much !
afraid l would eat too much. l ate very |
little. Somehow | was not hungry. When |
had finished my meal / told them that |
wanted TO go home; but they would not hear
# it. They said ! was too much fAtiqued
o attempt 1t that night. and one of them |
rot on q horse and went to the Garcia mill
o beAr the news. One Of my brothers came
ut that evening AS soon as he heard the
Jews, and rode home on Friday morning.
When the news reached Garcia mill that
Mss Steen was found, alive, and we'll, the
Widest excitement ensued. About 400 men
had collected there for the purpose of q
lore organized hunt. Hitherto they had
zen hunting st random, without any organ.
zation, and now they all collected in from
il quarters to organize and search the
Toods systematically in all directions.
Miss Steen il q native Of New Brunswick,
twenty-five years Of age, and came to Cali
Ornia about three years since.