Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1871-08-03
LADY LOST IN THE WOODS.
sev,nty-two Hours without Food-He
Adventures.
From the San Francisco Alta.

A Young lady, Miss Matilda Steen,
left San Francisco six or seven weeks
ago. where she had been following the
hnsiness of dress-maker, to join her
brothers. who are engaged in making
tan-bark in the neighborhood of the
Garcia River, Point Arena, Mendocino
County. She had been living with
Them some weeks, when one morning
ahout II a. M ION the 26th ult.) she
discovered that she had forgotten to
mt knives in their lunch basket, so she
determined to take them to the spot
where her brotherswere working. She
did so. with great ditficulty-the forest
being like those in many parts of Ore
con and British Columbia, a dense
mass of underground, immense fallen
logs, etc, and a very mountainous
country She then started to return,
one of her brothers Offering to accom-
many her This she declined, saying
that as she had found her way in, she
could surely find her way out again.
1t was at this time she got lost. Hear
her story:
When I first found I was lost, was
badly frightened l ran through the
brush as fast as | could, bowling at
every step, but after awhile | cooled
down and confined my locomotion to a
fast walk. After an hour, l should
think, after | left my brother, heard
the sound of an axe, and | halloed to
the chopper and plainly heard him an
swer. If | had kept on hallooing and
had remained where l was, the chopper
70 | no
learned since | got in, but | thought
that / could surely follow up the sound
of the axe and | tried it. Alas l was
following the echo. Twas going down
a deep canyon and the sound died away
and | was left alone. Great God alone
IN such place For while my very
sight grew dim-.all things reeled
around me. What would become of
me if | should never find my way out
All. bright thought flashed through
my mind. A thought which gave me
ioy in an instant-ttere is q God aCho
can S0pe From this time forward |
was perfectly resigned to my fate, feel
ing that it was Gods good pleasure to
save me. He would do it in good time,
All day I travelled, now pulling myself
up steep, brushy mountains, now roll
ING. sliding, tumbling down into the
deepest canon 1 ever beheld. Some
times the mountains were SO steep that
it was utterly impossible for me to walk
down them, and | was forced to wrap
my dress around my feet, and actually
slide down on my back.
The first night found me on the side
of mountain, about halt way to the
top. Hooked around me to find a lev
el place where | could rest through the
night, but no such place could | find,
so Just placed my feet against a tree
to keep from slipping down the noun
tain, and in this attitude | remained
during the night. Occasionally | would
wake, and whenever / awoke, | would
halloo at the top of my voice, thinking,
perhaps, some one might hear me.
Vain hope / had no fear of any wild
beasts.
As soon as morning dawned | re-
sumed my toilsome journey up, up, up,
down, down, down. The bright sun
seemed TO greet me with smile, and
beckoned me to him as he doomed
grandlv above the distant mountains,
and | wondered whether his bright face
looked upon another human being II
all the vide. wide world SO utterly
l0stas poor me.
The second day / came to two or
three mountains covered with chappe-
raj and white thorn, and | was Obliged
to crawl through it like snake,
When | would get through, all torn and
bleeding, / would involuntary exclaim,
as / looked behind me, how in the name
of God did ! ever get through that
As | was going down a mountain
heard a step behind me, and looking
around discovered that it was q deer
following me, and when | picked up a
stick and threw at it, 1t ran off and
saw 1t no more.
tried often, the first day, to retrace
my steps, but every time | failed, find,
mgbya shred of my dress, brokentWlg
or something or other that | was only
going round and round. | have beer
asked why didn't follow the streams
as if | could they would have led me
ont But | could not there were SC
many large logs and rocks in them thai
II was impossible. | had gold watch
and bunch of keys with me, and, as
an evidence that l didn't go crazy, al
many supposed would, / didn't lose
either l deeply regretted that didn'
have the key of the watch with me.
On Thursday, about noon, / sudden
Is came out to a trial, and like Robin
son Crusoe, / saw human track
That track gladdened my heart as neve
track did before ] followed tn
track and saw a fence, and next
house Thank God | am saved
When I got close to the house | stop
ped and hallooed. and some gentleme