Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-07-21

The Alta California tells this story:
A young lady, Miss Matilda Steen, left San
Francisco six or seven weeks ago, to join her
brothers, who are engaged in making tanbark
| in the neighboThood of the Garcia river, Point
| Arena, Mendocino county. She had been living
with them some weeks, when one morning she
| discovered that she had forgotten to put knives
| in their lunch-basket, so she determined TO take
them to the spot where her brothers were work
ing. She did SO with great difficulty, the forest
| being like those of many parts of Oregon and
British Columbia, dense mass Of underground,
| immense fallen logs, &c, and very mountainous
| country. She then started to return, one of her
| brothers offering TO accompany her. This she
declined, saying that as she had found her
way in, she surely could get out again. 1t
was at this time she got lost. Hear her story
When first found was lost, | was badly
frightened. ran through the brush as fast us
could, bowling at every step, but after while
l cooled down and confined my locomotion to a
fast walk. About an hour, should think, after
| left my brother, | heard the sound of an ak,
and | halloaed TO the chopper, and plainly
heard him answer. If I had kept on halloaing,
and had remained where was, the chopper
would soon have come TO me, as have learned
since got in, but thought that could surely
follow up the sound of the ak, and tried it.
Alasl / was following the echo | was going
down deep canon, and the sound died away,
and was left alone Great Godl alone in such
PLACED For while my very sight grew dim
all things Teeled around me. What would be-
come of me if | should never find my way outP
All bright thought flashed through my mind.
A thought which gave me JOY in an instant
there is a God who is able to savel From this
time forward was perfectly resigned to my
fate, feeling that if ii was Gods good pleasure
to save me, he would do so in good time. All
day | Travelled, now pulling myself up steep,
brushy mountains, now rolling, sliding, tumb-
ling down into the deepest canons ever beheld.
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 a noun
tain, about half way to the top. | looked
around me to find a level place where | could
rest through the night, but no such place could
| find, so just placed my feet against a tree to
keep from sliding down the mountain, and in
this attitude / remained during the night. De-
caSionallv would wake, and whenever awoke,
| would hOlloa at the top OF my voice, thinking
that perhaps some one might hear me. Vain
hOpel had no fear of any wild beast
As soon as morning dawned resumed my toll
some journey up, up, up, down, down, down.
The bright sun seemed TO greet me with smile,
and beckoned me to him as he doomed grandly
above the distant mountains, and | wondered
whether his bright face looked upon another
human being in all the wide, wide world so ut
terly lost lost as poor me. The second day
chapparel and white thorn, and was obliged
to crawl through it like snake. When | would
get through, all torn and bleeding, | would in
voluntarily eXcam, as looked behind me, how
in the name of God did ever get through thati
As | was going down a mountain heard a
step behind me, and, looking around discovered
that it was deer following me, and when
picked up a stick aud threw at it it ran off, and
saw il no more. / tried often, the first day, to
retraee my steps, bur every time failed, finding
by shred of my dress, a broken twig, or some
thing or other, that was only going round and
round. | have been asked why didn't follow
the streams, as, if could, they would have led
me out But l could not; there were so many
large logs and rocks in them that it was impossi-
BILE. had gold watch and bunch of keys with
me, and as an evidence that didn't 90 crazy,
as many supposed 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 a trail,
and, like Robinson Crusoe, | saw a human
track The track gladdened my heart as never
q track did before. | followed the track and
saw fence, and next housed Thank God!
am saved. When l got close to the house
stopped and halloed, and some gentlemen came
out and invited me in. | went in and told them
that was the lost woman. They said that they
had heard of my being lost the night before,
| and were on the lookout for me. They pre-
pared some food for me- and were very much
afraid would eat too much. | ate very little.
Somehow was not hungry. When | had fin
| ished my meal told them that wanted to go
home, but they would not hear oft. They said
l was too much fatigued to attempt it that
night and one of them got on horse and went
to the Garcia mill to bear the news. One of my
brothers came out that evening as soon as he
heard the news, and rode home on Friday
morning.