Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1874-10-23

way out, and began to wander about
aimlessly The only idea | had was to get
Of nothing else. did not think Of any plan.
l wandered this way till II was getting
dark. Then I Thought | was lost In the
woods and began halloOing for help. There
was no answer but the rustling of the leaves
on the pine trees and the echo. | cried out
as loud as could, turning in every direction
Then / took out some ivory circulars
O<ept by newsboys to distribute among pas
sengers on the cars) and wrote on them that
/ was lost, and TO follow me, and managed to
fasten some on the trees. | began to think
how was to pass the night. All had in my
pockets was one match and piece of one
luckily the sulphur end In both cases--to
light a fire with had no overcoat, having
left 1t at the station. | walked till came TO
piece Of clear, firm ground, with plenty Of
branches overhead for shelter, determined TO
pass the night, and began TO pick up dry
wood. l was thirsty, and found rain-water in
holes, but nothing TO eat. The IRE was not
long building, and | took some circulars and
lighted them with one Of the matches. Then,
by the light of the fire, gathered my wood
for all night and heaped it round. The night
was cold, and when | lay down ] folded my
arms across my chest and tried to sleep.
thought of home and a lot Of things | had
lost spirit and knew 1 had very little hope Of
getting out of the woods, but managed to
doze few minutes at time. Then | would
wake up with start, and finding The fire
getting low would replenish it. | will con
fess to you that / was scared | knew moth
ing OF the country, and could not make up
my mind what plan to pursue. Friday night
passed in thatway.
"At daybreak resolved to travel. My feet
and legs were sore, as / had fallen a good
deal in the broken timber and brush. SO
commenced Saturday with walking afresh,
the idea in my mind being always how can
get out. thought all the time to see an
opening. Every few steps took fell down,
my feet being caught in the 'windpaths
| (broken trees, and limbs of trees covered
with leaves, and having the appearance Of
| firm ground). | shouted as long as could,
| but it was no good. | found plenty OF rain
water, but no food that could trust. There
were plenty of berries, but | did not know
| what kind they were, and feared TO eat them,
| as they might be poisonous. 1t is not true
| ate berries. There was nothing noteworthy
| occurred Saturday; the whole day passing in
| that manner. When night began to come on
| again / remember feeling q dread rs to the
other match. Twas not sure but had lost it,
| After a search found il in the corner OF a
pocket. built campfire in the same way as
| on Friday night, fortunately succeeding in
| lighting the circulars with the hit Of match
| Then began TO gather up flrewood for the
night | could not sleep. The noises of the
| woods and my thoughts kept me awake
| After some time | managed to doZe a litte,
and woke, cold, to find my fire going out. All
around was black, dark. All the loose dry
| wood was burnt and had to go into the
woods space to find timber. proceeded to
what looked like some logs, and was just
| reaching9my hand out when | was startled by
| hearing deep grOwl and seeing a big black
bear in front of me. He was rising erect on
his hind legs, one arm secured by his side,
| and the other ready to stretch out. For an
instant neither stirred. Probably he
was attracted by curiosity, and was
as much scared myself. He did
| not appear hungry for mans flesh. did not
| touch him. | am afraid to think what might
have happened If | had. / moved back
| and he lay still, but growled. Then quickly
| got firebrand and threw at him, and fancy
he moved off a little but he appeared, from
| the tracks in the morning, to have been wait
ing around there the whole of the night. |
managed to scrape enough wood together to
keep the fire alight till daybreak.
~ got out OF that neighborhood Sunday
morning as soon as possible. All this time
all that had passed my lips was rain-water. |
| did not feel very hungry, but knew | was
weakening, and had lost what little hope l
| had. After wandering on a little while struck
| what they call the hay-marsh, and at every
step sank to my hips. The other side ap-
peared to be firm, dry land and took off my
| clothes and waded until reached deep water,
when | swan across the creek, put on my
| clothes, and walked down the bank. 1t is not
| true that left paper saving that Ihad struck
l
| that river was, nor did know anything about
| the creek | fancied it likely there would be
some logging shanty on the firm side, and
that is why | coasted it. After | had followed
the bank awhile, to my joy l came to a
| camp, which, however, was uninhabited.
| There were some tin pans and kettles, and
three or four bushels of potatoes and some
| salt. After eating three Of the potatoes raw,
| and feeling some benefit from the repast, |
concluded TO go further down the creek,
arguing that it must lead somewhere,
| and made a raft Of some Of the tim
bers, on which ] rgfted down about
| three miles, and struck dense bush and weeds,
which prevented my raft going further.
| had a paddle in my hand, and left the raft
with it, Something told me | had better 90
| back. There was a stack Of hay near the
camp, and thought | could make a bed with
it between the legs of the table, boxed up
with the boards. Finally, | went back and
boarded up the table and filed the space with
hay for bed, using some canvas that was in
the camp for covering. | staid there the
balance Of Sunday, and slept there Sunday
night. Then came to the resolution not to
quit, but if l was to die before help came
to pass away in that spot. Monday and
Monday night | passed there waiting hope
lessly, and Tuesday morning went out q
little distance, and looked around. Toward
evening thought l heard somebody halloo
| | could not believe my ears, and concluded
it was my fancy. Then | heard it again
and shouted back, with a bursting heart
Then, thank God, | heard a gun fired, and
cried, Help, help, am lost, / am lostn
was very weak indeed; then | don't know
what followed. Some men appeared coming
toward me. They were shouting joyfully.
looked at them, and then raised great cry
and suppose | must have tainted. When
came to myself | was surrounded with kind
faces. | was saved. One of them shot {
partridge and they cooked it and gave it mt
to eat. Another had brought wine, and CAV,
TO me to drink (here the poor fellow cOulC
hardly speak for emoton), "and we spent tn,
night i'm the camp, and | assure you, gentle
men, 1t was the happiest night / ever spent il
my life.n
In further conversation it appeared tha
Saturday night, the occasion Of the bear ad
venture, the poor fellow really gave himsel
up for dead, and wrote on the back of his pas
card: please take me to Menasha." Th'
state Of mind he must have been in when h
wrote these words, calmly contemplating th
other world, must be pictured by the sympa
thetic reader
When the party left the logging shanty t.
walk to the depot, as soon as they got in sigh
of the railroad track, they saw hand-car oI
which was Joseph's father. Both parties hur
red to greet each other, and in the genera
JOY universal gun-fring told the peopl
hunting up and down the line that the los
was found. Over 600 people, most of then
old settlers, had gathered for a regular scou
OF lne WOODS, nearly ouO Oi WHOM WeIe dIlne
with guns and carried three or four day;
provisions in knapsacks. The feeling of tn
entire country was aroused; and it will b
readily believed that when Joseph and hi
father came in sight old hunters, who ha
not shed tear for thirty years, as one {
them said, wept like children. Joseph's con
duct, when found, was singular in the eX
treme. He dropped to the ground, and whe
he recovered began waving his hand an
shouting as though pursued, He is said to b
an aifectiOnate and model husban
and father, and his first inquiry wa
after his family. His wife, who had been on
since Saturday, and was beside herself wit
: grief, tainted with Joy when she saw hin
She looked still weak and suffering when tn
party arrived home; but she set about cook
ing beefsteak for her husband with tru
, womanly forgetfulness of self, directly sh
saw Joseph comfortable in an armchair
There Is one story connected with the affai
that deserves mention. When the lost wa
found he threw ont his nnplfat hook SAVING