The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1876-10-18

tRs ana ws
at the boat as it disappeared around a
bend fully two miles up the river. The
fog had suddenly lifted, and the boat
had gone on and left me. - : ~.
= cit all dawned upon me so sudden.
ly and overwhelmingly that, I tell
you, if I ever felt queer it was then
1t was impossible to hail the boat or
overtake it-and there I was alone in
the wilderness no white man near,
nor nothing to protect myself with nor
to subsist on-nought but the river in
front of me, the forest at my back,
and the sky above me. had a terror
of Indians, too, and, for the first few
moments, / was almost bereft of
reason. The joy OF an hour just
past was turned into the bitterness of
despair, and I cursed the day when I
left my good home III Brookfeld.
''After u time, however, my
thoughts became more calm, and I
recollected that it was only fifty miles
from there to St. Louis. This was the
first CLEAN of hope. | was a good
walker and knew could easily make
the distance afoot if [ met with no
mishaps. The sun was we'll up toward
the zenith when, calling Rover
started out courageously on the, jour-
ney. It was a wild walk now over
rugged hills and again through thick
underbrush. Then {; great many
small streams emptying into the river
interposed themselves in my way, and,
when too deep to ford, had to tramp
up their winding courses until found
shallow place or bridge in the
shape of a huge tree blown across by
some storm, from bank to bank.
s:Night came on before I had met q
single human being or had come to any
sign of dwelling place. The forest
still looked as wild and uninhabited as
when started. Hunger and fatigue
told on me, too, and, when the sun
went down in the forest, all my hopes
seemed to go down with it. gathered
leaves and broken limbs, however, and
fixed up protected sleeping place un-
der the overhanging river bank. I
didn't sleep much that night, though,
for, besides the intense anxiety that
filled me, a terrible storm of wind,
rain, thunder and lightning ragged for
several hours, and added a new terror
to my situation. It dashed the river
and tore the forest with awful fury; I
have never witnessed storm so furi-
Gus since.
''That night seemed like a century
to me, but it finally came to an end,
and with the break Of morn the black
clouds rolled away and the sun came
out bright and beautiful, just as of old
in Brookfeld, where my thoughts had
been many times within the last few
hours. This gave me renewed cour-
age, and though weak from hunger
and exposure, continued my journey
up river. II was worse travelling than
the day before, for the streams had
been swollen by the nights rain and
the trees had been blown down in
every direction by the terrific wind.
So made slow progress, and the sun
had mounted to the zenith and was on
his downward course when I finally
came to human dwelling place. I
came upon it very sudden, and so
great was my joy that I actually ran
to ia log cabin on a grassy slope
near the foot of the hill on which this
house now stands.
':As raped at the open door
neatly dressed young woman, engaged
in sewing, left her chair and answered
my summons. She appeared half.
frighted at the sight Of me-. and, as
the blood mounted her face, she SEEM
ed to me the most beautiful woman I
had ever seen. No wonder she looked
startled at the sight Of me, for my
clothes were torn and dirty, and my
half.famished condition must have
given my face anything but a. pleasing
expression. 1 told her my story, BRIT
ly, however, and was invited into the
house. While the table was being set
for me, learned that the name of the
owner of the cabin was Herman Van
Wort; that his wife and daughter,
Marguerite, the young womand repairing
my meal, composed the family and
that l was just five miles from St.
Louis.
81 ate with ravenous appetite of
what was set before me; and as is gen.
orally the case after one has gone so
long without food, my stomach was
too weak to bear the hearty meal, and
l was soon taken violently sick. In this
misfortune, also, my new-found friends
were very kind to me, and, by their
careful nursing, was placed on my
feet again in the course of three or
four days. At the end of that time I
was still very weak, but they wouldn't
allow me to go until l had entirely re-
covered. So l remained there over a
week, and delightful week it was, in
spite of my affection. It was so sweet
to once more have gentle hands doing
me such willing service, and unselfsh