The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-09-25
LOST on THE PLAINS.
Temporary Insanity Usually Induced by the
Consciousness of Being Lost.

d From the New York sun.
An experienced guide and prairie
traveller expressed the opinion to the
4 writer that there was much larger
number of people annually lost upon the
I Western prairies than was generally
Z supposed 81 mean by lost" said he,
"people who wander away from well
known landmarks and are never heard
of again; who die of starvation and
that dread insanity which, generally
| speaking, Overtakes the lost person.
| OF course we read now and then of such
a ease, but there are many which never
reach the public prints. 1t is one of
| the easiest things in the world for an
7 experienced traveller to stray away from
camp, but very difficult matter for him
to find his way back again. Once out
of sight of the wagons and tents and
{ the whole plain is alike to him. He
stands always in depression. with the
| ground rising slightly on all sides. 1t is
an optical illusion, of course, but it is
very like walking in the centre of an
immense sheet with its four corners
slightly raised. The earth meets the
horizon on every side, and presents the
/ same unyarying view of waving grass
and grayish brown soil. There is not q
mark by which one may be guided. To
take the sun for guide, even on a per-
fectly clear day, is with most persons
only to intensity the difficulty. Unless
one is an expert in sun guidance, he may
follow that luminary, and yet continual
| ly 90 round in circle to the left. The
truth of this is proven every year by the
recovery of people who are found to
have only traced large circle in their
efforts to escape, invariably coming
round again and again to the point from
which they started. The possession of
a compass, moreover, seldom proves of
any advantage to the person lost on the
prairies. He probably never thinks of
it until he discovers that he is lost, and
/ then he has no landmark from which to
| take his bearings. | have known re-
/ peated instances where persons have
been lost on the plains, and afterward
found lying dead with Il compass in their
hands. .. -.L..... H-s....-
"As an illustration, l recall an in
stance which occurred some years since
on the Red River trail. A Mr.. McKen-
zie, clerk in the trading post at George
/ town, started early in the month of
/ April, in charge of small party for
Fort Garry. The snow still lay deep on
| the plains, but the season being so far
| advanced, wagons were used to trans
port their effects. Unfortunately, the
snow did dot melt so rapidly as was an
! ticipated, and the party were detained a
| long time on the road. About so miles
on this side of Pembina they ran out of
provisions. Mckenzie, who was a stout,
/ able-bOdied man, accustomed to prairie
travel, volunteered to 90 ahead and OBJ
tain assistance. He set out in snow
/ shoes, and expected to reach the fort at
Pembma within "a hours. Meanwhile
his comrades plodded on as best they
could, and after two days of suffering
reached the fort without having seen
any thing of Mckenzie. Nothing had
been heard of him there. A party was
at once organized, and thorough search
1 instituted for the missing man. On the
second day he was found some II miles
/ from the post, and a long distance from
the trail, lying beside clump of bushes,
| frozen to death He had taken off his
coat and vest and hung them on the
bushes, most probably to attract the at
tention of any passer, and lay on his
back in the snow, with his compass in
his hand Now, here was man eX-
perienced in prairie travel. an adept in
the use of the compass, and yet who was
hopelessly lost in country which he
had repeatedly traversed. The expert
enced plain-men who found him knew
at once that, having uncOnsciOusly wan
dered away from the trail, and, be-
numbed with the cold, he had lost the
ability to use his compass, and so lay
down to die. Under ordinary circum-
stances the man could have gone any
where over the prairie by the aid of his
compass alone. ..t- -...-f
"The mental condition of person
lost on the plains is nearly always one
of hopeless confusion. Not one man in
Il hundred retains sufficient control of
his mental faculties to help himself out
of his situation And the suddenneSs
and completeness too with which many
minds give way, form one of the most
curious phases of their condition. Some
years ago L was guide to hunting par
ty on the southern plains. Among the
number was an Englishman, an intelli-
gent young fellow of perhaps 20 years
of age. He was an excellent shot, but
unacquainted with the prairie, and /
warned him repeatedly of the danger of
straying away from the party. For a
while he observed the caution, and
stuck close to camp. But after a time
he grew more venturesome, and SEEM
ed inclined to take his own course. One
dav. when we were running buffalo, he
followed on after the herd instead of re-
turning to camp, rs we had supposed.
Upon our return H was missed, and
a search instituted. In not more than
two hours after he was missed | sighted
his horse feeding alone on the prairie.
A few minutes after, H was discov-
cred sitting on the ground about half
mile away. As soon rs we advanced to-
ward him, he started up and ran off at
the top of his speed. knew what was
the matter with him as soon as he jump
ed, but the rest didn't. Riding along
side of him, jumped to the ground and
took after him on foot. After sharp
run caught him. He was clean daft. /
The discovery that he was lost, and
possibly would not be found again, had
upset his intellect completely. He
struggled ike mailman to free himself,
but held ON to him. We took him back
to. camp and tied him fast. Toward
night he began to recover, and by morn !
ing was quite himself again. After that
experience he kept close to camp.
Il recall another instance which illus
trates this phase of the lost, but which |
had more tragic ending. A neighbor