Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-09-29
fruitless. while loud and repeated h.lo,

Inc parents agony, began to search the
forest in all directions. Most Of these.
however, were miners. ignorant Of
woodcraft, and knowing little If the
upper world. and SO they discovered no
sign OF the children, and many even
iost thelr W way, and found the path
nome with difficulty. On Tuesday, by
agenerous action Of the proprietors, ali
the employees of the Allouez mine were
gwen permission to share in the search.
n large numbers from the Calumet
n Red Jacket Joined them,
AS the evening of this day closed in.
q terrible storm arose, and eyerv home
IN the surrounding country was filed
with EXPLANATIONS of pity for the lost
boy and girl who had to face the tenn
pest alone in the wilds. Gradually the
men, wearied and almost hopeless. re-
turned with sorrowful faces from the
vain search, without having found even
a trace of the lost children.
Wednesday and Thursday passed, and
still the almost frantic parents had no
tldings of their absent ones. But on
Friday morning. as a final endeayor. all
the men employed in the Calumet and
Hecla mines, together with MANY citi-
zens OF Red Jacket, set off for the woods,
where they were met by more laborers
from the Allouez, Centennial and VOL
VERNE mines; and before noon of that
day nearly thirteen hundred men
plunged into the forest in search of the
lost boy and girl.
1t was while this army Of searchers
was securing the woods in all direc-
lions, beating through the wild shrubs
and tanggled thickets, and frightening
timid birds and animals with their loud
.'halloo-oo-s." in another part of the
forest, a brave n~ine-year-old boy
trudged YEARLY through the under
brush, carrying his sister upon his
back. Both their faces were pale and
white with exhaustion, and the little
girls bore the mark of tears. But Theo-
dore LORE was a plucky lad and had
by no means lost heart. He had kept up
his courage and cheered his little sister
through all the days and nights that
they had spent in the woods, and he
had even thought out a way of a
and planned a route which he felt must
bring them out of their prison-for the
v%astness and shadow of a mighty forest
can form as strong and gloomy a prison,
if you do not know some way out from
it, as was ever made by stone walls and
iron bars.
AS he toiled painfully along on that
afternoon, with vision strained to catch
some break in the endless rows of trees
that stretched in every direction, he
kept revolving in his mind a plan which
he had made, and was as happy as a
lost boy car be when he found, by and
by, that the plan was working well. In
other words, he had resolved the day
before to follow steadily the course of a
small stream which they had CHANGED
upon, as he knew that it must flow into
a larger stream, and that in turn into a
still larger, until at last some one of
them would lead him out of the forest!
So much his wise head had taught him;
and the eason of his Joy that aftef-
moor was, that the little stream had Just
fulfilled his expectation and brought
him to the edge of a largerone-in fact,
to a river. But, after reaching it, he
felt that he could make no effort to fol-
low it that day, for his sister was too
weak and tired to walk, and he himself
so weary and foot-sore that his knees
seemed ready to sink: under him.
He saw a fallen tree-trunk near by,
and, making a little bed of dry leaves
against one side of it, he placed his sis
ter upon it, while he sat down upon the
log beside her. And so they rested,
while the shadows grew longer and
darker among the trees. They spoke
but little; but whenever Arminda seemed
frightened Oh ready to cry, Theodore
took her hand in his and cheered and
soothed her by encouraging words.
"But," you will ask, show did they
livep What had they to eat?"
In order to answer these questions
fully, we must retrace their wander
ings.
After parting from the Palson sisters
Zone whole week before they arrived at
the resting-place where we have Just
seen them), Theodore and Arminda
wandered on, seeking constantly for
for some path or road, until day began
to fade. As the darkness closed in upon
them, little Arminda could not. keep
back the tears, and her heart was filled
with dread. But Theodore was not east
ly frightened. "Cheer up. SIS" he
said; it'll be just like campin' out
that's ALL" and he took out his pocket
knife and proceeded to cut some bushes
for a bed.
sMother won't like it and will be
dreadfully scared" said Arminda.
s'Well, 1 don't know as I like it any
better'n mother" said Theodore. "But
I'm not going to be scared"
"Arminda, however, seemed to have
something on her mind. =
'.Did you ever see a bear?" she whis-
pered, as if she feared that Mr. Bruin
might even then be in the thicket and
overhear what she said. II saw a pic
lure of one, once" she went on, s'and
he was eatin' up a great big man. l
guess that man was scared, I guess he
was"
"Well, I don't let old make-believe
pictures scare me-" said Theodore.
Nevertheless, Arminda's words e
called to Theodore a certain bear story
that few days before had filled him
with delight. 1t was not quite SO pleas
ant now to think of the great brown