Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-02-05

have been the mon had no families, 80 far
as was known, TO mourn their loss, or to sui
fer by their death 1t was simply the neigh
bors who we're grieyed by the sad and pain.
ful end which they concluded Howay and
Nowlan had come TO.
Thus day followed day and Christmas
morning dswned. Young Mr.. T was
Just in the act Of despatchng messengers to
take an inventory OF the property Of the lost
men, when the news reached him that they
had returned a few hours before, alive but
in a condition OF the most utter wretched-
ness AS soon as possible, therefore, he went
to see them, being anxious TO know for him
self that they we're really alive, and to hear
from them an account of their adventures and
sufferings.
1t was a sight no one need wish to see, nor,
having once seen, to behold second time.
They we're spectscles Of woe and misery and
| wretchedness almost beyond description
their garments torn their countenances ema
cated, their eyes sunken, their flesh wither
ed away and their whole appearance more
like epeotres than living men. They were
only the ghosts Of their former selves, and
to converse with them seemed like holding
intercourse with the spirits of the departed.
Their privations and sufferings had been 20
like romance than sober history their pro-
tracted endurance was 30 astonishing, and
| their deliversnoe 80 remarkable that 1t may
be alike interesting and profitable to listen TO
| q relation OF their adventures.
1t was on the 18th Of December that Ho
way and Nowlan started in pursuit Of the
bear. They soon came upon bis track which
they followed in a northwestetly direction
for at least twenty miles, when night came
on. With difficulty they succeeded in max
ing FIRE, getting a light by placing piece
of dry linen on the pan Of a hint.lock gun
while flashing it. Supperless they lay down
to rest, and sleepless they spent the night
which was exceedingly cold, its rigor being
moderated by the warmth Of their ample fire.
At daylight, after breakfasting on the small
fragments remaining from yesterdays din
ner, they started again on the track Of the
bear, their faithful dog having shared with
them the crumbs Of yesterday. The bears
track now became very much involved, wind
| ing and doubling in manner so perplexng
! that about noon when they must have pro-
ceeded twenty miles, they resolved to give
up the chase for having no compass and
the sun not being visible, they were unable
10 distinguish north from south. Their con-
dition was most perilous in the depth of
winter, without food or shelter or any knowl-
edge of their relative position, lost in the
| boundess forest. To make matters worse,
thaw had set in the snow was disappearing,
and the rain was increasing hour by hour.
| They now recollected that in the early part
Of the day they had crossed the track Of an
other bear, which they thought might lead
to some settlement. They hoped, too, that
| il it did not conduct them to the abodes of
men, it might lead to the bears retreat, and
that il they were successful in killing him,
its flesh would afford them food and his skin
serve as a bed. They followed the track,
therefore, until they lost it by reason of the
melted snow. What to do or what course to
take they did not now know. Hunting the
bear gave place to an effort to ward of star
vstion and to get home.
They soon found themselves on the bank
of a small river, which they conceived TO be
a coDfiuent Of the Thames. Here they passed
the second night at the close Of day of
hunger, disappointment, vexstion and IA
| tigue. The situation vas dreary enough. 1t
rained in torrents, and their only shelter was
a few strips of bark. The wolves howled
around them, and the tempest was so fierce
that trees were torn up by the roots and
strewn around in wild confusion. The scene
was unchanged when morning broke. About
noon, the violence of the storm sbated but
the rain fell relentlessly the whole Of the
day. while the cold was undated. They
again pursued their journey still sustained
by hope. Towards sunset, Howay fired at
partridge, but missed it, and they went sup
| PEERLESS once more.
On the fourth day, they felt the psngs of
hunger so that they could have eaten almost
anything and their thirst was so Unsuitable
that they were compelled to drink every few
minutes. Sixty hours had now elapsed since
they had tasted food, and the appalling idea
OF death by starvation forced itself upon
| IuGi hafOFa
succeeded in shooting a partridge, half of
which they consumed for supper and de-
voured the other half for breakfast the next
morning. But so ravenous were they that,
as they afterwards declared, their hunger was
no more sppessed by eating this bird than it
would have been under ordinary circum-
stances by swallowing cherry. Little more
than one charge of powder was now left
them, and this they determined to reserve
for lighting fires; for, as the frost had now
again set in, exposure for a single night with
out FIRE would result in speedy death.
The fifth night was extremely cold, and
Nowlan found in the morning that his feet
we're badly frozen. But this was not all. To
the excruciating tortures Of frost bitten feet
we're added an unappeasable thirst and burn
ing fever. Hitherto they had walked, or
rather run, from sunrise to sunset, doing
about fifty miles a day but now it was with
|
pain on the part of Nowlan, that they accom-
plshed half that distance.
On the afternoon of the sixth day, the sun
appeared for q few moments, and convinced
them that they we're not on the banks Of the
Thames and as they had crossed that river
to the north, they could only conclude
that they we're on one of the rivers which
flow either northward into Lake Huron or
westward into Lake st. Clair. 10 either case
| fhaxy ha frnp
and in q region then unsettled by white peo-
pie. Still, as it led somewhere, they chose
to follow its course, as it might conduct them
to some Indian settlement.
In a short time they discovered boat on
the opposite side of the river, and, a little
further down, a canoe. The appearance of
these craft inspired them with the hope that
there might be some human habitations or
fellow creatures near. But after travelling
several miles, they came to the conclusion that
the boats had been driven down the river
during the recent thaw and storm. They
we're just commencing to cut down a tree for
the nights fire, when they observed stack OF
hay short distance before them on their
side OF the river. The hsystaek convinced
them they were near some settlement, ana it
afforded them q comfortable bed for the night,
where they slept soundly for some hours,
which was their first proper sleep since leav-
|
started with new energy, still keeping the
bank of the river. The dog, however, their
faithful companion hitherto, could fol,
low them no longer; when they started be
staggered a few PAGES and then fell. The
gnawings of hunger suggested that they
should kill him TO help to sustain their own
lives; but humanity and affection for the
companion who had served them with such
fidelity. got the better of all such prompt
ings. They had hardly proceeded a mile on
their journey, this seventh morning, when q
new difficulty appeared in the shape of an
impossible swamp, which compelled them to
leave the bank of the river and strike out in
to the painless waste. They walked all thai
day and the next, aud about four O'Clock on
the ninth day they came upon the tracks Of
two men and dog. Hope leaped TO the con
clusion that they were now near some settle
ment and that their tolls and suferings and
the whitening hunger would soon be over
Alas! they were doomed to disappointment.
After following the tracks for some time
they were brought to the very spot where
they had rested a few nights before. The
footprints were those of their dog and them
selves.
4 Despair now seemed to lay firm hands oI
them. They sat down without even taking
the trouble TO kindle a FIRE feeling that i