The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-04-03

II was with extreme difficulty that T
could now make my way through some
places at all, for the balsam is a tree of
many branches, and these, growing low
TO the ground, form almost impenetrable
barriers.
had not gone very far, when 1 dis
covered that it would be simply mad
ness TO continue on my way unless
could come across path of some sort.
On trying to retrace my steps, found,
TO my utter dismay, that 1 had lost all
knowledge as to my bearings 1 was so
completely turned around that hadn't
the least idea of the direction whence I
had entered the forest.
sat down for a moment to think over
the situation. 1 was assuredly lost, and
what was worse, l hadn't the least
knowledge of my whereabouts. If I
could get good look at the sun, I
thought might have some idea of the
course l ought to pursue. But the dense.
dark foliage of the balsams excluded
even ray, and although my watch
showed me that itwas fast nearing noon.
the light about me was little clearer
than that of twilight.
| After resting a half-hour or so, |
started off again, with the determine
ton to keep in as straight course as I
could possibly judge. Added to the diff
f1cultY l had previously experienced, of
making my way through the dense, over
hanging boughs of the balsams, now
encountered another, and in many in
stances, far greater. This was from
the numerous dead balsams that had
fallen against the others, and in some
places completely barred my way. had
repeatedly to crawl upon my hands and
knees, and often to throw my body fiat
upon the ground and work my way
through. I had proceeded mile or
more in this manner, as near as I could
judge, when came suddenly upon a
kind of clearing, apparently made by
the uprooting of several large trees in a
storm. Here l was enabled to get nv
first glimpse of the sun, since entering
the balsam forests. I glanced at nv
watch. 1t was now past two o'clock, and
the sun was already inclining towards
the west.
Directly in front ofme, could see the
bold, somewhat bare, outlines of a peak
which | recognized at once, from its pc
cGliar shape, as ''Potato Top" an outly-
ing spur of the Blacks. As the noun
taineer whose home I had left in the
morning lived on the north side of this
peak, | had now some little idea as to
my whereabouts. It was utterly use
less, as well as foolhardy, l soon recog-
nized to attempt to reach Mount Mitchell
that day. This peak was not even in
sight, and as far from me, / now real
lied, as when had first begun the as
cent of the range. My more sensible,
and decidedly safer, plan was to try to
find my way back tomy late hosts cabin,
since now had some idea as to its di-
rection.
Leaving the sun directly on my left
l faced about, and again entered the
balsam thickets. l now found them not
quite so oimpenetrable as before, although
it still required no little amount of skill
full engineering to work my way through
them. l seemed to be going up all the
time, rather steep incline at that,
which made my task the more arduous.
Every now and then a huge rock would
loom up in front of me. Sometimes l
had to climb directly over the top of
these, and again to make my way eau
tiously around some dangerously pro-
jecting ledge.
The hands of my watch pointed to five
o'clock, and I had been for nearly three
hours again wandering in the balsams,
as hopelessly perplexed as before, when,
just as 1 had fallen forward upon a
spongy bed of moss, utterly despairing,
| caught the sound of softly falling
water. l had eaten nothing since my
early start of the morning, with the ex-
ception of small piece of corn-dodger
and fried bacon, the mountaineer's in
evitable daily diet. So great had been
my distress of mind for the past six or
seven hours, all thought of hunger had
been completely driven away, although
had long ago become aware that was
suffering terribly from thirst. The sound
of the trickling water therefore re-
minded me again, and most forcibly, of
this want. soon found the tiny stream,
making its way from fssure in the
huge rock near where had thrown N.Y.
SELF
My thirst slaked, and small portion
of my lunch partaken of, was prepar-
ing to start off once more on what l now
realized, only too painfully, was hope
less sort of wandering, when thought
struck me with sudden hopefulness. l
would follow the course of the stream.
Surrounded as the range was with nu-
merous large watercourses, nearly every
one of which had its source near the
SUBMITS of the peaks, did not doubt
that this tiny trickle was the head
waters of some one of the numerous
creeks in the valley below. I had much
difficulty at first in tracing out the |
thread-like flow of water, but gradually |
it grew more and more distinct, till, |
finally, 1 had all that I could do to
maintain my footing upon the slippery |
rocks and roots along it's course.
Very soon my further progress was ar
rested by what seemed to be the edge of |
a precipice of no small extent, for the |
water fell with considerable sound to |
what judged was a pool below. The
rhododendrons, or mountain laurel, I
fringed its edges with a thick tangle,
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