The state herald., 1918-08-09

"AS'"SA 'hcy Wcrc 0cEluduS OF not, un(
1 had gone through too much to risl
my liberty even for food. l swallowed
my hunger instead.
Shortly afterwards 1t began to raIr
and about o'clock the men left,
crawled out as fast as I could and
scurried around looking for crumbs
but found none. and when darkness
came / went on my way once more.
That night came to river and as
1t was the first time my clothes had
been dry In long time, i thought
would try to keep them that way as
long as possible. I accordingly took
of all my things and made them into
two bundles. planning to carry one
load across and then swim back for
the other.
The river was quite wide. but am o
fairly good swimmer and I figured
could rest awhile after the first trip
before going back for the second
bundle.
The first swim was uneventful When
I landed on the other side drank till
my thirst was quenched and then
swan back. After resting awhile
started across a third time. with my
shoes and several othc- things firmly
tied to my head. Just about ten feet
from the opposite bank one Of the
shoes worked Its way loose and sank
in about eight feet of water. There
was nothing to do but finish the trip
and then go back and dive for the
shoe, as I could not 60 on
with a single shoe.
Diving In my weakened condition
was considerable strain. but had to
have that shoe and l kept at 1t for
nearly IN hour before / eventually
found It. and I was pretty nearly all
In by that time.
That was the last time I ever took
my shoes of, for my feet were becom-
ing so swollen thSt l figured II took
my shoes of might not be able to get
them on again.
This stunt Of crossing the river and
diving for the lost shoe had consumed
about three hours. and after resting
some fifteen minutes went on my way
again. had gone nearly mile when
came to another river, about the
same size as the one had Just crossed.
walked along the bank awhile. think
ng might be lucky enough to find a
boat or 4 bridge. but after walking
about half an hour l received one Of
those disappointment which "come
once In lifetime" ! found that this
river was the one I had Just swum!
had swum II on the bend and was still
on the wrong side. Had made only q
short detour In the FIRST place would
have avoided all the annoyance Of the
past three hours and saved my
and time. I was never SO
mad In my life at myself as I was to
think that had not paid more atten-
tion to the course Of the stream be-
fore I undertook to cross II. but as
matter Of fnct. there wns really no
way Of telling. The river was not
shown on the map at all.
Now I had to Cross II, whereas be-
fore I could have turned II. / walked
boldly into the water. not bothering TO
take my clothes OF this time, nor did
I ever bother to take them OF after.
wards when swimming canals and
rivers. l found It was impossible 70
keep them dry anyway. and so might
just Us well swim in them and save
time.
All the next dny I spent In forest,
to which my nights travel had brought
me about 8 O'Clock IN the morning. 1
kept on my way through the woods
until daylight came, and then. thinking
the place would afford fairly good con
I concluded to rest until
night.
The prospects Of even . good sleep
were dismal. however. for about the
time the suns face should have up
penred. a drixxiing rain begnn and I
gave up my search for dry spot
which would serve me as bed. Some
Of the leaves were beginning to fall.
but Of course there was not enough Of
them to form a covering for tho
ground. md the dnmpness seemed to
have penetrated everywhere.
I wandered around through the
woods for two or three hours looking
for shelter. but without any success.
for. although the trees were lnrge. the
forest was not dense, and there was
no brush or shrubbcry.
Consequently one could get a fairly
clear view for some distance. and I
knew II would be unwisc TO drop OF
TO sleep Just any place. or someone
would surely happen on TO me.
Once ! came very near 10 the ends
Of tho woods and hcnrd voices Of men
driving by In . wagon. but ] couldn't
make out Just what they were. and
instinct told me Ind better not como
out Of the woods. 80 I turned bnck.
Here md there small artificial bitches
Ind been dug. which nt n dry season
might have crndlcd Z weary fugitive.