Sentence:  It looked as Gavin had first seen it years ago , on those nights when he <WSD>slept</WSD> alone by his campfire and waked suddenly to the hoot of an owl or the rustle of a blade of grass in the moon 's wind - a savage land , untenanted and brooding , too strong to be broken by the will of men . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  be asleep