The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 3, July 1899 - April, 1900 Page: 89

Adventures of the "Lively" Immigrants. 89
of the hunting days. Our days became a monotony, a sameness, one
day with another, except perhaps in two instances.
In one of these instances I was lost for a day and night. We had
stopped to hunt about three in the evening. It was quite cloudy. I
started down the margin of the river. A large cane brake was on the
other side of me to my left. I had proceeded for a mile or so look-
ing for an outlet into the bottom. I at length found an opening and
had left the river perhaps half a mile, when I saw a small yearling
doe and shot it. It ran fifty or sixty yards and fell. There was a
great sameness in the woods. I went to work and prepared my little
deer for carrying back to camp, but I was seized with a little touch
of vertigo, or a swimming of the head, brought on by my continued
stooping. I started off as I supposed towards the river, keeping the
heavy cane to the right. I saw from the distance I had gone that
I was not right. I wandered about for an hour. It had set in rain-
ing and appeared to be getting towards night. I began to make up
my mind that I would have to spend the night in the woods.
I had now reached the prairie and struck a deer path, and soon to
my consternation I came upon a very recent camp made by Indians.
I found in one place where the ground was a little soft a spot where
I could detect in some measure the number and kind. I found the
tracks of two or three children, several half grown girls or women,
and two or three warriors. So I was a litte relieved, as they were on
the tramp to other localities, perhaps leaving the upper region where
were our land immigrants.
I went along looking for a suitable tree to make my bed on for
the night. I found a live oak which promised a good seat, and it
was not hard to get into its branches, for many of its limbs were
half as large as the main trunk. The set of limbs was ten or twelve
feet from the ground, but a small red elm answered for a ladder. My
next trouble was to start a fire. But the things were damp ! I suc-
ceeded and made a big fire by the side of a fallen hackberry and took
off one of the ribs of my deer and put it to roast. Well, my appetite
was very keen. I did not wait to do the cooking thoroughly. While,
however, my meat was being cooked I went up the tree with my gun
and selected my roosting place. I took the balance of the little deer,
and, making a fork on one of the saplings, hung it up by its ham-
string as high as I could reach; for I knew the wolves would scent
out the fresh blood. Then I took my rib and went to roost. The