Fire in the Woods / Illustrated

by James De Mille

The Wanderer on his winding Way.—The Bewilderment of the Forest.—Swamps and Bogs.—? The friendly Brook.—Following the Flow of the running Water.—A pleasant Course.—An encouraging Discovery.—Astray once more.—He sinks to Rest.—The last Sandwich.
IT was very late when Phil fell asleep, and his fatigue and exhaustion combined to make his sleep heavy and prolonged. As there were no sounds to break in upon his slumbers, he continued sleeping until late on the following day. On awaking he raised himself up, and looked around in surprise, for in his dreams he had been wandering among familiar scenes, and it was some time before he could comprehend his present situation. But his mossy bed at the foot of a large maple tree, and the woods that extended all around on every side, soon enabled him to recall the events of the preceding day, and to understand how he came here.

These recollections were not cheerful, nor was it a pleasant change to turn from happy dreams to such an awakening as this; yet Phil was not cast down. He still felt the beneficial effect of those better thoughts of the night before; and still retained that buoyancy of spirit and that hopefulness which he had felt on going to sleep.

And now another day had dawned, with its possibilities for good and evil. His watch told him, to his amazement, that it was after ten o’clock. Ten o’clock! After ten o’clock, and yet no signs of Bart and the others! What did this mean? Had they neglected him so long? Neglected him? No. They could not do that; but was it not possible that during his sleep they may have wandered about these woods near him, and called to him while he could not hear them? This was a most distressing thought, and if such a thing had happened, its result would bring a twofold evil; for in the first place, he would have missed the chance of deliverance, and in the second place, they would not be likely to pass by here again. But these thoughts were not of a kind that he chose to entertain. He was in no mood now to sink into despondent inaction. He was tired of this place, and was anxious to leave it. He was also wearied of inaction, and was eager to do something. Far better did it seem to him to do anything, and go anywhere, even if he should be unsuccessful, than to remain here waiting for those who might never come. So he at once dismissed all idle thoughts and useless regrets, and addressed himself to the task of arranging his own course of action.

He saw at once that the points of the compass were as much a mystery as ever. The first glance upward showed him that the sky was darker than ever, that its covering was more opaque, that the smoke was nearer to the earth. The air also, was close and oppressive. The sun was not visible, and therefore his hope failed of finding some course which he might pursue by this means. What, then, was he to do?

The first thing that he decided on doing was, to take his breakfast. Now, he had eaten pretty freely on the preceding night, and therefore it was with some concern that he opened his basket and examined his stores. That concern was certainly not at all lessened when he found that he had only two sandwiches left.

Two sandwiches!

Rather a small supply of provisions for one who was lost in the midst of the forest, and had no idea whatever when he might be able to find his way out. Phil would not allow himself to feel anxious about this, yet at the same time he was prudent enough to look out for the future; and so, though he was hungry, and felt the need of a good breakfast, yet he did not feel inclined to devour all of his slender stock at that one meal. He chose rather to exercise some self-denial; and so he contented himself with only one sandwich, and put the other back, reserving it for a time of need.

He now felt thirsty, and began to look around for water. He could not find any for a long time. Meanwhile, as he walked about, the exertion made him much more sensitive to the closeness and heat of that torrid atmosphere, and so aggravated his thirst that it began to torment him to an intolerable degree. At length, to his great joy, he found a swampy place; and, stooping down, he tore out the moss and sods, and scooped up the black mud that was underneath, until at last some black, discolored water appeared. He took a few mouthfuls of this without hesitation, and then, scooping out some more mud, he waited till the water should grow clearer. The particles of mud after a time settled at the bottom, and the water became clear enough for Phil to drink it; and though it was disagreeably warm, it yet refreshed him.

He now resumed his course. This swamp lay in a slight hollow, and seemed to extend for some distance. He was loath to leave it, for the remembrance of his recent sufferings was strong within him; and so he walked along the swampy hollow. To his surprise it extended for a long distance, and to his great gratification the moisture of the ground increased, until at length the bog became more and more marshy, and pools of standing water became visible. He skirted the edge of the swamp, still walking on, and at length reached a place where a small brook flowed on out of this swamp into the woods. Along this he walked for a little distance, and then took another draught of the water, which he now found quite pure, and not so warm as to be unpleasant. Much refreshed, he sat down by its edge, and once more began to deliberate about the best course that he could take.

He did not like the state of things altogether. It was bad enough to be lost in the forest; but there were other things superadded which made his situation far worse. For he now felt the oppressiveness of the air most painfully, and the exertion of walking was far more exhaustive than he had ever known it before. Besides, the atmosphere had a smoky character, which was distressing, and the thick smoke clouds overhead showed that something was going on in these woods that might ere long make his situation much worse. There was, indeed, something ominous in that sickly, leaden sky, in those rolling smoke clouds that hung so low, in this suffocating air which he could not breathe with comfort,—something ominous in the oppressive heat, and in the stagnation of the atmosphere. There was, however, a breeze; its signs were visible overhead, but the woods were so dense that he could not gain any benefit from it. What the meaning of it all might be, he could easily conjecture; but the thought was too formidable to be entertained, and so he tried to dismiss it from his mind.