1 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Ephemeral is production of I Heart three D for full exposure, 2 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:12,959 Speaker 1: listen with that phones. It's surprising how easy it is 3 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: to become lost, running down every aisle of a department store, 4 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,960 Speaker 1: looking for the person you entered with, down a distant 5 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: tangle of back roads, pleading with a non functioning GPS, 6 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 1: even a suburban back yard can turn sinister the instant 7 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:35,240 Speaker 1: you realize you've lost your bearings. But have you ever 8 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: been truly hopelessly, frighteningly lost. In eighteen seventy, before Montana 9 00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: and Wyoming were states and America held no federally protected lands, 10 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,239 Speaker 1: some twenty explorers set out into the maze of uncharted 11 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: wilderness known as Yellowstone among the Washburn Langford Done expedition 12 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: was fifty four year old True and See efforts the 13 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,959 Speaker 1: Montana territories first federal tax assessor, who had recently found 14 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: himself out of a jar. The party departed Helena the 15 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: sixteenth of August on horseback, tracing the Continental Divide south 16 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: via the Yellowstone River. The morning of September nine, everyone 17 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: was accounted for. That night at camp, they realized Truman 18 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: was missing. Immediately a search was organized. Steps were retraced 19 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: two weeks were spent scouring the nearby headwaters of the 20 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: Snake and Yellowstone Rivers, but there was no sign of 21 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:46,679 Speaker 1: their comrade. Later they recovered his riderless pack horse. But 22 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:51,960 Speaker 1: this story has a happy ending. On October two, searchers 23 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: spotted Mr. Evarts, some fifty miles from where he had 24 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: gone missing. He was in bad shape, delirious and injured, 25 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: weighing on fifty pounds, but saved in time to make 26 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: a full recovery. Within the following year, Truman Everts wrote 27 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: a detailed account of his wanderings entitled thirty seven Days 28 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:15,919 Speaker 1: of Peril, which was published in the November one issue 29 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:21,520 Speaker 1: of Scribner's Monthly. Adapted for audio, the following is that story, 30 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 1: in the author's own words, thirty seven Days of Peril. Wow. 31 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:52,520 Speaker 1: It desired to visit this remarkable region, of which during 32 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: several years residents in Montana I had often heard the 33 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:00,799 Speaker 1: most marvelous accounts. Led me to unite in the expedition 34 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:06,399 Speaker 1: of August last. The general character of this stupendous scenery 35 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: of the rocky mountains prepared my mind for giving credit 36 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 1: to all the strange stories told of the yellow Stone, 37 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: and I felt quite as certain of the existence of 38 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 1: the physical phenomena of that country on the morning that 39 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: our company started from Helena, as when I afterwards beheld it, 40 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: I engaged in the enterprise with enthusiasm, feeling that all 41 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: the hardships and exposures of a month's horseback travel through 42 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 1: an unexplored region would be more than compensated by the 43 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: grandeur and novelty of the natural objects with which it 44 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: was crowded. Of course, the idea of being lost in 45 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: it without any of the ordinary means of subsistence, and 46 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: the wandering for days and weeks in a famishing condition 47 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: alone in an unfrequented wilderness, formed no part of my contemplation. 48 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: On the day that I found myself separated from the company, 49 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 1: and for several days previous, our course had been impeded 50 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: by the dense growth of the pine forest and occasional 51 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: large tracts of fallen timber, frequently rendering our progress almost impossible. 52 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: Whenever we came to one of these immense windfalls, each 53 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: man engaged in the pursuit of a passage through it, 54 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 1: and it was while thus employed that I strayed out 55 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: of sight and hearing of my comrades. We'd had a 56 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: toilsome day, and it was quite late in the afternoon. 57 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:48,840 Speaker 1: As separations like this frequently occurred, it gave me no alarm. 58 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: Fully confident of soon rejoining the company or of finding 59 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: their camp, I came up with the pack horse and 60 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: rode on in the direction which I supposed had been taken, 61 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 1: until darkness overtook me in the dense forest. This was 62 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: disagreeable enough, but I had no doubt of being with 63 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: the party At breakfast the next morning, I selected a 64 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: spot for comfortable repose, picketed my horse, built a fire, 65 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:21,599 Speaker 1: and went to sleep. M m m hm. The next 66 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:25,360 Speaker 1: morning I rose at early dawn, saddled and mounted my horse, 67 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: and took my course in the supposed direction of the camp. 68 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,840 Speaker 1: Our ride of the previous day had been upper Peninsula, 69 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: jutting into the lake, for the shore of which I 70 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 1: started with the expectation of finding my friends camped on 71 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: the beach. The forest was quite dark and the trees 72 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:47,279 Speaker 1: so thick that in searching for the trail I became 73 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 1: somewhat confused. The falling foliage of the pines had obliterated 74 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:57,160 Speaker 1: every trace of travel. I was obliged frequently to dismount 75 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: and examine the ground for the faintest indicatations. Coming to 76 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,919 Speaker 1: an opening from which I could see several vistas, I 77 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: dismounted for the purpose of selecting one leading in the 78 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:12,720 Speaker 1: direction I had chosen, and, leaving my horse unhitched, as 79 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,840 Speaker 1: it always been my custom, walked a few rods into 80 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: the forest. I turned around in time to see him 81 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:23,280 Speaker 1: disappearing at full speed among the trees. This was the 82 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: last I ever saw of him. My blankets, gun, pistols, 83 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: fishing tackle, matches, everything except the clothing on my person, 84 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:37,920 Speaker 1: A couple of knives, and a small opera glass were 85 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: attached to the saddle. Instead of following up the pursuit 86 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 1: of the camp, I engaged in an effort to recover 87 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 1: my horse. Half a day's search convinced me of its 88 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 1: impracticability in an open space. I wrote and posted several notices, which, 89 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:59,320 Speaker 1: if my friends should chance to see, would inform them 90 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 1: of my Isisian and the route I had taken, and 91 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:05,160 Speaker 1: then struck out into the forest in the supposed direction 92 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: of their camp. As the day wore on without any discovery, 93 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: alarm took the place of anxiety at the prospect of 94 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 1: another night alone in the wilderness, and this time without 95 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: food or fire. But even this dismal foreboding was cheered 96 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,240 Speaker 1: by the hope that I should soon rejoin my companions, 97 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:28,560 Speaker 1: who would laugh at my adventure, and incorporated as a 98 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: thrilling episode into the journal of our trip. Seating myself 99 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: on a log, I recalled every foot of the way 100 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: I had traveled since the separation from my friends, and 101 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 1: the most probable opinion I could form of their whereabouts 102 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:46,320 Speaker 1: was that they had, by a coarse but little different 103 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,360 Speaker 1: from mine, passed by the spot where I had posted 104 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: the notices, learned of my disaster and were waiting for 105 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: me to rejoin them. There were searching for me in 106 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 1: that vicinity. A night must be spent amid the prostrate 107 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 1: trunks before my return could be accomplished. I resigned myself 108 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 1: to a couch of foliage in a thicket of small trees, 109 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:12,280 Speaker 1: naturally timid. In the night, I fully realized the exposure 110 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 1: of my condition. The forest seemed alive with the screeching 111 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 1: of night birds, the angry barking of coyotes, and the 112 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 1: prolonged dismal howl of the gray wolf. Early the next morning, 113 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:32,320 Speaker 1: I rose, unrefreshed, and pursued my weary way over the 114 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: prostrate trunks. It was noon when I reached the spot 115 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:40,080 Speaker 1: where my notices were posted. No one had been there. 116 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: For the first time, I realized that I was lost. 117 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: No food, no fire, no means to procure either, alone 118 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 1: in an unexplored wilderness, one hundred and fifty miles from 119 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: the nearest human abode, surrounded by wild beasts, and famishing 120 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:05,719 Speaker 1: with hunger. A moment afterwards, I felt how calamity can 121 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 1: elevate the mind and the formation of the resolution not 122 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:14,640 Speaker 1: to perish in that wilderness. It was midday when I 123 00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 1: emerged from the forest into an open space at the 124 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 1: foot of the peninsula. A broad lake of beautiful curvature 125 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:26,359 Speaker 1: with magnificent surroundings lay before me, glittering in the sunbeams. 126 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:31,480 Speaker 1: It was a full twelve miles in circumference. Large flocks 127 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: of swan and other waterfowl were sporting on the quiet surface. 128 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: Otters in great number performed the most amusing aquatic evolutions. 129 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: Mink and beaver swam around unscared in the most grotesque confusion. Deer, elk, 130 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:51,199 Speaker 1: and mountain sheep stared at me, manifesting more surprised than 131 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 1: fear at my presence among them. The adjacent forest was 132 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 1: vocal with the songs of birds, chief of which were 133 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:01,840 Speaker 1: the chattering notes of a sees of mocking bird, whose 134 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:06,760 Speaker 1: imitative efforts afforded abundant merriment. With the belief that I 135 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:09,680 Speaker 1: had discovered the source of the great southern tributary of 136 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 1: the Columbia, I gave it the name of Bessie Lake, 137 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:17,559 Speaker 1: after the sole daughter of my house and heart. A 138 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:21,319 Speaker 1: wide belt of sand formed the margin which I was approaching, 139 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:25,720 Speaker 1: directly opposite to which, rising seemingly from the very depths 140 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,959 Speaker 1: of the water, towered the loftiest peak of a range 141 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:35,200 Speaker 1: of mountains, apparently interminable. Seen under favorable circumstances, this assemblage 142 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:40,040 Speaker 1: of grandeur, beauty, and novelty would have been transporting, But 143 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 1: I was in no humor for ecstasy. I recognized the 144 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 1: mountain which overshadowed it as the landmark which a few 145 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:52,280 Speaker 1: days before had received from General Washburn the name of 146 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:56,560 Speaker 1: Mount Everts, And as it is associated with some of 147 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: the most agreeable and terrible incidents of my exile, I 148 00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 1: feel that I have more than a mere discoverer's right 149 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:08,840 Speaker 1: to the perpetuity of that christening. Imagine my delight, while 150 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:13,080 Speaker 1: gazing upon this animated expanse of water, had seen sail 151 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:16,600 Speaker 1: out from a distant point a large canoe containing a 152 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 1: single oarsman, rapidly approaching the shore where I was seated. 153 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:23,840 Speaker 1: With hurried steps, I paced the beach to meet it. 154 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:28,960 Speaker 1: As I drew near it turned towards the shore, the object, 155 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 1: which my eager fancy had transformed into an angel of relief, 156 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:39,240 Speaker 1: stalked from the water. An enormous pelican flapped its dragon 157 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: wings and flew to a solitary point farther up the lake. 158 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 1: M Night was fast approaching, and while looking for a 159 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:53,080 Speaker 1: spot where I might repose in safety, my attention was 160 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 1: distracted to a small green plant of so lively hue 161 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:01,400 Speaker 1: as to form a striking contrast with deep high foliage. 162 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:04,480 Speaker 1: For closer examination, I pulled it up by the root. 163 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:10,320 Speaker 1: It was a thistle, palatable and nutritious. My appetite craved it, 164 00:12:10,559 --> 00:12:13,520 Speaker 1: and the first meal in four days was made on 165 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 1: thistle roots. Overjoyed by this discovery, with hunger allaid, I 166 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: stretched myself under a tree upon the foliage, which had 167 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:26,280 Speaker 1: partially filled the space between contiguous trunks and fell asleep. 168 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:35,360 Speaker 1: Suddenly I was roused by a loud, shrill scream, like 169 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:39,120 Speaker 1: that of a human in distress. There was no mistake 170 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:42,600 Speaker 1: in that fearful voice. I have been deceived by and 171 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:46,560 Speaker 1: answered it a dozen times while threading the forest. It 172 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:50,480 Speaker 1: was the screech of a mountain lion. To yell and return. 173 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:54,240 Speaker 1: Seized with convulsive grasp the limbs of the friendly tree 174 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:57,680 Speaker 1: and swing myself into it was the work of a moment. 175 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:01,560 Speaker 1: Scrambling hurriedly from living to limb, I was soon as 176 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,959 Speaker 1: near the top as safety would permit. I increased my 177 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,760 Speaker 1: voice to its utmost volume, broke branches from the limbs, and, 178 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:12,320 Speaker 1: in the impetucy of fright, madly hurled them at the spot. 179 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 1: Whence the continued howlings proceeded, failing to alarm the animal, 180 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: which now began to make a circuit of the tree, 181 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:22,080 Speaker 1: as if to select a spot for springing into it. 182 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:26,440 Speaker 1: I shook with a strength increased by terror, the slender trunk, 183 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:31,800 Speaker 1: until every limb rustled with motion, all in vain, Expecting 184 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 1: every moment it would take the deadly leap. I tried 185 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,040 Speaker 1: to collect my thoughts and prepare for the fatal encounter. 186 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 1: Which I knew must result. Just then it occurred to 187 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:47,880 Speaker 1: me that I would try silence. Clasping the trunk of 188 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:53,600 Speaker 1: the tree with both arms, I sat perfectly still. The 189 00:13:53,679 --> 00:14:01,560 Speaker 1: lion imitated my example. Moments passed like hours, but after 190 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 1: a lapse of time which I cannot estimate, the beast 191 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:08,319 Speaker 1: gave a spring into the thicket and ran screaming into 192 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:15,560 Speaker 1: the forest. My deliverance was effected. Had strength permitted, I 193 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:18,720 Speaker 1: should have retained my perch till daylight. But with the 194 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:22,200 Speaker 1: consciousness of escape from the jaws of the ferocious brute, 195 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: came a sense of overpowering weakness, which almost palsied me 196 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 1: and made my descent from the tree both difficult and dangerous. 197 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:36,600 Speaker 1: Incredible as it may seem, I lay down in my 198 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:39,880 Speaker 1: old bed and was soon lost in a slumber so 199 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 1: profound that I did not awake until after daylight. I 200 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 1: was roused by a marked change in the atmosphere. One 201 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: of those dreary storms of mingled snow and rain common 202 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:01,240 Speaker 1: to these high latitudes, set in. My clothing, which had 203 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:06,520 Speaker 1: been much torn, exposed my person to its pitiless peltings. 204 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,400 Speaker 1: An easterly wind rising to a gale admonished me that 205 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:14,520 Speaker 1: it would be furious and of long duration. I could 206 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:17,480 Speaker 1: find no better shelter than the spreading branches of a 207 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 1: spruce tree. The storm meanwhile raged with unabated violence. On 208 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 1: the morning of the third day, taking full advantage of 209 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 1: a lull in the elements, I rose early and started 210 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 1: in the direction of a large group of hot springs, 211 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,840 Speaker 1: which were steaming under the shadow of Mount Everts. The 212 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: distance I traveled could not have been less than ten miles. 213 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:48,840 Speaker 1: Long before I reached the wonderful cluster of natural cauldrons, 214 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:55,800 Speaker 1: the storm had recommenced. Chilled through with my clothing thoroughly saturated, 215 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 1: I lay down under a tree upon the heated incrustacean 216 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:04,480 Speaker 1: and completely warmed. My heels and the sides of my 217 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:10,200 Speaker 1: feet were frozen. As soon as the warmth had permeated 218 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: my system, I took a survey of my surroundings and 219 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 1: selected a spot between two springs sufficiently asunder to afford 220 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:22,840 Speaker 1: heat at my head and feet. On this spot I 221 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: built a bower of pine branches, spread its encrusted surface 222 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: with the fallen foliage and small bows, and stowed myself 223 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: away to await the close of the storm. Thistles were abundant, 224 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:39,560 Speaker 1: and I had fed upon them long enough to realize 225 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:43,120 Speaker 1: that they would, for a while at least sustain life. 226 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:50,040 Speaker 1: Inconvenient proximity to my abode was a small round boiling spring, 227 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 1: which I called my dinner pot, in which from time 228 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 1: to time I cooked my roots. This establishment I occupied 229 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: seven days, the first three of which were darkened by 230 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:06,040 Speaker 1: one of the most furious storms I ever saw. I 231 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:10,159 Speaker 1: was enveloped in a perpetual steam bath. At first this 232 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:13,919 Speaker 1: was barely preferable to the storm, but I soon became 233 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:18,760 Speaker 1: accustomed to it, and before I left, though thoroughly parboiled, 234 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:24,120 Speaker 1: actually enjoyed it. On the third night after my arrival, 235 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:28,280 Speaker 1: there an unlucky movement, while asleep, broke the crust on 236 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:31,960 Speaker 1: which I reposed, and the hot steam pouring upon my 237 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: hip scalded it severely. Before I could escape. This new affliction, 238 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,720 Speaker 1: added to my frost bitten feet already festering, was the 239 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:46,720 Speaker 1: cause of frequent delays and unceasing pain through all my wanderings. 240 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 1: I had little else to do during my imprisonment but cook, 241 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:56,200 Speaker 1: think and sleep. Selfish as the thought may seem, there 242 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:59,800 Speaker 1: was nothing I so much desired as a companion in misfortune, 243 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 1: how greatly it would alleviate my distress. What a relief 244 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 1: it would be to compare my wretchedness with that of 245 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:11,040 Speaker 1: a brother's sufferer, and with him devise expedients for every 246 00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:15,200 Speaker 1: exigency as it occurred. I confess to the weakness, if 247 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:19,080 Speaker 1: it be one, of having squandered much pity upon myself 248 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:23,399 Speaker 1: during the time I had little else to do. Nothing 249 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 1: gave me more concerned than the want of fire. I 250 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:30,800 Speaker 1: recalled everything I had ever read or heard of the 251 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:34,199 Speaker 1: means by which fire could be produced, but none of 252 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:38,439 Speaker 1: them were within my reach. An escape without it was 253 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:43,600 Speaker 1: simply impossible. It was indispensable as a protection against night 254 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:48,359 Speaker 1: attacks from wild beasts. Exposure to another storm like the 255 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:52,080 Speaker 1: one just over would destroy my life, as this one 256 00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:55,879 Speaker 1: would have done, but for the warmth derived from the springs. 257 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: As I lay in my bower anxiously awaiting the disappearance 258 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 1: of the snow, which had fallen to the depth of 259 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,919 Speaker 1: a foot or more, a gleam of sunshine lit up 260 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:09,919 Speaker 1: the bosom of the lake, and with it the thought 261 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:13,320 Speaker 1: flashed upon my mind that I could, with a lens 262 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:17,879 Speaker 1: from my opera glasses, get fire from heaven, subjecting it 263 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 1: to the test of experiment. I saw the smoke curl 264 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:28,080 Speaker 1: from the bit of dry wood and my fingers. If 265 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:31,879 Speaker 1: the whole world were offered me for it, I would 266 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:38,960 Speaker 1: cast it all aside. Before parting that little spark, I 267 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:43,000 Speaker 1: set to work, making preparations for as early departure as 268 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:47,080 Speaker 1: my condition would permit. I had lost both knives since 269 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: parting from the company, but I now made a convenient 270 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: substitute by sharpening the tongue of a buckle which I 271 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:56,679 Speaker 1: had cut from my vest. With this, I cut the 272 00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:01,000 Speaker 1: legs and counters from my boots, making them a passable 273 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:04,240 Speaker 1: pair of slippers, which I fastened to my feet as 274 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:08,399 Speaker 1: firmly as I could strips of bark with the rattlings 275 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 1: from a linen handkerchief. Aided by this magic buckle tongue, 276 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,800 Speaker 1: I mended my clothing. Of the same material, I made 277 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:20,000 Speaker 1: a fish line, which, on finding a piece of red 278 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:23,160 Speaker 1: tape in one of my pockets better suited to the purpose, 279 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:27,240 Speaker 1: I abandoned as a bad job. I made of a 280 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,560 Speaker 1: pin that I found in my coat official, and by 281 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:34,240 Speaker 1: sewing up the bottoms of my bootlegs, constructed a good 282 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 1: pair of pouches to carry my food. In fastening them 283 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 1: to my belt by the straps, I said to myself, 284 00:20:42,560 --> 00:21:00,440 Speaker 1: I will not despair. On the morning of the day 285 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:03,040 Speaker 1: after my arrival at the springs, I bade them a 286 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,800 Speaker 1: final farewell and started on my course across the neck 287 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:09,919 Speaker 1: of the peninsula between me and the southeast arm of 288 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:14,760 Speaker 1: yellow Stone Lake. Weakened by a long fast and the 289 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:18,800 Speaker 1: unsatisfied nature of the only food I could procure, I 290 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:22,199 Speaker 1: know that from this time onward to the day of 291 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:26,200 Speaker 1: my rescue, my mind was in a condition to receive 292 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:32,800 Speaker 1: impressions akin to insanity. I was constantly traveling in dream 293 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:37,000 Speaker 1: land and indulging in strange reverie such as I had 294 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: never before known. I seemed to possess a sort of 295 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:46,560 Speaker 1: duality of being, which, while constantly reminding me of the 296 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: necessities of my condition, fed my imagination with vagaries of 297 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:57,479 Speaker 1: the most extravagant character. Nevertheless, I was perfectly conscious of 298 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:01,399 Speaker 1: the tendency of these morbid influence is, and often tried 299 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 1: to shake them off, But they would ever return with 300 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 1: increased force, and I finally reasoned myself into the belief 301 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:14,480 Speaker 1: that their indulgence, as it afforded me pleasure, could work 302 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 1: no harm. While it did not interfere with my plans 303 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:23,360 Speaker 1: for deliverance. Thus I lived in a world of ideal 304 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:27,679 Speaker 1: happiness and in a world of positive suffering. At the 305 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:34,880 Speaker 1: same time. A change in the wind and an overcast sky, 306 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:38,760 Speaker 1: accompanied by cold, brought with them a need of warmth. 307 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:42,920 Speaker 1: I drew out my lens and touch wood, but alas 308 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:47,000 Speaker 1: there was no sun, I sat down on a log 309 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 1: to await his friendly appearance. Hours passed, he did not come. 310 00:22:55,640 --> 00:23:00,520 Speaker 1: Cold freezing night set in. He found me exposed to 311 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:05,760 Speaker 1: all its terrors. A bleak hillside sparsely covered with pines, 312 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:11,280 Speaker 1: afforded poor accommodations for a half clad, famished man. I 313 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:15,200 Speaker 1: could only keep from freezing by the most active exertion 314 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 1: in walking, rubbing, striking my benumbed feet and hands against 315 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:25,520 Speaker 1: the logs. At the time it seemed the longest, most 316 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:29,840 Speaker 1: terrible night of my life. And when the approaching dawn 317 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:33,920 Speaker 1: enabled me to commence retracing my steps to Bessie Lake, 318 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:38,000 Speaker 1: I arrived there at noon, built my first fire on 319 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:43,480 Speaker 1: the beach, and remained by it, recuperating for the succeeding 320 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:49,120 Speaker 1: two days. The faint hope that my friends might be 321 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 1: delayed by their search for me until I could rejoin them, 322 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:58,560 Speaker 1: now forsook me Altogether, I made my arrangements independent of it. 323 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:02,920 Speaker 1: I there of three directions I might take would affect 324 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 1: my escape if life and strength held out. I drew 325 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:13,280 Speaker 1: upon the sand map. Of each. One was the follow 326 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:16,880 Speaker 1: Snake River, a distance of one hundred miles or more 327 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:21,680 Speaker 1: to Eagle Rock Bridge. Another to cross the country between 328 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:26,040 Speaker 1: the southern shore of Yellowstone Lake and the Madison Mountains 329 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:28,800 Speaker 1: by scaling, which I could reach the settlements in the 330 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:32,760 Speaker 1: Madison Valley. And the other to retrace my journey over 331 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,920 Speaker 1: the long and discouraging route by which I had entered 332 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:42,000 Speaker 1: the country. The last mentioned seemed the least inviting. I 333 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:45,480 Speaker 1: had heard and read so much concerning the desolation and 334 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:49,040 Speaker 1: elemental upheavals and violet waters of the upper valley of 335 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:52,119 Speaker 1: the Snake, that I dared not attempt to return in 336 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:56,720 Speaker 1: that direction. The route by the Madison Range, encumbered by 337 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:01,080 Speaker 1: the single obstruction of the mountain barrier, was much the shortest, 338 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:06,960 Speaker 1: and so most unwisely as well hereafter appear I adopted it. 339 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:13,440 Speaker 1: All that day I traveled over timber heats, amid tree tops, 340 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:17,199 Speaker 1: and through thickets. At noon, I took the precaution to 341 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:20,680 Speaker 1: obtain fire with a brand, which I kept alive by 342 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:24,679 Speaker 1: frequent blowing and constant waving to and fro. At a 343 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:29,200 Speaker 1: late hour in the afternoon, faint and exhausted, I kindled 344 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:31,800 Speaker 1: a fire for the night on the only vacant spot 345 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 1: I could find amid a dense wilderness of pines. The 346 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:38,680 Speaker 1: burn on my hip was so inflamed that I could 347 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:42,880 Speaker 1: only sleep in a sitting posture with my back against 348 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:46,679 Speaker 1: a tree, the smoke from the fire almost enveloping me 349 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 1: and its suffocating folds. I vainly tried to woo the 350 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:56,440 Speaker 1: drowsy god. My imagination was instinct with terror. I could 351 00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:00,280 Speaker 1: see the blazing eyes of a formidable forest monster fixed 352 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:04,040 Speaker 1: upon me. I fancied that I heard the swift approach 353 00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:07,880 Speaker 1: of a pack of yelping wolves through the distant brushwood, 354 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:12,720 Speaker 1: coming to tear me limb from limb. Whenever, by fatigue 355 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:17,480 Speaker 1: or weakness, my terror yielded to drowsiness, the least noise 356 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 1: roused me to a sense of the hideousness of my condition. Once, 357 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:25,879 Speaker 1: in a fitful slumber, I fell forward into the fire 358 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:30,159 Speaker 1: and inflicted a wretched burn on my hand with what agony, 359 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:36,639 Speaker 1: I loaned for day. Another day of unceasing toil among 360 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:41,200 Speaker 1: the tree tops and thickets overtook me near sunset, standing 361 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:45,440 Speaker 1: upon a lofty headland jutting into the lake in front 362 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,440 Speaker 1: of me at a distance of fifty miles away, and 363 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:52,199 Speaker 1: the clear blue of the horizon rose the arrowy peaks 364 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:56,680 Speaker 1: of the three Tetons. On the right rolled the picturesque 365 00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:01,919 Speaker 1: range of the Madison, scarred with clefts, ravine, gorges and canyons. 366 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,920 Speaker 1: Above where I stood were the lofty domes of mounts 367 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:10,720 Speaker 1: Langford and Done, And rising seemingly from the promontory which 368 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:15,200 Speaker 1: favored my vision was the familiar summit of Mount Everts, 369 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:17,520 Speaker 1: at the base of which I had dwelt so long, 370 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:21,480 Speaker 1: and which still seemed to hold me within its friendly shadow. 371 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:25,639 Speaker 1: With a lighted brand in my hand, I effected a 372 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:29,680 Speaker 1: most difficult and arduous descent of the abrupt and stony 373 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:33,159 Speaker 1: headland to the beach of the lake. The sand was 374 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:37,800 Speaker 1: soft and yielding. I kindled a fire and removed the 375 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:41,560 Speaker 1: stiffened slippers from my feet, attached them to my belt, 376 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:45,440 Speaker 1: and wandered barefoot along the sandy shore to gather wood 377 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 1: for the night. The dry warm sand was most grateful 378 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:53,200 Speaker 1: to my lacerated and festering feet, And for a long 379 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,480 Speaker 1: time after my woodpile was supplied, I sat with them 380 00:27:56,560 --> 00:28:01,679 Speaker 1: uncovered at length, conscious of the need of every possible 381 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,080 Speaker 1: protection from the freezing night. I sought my belt for 382 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:10,160 Speaker 1: the slippers, and one was missing, and gathering the wood 383 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:14,440 Speaker 1: had become detached and was lost. Darkness was closing over 384 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:18,280 Speaker 1: the landscape. When sorely disheartened with the thought of passing 385 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,720 Speaker 1: the night with one foot exposed of freezing temperature, I 386 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:25,199 Speaker 1: commenced a search for the missing slipper. I knew I 387 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:28,560 Speaker 1: could not travel a day without it, Fearful that it 388 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:31,560 Speaker 1: had dropped into the lake and had been carried by 389 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:35,520 Speaker 1: some recurrent wave beyond recovery. I searched for an hour 390 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:39,479 Speaker 1: among fallen trees and bushes, up the hillside and along 391 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:43,200 Speaker 1: the beach, in darkness, with flaming brands, at one moment 392 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:46,960 Speaker 1: crawling on hands and feet into a brush, heat, another 393 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 1: peering among logs and bushes and stones. No language can 394 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:55,280 Speaker 1: describe the joy with which I drew the cause of 395 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:59,440 Speaker 1: so much distress from beneath the limb, that as I passed, 396 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:04,480 Speaker 1: had tore it from my belt. With great relief. I 397 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:07,800 Speaker 1: now sat down in the sand, my back to a 398 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:12,600 Speaker 1: log and listened to the dash and roar of the waves. 399 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:16,880 Speaker 1: It was a wild lullaby, but it had no terrors. 400 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 1: For a worn out man, I never passed a night 401 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:28,960 Speaker 1: of more refreshing sleep. When I awoke, my fire was extinguished, 402 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:32,120 Speaker 1: save for a few embers, which I soon fanned into 403 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:36,360 Speaker 1: a cheerful flame. I ate breakfast and started along the 404 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:39,840 Speaker 1: beach in pursuit of a camp, believing that if successful, 405 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:42,760 Speaker 1: I should find directions what to do and food to 406 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:46,200 Speaker 1: sustain me. The search which I was making lay in 407 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:49,920 Speaker 1: the direction of my pre arranged route to the Madison Mountains, 408 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:53,720 Speaker 1: which I intended to approach at their lowest point of altitude. 409 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:58,080 Speaker 1: Boyed by the hope of finding food and counsel, and 410 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:01,400 Speaker 1: another night of undisturbed repose was in the sand, I 411 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 1: resumed my journey along the shore, and at noon found 412 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:07,680 Speaker 1: the camp last occupied by my friends on the lake. 413 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:11,600 Speaker 1: A dinner fork, which afterwards proved to be of infinite 414 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:15,080 Speaker 1: service and digging roots, and a yeast powder can which 415 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 1: would hold half a pint, and which I converted into 416 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:21,320 Speaker 1: a drinking cup and dinner pot. Were the only evidences 417 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:25,000 Speaker 1: that the spot had ever been visited. Why did they 418 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:28,560 Speaker 1: forget to leave me food? It never occurring to me 419 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:31,240 Speaker 1: that they might have cashed it, as I have since learned, 420 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:34,280 Speaker 1: they did in several spots nearer the place of my 421 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:40,080 Speaker 1: separation from them. An hour of sunshine in the afternoon 422 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,240 Speaker 1: enabled me to procure fire, which I carried to my 423 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:47,040 Speaker 1: camping place. There I built a fire, and to protect 424 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:50,680 Speaker 1: myself from the wind, which was blowing violently, lashing the 425 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:54,200 Speaker 1: lake into foam, I made a bower of pine bows 426 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:59,960 Speaker 1: crept under it. Very soon fell asleep. I was aroused 427 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:04,360 Speaker 1: by the snapping and cracking of the burning foliage. My 428 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:08,400 Speaker 1: left hand was badly burned, and my hair singed closer 429 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 1: than a barber would have trimmed it. While making my 430 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:20,520 Speaker 1: escape from the semicircle of burning trees. The grandeur of 431 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:25,280 Speaker 1: the burning forests surpasses description. An immense sheet of flame 432 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 1: following to their tops, the lofty trees of an almost 433 00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:33,600 Speaker 1: impenetrable pine forest, leaping madly from top to top, and 434 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:37,200 Speaker 1: sending thousands of forked tongues a hundred feet or more 435 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:41,400 Speaker 1: athwart the midnight darkness, lighting up with lurid glare the 436 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:46,160 Speaker 1: surrounding scenery of lake and mountain. I never before saw 437 00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:51,360 Speaker 1: anything so terribly beautiful, on on on, and favored by 438 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:56,040 Speaker 1: the gale, the conflagration spread with lightning swiftness over an 439 00:31:56,080 --> 00:32:00,960 Speaker 1: illimitable extent of country, filling the atmosphere with iving clouds 440 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:05,920 Speaker 1: of suffocating fume, and leaving a blackened trail of spectral trunks, 441 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:12,520 Speaker 1: shorn of limbs and foliage, smoking and burning. Among the 442 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:15,560 Speaker 1: disasters of this fire, there was none I felt more 443 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:19,680 Speaker 1: seriously than the loss of my buckle, tongue, knife, my pin, 444 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:25,040 Speaker 1: fish hook, and tape fish line. Resolved to search for 445 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:28,800 Speaker 1: a trail no longer. When daylight came, I selected for 446 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:32,880 Speaker 1: a landmark, the lowest notch in the Madison Range. All 447 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:36,800 Speaker 1: the day until nearly sunset, I struggled over rugged hills, 448 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:41,400 Speaker 1: through windfalls, thickets, and matted forests, with the rock ribbed 449 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:46,200 Speaker 1: beacon constantly in view. As I advanced, it receded, as 450 00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:50,200 Speaker 1: if in mockery of my toil, Night overtook me, with 451 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:54,440 Speaker 1: my journey half accomplished. Before daylight, I was on my way. 452 00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:59,360 Speaker 1: Long before I arrived at the base of the range. 453 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:05,520 Speaker 1: I scanned hopelessly it's insurmountable difficulties, an endless succession of 454 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:10,840 Speaker 1: inaccessible peaks and precipices, rising thousands of feet sheer and 455 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:15,200 Speaker 1: bare above the plain. No friendly gorge or gully or 456 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:18,280 Speaker 1: canyon invited such an effort as I could make to 457 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:23,160 Speaker 1: scale this rocky barrier. I seated myself on a rock 458 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:26,880 Speaker 1: upon the summit of a commanding hill and cast my 459 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:31,120 Speaker 1: eyes along the only route which now seemed tenable, down 460 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:35,800 Speaker 1: the yellow Stone. How many dreary miles of forest and 461 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:41,080 Speaker 1: mountain filled this terrible panorama. I thought that before accepting 462 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:45,120 Speaker 1: this discouraging alternative, I would spend a day in search 463 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:48,880 Speaker 1: for a pass twenty miles at most would take me 464 00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:52,600 Speaker 1: into the Madison Valley, and thirty more restore me to 465 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:56,800 Speaker 1: friends who had abundance. Supposing that I should find plenty 466 00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:59,840 Speaker 1: of thistles, I had left the lake with a small supply, 467 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:04,000 Speaker 1: and that was entirely spent. I looked in vain for 468 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:08,440 Speaker 1: them where I then was. While I was thus considering 469 00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:11,960 Speaker 1: whether to remain and search for a passage or returned 470 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:16,719 Speaker 1: to the Yellowstone, I experienced one of those strange hallucinations 471 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:21,600 Speaker 1: which many of my friends have misnamed insanity, but which 472 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:27,120 Speaker 1: to me was providence. An old clerical friend for whose 473 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:31,640 Speaker 1: character and counsel I had always cherished peculiar regard in 474 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:36,560 Speaker 1: some unaccountable manner, seemed to be standing before me, charged 475 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:40,799 Speaker 1: with advice which would relieve my perplexity. I seemed to 476 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:45,279 Speaker 1: hear him say, go back immediately, as rapidly as your 477 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:49,480 Speaker 1: strength will permit. There is no food here, and the 478 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:55,120 Speaker 1: idea of scaling these rocks is madness. Doctor. The distance 479 00:34:55,200 --> 00:34:59,120 Speaker 1: is too great. I cannot live to travel it, say not. So. 480 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:04,279 Speaker 1: Your life depends upon the effort. Return at once. Start now, 481 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:08,319 Speaker 1: lest your resolution falter. Travel as fast and as far 482 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:12,200 Speaker 1: as possible. It is your only chance. Doctor. I am 483 00:35:12,239 --> 00:35:15,400 Speaker 1: rejoiced to meet you in this hour of distress, but 484 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:19,280 Speaker 1: doubt the wisdom of your counsel. Just over these rocks, 485 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:23,240 Speaker 1: a few miles away, I shall find friends. My shoes 486 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:26,719 Speaker 1: are nearly worn out, my clothes are in tatters, my 487 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:30,640 Speaker 1: strength is almost overcome. As a last trial, it seems 488 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:33,560 Speaker 1: to me, I can but attempt to scale this mountain, 489 00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:37,600 Speaker 1: or perish in the effort. Don't think of it. Your 490 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:43,000 Speaker 1: power of endurance will carry you through. I will accompany 491 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:49,160 Speaker 1: you Overcome by these and other persuasions, and delighted with 492 00:35:49,239 --> 00:35:52,640 Speaker 1: the idea of having a traveling companion, I plodded my 493 00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:55,880 Speaker 1: way over the route I had come, intending at a 494 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:58,560 Speaker 1: certain point to change it so as to strike the 495 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:01,480 Speaker 1: river at the foot of the lake. Yeah. Whenever I 496 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:05,200 Speaker 1: was disposed, as was often the case, to question the 497 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:09,160 Speaker 1: wisdom of the change of roots, my old friend appeared 498 00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:13,040 Speaker 1: to be near with words of encouragement, but his reticence 499 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:20,759 Speaker 1: on other subjects both surprised and annoyed me. Really, I 500 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:26,000 Speaker 1: lost all sense of time. Days and nights came and went, 501 00:36:26,239 --> 00:36:30,440 Speaker 1: and were numbered only by the growing consciousness that I 502 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:35,879 Speaker 1: was gradually starving. I felt no hunger, did not eat 503 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:40,520 Speaker 1: to appease appetite, but to renew strength. I experienced but 504 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:44,840 Speaker 1: little pain. The gaping sores on my feet, the severe 505 00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:48,840 Speaker 1: burn on my hip, the festering crevices at the joints 506 00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:53,080 Speaker 1: of my fingers, all terrible in appearance, had ceased to 507 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:57,160 Speaker 1: give me the least concern. The roots which supplied my 508 00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:01,279 Speaker 1: food had suspended the digestive power of the stomach, and 509 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:05,480 Speaker 1: their fibers were packed in it in a matted, compact mass. 510 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:11,520 Speaker 1: Not so with my hours of slumber. I would visit 511 00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:15,759 Speaker 1: the most gorgeously decorated restaurants in New York and Washington, 512 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:20,800 Speaker 1: sit down to immense tables spread with the most appetizing viands, 513 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:26,759 Speaker 1: partake of the richest oyster stews and plumpest pies, engage 514 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:31,200 Speaker 1: myself in the labor and preparation of curious dishes, and 515 00:37:31,239 --> 00:37:35,759 Speaker 1: with them fill range upon range of elegantly furnished tables 516 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:40,680 Speaker 1: until they fairly groaned beneath the accumulated dainties prepared by 517 00:37:40,719 --> 00:37:50,200 Speaker 1: my own hands. It was a cold, gloomy day when 518 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:53,640 Speaker 1: I arrived in the vicinity of the falls. I had 519 00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:56,239 Speaker 1: no heart to gaze upon a scene which a few 520 00:37:56,280 --> 00:38:01,279 Speaker 1: weeks before had inspired me with rapture and awe. One 521 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:04,439 Speaker 1: moment of sunshine was of more value to me than 522 00:38:04,560 --> 00:38:08,160 Speaker 1: all the marvels amid which I was famishing. But the 523 00:38:08,239 --> 00:38:12,760 Speaker 1: sky was overcast and denied me all hope of obtaining fire. 524 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:16,880 Speaker 1: The only alternative was to seek shelter in a thicket. 525 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:23,000 Speaker 1: The coldness increased through the night. Constant friction with my 526 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:27,280 Speaker 1: hands and unceasing beating with my legs and feet saved 527 00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:31,600 Speaker 1: me from freezing. It was the most terrible night of 528 00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:35,920 Speaker 1: my journey, And when, with the early dawn I pulled 529 00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:39,960 Speaker 1: myself into a standing posture, it was to realize that 530 00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:45,480 Speaker 1: my right arm was partially paralyzed, my limbs so stiffened 531 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:51,240 Speaker 1: with cold as to be almost immovable. Fearing lest paralysis 532 00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:56,320 Speaker 1: should suddenly seize the entire system, I literally dragged myself 533 00:38:56,440 --> 00:39:00,920 Speaker 1: through the forest to the river. Seated near the verge 534 00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:05,200 Speaker 1: of the great canyon below the falls, I anxiously awaited 535 00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:10,120 Speaker 1: the appearance of the sun. That great luminary never looked 536 00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:14,640 Speaker 1: so beautiful as when a few moments afterwards he emerged 537 00:39:14,719 --> 00:39:17,880 Speaker 1: from the clouds and exposed his glowing beams to the 538 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:22,480 Speaker 1: concentrated power of my lens. I kindled a mighty flame, 539 00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:26,160 Speaker 1: fed it with every dry stick and broken tree top 540 00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:30,640 Speaker 1: I could find, and, without motion, and almost without sense, 541 00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:35,960 Speaker 1: remained beside it for several hours. The great falls of 542 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:39,960 Speaker 1: the yellow Stone were roaring within three hundred yards, and 543 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:43,879 Speaker 1: that awful canyon yawned almost at my feet. They had 544 00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:49,920 Speaker 1: lost all charm for me. I longed for death, not 545 00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:53,000 Speaker 1: less as the beginning of happiness than as a release 546 00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:57,400 Speaker 1: from misery. But my thoughts would revert to the single 547 00:39:57,480 --> 00:40:04,040 Speaker 1: being on whom my holiest affections centered my daughter. Could 548 00:40:04,080 --> 00:40:07,239 Speaker 1: I be restored to her for a single hour long 549 00:40:07,360 --> 00:40:12,359 Speaker 1: enough for parting, counsel and blessing, it would be joy unspeakable. 550 00:40:13,920 --> 00:40:18,000 Speaker 1: Long hours of painful travel were relieved of physical suffering 551 00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:21,919 Speaker 1: by this absorbing agony of the mind, which, when from 552 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:25,520 Speaker 1: my present standpoint I contrasted with the personal calamities of 553 00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:45,880 Speaker 1: my exile, swells into mountains. Soon after leaving Tower Falls, 554 00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:50,719 Speaker 1: I entered the open country. Pine forest and windfalls were 555 00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:55,520 Speaker 1: changed for sage brush and desolation, with occasional tracks of 556 00:40:55,680 --> 00:41:01,319 Speaker 1: stinted verdure barren hillsides exhibiting here and there an isolated 557 00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:05,000 Speaker 1: clump of dwarf trees and ravines filled with a rocky 558 00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:09,120 Speaker 1: debris of adjacent mountains. My first camp on this part 559 00:41:09,120 --> 00:41:12,359 Speaker 1: of the route, for the convenience of getting wood, was 560 00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:15,520 Speaker 1: made near the summit of a range of towering foothills. 561 00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:21,200 Speaker 1: Towards morning, a storm of wind and snow nearly extinguished 562 00:41:21,239 --> 00:41:25,040 Speaker 1: my fire. It was still raging when I arose, and 563 00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:29,040 Speaker 1: the ground white with snow. I had lost my course 564 00:41:29,080 --> 00:41:34,080 Speaker 1: of travel. No visible object seen through the almost blinding 565 00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:38,640 Speaker 1: storm reassured me there was no alternative but to find 566 00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:43,319 Speaker 1: the river and take my direction from its current. Fortunately, 567 00:41:43,760 --> 00:41:47,760 Speaker 1: after a few hours of stumbling and scrambling among rocks 568 00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:51,319 Speaker 1: and overcrest, I came to the precipitous side of the 569 00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:54,920 Speaker 1: canyon through which it ran, and with much labor both 570 00:41:54,960 --> 00:41:59,400 Speaker 1: of hands and feet, descended it to the margin. I 571 00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:03,480 Speaker 1: drank copiously of its pure waters, and sat beside it 572 00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:07,360 Speaker 1: for a long time, waiting for the storm to abate. 573 00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:13,960 Speaker 1: Chilled through my tattered clothing saturated, I saw before me 574 00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:17,600 Speaker 1: a night of horrors unless I returned to the fire. 575 00:42:18,640 --> 00:42:21,799 Speaker 1: The scramble up the side of the rocky canyon, in 576 00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:28,040 Speaker 1: many places nearly perpendicular, was the hardest work of my journey. Often, 577 00:42:28,239 --> 00:42:31,640 Speaker 1: while clinging to the jutting rocks with hands and feet 578 00:42:31,920 --> 00:42:36,080 Speaker 1: to reach a shelving projection, my grasp would unclose and 579 00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:40,680 Speaker 1: I would slide many feet down the sharp declivity. It 580 00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:45,160 Speaker 1: was night when, sore from bruises, I reached my fire. 581 00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:51,120 Speaker 1: The storm, still raging, had nearly extinguished it. I found 582 00:42:51,120 --> 00:42:54,600 Speaker 1: a few embers in the ashes, and with much difficulty, 583 00:42:55,040 --> 00:43:00,640 Speaker 1: kindled a flame here on this bleak mountain side. As 584 00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:03,960 Speaker 1: well as I now remember, I must have passed two 585 00:43:04,080 --> 00:43:08,440 Speaker 1: nights beside the fire in the storm. Many times during 586 00:43:08,480 --> 00:43:11,640 Speaker 1: each night I crawled to a little clump of trees 587 00:43:11,719 --> 00:43:15,319 Speaker 1: to gather wood and brush and the broken limbs of 588 00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:19,840 Speaker 1: fallen tree tops. All the sleep I obtained was snatched 589 00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:24,200 Speaker 1: from the intervals which divided these labors. It was so 590 00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:29,239 Speaker 1: harassed with frightful dreams as to afford little rest. I 591 00:43:29,320 --> 00:43:33,759 Speaker 1: remembered before I left this camp, stripping up my sleeves 592 00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:37,839 Speaker 1: to look at my shrunken arms. Flesh and blood had 593 00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:41,680 Speaker 1: apparently left them. The skin clung to the bones like 594 00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:46,439 Speaker 1: wet parchment. A child's hand could have clasped them from 595 00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:53,320 Speaker 1: wrist to shoulder. I hobbled on my course through the snow, 596 00:43:53,600 --> 00:43:57,400 Speaker 1: which was rapidly disappearing before the rays of the warm sun. 597 00:43:58,719 --> 00:44:01,360 Speaker 1: Well knowing that I should find no thistles in the 598 00:44:01,400 --> 00:44:04,800 Speaker 1: open country. I had filled my pouches with them before 599 00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:09,520 Speaker 1: leaving the forest. My supply was running low. There was 600 00:44:09,640 --> 00:44:13,760 Speaker 1: several days of heavy mountain travel between me and Botler's ranch. 601 00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:18,720 Speaker 1: With the most careful economy, it could last but two 602 00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:25,239 Speaker 1: or three days longer. One day, while ascending a steep hill, 603 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:29,799 Speaker 1: I fell from exhaustion into a sage brush, without the 604 00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:35,360 Speaker 1: power to rise unbuckling my belt, as was my custom, 605 00:44:35,719 --> 00:44:40,160 Speaker 1: I soon fell asleep. I have no idea of the 606 00:44:40,200 --> 00:44:44,200 Speaker 1: time I slept, but upon awakening I fastened my belt, 607 00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:49,480 Speaker 1: scrambled to my feet, and pursued my journey. As night 608 00:44:49,560 --> 00:44:53,720 Speaker 1: drew on, I selected a camping place, gathered wood into 609 00:44:53,719 --> 00:44:57,160 Speaker 1: a heat, and felt from my lens to procure fire. 610 00:44:59,160 --> 00:45:04,799 Speaker 1: It was gone. If the earth had yawned to swallow me, 611 00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:09,600 Speaker 1: I would not have been more terrified. I seemed to 612 00:45:09,760 --> 00:45:13,719 Speaker 1: feel the grim messenger, who had been long pursuing me, 613 00:45:14,239 --> 00:45:17,200 Speaker 1: knocking at the portals of my heart as I lay 614 00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:20,800 Speaker 1: down by the side of the woodpile and covered myself 615 00:45:20,880 --> 00:45:24,800 Speaker 1: with limbs and sage brush, with the dreadful conviction that 616 00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:28,399 Speaker 1: my struggle of life was over and I should rise 617 00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:33,480 Speaker 1: no more. With the rapidity of lightning, I ran over 618 00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:38,200 Speaker 1: every event of my life. Thoughts doubled and trebled upon me, 619 00:45:38,600 --> 00:45:42,760 Speaker 1: until I saw, as if in vision, the entire past 620 00:45:42,960 --> 00:45:46,600 Speaker 1: of my existence. It was all before me, as if 621 00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:51,279 Speaker 1: painted with a sunbeam, and all seemingly faded like the 622 00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:56,280 Speaker 1: phantoms of a vivid dream. I summoned all the powers 623 00:45:56,320 --> 00:45:59,879 Speaker 1: of my memory, thought over every foot of the day 624 00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:04,680 Speaker 1: travel and concluded that the glass must have become detached 625 00:46:04,680 --> 00:46:10,120 Speaker 1: from my belt while sleeping, five long miles over the hills, 626 00:46:10,239 --> 00:46:14,239 Speaker 1: must be retraced to regain it. There was no alternative, 627 00:46:14,880 --> 00:46:18,120 Speaker 1: and before daylight I had staggered over half the distance. 628 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:21,760 Speaker 1: I found the lens on the spot where I had slept. 629 00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:25,400 Speaker 1: No incident of my journey brought with it more of 630 00:46:25,480 --> 00:46:31,120 Speaker 1: joy and relief. I resumed my journey the next morning 631 00:46:31,560 --> 00:46:34,320 Speaker 1: with the belief that I should make no more fires 632 00:46:34,360 --> 00:46:38,839 Speaker 1: with my lens. I must save a brand or perish. 633 00:46:39,239 --> 00:46:43,320 Speaker 1: The day was raw and gusty, and east wind charged 634 00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:49,080 Speaker 1: with storm penetrated my nerves with irritating keenness. After walking 635 00:46:49,160 --> 00:46:53,320 Speaker 1: a few miles, the storm came on, and a coldness 636 00:46:53,440 --> 00:46:57,600 Speaker 1: unlike any other I had ever felt seized me, had 637 00:46:57,719 --> 00:47:01,640 Speaker 1: entered all my bones. I attempted to build a fire, 638 00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:05,520 Speaker 1: but could not make it burn. Seizing a brand, I 639 00:47:05,640 --> 00:47:10,000 Speaker 1: stumbled blindly on, stopping within the shadow of every rock 640 00:47:10,320 --> 00:47:14,360 Speaker 1: and clump to renew energy for a final conflict for life, 641 00:47:15,520 --> 00:47:19,160 Speaker 1: a solemn conviction that death was near, that at each 642 00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:23,400 Speaker 1: pause I made my limbs would refuse further service, and 643 00:47:23,480 --> 00:47:26,560 Speaker 1: that I should sink, helpless and dying in my path 644 00:47:27,480 --> 00:47:34,960 Speaker 1: overwhelmed me with terror. Amid all this tumult of the mind, 645 00:47:35,160 --> 00:47:37,560 Speaker 1: I felt that I had done all I could do. 646 00:47:38,440 --> 00:47:41,440 Speaker 1: I knew that in two or three days more I 647 00:47:41,480 --> 00:47:46,360 Speaker 1: could affect my deliverance. And I derived no little satisfaction 648 00:47:46,520 --> 00:47:49,319 Speaker 1: from the thought that, as I now was in the 649 00:47:49,400 --> 00:47:53,640 Speaker 1: broad trail, my remains would be found, and my friends 650 00:47:53,680 --> 00:47:58,600 Speaker 1: relieved of doubt as to my fate. Groping along the 651 00:47:58,719 --> 00:48:02,759 Speaker 1: side of the hill, I became suddenly sensible of a 652 00:48:02,840 --> 00:48:08,480 Speaker 1: sharp reflection, as of burnished steel. Looking up through half 653 00:48:08,560 --> 00:48:13,640 Speaker 1: closed eyes, two rough but kindly faces met my gaze. 654 00:48:14,800 --> 00:48:20,279 Speaker 1: Are you, mister Evarts, Yes, all that's left of him? 655 00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:25,920 Speaker 1: We have come for you. Who sent you Judge Larrence 656 00:48:26,600 --> 00:48:33,160 Speaker 1: and other friends? God bless him and them you I 657 00:48:33,160 --> 00:48:38,880 Speaker 1: am saved. And with these words, powerless of further effort, 658 00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:42,600 Speaker 1: I fell forward into the arms of my preservers, in 659 00:48:42,680 --> 00:48:46,360 Speaker 1: a state of unconsciousness, on the very brink of the 660 00:48:46,520 --> 00:48:51,120 Speaker 1: river which divides the known from the unknown. Strong arms 661 00:48:51,120 --> 00:48:56,239 Speaker 1: snatched me from the final plunge, and kind ministrations wooed 662 00:48:56,239 --> 00:49:01,719 Speaker 1: me back to life. In two days I was sufficiently 663 00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:05,279 Speaker 1: recovered in strength to be moved twenty miles down the 664 00:49:05,360 --> 00:49:08,640 Speaker 1: trail to the cabin of some miners who were prospecting 665 00:49:08,800 --> 00:49:13,240 Speaker 1: in the vicinity. The night after my arrival at the cabin, 666 00:49:13,880 --> 00:49:18,360 Speaker 1: while suffering the most excruciating agony, and thinking that I 667 00:49:18,400 --> 00:49:22,400 Speaker 1: had only been saved to die among friends, a hunter 668 00:49:22,880 --> 00:49:26,359 Speaker 1: whose life was spent among the mountains, listened to the 669 00:49:26,440 --> 00:49:31,279 Speaker 1: story of my sufferings. Why Lord, bless you, If that's 670 00:49:31,280 --> 00:49:34,359 Speaker 1: all I have the very remedy you need in two 671 00:49:34,360 --> 00:49:40,319 Speaker 1: hours time, all shall be well with you. He returned 672 00:49:40,520 --> 00:49:43,319 Speaker 1: in a moment with a sack filled with the fat 673 00:49:43,360 --> 00:49:46,640 Speaker 1: of a bear. From this he rendered out a pint 674 00:49:46,719 --> 00:49:52,279 Speaker 1: measure of oil. I drank the whole of it. The 675 00:49:52,360 --> 00:49:56,160 Speaker 1: next day I was freed from pain, with appetite and 676 00:49:56,239 --> 00:50:01,000 Speaker 1: digestion reestablished. In a day or too, I took leave 677 00:50:01,120 --> 00:50:04,520 Speaker 1: of my kind friends, meeting the carriage on my way, 678 00:50:05,080 --> 00:50:08,880 Speaker 1: I proceeded to Bozeman, where I remained among old friends 679 00:50:09,400 --> 00:50:13,560 Speaker 1: until my health was sufficiently restored to allow me to 680 00:50:13,640 --> 00:50:19,160 Speaker 1: return to my home in Helena. My heartfelt thanks are 681 00:50:19,239 --> 00:50:22,720 Speaker 1: due to the members of the expedition, all of whom 682 00:50:22,800 --> 00:50:26,319 Speaker 1: devoted seven and some of them twelve days to the 683 00:50:26,400 --> 00:50:30,680 Speaker 1: search for me before they left Yellowstone Lake and to 684 00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:35,080 Speaker 1: Judge Lawrence of Helena, in the offer of reward, which 685 00:50:35,120 --> 00:50:40,759 Speaker 1: sent Baronet and Pritchett to my rescue. My narrative is finished. 686 00:50:41,640 --> 00:50:44,359 Speaker 1: In the course of events. The time is not far 687 00:50:44,440 --> 00:50:47,439 Speaker 1: distant when the wonders of the Yellowstone will be made 688 00:50:47,480 --> 00:50:52,759 Speaker 1: accessible to all lovers of sublimity, grandeur and novelty, and 689 00:50:52,920 --> 00:50:57,000 Speaker 1: natural scenery and its majestic waters become the abode of 690 00:50:57,080 --> 00:51:02,799 Speaker 1: civilization and refinement. And when that arrives, I hope, in 691 00:51:02,960 --> 00:51:07,960 Speaker 1: happier mood and under more auspicious circumstances, to revisit scenes 692 00:51:08,040 --> 00:51:12,960 Speaker 1: fraught for me with such thrilling interests, to ramble along 693 00:51:13,080 --> 00:51:17,120 Speaker 1: the glowing beach of Bessie Lake, to sit down amid 694 00:51:17,160 --> 00:51:21,080 Speaker 1: the hot springs under the shade of Mount Everts, to 695 00:51:21,320 --> 00:51:26,880 Speaker 1: thread unscarred the mazy forest, retrace the dreary journey to 696 00:51:26,960 --> 00:51:32,480 Speaker 1: the Madison Range, and with enraptured fancy, gaze upon the 697 00:51:32,640 --> 00:51:37,400 Speaker 1: mingled glories and terrors of the great balls and marvelous canyon, 698 00:51:38,960 --> 00:51:42,839 Speaker 1: and to enjoy in happy contrast with the trials, they 699 00:51:42,880 --> 00:51:48,560 Speaker 1: recall their power to delight, elevate, and overwhelm the mind 700 00:51:48,719 --> 00:52:25,600 Speaker 1: with wondrous and majestic beauty, remember the slant on your bags, 701 00:52:26,480 --> 00:52:32,160 Speaker 1: lad in your eyes. It was the coldest wins, its 702 00:52:32,320 --> 00:52:53,200 Speaker 1: longest ear. We want to dry. I weren't dry once 703 00:52:53,239 --> 00:53:29,439 Speaker 1: we can WoT sink bot I had h Thirty seven 704 00:53:29,480 --> 00:53:33,080 Speaker 1: Days of Peril was written by Truman Evarts, performed by 705 00:53:33,080 --> 00:53:37,120 Speaker 1: Ben Boarn and adapted by Alexander Williams, with the voices 706 00:53:37,160 --> 00:53:41,520 Speaker 1: of Matt Frederick, Noel Brown, and Nathaniel Maloney, and special 707 00:53:41,560 --> 00:53:46,160 Speaker 1: thanks to Trevor Young and Max Williams. The song Warm 708 00:53:46,160 --> 00:53:50,160 Speaker 1: and Draw was used courtesy of the band un and US. 709 00:53:50,840 --> 00:53:53,560 Speaker 1: Listen to the album at you me and us dot 710 00:53:53,600 --> 00:53:57,360 Speaker 1: bandcamp dot com for links to the unabridged story and 711 00:53:57,440 --> 00:54:01,080 Speaker 1: more on everything you heard. Hre searching further than a 712 00:54:01,160 --> 00:54:02,719 Speaker 1: Femily dot Chew