WEBVTT - 37 Days of Peril 0:00:02.160 --> 0:00:07.800 Ephemeral is production of I Heart three D for full exposure, 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:12.959 listen with that phones. It's surprising how easy it is 0:00:13.480 --> 0:00:19.400 to become lost, running down every aisle of a department store, 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:22.960 looking for the person you entered with, down a distant 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:26.360 tangle of back roads, pleading with a non functioning GPS, 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:31.800 even a suburban back yard can turn sinister the instant 0:00:31.840 --> 0:00:35.240 you realize you've lost your bearings. But have you ever 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:43.400 been truly hopelessly, frighteningly lost. In eighteen seventy, before Montana 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:47.960 and Wyoming were states and America held no federally protected lands, 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:52.239 some twenty explorers set out into the maze of uncharted 0:00:52.280 --> 0:00:57.960 wilderness known as Yellowstone among the Washburn Langford Done expedition 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:01.440 was fifty four year old True and See efforts the 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:05.959 Montana territories first federal tax assessor, who had recently found 0:01:06.040 --> 0:01:10.440 himself out of a jar. The party departed Helena the 0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:14.959 sixteenth of August on horseback, tracing the Continental Divide south 0:01:15.160 --> 0:01:19.880 via the Yellowstone River. The morning of September nine, everyone 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:24.480 was accounted for. That night at camp, they realized Truman 0:01:24.959 --> 0:01:30.600 was missing. Immediately a search was organized. Steps were retraced 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:34.440 two weeks were spent scouring the nearby headwaters of the 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:38.080 Snake and Yellowstone Rivers, but there was no sign of 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:46.679 their comrade. Later they recovered his riderless pack horse. But 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:51.960 this story has a happy ending. On October two, searchers 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:54.760 spotted Mr. Evarts, some fifty miles from where he had 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:59.040 gone missing. He was in bad shape, delirious and injured, 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:02.840 weighing on fifty pounds, but saved in time to make 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:07.680 a full recovery. Within the following year, Truman Everts wrote 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:11.640 a detailed account of his wanderings entitled thirty seven Days 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:15.919 of Peril, which was published in the November one issue 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:21.520 of Scribner's Monthly. Adapted for audio, the following is that story, 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:46.040 in the author's own words, thirty seven Days of Peril. Wow. 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:52.520 It desired to visit this remarkable region, of which during 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:56.440 several years residents in Montana I had often heard the 0:02:56.480 --> 0:03:00.799 most marvelous accounts. Led me to unite in the expedition 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:06.399 of August last. The general character of this stupendous scenery 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:10.320 of the rocky mountains prepared my mind for giving credit 0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:14.080 to all the strange stories told of the yellow Stone, 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.680 and I felt quite as certain of the existence of 0:03:17.720 --> 0:03:21.360 the physical phenomena of that country on the morning that 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:25.440 our company started from Helena, as when I afterwards beheld it, 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:31.240 I engaged in the enterprise with enthusiasm, feeling that all 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:35.760 the hardships and exposures of a month's horseback travel through 0:03:35.800 --> 0:03:39.800 an unexplored region would be more than compensated by the 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:44.040 grandeur and novelty of the natural objects with which it 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:49.600 was crowded. Of course, the idea of being lost in 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:53.880 it without any of the ordinary means of subsistence, and 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:58.000 the wandering for days and weeks in a famishing condition 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:04.480 alone in an unfrequented wilderness, formed no part of my contemplation. 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:10.600 On the day that I found myself separated from the company, 0:04:10.720 --> 0:04:14.240 and for several days previous, our course had been impeded 0:04:14.280 --> 0:04:17.800 by the dense growth of the pine forest and occasional 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:23.720 large tracts of fallen timber, frequently rendering our progress almost impossible. 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:28.279 Whenever we came to one of these immense windfalls, each 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:31.120 man engaged in the pursuit of a passage through it, 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:34.480 and it was while thus employed that I strayed out 0:04:34.480 --> 0:04:38.800 of sight and hearing of my comrades. We'd had a 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:42.080 toilsome day, and it was quite late in the afternoon. 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:48.840 As separations like this frequently occurred, it gave me no alarm. 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:52.640 Fully confident of soon rejoining the company or of finding 0:04:52.640 --> 0:04:55.560 their camp, I came up with the pack horse and 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:58.880 rode on in the direction which I supposed had been taken, 0:04:59.440 --> 0:05:04.200 until darkness overtook me in the dense forest. This was 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:07.760 disagreeable enough, but I had no doubt of being with 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:11.120 the party At breakfast the next morning, I selected a 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:15.400 spot for comfortable repose, picketed my horse, built a fire, 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:21.599 and went to sleep. M m m hm. The next 0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:25.360 morning I rose at early dawn, saddled and mounted my horse, 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:28.960 and took my course in the supposed direction of the camp. 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:33.840 Our ride of the previous day had been upper Peninsula, 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:36.480 jutting into the lake, for the shore of which I 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:39.680 started with the expectation of finding my friends camped on 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:43.560 the beach. The forest was quite dark and the trees 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:47.279 so thick that in searching for the trail I became 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:52.240 somewhat confused. The falling foliage of the pines had obliterated 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:57.160 every trace of travel. I was obliged frequently to dismount 0:05:57.480 --> 0:06:01.960 and examine the ground for the faintest indicatations. Coming to 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:04.919 an opening from which I could see several vistas, I 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:08.240 dismounted for the purpose of selecting one leading in the 0:06:08.320 --> 0:06:12.720 direction I had chosen, and, leaving my horse unhitched, as 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:15.840 it always been my custom, walked a few rods into 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:19.080 the forest. I turned around in time to see him 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:23.280 disappearing at full speed among the trees. This was the 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:29.080 last I ever saw of him. My blankets, gun, pistols, 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:34.320 fishing tackle, matches, everything except the clothing on my person, 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:37.920 A couple of knives, and a small opera glass were 0:06:37.960 --> 0:06:43.120 attached to the saddle. Instead of following up the pursuit 0:06:43.160 --> 0:06:46.000 of the camp, I engaged in an effort to recover 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:49.760 my horse. Half a day's search convinced me of its 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:56.000 impracticability in an open space. I wrote and posted several notices, which, 0:06:56.400 --> 0:06:59.320 if my friends should chance to see, would inform them 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:02.200 of my Isisian and the route I had taken, and 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:05.160 then struck out into the forest in the supposed direction 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:10.400 of their camp. As the day wore on without any discovery, 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:13.720 alarm took the place of anxiety at the prospect of 0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:17.240 another night alone in the wilderness, and this time without 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:21.920 food or fire. But even this dismal foreboding was cheered 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:25.240 by the hope that I should soon rejoin my companions, 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:28.560 who would laugh at my adventure, and incorporated as a 0:07:28.640 --> 0:07:33.400 thrilling episode into the journal of our trip. Seating myself 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:36.200 on a log, I recalled every foot of the way 0:07:36.280 --> 0:07:39.720 I had traveled since the separation from my friends, and 0:07:39.760 --> 0:07:43.120 the most probable opinion I could form of their whereabouts 0:07:43.320 --> 0:07:46.320 was that they had, by a coarse but little different 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:49.360 from mine, passed by the spot where I had posted 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:52.880 the notices, learned of my disaster and were waiting for 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:55.960 me to rejoin them. There were searching for me in 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:59.880 that vicinity. A night must be spent amid the prostrate 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:04.520 trunks before my return could be accomplished. I resigned myself 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:07.440 to a couch of foliage in a thicket of small trees, 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:12.280 naturally timid. In the night, I fully realized the exposure 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:16.640 of my condition. The forest seemed alive with the screeching 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:20.440 of night birds, the angry barking of coyotes, and the 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:28.360 prolonged dismal howl of the gray wolf. Early the next morning, 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:32.320 I rose, unrefreshed, and pursued my weary way over the 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:36.120 prostrate trunks. It was noon when I reached the spot 0:08:36.120 --> 0:08:40.080 where my notices were posted. No one had been there. 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:45.240 For the first time, I realized that I was lost. 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:50.760 No food, no fire, no means to procure either, alone 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:54.240 in an unexplored wilderness, one hundred and fifty miles from 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:59.120 the nearest human abode, surrounded by wild beasts, and famishing 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:05.719 with hunger. A moment afterwards, I felt how calamity can 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:09.760 elevate the mind and the formation of the resolution not 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:14.640 to perish in that wilderness. It was midday when I 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:17.480 emerged from the forest into an open space at the 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:21.640 foot of the peninsula. A broad lake of beautiful curvature 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:26.359 with magnificent surroundings lay before me, glittering in the sunbeams. 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:31.480 It was a full twelve miles in circumference. Large flocks 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:35.240 of swan and other waterfowl were sporting on the quiet surface. 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:40.280 Otters in great number performed the most amusing aquatic evolutions. 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:46.880 Mink and beaver swam around unscared in the most grotesque confusion. Deer, elk, 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:51.199 and mountain sheep stared at me, manifesting more surprised than 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:55.160 fear at my presence among them. The adjacent forest was 0:09:55.280 --> 0:09:58.520 vocal with the songs of birds, chief of which were 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:01.840 the chattering notes of a sees of mocking bird, whose 0:10:01.880 --> 0:10:06.760 imitative efforts afforded abundant merriment. With the belief that I 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:09.680 had discovered the source of the great southern tributary of 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:12.520 the Columbia, I gave it the name of Bessie Lake, 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:17.559 after the sole daughter of my house and heart. A 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:21.319 wide belt of sand formed the margin which I was approaching, 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:25.720 directly opposite to which, rising seemingly from the very depths 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:28.959 of the water, towered the loftiest peak of a range 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:35.200 of mountains, apparently interminable. Seen under favorable circumstances, this assemblage 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:40.040 of grandeur, beauty, and novelty would have been transporting, But 0:10:40.160 --> 0:10:44.800 I was in no humor for ecstasy. I recognized the 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:48.360 mountain which overshadowed it as the landmark which a few 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:52.280 days before had received from General Washburn the name of 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:56.560 Mount Everts, And as it is associated with some of 0:10:56.600 --> 0:11:00.640 the most agreeable and terrible incidents of my exile, I 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:03.240 feel that I have more than a mere discoverer's right 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:08.840 to the perpetuity of that christening. Imagine my delight, while 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:13.080 gazing upon this animated expanse of water, had seen sail 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:16.600 out from a distant point a large canoe containing a 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:20.640 single oarsman, rapidly approaching the shore where I was seated. 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:23.840 With hurried steps, I paced the beach to meet it. 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:28.960 As I drew near it turned towards the shore, the object, 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:33.720 which my eager fancy had transformed into an angel of relief, 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:39.240 stalked from the water. An enormous pelican flapped its dragon 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:43.520 wings and flew to a solitary point farther up the lake. 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:49.640 M Night was fast approaching, and while looking for a 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:53.080 spot where I might repose in safety, my attention was 0:11:53.160 --> 0:11:57.240 distracted to a small green plant of so lively hue 0:11:57.280 --> 0:12:01.400 as to form a striking contrast with deep high foliage. 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:04.480 For closer examination, I pulled it up by the root. 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:10.320 It was a thistle, palatable and nutritious. My appetite craved it, 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:13.520 and the first meal in four days was made on 0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:18.480 thistle roots. Overjoyed by this discovery, with hunger allaid, I 0:12:18.600 --> 0:12:21.920 stretched myself under a tree upon the foliage, which had 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:26.280 partially filled the space between contiguous trunks and fell asleep. 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:35.360 Suddenly I was roused by a loud, shrill scream, like 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:39.120 that of a human in distress. There was no mistake 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:42.600 in that fearful voice. I have been deceived by and 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:46.560 answered it a dozen times while threading the forest. It 0:12:46.760 --> 0:12:50.480 was the screech of a mountain lion. To yell and return. 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:54.240 Seized with convulsive grasp the limbs of the friendly tree 0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:57.680 and swing myself into it was the work of a moment. 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:01.560 Scrambling hurriedly from living to limb, I was soon as 0:13:01.600 --> 0:13:04.959 near the top as safety would permit. I increased my 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:08.760 voice to its utmost volume, broke branches from the limbs, and, 0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:12.320 in the impetucy of fright, madly hurled them at the spot. 0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:16.640 Whence the continued howlings proceeded, failing to alarm the animal, 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:19.280 which now began to make a circuit of the tree, 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:22.080 as if to select a spot for springing into it. 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:26.440 I shook with a strength increased by terror, the slender trunk, 0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:31.800 until every limb rustled with motion, all in vain, Expecting 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:34.840 every moment it would take the deadly leap. I tried 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:38.040 to collect my thoughts and prepare for the fatal encounter. 0:13:38.120 --> 0:13:43.000 Which I knew must result. Just then it occurred to 0:13:43.040 --> 0:13:47.880 me that I would try silence. Clasping the trunk of 0:13:47.960 --> 0:13:53.600 the tree with both arms, I sat perfectly still. The 0:13:53.679 --> 0:14:01.560 lion imitated my example. Moments passed like hours, but after 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:04.960 a lapse of time which I cannot estimate, the beast 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:08.319 gave a spring into the thicket and ran screaming into 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:15.560 the forest. My deliverance was effected. Had strength permitted, I 0:14:15.640 --> 0:14:18.720 should have retained my perch till daylight. But with the 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:22.200 consciousness of escape from the jaws of the ferocious brute, 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:28.040 came a sense of overpowering weakness, which almost palsied me 0:14:28.560 --> 0:14:32.480 and made my descent from the tree both difficult and dangerous. 0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:36.600 Incredible as it may seem, I lay down in my 0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:39.880 old bed and was soon lost in a slumber so 0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:48.520 profound that I did not awake until after daylight. I 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:52.440 was roused by a marked change in the atmosphere. One 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:56.880 of those dreary storms of mingled snow and rain common 0:14:57.000 --> 0:15:01.240 to these high latitudes, set in. My clothing, which had 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:06.520 been much torn, exposed my person to its pitiless peltings. 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:10.400 An easterly wind rising to a gale admonished me that 0:15:10.480 --> 0:15:14.520 it would be furious and of long duration. I could 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.480 find no better shelter than the spreading branches of a 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:26.440 spruce tree. The storm meanwhile raged with unabated violence. On 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:29.520 the morning of the third day, taking full advantage of 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:32.880 a lull in the elements, I rose early and started 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:35.680 in the direction of a large group of hot springs, 0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:39.840 which were steaming under the shadow of Mount Everts. The 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:43.800 distance I traveled could not have been less than ten miles. 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:48.840 Long before I reached the wonderful cluster of natural cauldrons, 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:55.800 the storm had recommenced. Chilled through with my clothing thoroughly saturated, 0:15:56.200 --> 0:15:59.640 I lay down under a tree upon the heated incrustacean 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:04.480 and completely warmed. My heels and the sides of my 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:10.200 feet were frozen. As soon as the warmth had permeated 0:16:10.240 --> 0:16:13.920 my system, I took a survey of my surroundings and 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:18.880 selected a spot between two springs sufficiently asunder to afford 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:22.840 heat at my head and feet. On this spot I 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:27.120 built a bower of pine branches, spread its encrusted surface 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:31.320 with the fallen foliage and small bows, and stowed myself 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:36.800 away to await the close of the storm. Thistles were abundant, 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:39.560 and I had fed upon them long enough to realize 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:43.120 that they would, for a while at least sustain life. 0:16:44.920 --> 0:16:50.040 Inconvenient proximity to my abode was a small round boiling spring, 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:53.600 which I called my dinner pot, in which from time 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:58.840 to time I cooked my roots. This establishment I occupied 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:02.240 seven days, the first three of which were darkened by 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:06.040 one of the most furious storms I ever saw. I 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:10.159 was enveloped in a perpetual steam bath. At first this 0:17:10.359 --> 0:17:13.919 was barely preferable to the storm, but I soon became 0:17:13.960 --> 0:17:18.760 accustomed to it, and before I left, though thoroughly parboiled, 0:17:19.480 --> 0:17:24.120 actually enjoyed it. On the third night after my arrival, 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:28.280 there an unlucky movement, while asleep, broke the crust on 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:31.960 which I reposed, and the hot steam pouring upon my 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:37.760 hip scalded it severely. Before I could escape. This new affliction, 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:41.720 added to my frost bitten feet already festering, was the 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:46.720 cause of frequent delays and unceasing pain through all my wanderings. 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:51.000 I had little else to do during my imprisonment but cook, 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:56.200 think and sleep. Selfish as the thought may seem, there 0:17:56.280 --> 0:17:59.800 was nothing I so much desired as a companion in misfortune, 0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:03.840 how greatly it would alleviate my distress. What a relief 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:06.960 it would be to compare my wretchedness with that of 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:11.040 a brother's sufferer, and with him devise expedients for every 0:18:11.119 --> 0:18:15.200 exigency as it occurred. I confess to the weakness, if 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:19.080 it be one, of having squandered much pity upon myself 0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:23.399 during the time I had little else to do. Nothing 0:18:23.480 --> 0:18:27.320 gave me more concerned than the want of fire. I 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:30.800 recalled everything I had ever read or heard of the 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:34.199 means by which fire could be produced, but none of 0:18:34.240 --> 0:18:38.439 them were within my reach. An escape without it was 0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:43.600 simply impossible. It was indispensable as a protection against night 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:48.359 attacks from wild beasts. Exposure to another storm like the 0:18:48.400 --> 0:18:52.080 one just over would destroy my life, as this one 0:18:52.119 --> 0:18:55.879 would have done, but for the warmth derived from the springs. 0:18:57.040 --> 0:19:00.800 As I lay in my bower anxiously awaiting the disappearance 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:03.280 of the snow, which had fallen to the depth of 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:06.919 a foot or more, a gleam of sunshine lit up 0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:09.919 the bosom of the lake, and with it the thought 0:19:10.000 --> 0:19:13.320 flashed upon my mind that I could, with a lens 0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:17.879 from my opera glasses, get fire from heaven, subjecting it 0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:21.560 to the test of experiment. I saw the smoke curl 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:28.080 from the bit of dry wood and my fingers. If 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:31.879 the whole world were offered me for it, I would 0:19:31.920 --> 0:19:38.960 cast it all aside. Before parting that little spark, I 0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:43.000 set to work, making preparations for as early departure as 0:19:43.040 --> 0:19:47.080 my condition would permit. I had lost both knives since 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:50.240 parting from the company, but I now made a convenient 0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:53.280 substitute by sharpening the tongue of a buckle which I 0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:56.679 had cut from my vest. With this, I cut the 0:19:56.800 --> 0:20:01.000 legs and counters from my boots, making them a passable 0:20:01.040 --> 0:20:04.240 pair of slippers, which I fastened to my feet as 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:08.399 firmly as I could strips of bark with the rattlings 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:12.520 from a linen handkerchief. Aided by this magic buckle tongue, 0:20:12.880 --> 0:20:16.800 I mended my clothing. Of the same material, I made 0:20:16.800 --> 0:20:20.000 a fish line, which, on finding a piece of red 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:23.160 tape in one of my pockets better suited to the purpose, 0:20:23.520 --> 0:20:27.240 I abandoned as a bad job. I made of a 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:30.560 pin that I found in my coat official, and by 0:20:30.680 --> 0:20:34.240 sewing up the bottoms of my bootlegs, constructed a good 0:20:34.280 --> 0:20:37.800 pair of pouches to carry my food. In fastening them 0:20:37.840 --> 0:20:41.520 to my belt by the straps, I said to myself, 0:20:42.560 --> 0:21:00.440 I will not despair. On the morning of the day 0:21:00.520 --> 0:21:03.040 after my arrival at the springs, I bade them a 0:21:03.080 --> 0:21:06.800 final farewell and started on my course across the neck 0:21:06.840 --> 0:21:09.919 of the peninsula between me and the southeast arm of 0:21:10.040 --> 0:21:14.760 yellow Stone Lake. Weakened by a long fast and the 0:21:14.840 --> 0:21:18.800 unsatisfied nature of the only food I could procure, I 0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:22.199 know that from this time onward to the day of 0:21:22.200 --> 0:21:26.200 my rescue, my mind was in a condition to receive 0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:32.800 impressions akin to insanity. I was constantly traveling in dream 0:21:32.960 --> 0:21:37.000 land and indulging in strange reverie such as I had 0:21:37.040 --> 0:21:41.600 never before known. I seemed to possess a sort of 0:21:41.680 --> 0:21:46.560 duality of being, which, while constantly reminding me of the 0:21:46.680 --> 0:21:51.600 necessities of my condition, fed my imagination with vagaries of 0:21:51.640 --> 0:21:57.479 the most extravagant character. Nevertheless, I was perfectly conscious of 0:21:57.520 --> 0:22:01.399 the tendency of these morbid influence is, and often tried 0:22:01.440 --> 0:22:04.560 to shake them off, But they would ever return with 0:22:04.680 --> 0:22:10.040 increased force, and I finally reasoned myself into the belief 0:22:10.160 --> 0:22:14.480 that their indulgence, as it afforded me pleasure, could work 0:22:14.560 --> 0:22:18.080 no harm. While it did not interfere with my plans 0:22:18.160 --> 0:22:23.360 for deliverance. Thus I lived in a world of ideal 0:22:23.480 --> 0:22:27.679 happiness and in a world of positive suffering. At the 0:22:27.800 --> 0:22:34.880 same time. A change in the wind and an overcast sky, 0:22:35.080 --> 0:22:38.760 accompanied by cold, brought with them a need of warmth. 0:22:39.400 --> 0:22:42.920 I drew out my lens and touch wood, but alas 0:22:43.720 --> 0:22:47.000 there was no sun, I sat down on a log 0:22:47.119 --> 0:22:54.080 to await his friendly appearance. Hours passed, he did not come. 0:22:55.640 --> 0:23:00.520 Cold freezing night set in. He found me exposed to 0:23:00.640 --> 0:23:05.760 all its terrors. A bleak hillside sparsely covered with pines, 0:23:05.800 --> 0:23:11.280 afforded poor accommodations for a half clad, famished man. I 0:23:11.320 --> 0:23:15.200 could only keep from freezing by the most active exertion 0:23:15.400 --> 0:23:20.840 in walking, rubbing, striking my benumbed feet and hands against 0:23:20.880 --> 0:23:25.520 the logs. At the time it seemed the longest, most 0:23:25.760 --> 0:23:29.840 terrible night of my life. And when the approaching dawn 0:23:30.080 --> 0:23:33.920 enabled me to commence retracing my steps to Bessie Lake, 0:23:34.640 --> 0:23:38.000 I arrived there at noon, built my first fire on 0:23:38.040 --> 0:23:43.480 the beach, and remained by it, recuperating for the succeeding 0:23:43.600 --> 0:23:49.120 two days. The faint hope that my friends might be 0:23:49.160 --> 0:23:52.520 delayed by their search for me until I could rejoin them, 0:23:52.680 --> 0:23:58.560 now forsook me Altogether, I made my arrangements independent of it. 0:23:59.720 --> 0:24:02.920 I there of three directions I might take would affect 0:24:02.960 --> 0:24:07.320 my escape if life and strength held out. I drew 0:24:07.480 --> 0:24:13.280 upon the sand map. Of each. One was the follow 0:24:13.440 --> 0:24:16.880 Snake River, a distance of one hundred miles or more 0:24:17.040 --> 0:24:21.680 to Eagle Rock Bridge. Another to cross the country between 0:24:21.720 --> 0:24:26.040 the southern shore of Yellowstone Lake and the Madison Mountains 0:24:26.080 --> 0:24:28.800 by scaling, which I could reach the settlements in the 0:24:28.840 --> 0:24:32.760 Madison Valley. And the other to retrace my journey over 0:24:32.800 --> 0:24:35.920 the long and discouraging route by which I had entered 0:24:35.960 --> 0:24:42.000 the country. The last mentioned seemed the least inviting. I 0:24:42.040 --> 0:24:45.480 had heard and read so much concerning the desolation and 0:24:45.640 --> 0:24:49.040 elemental upheavals and violet waters of the upper valley of 0:24:49.080 --> 0:24:52.119 the Snake, that I dared not attempt to return in 0:24:52.160 --> 0:24:56.720 that direction. The route by the Madison Range, encumbered by 0:24:56.800 --> 0:25:01.080 the single obstruction of the mountain barrier, was much the shortest, 0:25:01.720 --> 0:25:06.960 and so most unwisely as well hereafter appear I adopted it. 0:25:09.640 --> 0:25:13.440 All that day I traveled over timber heats, amid tree tops, 0:25:13.520 --> 0:25:17.199 and through thickets. At noon, I took the precaution to 0:25:17.240 --> 0:25:20.680 obtain fire with a brand, which I kept alive by 0:25:20.840 --> 0:25:24.679 frequent blowing and constant waving to and fro. At a 0:25:24.760 --> 0:25:29.200 late hour in the afternoon, faint and exhausted, I kindled 0:25:29.200 --> 0:25:31.800 a fire for the night on the only vacant spot 0:25:31.840 --> 0:25:36.080 I could find amid a dense wilderness of pines. The 0:25:36.160 --> 0:25:38.680 burn on my hip was so inflamed that I could 0:25:38.720 --> 0:25:42.880 only sleep in a sitting posture with my back against 0:25:42.960 --> 0:25:46.679 a tree, the smoke from the fire almost enveloping me 0:25:46.760 --> 0:25:50.600 and its suffocating folds. I vainly tried to woo the 0:25:50.680 --> 0:25:56.440 drowsy god. My imagination was instinct with terror. I could 0:25:56.480 --> 0:26:00.280 see the blazing eyes of a formidable forest monster fixed 0:26:00.400 --> 0:26:04.040 upon me. I fancied that I heard the swift approach 0:26:04.119 --> 0:26:07.880 of a pack of yelping wolves through the distant brushwood, 0:26:07.880 --> 0:26:12.720 coming to tear me limb from limb. Whenever, by fatigue 0:26:12.840 --> 0:26:17.480 or weakness, my terror yielded to drowsiness, the least noise 0:26:17.680 --> 0:26:22.280 roused me to a sense of the hideousness of my condition. Once, 0:26:22.480 --> 0:26:25.879 in a fitful slumber, I fell forward into the fire 0:26:26.200 --> 0:26:30.159 and inflicted a wretched burn on my hand with what agony, 0:26:30.440 --> 0:26:36.639 I loaned for day. Another day of unceasing toil among 0:26:36.720 --> 0:26:41.200 the tree tops and thickets overtook me near sunset, standing 0:26:41.280 --> 0:26:45.440 upon a lofty headland jutting into the lake in front 0:26:45.480 --> 0:26:48.440 of me at a distance of fifty miles away, and 0:26:48.560 --> 0:26:52.199 the clear blue of the horizon rose the arrowy peaks 0:26:52.240 --> 0:26:56.680 of the three Tetons. On the right rolled the picturesque 0:26:56.800 --> 0:27:01.919 range of the Madison, scarred with clefts, ravine, gorges and canyons. 0:27:02.640 --> 0:27:05.920 Above where I stood were the lofty domes of mounts 0:27:06.000 --> 0:27:10.720 Langford and Done, And rising seemingly from the promontory which 0:27:10.800 --> 0:27:15.200 favored my vision was the familiar summit of Mount Everts, 0:27:15.240 --> 0:27:17.520 at the base of which I had dwelt so long, 0:27:18.080 --> 0:27:21.480 and which still seemed to hold me within its friendly shadow. 0:27:22.960 --> 0:27:25.639 With a lighted brand in my hand, I effected a 0:27:25.720 --> 0:27:29.680 most difficult and arduous descent of the abrupt and stony 0:27:29.720 --> 0:27:33.159 headland to the beach of the lake. The sand was 0:27:33.240 --> 0:27:37.800 soft and yielding. I kindled a fire and removed the 0:27:37.920 --> 0:27:41.560 stiffened slippers from my feet, attached them to my belt, 0:27:42.080 --> 0:27:45.440 and wandered barefoot along the sandy shore to gather wood 0:27:45.480 --> 0:27:49.560 for the night. The dry warm sand was most grateful 0:27:49.600 --> 0:27:53.200 to my lacerated and festering feet, And for a long 0:27:53.280 --> 0:27:56.480 time after my woodpile was supplied, I sat with them 0:27:56.560 --> 0:28:01.679 uncovered at length, conscious of the need of every possible 0:28:01.680 --> 0:28:05.080 protection from the freezing night. I sought my belt for 0:28:05.160 --> 0:28:10.160 the slippers, and one was missing, and gathering the wood 0:28:10.160 --> 0:28:14.440 had become detached and was lost. Darkness was closing over 0:28:14.480 --> 0:28:18.280 the landscape. When sorely disheartened with the thought of passing 0:28:18.320 --> 0:28:21.720 the night with one foot exposed of freezing temperature, I 0:28:21.760 --> 0:28:25.199 commenced a search for the missing slipper. I knew I 0:28:25.200 --> 0:28:28.560 could not travel a day without it, Fearful that it 0:28:28.600 --> 0:28:31.560 had dropped into the lake and had been carried by 0:28:31.640 --> 0:28:35.520 some recurrent wave beyond recovery. I searched for an hour 0:28:35.680 --> 0:28:39.479 among fallen trees and bushes, up the hillside and along 0:28:39.520 --> 0:28:43.200 the beach, in darkness, with flaming brands, at one moment 0:28:43.320 --> 0:28:46.960 crawling on hands and feet into a brush, heat, another 0:28:47.080 --> 0:28:52.120 peering among logs and bushes and stones. No language can 0:28:52.160 --> 0:28:55.280 describe the joy with which I drew the cause of 0:28:55.400 --> 0:28:59.440 so much distress from beneath the limb, that as I passed, 0:28:59.480 --> 0:29:04.480 had tore it from my belt. With great relief. I 0:29:04.520 --> 0:29:07.800 now sat down in the sand, my back to a 0:29:07.880 --> 0:29:12.600 log and listened to the dash and roar of the waves. 0:29:13.520 --> 0:29:16.880 It was a wild lullaby, but it had no terrors. 0:29:16.960 --> 0:29:20.480 For a worn out man, I never passed a night 0:29:21.200 --> 0:29:28.960