I was thrown out on my head; I was hurt badly but, by the noise I made, it was evident I was not killed. At the edge of the standing . trees the wagon caught and the dog broke loose and went in a mad race through the woods after the wild cat. My brothers were terror stricken; they did not know how badly I was hurt and feared I was killed. The dog, too, would either be killed or lost. The confusion and uproar were beyond reporting. Soon, however, the dog came back panting and with the traces dangling after him. He looked dis- appointed that he had not caught his game. The boys picked me up and put me back in the wagon, and hitched Dandy to it again, and we trotted off home as though nothing out of the ordinary had happen- ed. Hle probably thought it was great fun. It was my first exciting experience.

Lost in the Depths of the Forest

On Thanksgiving Day, when I was about eight years of age, two of my brothers went into the woods to hunt rabbits and partridges. The edge of the woods was not far from our house. There was a spring, or brook in the woods where, in winter, we watered the cattle. My next older brother, Johnny, and I wanted to go with the ones who went hunting; but they would not let us go. We watched which way they went until they were out of sight. We saw that they took the road leading to the spring, and we attempted to follow them. We kept at a distance behind. so they could not see us, nor could we see them. We knew the path to the spring, but we did not go far beyond that when we lost our way. Our efforts to regain the path, or steer our course, only sent us deeper into the forest. No one knew where we were; the hunters did not know we followed them, and those at home did not know we had gone; even when they missed us they did not suspect we had gone to the woods. We put up a brave struggle to find , our way back. We were now in the depths of the woods that held so much mystery, and from which came the strange noises, that filled our minds with wonderment and dread. We came to a stream and fol- lowed it thinking it was the one where we watered the cattle, and which would lead us out. In places thickets and fallen trees blocked our way and we had to cross the stream to get along. Johnny would jump in and wade across, but I was timid and careful and would find a place

66