SAM FINDS IT NECESSARY TO THINK.
It was twelve miles from their first encampment to Fort Glass, and if
Sam had been strong and well, and the way open, they might easily have
made the journey before morning, by carrying little Judie a part of the
way. As it was, they had to go through the thickest woods to avoid
Indians, and must move cautiously all the time, as they could never know
when they might stumble upon a party of savages around a camp-fire, or
sleeping under a tree. Those of my readers who live in the far South
know what thick woods are in that part of the country, but others may
not. The trees grow as close together as they can, and the underbrush
chokes up the space between them pretty effectually. Then the great
vines of various kinds wind themselves in and out until in many places
they literally stop the way so that a strong man with an axe could not
go forward a hundred feet in a week. In other places the thick cane
makes an equally impenetrable barrier, and Sam needed all his knowledge
of the forest to enable him to work his way southward at night through
such woods as those. The little party of wanderers sometimes found
themselves apparently walled in in the pitchy darkness, with no possible
way out but Sam's instinct, as he called it, which was simply his
ability to remember the things he had learned, and to put two facts
together to find out a third, always extricated them. Once they found
themselves in a swamp, where the water was about eight inches deep. The
underbrush, canes and vines made it impossible for them to see any great
distance in any direction.
"Oh, I know we will never get out of here," whined poor little Judie,
ready to sink down in the water.
"Yes we will, lady bird," said Sam cheerily. "What's the good of having
a big brother if he can't take care of you? Tell me that, will you?
Keep your courage up, little girl, I think I know where we are. Let me
think."
"I know wha' we is. Mas' Sam," said Joe.
"Where, Joe," asked Sam, incredulously.
"We'se dun' los',--dat's wha' we is," replied Joe.
Sam laughed.
"I know more than that," said Tom, "I know _where_ we're lost."
"Wha', Mas' Tom?" cried Joe, eagerly.
"In a swamp," said Tom.
"And I know what swamp," said Sam, "which is better still. This swamp is
the low grounds of a little creek, and I've been in it before to-night.
I don't know just which way to go to get out, because I don't know just
what part of the swamp we're in. But if my foot was well I'd soon find
out."
"How, Mas' Sam?"
"I'd climb that sweet gum and look for landmarks."
"Lan' marks? what's dem, Mas' Sam? will dey bite?"
"No, Joe, I mean I would look around and find something or other to
steer by,--a house an open field or something."
"I kin climb, Mas' Sam," replied Joe, "an' I'll be up dat dar tree in
less'n no time."
[Illustration: "WE 'S DUN LOS'--DATS WHAT WE IS."]
And up the tree he went as nimbly as any squirrel might. As he went up,
Sam cautioned him to make no noise, and not to shout, but to look around
carefully, and then to come down and tell what he had seen.
"I see a big openin'," said Joe, when he reached the ground again, "an'
nigh de middle uv it dey's a big grove, wid a littler one jis' off to de
left."
"Yes," said Sam, "I thought you'd see that. That's where Watkins's house
stood: now which way is it?"
"Which-a-way's what, Mas' Sam?"
"The opening with the groves in it."
"I 'clar' I dunno, Mas' Sam."
It had not entered Joe's head to mark the direction, and so he had to
climb the tree again. In going up and coming down, however, he wound
around the tree two or three times and was no wiser when he returned to
the ground than before he began his ascent.
"Look, Joe," said Sam. "Do you see that bright star through the trees?"
"De brightest one, Mas' Sam?"
"Yes."
"Yes, I sees it."
"Well, climb the tree, and when you get to the top, turn your face
towards that star. Then see which way the opening is, and remember
whether it is straight ahead of you, behind you, or to the right or
left."
Joe went up the tree again and this time managed to bring down the
information that when he looked at the star the opening was on his left.
With the knowledge of locality and direction thus gained, Sam was not
long in finding his way to firm ground again, and as soon as he did so
he selected a hiding-place for the day, as the morning was now at hand.
The next night they had fewer difficulties, the woods through which they
had to pass being freer from undergrowth than those they had already
traversed, and when the third morning broke they were within a mile or
two of Fort Glass. Sam thought at first of pushing on at once to the
fort, but, seeing "Indian sign" in the shape of some smouldering fires
near a spring, he abandoned the undertaking until night should come
again, and hid his little company in the woods. Something to eat was the
one immediate necessity. They were all nearly famished, and neither corn
nor sweet potatoes were to be found anywhere in the vicinity. Sam
directed the boys to bring some rushes from the creek bottoms, and
peeling these, he and his companions ate the pith, which is slightly
succulent and in a small degree nourishing. Sam had learned this fact by
accident while out hunting one day, and Sam took care never to forget
anything which might be useful. Towards night, when the rushes failed to
satisfy their hunger, Sam was puzzling himself over the problem of
getting food, when Tom asked him if he knew the name of a singular tree
he had seen while out after rushes.
"It has the biggest leaves I ever saw," he said, "and they all grow
right out of its top. Some of 'em are six feet long, and they've got
folds in 'em. There ain't any limbs to the tree at all."
"Where did you see that?" asked Sam eagerly.
"Right over there, about a hundred yards."
"Good! It's palmetto. I didn't know there was one this far from the sea
though. Here, take my big knife and you and Joe go and cut out as much
as you can of the soft part just where the leaves come out. It's what
they call palmetto cabbage, and it's very good to eat too, I can tell
you."
The boys, after receiving minute instructions, went to the palmetto-tree
and brought away several pounds of the terminal bud. On this the little
company made a hearty meal, finding the "cabbage," as it is called, a
well-flavored, juicy and tender kind of white vegetable substance, very
nourishing and as palatable as cocoanut, which it closely resembles in
flavor. Storing what was left in their pockets, they began to prepare
for their night's journey to the fort, which they hoped to reach within
an hour or two. They were just on the point of starting when a party of
Indians, under Weatherford, the great half-breed chief, who was the life
and soul of the war, rode across a neighboring field, and settled
themselves for supper within a dozen yards of Sam's camp. The sky was
overcast with clouds, and so night fell even more quickly than it
usually does in Southern latitudes, where there is almost no twilight
at all. Sam made his companions lie down at the approach of the savages,
and as soon as it was fairly dark, the little party crept silently away.
Before leaving, however, Sam had heard enough of the conversation
between Weatherford and Peter McQueen, the other great half-breed
warrior, to know that he could not reach the fort that night. The two
half-breeds talked most of the time in English, and Sam learned that
they had a large body of Indians in the vicinity, who were scouring the
country around Fort Glass. Sam knew enough of Indian warfare to know
that there would be numerous small parties of savage scouts lurking
immediately around the fort day and night, for the purpose of picking
off any daring whites who might venture outside the gates, and
especially any messenger who might attempt to pass from that to any
other fortress. He knew, therefore, that for some time to come it would
be impossible to reach Fort Glass, and penetrating the woods for a
considerable distance he stopped and sat down on a log, burying his face
in his hands, and telling his companions not to speak to him, as he
wanted to think.