my wearied and exhausted body seemed to triumph over all
the agitations of my mind, and I sunk into a sleep as deep and profound
as that of death itself. I awoke next morning with the first rays of the
sun, but, more composed, I better understood the difficulties in which I
was involved, and the uncertainty of my escape. I was in the midst of an
immense desert, totally destitute of human assistance or support. Should
I meet with any of my fellow-creatures, I could expect nothing but
implacable cruelty; and even if I escaped their vigilance, what method
of finding subsistence, or of measuring back, without a guide, the long
and tedious march I had trodden? Hope, however, and the vigour of my
constitution, still supported me. I reflected that it is the common lot
of man to struggle with misfortunes; that it is cowardice to yield to
evils, when present, the representation of which had not deterred me
from voluntarily embracing the profession of a soldier; and that the
providence of Heaven was as capable of protecting me in the forests of
America as upon my native mountains. I therefore determined to struggle
till the last with the difficulties which surrounded me, and to meet my
fortune like a man. Yet, as I still by intervals heard the dismal cries
of the enemy, and saw their fires at a distance, I lay close till night
in the obscurity of my thicket. When all was dark and still, I ventured
abroad, and laid in my scanty provisions of fruits and herbs, and drank
again at the spring. The pain of my wounds now began to abate a little,
though I suffered extremely from the cold, as I did not dare to kindle a
fire, from the fear of discovering myself by its light.

"Three nights and days did I lead this solitary life, in continual dread
of the savage parties which scoured all the woods in pursuit of
stragglers, and often passed so near my place of retreat that I gave
myself over for lost. At length, on the fourth evening, fancying myself
a little restored, and that the activity of the enemy might be abated, I
ventured out and pursued my march. I scarcely need describe the various
difficulties and dangers to which I was exposed in such a journey;
however, I still had with me my musket, and as my ammunition was not
quite exhausted, I depended upon the woods themselves to supply me with
food. I travelled the greater part of the night, involving myself still
deeper in these inextricable forests, for I was afraid to pursue the
direct