We
Were All At This Time "Hungry As Hunters," And Beginning To Feel
Very Miserable From Being Wet Through.
What little ammunition I
had left I fired off as signals, or made tinder of to get up a
fire, but the wood would not burn.
In this hapless condition the
black boys began murmuring, wishing to go on, pretending, though
both held opposite views, that each knew the way; for they
thought nothing could be worse than their present state of
discomfort.
Night with its gloom was then drawing on, heightened by thunder
and lightning, which set in all around us. At times we thought
we heard musketry in camp, knowing that Grant would be sure to
fire signals for us; and doubtless we did so, but its sound and
the thunder so much resembled one another that we distrusted our
ears. At any rate, the boys mistook the west for the east; and
as I thought they had done so, I stood firm to one spot, and
finally lay down with them to sleep upon the cold wet ground,
where we slept pretty well, being only disturbed occasionally by
some animals sniffing at our feet. As the clouds broke towards
morning, my obstinate boys still swore that west was east, and
would hardly follow me when tracking down Venus; next up rose the
moon and then followed the sun, when, as good luck would have it,
we struck on the track, and walked straight into camp.
Here every one was in a great state of excitement:
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