“We, made torches of birch bark, besides havin’ all the lanterns there was on the drive, and the ole man spread the whole fifty of us out, and we fine tooth combed that country all night. But we couldn't find hide nor hair of the kid, and when mornin’ come I says to myself, ‘That kid's a goner sure,’ and about everybody else thought the same way ’cept the ole man, and he never would give in if he died.
“After we had lunch we went at it again. Along about noon I found the kid sleepin’ in a hollow log. Would not have seen him if it had not been for his little cap that had fallen on the ground. He was in a bear den, I took him out of the log, and the first thing he said was that he was hungry. I gave him all the lunch I had left, and he devoured it.
“I tried to get the story of his experience from him. After I raised the long yell and was waitin’ for the boys to come in he did make out to tell me that he played about in the woods until he got tired and then tried to go home, but couldn't get there. Then It got dark; then he caught on to a big black ‘doggie and two little doggies’ layin’ down, and he laid down with them and slept warm all night, and he was so tired when mornin’ came that he couldn’t keep up with the ‘doggies.’ They ran away and left him.
“Then he tried to get home, but couldn’t make it and found the hollow log and crawled in, cryin’ for his mother. Jehosephat! If that kid didn’t sleep with that she bear and
