New York Tribune

A Lost Man.

A man named William Adams, who, on a shooting excursion in Louisiana, lost his way in the canebrakes and swamps, gives an account through the newspapers of his wanderings and sufferings for fourteen days. He went out with a party, and, straying off, shot a deer, which he was bringing back on his shoulders, when he fell in with the recent track of a panther. He followed this until he came upon the animal, and then dropping the deer, he retired a few paces. The panther approached the dead, and then, at 25 yards, Adams shot at him with his rifle, and rendered him apparently dead on the ground. Reloading, he approached, when the animal revived and made off: he following from one canebrake to another, until he lost both himself and the panther. Abandoning the pursuit, he sought to retrace his steps, but in vain. He went from bad to worse, sometimes up to his waist in water, sometimes in canebrakes of apparently boundless extent, without food, his ammunition spoiled by the water, and his sufferings for the first few days intense from the mosquitoes. [American.

The narrative thus proceeds:

On the fourth night I found myself in four foot water. I succeeded, however, in finding a tree which had fallen, the butt remaining above water, on which I slept through the night. In the morning, I again breasted the water, and soon discovered some cane; keeping the same course, as near as I could, I crossed the cane and came to an open swamp. Here I saw some wild cattle, which were the first animals I had seen since I had abandoned the pursuit of the wounded panther. They were numerous, large, and in fine condition. One of which would doubtless have been sacrificed to satisfy the cravings of hunger, which had the day previous been almost insufferable, were it not that my ammunition had become damaged and useless. This day I also suffered much from hunger, but no longer felt the incessant biting of the mosquitoes and ticks, my flesh being apparently dead to pain. Yet my feet were giving way, being covered with sores from the friction of the shoes in the water. On the following day I found some green blackberries and ate a few; and after this--the sixth day--I felt no hunger. I now found myself in a very heavy cane-brake, which seemed to be interminable, and all my efforts to extricate myself from it proved unavailing, until the 12th day. The cane was so heavy that it was impossible to keep any direct course, and, consequently, my progress must have been slow. On the 12th day, however, I struck a small stream, and to avoid the difficulty of pushing myself through the cane, I took to the water, and about 12 o'clock I struck a trail that had been cut by Mr. Lee, to the banks of the Bayou Alabama. At ten, on the 14th day, I found myself at the plantation of Mr. Lee. I had sufficient strength to cross the fence, but when I walked a few rods I found I was not able to proceed further in the open field--my feet could not bear the heat of the earth, and the sun seemed to exhaust the little remaining strength which I had left. I stretched myself on the ground and hallooed at the top of my voice. Mr. Lee came to my assistance. He received me with the utmost kindness, furnished me with clothing, as I was literally naked, and bestowed on me every attention which my deplorable situation required.