THE AMEKICANS AND THE ABORIGINES. 331 



allow a squirrel to set foot upon the trees on which 

 they grew. He tried to call to mind the position of 

 the path along which Canondah had conducted him ; 

 he investigated every thicket and opening in the 

 bushes, but all in vain ; hours passed away, and he 

 had not found it. When he detected the trace 

 of footsteps, they invariably proved to be his own. 

 At last fortune seemed to smile upon him ; he dis- 

 covered the place where the canoe was concealed. 

 He had still long to look, however, before he could 

 find the track leading through the forest ; and when 

 he did hit upon it, it was so intricate, and led in such 

 a zigzag line, now up the slope and then down again, 

 that darkness came on, and he had not yet reached 

 the swamp. Hungry and fatigued, he returned to 

 the Sabine, and, fully determined to try his luck 

 again next morning, he trusted with better success, 

 he loaded the canoe upon his shoulders, launched it 

 upon the water, and rowed to the opposite bank, 

 where he had left the provisions with which Canon- 

 dah had supplied him. Taking them with him, he 

 recrossed the river, and after a short but hearty meal, 

 busied himself in the preparation of a sleeping-place. 

 In that heavenly region, nature has supplied the 

 means for a simple but delightful bed, in the tilland- 

 sea or Spanish moss, whose long, delicate, horsehair- 

 like threads compose the most luxurious couch. 

 With this moss Hodges now filled the canoe, and 

 carried it to the hiding-place where he had found it. 



