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11th. Started for the Trinity. 1 1/2 miles from Houston 100 on the 'Union Springs' Paid to have mineral ?erpatus. sentence crossed out We had left Houston rather late in the day & got benighted, we saw a light in the distance apparently in our track we approached it, & crack went a rifle balls. We sang out lustily, that although we were dear be were not quite^the sort of game to be taken in that way -

 I need hardly say that the light we took for a honb? was a pan of pine sticks, burning by some deer hunters. x

They apologized to us & we passed our way. It was very dark & we supposed from the distance we had travelled that we had rather overshot the spot we had intended to remain at for the night & neither of us had ever been this road before. As yet there are no syn posts. We held a 'Convent of War'^by finding that we had no prorion? or water, but came to the conclusion to "camp out". My friend rode in a "Sulky", I was on horseback. We tethred our beasts, then got under the lee of the 'Sulky,' were amused with an occasional howl from the wolves, but^at last went to sleep. 12th At day break with morning we found that we were about three miles from the settlement we had intended to have slept at.

in margin x In a word they had "shined' our horses eyes, taking them to be those of deer. (Vide deer hunting)