Page:Account of a most surprising savage girl.pdf/16

16 luckily discovered their operations in time to prevent them, and escape shipwreck. This attempt made them chain the two little savages so as to put it out of their power to attempt the like again.

It appears that, after the escape of these two children from the shipwreck, being then incapable of any other views than those of liberty and self-preservation, they pursued no other rout than chance and necessity presented. At night, according to le Blanc, they saw more distinctly than in the day, (which, however, must not be understood literally, though her eyes do still retain somewhat of that faculty,) and travelled about in search of food. The small game which they catched, and the roots of trees, were their provisions. The trees were likewise their beds, or rather their cradles, for they slept soundly in them either sitting or riding on some branch, suffering themselves to be rocked by the winds, and exposed to the inclemency of the weather, without any other precaution than securing themselves with one hand, and using the other by way of pillow.

The largest rivers did not stop their journey by day or night, for they always crossed them without any dread. Sometimes