Note 6 — Chapter V · IN THE ‘DEMONS’ WOOD.’
Reading edition
This strange cry is often heard in the depths of the forests in this region, and has never been accounted for, the only explanation given by the Indians being the one stated above, viz., that it is ‘the cry of a Lost Soul.’ It is alluded to by the American poet, Whittier, in the following lines:—
“In that black forest where, when day is done, ***** Darkly from sunset to the rising sun, A cry as of the pained heart of the wood, The long despairing moan of solitude And darkness and the absence of all good, Startles the traveller with a sound so drear, So full of hopeless agony and fear, His heart stands still, and listens with his ear. —The guide, as if he heard a death-bell toll, Crosses himself, and whispers, ‘A Lost Soul!’”