Something to eat was the one immediate necessity.

They were all nearly famished, and neither corn nor sweet potatoes were to be found anywhere in the vicinity.

Sam directed the boys to bring some rushes from the creek bottoms, and peeling these, he and his companions ate the pith, which is slightly succulent and in a small degree nourishing.

Sam had learned this fact by accident while out hunting one day, and Sam took care never to forget anything which might be useful.

Towards night, when the rushes failed to satisfy their hunger, Sam was puzzling himself over the problem of getting food, when Tom asked him if he knew the name of a singular tree he had seen while out after rushes.
"It has the biggest leaves I ever saw," he said, "and they all grow right out of its top.