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Sam leaves home and heads to the Catskill Mountains
Exact date unknown. The book says "I left New York in May." -
Sam meets Bill (Approximate Date)
After a hungry, miserable, and scary night, Sam walks toward the road and stummbles into a cabin. He bangs on the door and a man named Bill answers. Sam asked Bill to cook his fish and Bill did. After Sam was done eating, Bill showed Sam how to make a fire. They spent the afternoon practicing. -
Sam's tree house is done
The house is six feet in diameter. He can "stand in it, lie down in it, and there was room left over for a stump to sit on." By December he will have a small fireplace with a chimney. -
The Strawberry Lady visits Sam's Mountain
When Sam was working on gathering materials for his bed, the Strawberry Lady ran into him and made him pick strawberries with her. She then made him walk her back to town. While he was in town, he visited the library and read a few books about hawks and falcons. -
Sam captures Frightful
Sam picked the biggest of the nestlings. "The females are bigger than the males. They are the 'falcons.' They are the pride of Kings." He plans to train her to hunt food for him. -
Sam makes Salt
In mid-June, Sam made a salty flavoring by boiling hickory sticks dry. It made a thick, black substance. He used it to season his wild foods to make them taste better. -
Sam finishes his bed
His bed is made from 18 inch ash slats covered woth Hemlock boughs. Sam is happy because he doesn't have to sleep on the floor of the tree anymore. -
Sam digs a pit trap for a deer
Sam wants to cath a deer so he can make a door, tethers for Frightful, a blanket for warmth at night, and a deer suit to stay warm in the winter. -
Frightful will hop from stump to fist
Frightful is still small and can't fly, so it is good that she progressing on working to fly. -
Independence Day
Independence Day is not inportant to Sam; he doesn't even mention it. Sam was busy during the summer. He worked to train Frightful. He tanned the hide and made a door. He made jesses and tethers. He smoked veison. He rigged a figure-four trap and checked it daily. One day he was lucky enough to catch one. "The rest of June was spent smoking it, tanning it, and finally starting on my deerskin suit. -
Sam meets Bando (Approximate date)
Sam was going back to his tree house when he heard police sirens. When he got to his tree he saw a man laying on the ground. He thought he was an outlaw because he heard the sirens but he was just an English professor. Bando stayed for about a week. Maybe 10 days. -
Bando and Sam work on building a raft
Sam wants a raft so he can go deeper into the and catch more fish. -
Bando makes pottery
Bando makes jars from clay to store his jam he made. -
Bando and Sam make willow whistles
Bando and Sam play sad songs on the whistles. Bando will have to leave soon because he has to go back to his school and teach. The good news is that he plans on returning for Christmas. -
Bando leaves
Bando has to leave because he has to go back to school. Sam is very lonely at first, but then he remebers how fun it is to hang out with Frightful and the other animals. -
Sam gets clay for a fireplace
Sam gets clay so he can build a fireplace. He needs a way to keep his tree warm during the cold winter. -
Starts searching for nuts
Sam searches for nuts to stock up for winter. -
Sam throws a Halloween party with his "neighbors"
Sam puts some food outside of his tree for the animals to eat. Not many animals showed up though. -
Halloween party gets rough
It took about a day for the news about the free food to get through the woods. The next night many more animals showed up. Some even went into Sam's tree and stole his nuts. -
Sam hears rifle shot
Sam awkens when he hears a rifle shot. He suddenly realizes it is the beginning of hunting season. He will have to be more careful of not being seen if he wants to keep living in the mountains. -
Sam heads to town and meets Mr. Jacket
Before Sam could stop himself, he headed to town and stopped at the drugstore. while he was looking at a magazine, a boy (Mr. Jacket) about his age came up to him and said " Well, if it isn't Daniel Boone!" They talked for a while until Mr Jacket had to leave. Sam stayed in the drugstore until the clerk got anxious to sell him something and he headed back to his mountain. -
An article in the newspaper Bando brought to Sam during Christmas
This is what it said, "Residents of Delhi, in the Catskill Mountains, report that a wild boy, who lives off deer and nuts, is hiding out in the mountains. Several hunters stated that this boy stole deer from them during hunting season. This wild boy has been seen from time to time by Catskill residents, some of whom think he is crazy. Officials say that ther is no evidence of any boy living alone in the mountains, and add that all abandoned houses and sheds are routinely checked..." -
Snow flurries begin
Sam sees snow clouds form and is ready for the snowstorm up ahead. -
Sam's first snowstorm
Sam holes up in his tree and eats turtle soup and acorn pancakes while it is snowing outside. -
Another article from Bando
This one said, "Mrs.Thomas Fielder, ninety-seven, resident of Delhi, N.Y., told this reporter that she met a wild boy on Bitter Mountain last June while gathering her anual strawberry supply."
"The old women , a resident of the mountain resort town for ninety-seven years, called this office to reporther observation. Local residents report that Mrs. Fielder ia a fine old member of the comunity, who only occastionally sees imaginary things." -
Sam wonders if Bando will come
Bando said he will be back for Christmas, but he has not returned yet. Sam statrts to plan a lonley Christmas. -
Bando returns for Christmas
Sam was beginning to wonder if Bando was going to show up for Christmas at all. Just when Sam was about to lose hope, he heard a faint "halloooo." Sam then put on his coat and moccasins and went to go find Bando. He ran into him just as Bando turned up the valley to follow the stream bed. Sam then brought Bando to his treehouse and Bando read articles that the newspapers were publishing about a "Wild boy suspected living off deer and nuts in wilderness of Catskills." -
Dad comes and visits Sam
Dad hears about Sam in the newspapers and decides to visit sam in the mountain. Sam was very happy when he saw his dad for the first time in about seven months. They had a big feast for dinner. -
Dad meets Frightful
"Dad had not yet met Frightful. When she winged downout of the hemlock, he ducked and flattened out in the snow shouting 'Blast off.'
He was very cool toward Frightful until he learned that she was the best provider we ever had in our family, and then he continually praised her beauty and admired her talents. He even tried to pet her, but Frightful was not to be won. She snagged him with her talons." -
Bando leaves
Bando has to grade some papers at his school so he has to leave. He said before he left "I'll save all the newspaper clippings for you, and if the reporters start getting too hot on your trail, I'll call the New York papers and give them a bum steer." -
Dad leaves
After Bando left, Dad helped Sam with ice fishing, setting snares, and collecting walnuts. On Jan. first he announced he must return home. He decided to leave another way so people can't follow his tracks and find Sam. -
Sam hears intruder in his house
"There is somebody in my bedroom. I can hear small exchanges of greetings and little feet moving up the wall. By the time I get to my light all is quiet." -
Sam makes snowshoes
Sam makes snowshoes so he can walk in the snow. -
Sam finds intruder
"I kept an ember glowing and got a light fast before the visitor could get to the door. It was a mouse-a perfect little white-footed deer mouse with enormous black eyes and tidy white feet." -
Sam finds a horned owl
Sam said he was excited to have such a neighbor. He said "It is really very special to have a horned owl. I guess I feel this way because he is such a wilderness bird. He needs lots of forests and big, and so his presence means that the Gribley farm is a beautiful place indeed." -
Deer press in
"The deer have preeed in all around me. They are hungry. Apparently they stamp out yards in the valleys where they feed during the dawn and dusk, but many of them climb back to to the hemlock grove to hide and sleep for the day..." -
Sam thinks the horned owls had eggs
"I think the great horned owls have eggs! The moutain is white, the wind blows, the snow is hard packed, but spring is beginning in their hollow maple. I will climb it tomorrow." -
The horned owls did have eggs
Sam finds out that horned owl did have eggs! "Two great horned owl eggs lie in the cold snow-rimmed cavity in the broken top of the tree. They were warm to my touch." -
Sam could tell Winter was turning into Spring
Sam could tell Spring was coming by all of the changes of the animals. -
Sam meets Matt Spell (Approximate Date)
One day a boy stummbled upon Sam. The boy asked "You're the wild boy, aren't you?" Sam said no. Matt then asked Sam if he knew the wild boy. Sam said yes. Matt then asked all these questions about the wild boy. After the questions were answered, Matt still believed the wild boy was Sam and described Sam as the wild boy. Sam started to get mad but then Matt made a deal. If he could spend Spring Vacation he wouldn't publish anything. Sam agreed and told Matt to meet him on April 12th. -
First day of Spring
Today was the first day of Spring. -
Aaron begins his trip in the Catskills during Passover (Approximate Date)
Aaron wrote songs and was from New York. One day he was on Sam's mountain and Sam came up to him. They got to know eachother and then started humming and singing. They both fell asleep and when Sam woke up Aaron was gone. -
Matt comes for Spring Break
They spent most of the time fishing, hunting, trapping, gathering greens and bulbs. Matt even made himself a pair of moccasins and a hat. -
Bando comes for Spring Break (Approximate Date)
When Sam and Matt came back from a fishing trip there saw Bando in Sam's bed. That night Sam and Bando played their willow whistles for Matt. -
Sam, Matt and Bando make a guest house (Approximate Date)
Sam, Matt and Bando burn the inside of another tree to make a guest house. They did this so Sam's tree won't be so crowded. -
Bando makes trombones (Approximate date)
When they finished the guest house, Bando discovered that the sap was running in willow trees and the limbs were just right for slide whistles. When the trombones were done, they spent the night playing them. -
Matt leaves (Approximate Date)
Matt has to return to school and leaves the mountain. -
Bando leaves (Approximate Date)
Bando helps burn out one more guest house and make one bed before he has to return to teach. -
Tom (Mr. Jacket) visits
One day when Sam was trying catch a snapping turtle, Tom found Sam. Sam took Tom up to his house and they had soup for supper. Tom spent the night in the tree house. He came up almost every weekend. -
"June burst over the mountain"
Sam described it as June bursting over the mountain. He also said "It smelled good, tasted good, and was gentle to the eyes." -
Sam has a wild day
Sam has many visitors today. He Had 2 photographers and and 1 reporter come. He also had a man named Aaron come to his mountain. At the end of the day, he thought maybe he should move west. -
Family comes to live with Sam
"At noon of the fifth day a voice called from the glen: 'I know you are up there!'
'Dad' I shouted, and once again burst down the mountainside to see my father."
But instead of just seeing his father, he saw his whole family. They stayed to live with him, but instead of living in trees, they built a house made of wood.