There was only a rim of firm wood left of the wreck.

The stump gave readily enough under his pull.

He ripped away long strips of the casing, bark and wood, and carried it back to the shelter.

He made a second trip to secure a great armful of the powder-dry time-rotted core of the stump.
His third expedition carried him a little farther afield to a small sapling which he could barely make out through the night.

He bent down the top of the little tree and snapped off about five feet of its length.