Pap he hadn’t been seen for more than a year, and that was comfortable for me; I didn’t want to see him no more. He used to always whale me when he was sober and could get his hands on me; though I used to take to the woods most of the time when he was around.

– Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 3. Huck’s dad is abusive and a drunk and Huck is afraid of him. As a child Huck used to go hide in the woods whenever his father was around.