]53 



CHAPTER X. 



THE NIGHT-BLIND VOYAGEUK. 



Night-blind Laronde's Account Effects of Night-blindness 

 Mode in which it affects the Lumberers The Loneliness of a 

 Night-blind Man Dreadful Appearance of Night-blind Men 

 Laronde's Story of the 'Night-blind' The Matawan The 

 Ottawa Jerome Meeting of Jerome and Laronde The Walk 

 The Little Beaver Creek The Crossing Struck Night-blind 

 The Discovery Struck in the Middle of the Stream A Night 

 on the Rock Rising Waters A Flash of Lightning A 

 Glimpse of the Moon and Stars Darkness again The Thoughts 

 of a Night-blind Man A broken Arm Light Vision restored 

 A Jam The Escape Account of the 'Night-blind' Men in 

 the Lumbering Districts. 



OW did you hurt your arm, Laronde?' I enquired, 

 as the voyageur asked me to help him to raise 

 his load of a bag of flour and two wet tents on to his 

 back. 



' It was when I was NIGHT-BLIND,* on the Matawan, 

 two years ago,' he replied. 



' Night-blind ! ' I exclaimed ; ' have you been night- 



* Night-blindness, or Nyctalopia. ' When a person is uyctalopic, he can 

 see well enough in the full light of day, but as night approaches, fails to dis- 

 tinguish objects; and can sfee little or nothing in a dull light. Nyctalopia is 

 commonly supposed to depend upon a partial paralysis of the retina, existing 

 of course to a very limited extent.' Walker on Nyctalopia. (T/ie Lancet, 

 1841.) 



Medical men will understand the probable cause of Nyctalopia prevailing 

 among the lumberers in the remote backwoods of Canada. 



