52 WILD SPORTS IN THE FAR WEST. 



course by a large dead tree. The wind blew hard, and 

 the waves tossed the rude awkward craft to such a 

 degree that I was obliged to exert all my strength and 

 skill to keep her even and to force her ahead. In the 

 mean time it began to snow, so that I was soon as white 

 as a miller, and had great difficulty in keeping my eye 

 fixed on the dead tree, and thus preserving a direct 

 course. At last I landed, secured the canoe, and 

 looked out for a path towards some habitation. Before 

 it became quite dark I had discovered a path, which 

 being wet, the snow melted, on it as it fell, leaving a 

 dark line along the white ground. 



Suddenly I heard a noise as if a whole herd of 

 buffaloes were breaking through the forest, and almost 

 before I could look round, a dark-colored horse 

 passed at full speed, uttering a very remarkable 

 scream of agony. A rider sat on his back, who looked 

 behind him in the greatest alarm. I had hardly 

 caught sight of them, as they passed so rapidly, when 

 another horse, without a rider, rushed snorting after 

 them. So sudden was it, that I should have taken it 

 for a dream, if the footmarks in the snow had not 

 convinced me of the reality. I did riot long indulge in 

 useless meditation on the cause of this nocturnal flight 

 through the forest in mist and snow, and soon I was 

 happy enough to find a wheel-track. After about an 

 hour and a half's walk, I saw a light in the distance, 

 and in a short time knocked at the door of a small 

 farm-house. A voice called out in German ''Who's 

 there ? " It fell like balsam on all my organs, but 

 more particularly on my stomach. The door was 

 opened by the wife of a German wheelwright, whose 



