AN UNEARTHLY SCENE. 185 



Several times as I trudged along had I been obliged to 

 rub my face with snow, to keep it from being frost-bitten, 

 and found the operation extremely painful ; and for the 

 preceding half-hour my feet had been so completely be- 

 numbed that I greatly feared they had become frozen, 

 hence they were my first care on arrival; so, removing 

 their covering with great caution, I got the faithful Joe to* 

 rub them briskly with snow. Soon my feet began to hurt 

 me horribly, feeling as though they were being grilled ; 

 but I bore the pain gladly, for then I knew that they were 

 safe. When the pain in my feet began to abate I put them 

 into luke-warm water, and gradually making it hotter and 

 hotter by dropping heated stones into it, they were soon 

 warm and comfortable. 



Joe had failed in getting any game. He had fired one 

 long shot, but without effect, and I suppose his want of 

 success had disposed him to see everything in an unfavour- 

 able light ; for, although he did not express the sentiment 

 in so many words, it was evident his private opinion was 

 I had played the fool in spending nearly thirteen hours i 

 the saddle chasing a wolf, and only succeeding in nearly 

 freezing my feet ; and, indeed, he probably thought rightly. 

 Certainly, had I not expected to overtake the wolf, en- 

 cumbered as he was with the beaver-trap, in a few miles, I 

 should have deferred starting after him until I could have 

 had the assistance of the dogs ; but I had been unaware 

 how slight an encumbrance a beaver-trap would prove to a 

 powerful gray mountain-wolf when travelling over snow; 

 nor had I calculated on the generalship displayed by the 

 one I had been following, and, having once committed 



