100 pioneek life; ok, 



which greatly relieved me. He then cooked supper, 

 and when we had eaten, it was two o'clock. Our 

 next thought was to procure assistance enough to 

 convey home our elk. The nearest settlement was 

 forty miles distant, and I told Campbell that as I 

 was the stronger I had better go. He said he pre* 

 ferred going himself, as he did not understand how 

 to take care of an elk. As he desired it I consented. 

 He started the next morning, taking with him the 

 dogs, went to Cowdersport, the nearest settlement, 

 and in four days returned with three men and a 

 horse. 



About ten o'clock one night during his absence I 

 heard bells on the east side of Kettle Creek. I 

 walked down to the creek, and as I reached the bank 

 a sleigh drawn by two horses drove into the creek on 

 the opposite side. The weight of the horses broke 

 the ice the entire width of the stream, and when 

 they reached the bank they could not draw the 

 sleigh out of the water. The man then went to the 

 hind end of the sleigh with a bar of iron, which he 

 used as a lever, and spoke to the horses. They 

 made another attempt to extricate the sleigh, and 

 fell. He came to the forward end, and for the first 

 time saw me. He was startled at the unexpected 

 appearance of a human form in that wilderness, and 

 cried out, "In the name of God, what are you? A 

 man, or a ghost?" I assured him that I was flesh 

 and blood, and he said I should have spoken to him. 

 I replied I was so intent in watching his operations 

 that I had not thought of speaking. He asked me 



