242 CANADIAN WILDS. 



ences : I reached my camp once at dark in Feb- 

 ruary) utterly tired out, wet by the melting snow 

 on my clothes, and a fast that had not been 

 broken at noon. There were a few burnt sticks 

 in the fireplace (a lean to camp), these 1 raked 

 together and started a blaze. With my exces- 

 sive fatigue and the warmth of the fire, I fell 

 asleep as I leaned for what I thought was a mo- 

 ment, against a stump in the camp. It was a 

 dispensation of Providence that I ever awoke, 

 but I did, far into that February night. On 

 waking I realized in a moment the narrow es- 

 cape that I had had. The great trees of the 

 forest were cracking all about me with the in- 

 tensity of the cold. My wet clothes were stick- 

 ing to me as if of ice, but my brain was clear 

 and I knew no time was to be lost in my self- 

 preservation. 



After tramping about and beating my body 

 for some time to create circulation, I was re- 

 warded by feeling my blood flow once more in a 

 natural way. The last quarter of the moon shed 

 what light it could over the tree tops and I 

 strapped on my snowshoes and went to work at 

 chopping wood to last till morning. A good 

 cup of tea, some biscuit and pork and the then 

 bright and cheerful fire made me my old self, 

 but I received a lesson never to be forgotten. 



