SNOW TIME IN THE FOREST. 355 



rays of heat but a very short distance laterally. The 

 extreme dryness of everything at the same time renders 

 the cold less perceptible than might at first be sup- 

 posed, especially where men are enveloped in good 

 buffalo robes or other furs. Very beautiful are the 

 effects which are often produced by the masses of 

 soft white snow, looking like so much fleecy wool, 

 which covers the whole face of nature, and clothes 

 the trees and rocks with a glistening mantle of spot- 

 less white, festooned in the softest and most elegant 

 drapings. During severe snowstorms the scene is 

 often of the dreariest character imaginable, the wind 

 whistling wildly acros.s the desolate waste and the 

 dense, swirling clouds of "poudre," frequently render- 

 ing travelling almost or even quite impossible. But 

 when the snow has ceased to fall, and the storm is 

 over, these winter camp scenes, notwithstanding the 

 great cold, are almost always looked back upon by 

 those who have had experience of them, as among 

 the incidents best worth remembering of their exist- 

 ence; the great snow-covered solitude, the pendant 

 branches of the spruce trees and white-barked birches 

 stretching forth in the then perfectly still atmosphere, 

 loaded with fleecy snow ; the vast extent of frozen lake and 

 river all combine, with the mighty hush of Nature, 

 to produce one of the most picturesque and impressive 

 tableaux which it is possible to meet with anywhere. 

 Another charming effect seen in winter, is the " Silver 

 Thaw," which generally appears as the result of 

 recent heavy fogs, whose rime descends and congeals 

 upon the branches and twigs of trees etc., depositing 

 upon them a layer of ice particles, so that sometimes 

 each tree has the appearance of a great chandelier of 



