214 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 



from his appearance, had seen over sixty winters with 

 very few summers, put in an oar in the way of conver- 

 sation, and vouchsafed me the information, that, " if he 

 knew anything of the looks of the sky and water, with 

 the next run of the tide we would have a gale and cold 

 enough to take a fellow's nose off." This prophecy I 

 thought little of at the time, but an hour or two before 

 midnight it was verified. Sudden squalls of wind and 

 rain commenced soon after dark, and continued, with 

 gradually increasing violence, till it blew a full gale of 

 wind ; then the thermometer fell considerably below 

 freezing point, and the breeze suddenly chopped round 

 from south-west to north-west. 



All was commotion now in the little settlement, 

 for every available hand was summoned to beach the 

 smaller crafts in the roadstead, or make the larger 

 ones secure with additional moorings and anchors. Of 

 course, I turned out with the others to assist in saving 

 property, and a wilder scene could scarcely be imagined. 

 On the shores broke the white rollers, hissing out with 

 compressed breath their wrath at being deprived of 

 their expected pleasure of destruction ; the wild boat- 

 men pulled, hauled, and swore at every obstacle that 

 increased their labour ; while the pitch-pine torch 

 blazed up or partially died out as the gale increased or 

 diminished in violence. After a couple of hours' work 

 the various crafts were deemed safe, and the crowd 

 retired to their respective domiciles, leaving me to 

 enjoy the grandeur of the scene alone. 



The bustle, confusion, and noise that had previously 

 surrounded me, had at the time absorbed all my atten- 

 tion; now, however, all was still, save the raging of 

 the elements, and above its great voice I could hear 



