OF SHOOTING AND FISHING 111 
dines, while the men had no cover other than their 
blankets. However, it was their own faults and 
they were paying the price of their carelessness. A 
big fire was built and quantities of wood piled up 
for the night. We dined and tried to feel cheerful, 
but the rain had turned into sleet and the tempera- 
ture had gone down greatly. Beds of boughs had 
been prepared for us under the cover, but the latter 
being full of holes, our bedding had become rather 
wet. When the time came for us to turn in I 
found myself in the middle, with a large hole imme- 
diately above, through which the sleet came and 
occasional streams of water. When one of us 
moved it was sure to drain a lake some place. I 
managed to secure a broad-brimmed hat of H.’s 
and this I poised on my shoulder under the hole, 
emptying it anywhere at intervals. 
Towards morning the sleet changed to a heavy 
snow storm. The ground was covered, and the 
boughs of the pines were bent low with its weight. 
It certainly looked as if we should have trouble 
getting out of the valley. Personally I could not 
have found the way for a mile. 
After breakfast, the horses having been found, 
we put the packs on and started back as we had 
come. As we ascended the valley, the snow became 
deeper and an occasional blaze was all we had to 
go by. Passing the low snow-laden boughs, they 
tumbled their loads all over us, so that we were 
soon pretty well soaked. The blazes on the trees 
were more easily seen when we emerged from the 
scrub by the creek, and all things considered, we 
