12 THE ADVENTURES OF A NATURE GUIDE 



dammed the stream. As I started to climb across 

 this snowy debris a shattered place in the ice be- 

 neath gave way and dropped me into the water, 

 but my long staff caught and by clinging to it I saved 

 myself from going in above my hips. My snow- 

 shoes caught in the shattered iee and while I tried 

 to get my feet free a mass of snow fell upon me and 

 nearly broke my hold. Shaking oil the snow I 

 put forth all my strength and finally pulled my 

 feet free of the iee and crawled out upon the de- 

 bris. This was a close call and at last 1 was 

 thoroughly, briefly, frightened. 



As the wreckage was a mixture of broken trees, 

 stones, and compacted snow I could not use my 

 snowshoes, so I took them off to carry them till 

 over the debris. Once across I planned to pause 

 and build a fire to dry my icy clothes. 



With difficulty I worked my way up and across. 

 Much of the snow was compressed almost to ice by 

 the force of contact, and in this icy cement many 

 kinds of w reckage were set in wild disorder. While 

 descending a steep place in this mass, carrying 

 snowshoes under one arm, the footing gave way 

 and I fell. I suffered no injury but lost one of the 

 snowshoes. For an hour or longer I searched, with- 

 out finding it. 



The night was intensely cold and in the search 

 my feet became almost frozen. In order to rub 

 them I was about to take off my shoes when I came 

 upon something warm. It proved to be a dead 



