I 



A hunter's life. 293 



were beating against the tall hemlocks with great fury, we 

 thought best to stop and prepare for a night's lodging in 

 the snow, which was then nearly knee-deep. We moved 

 into the piny ground for shelter against the wind ; and aa 

 we entered, seeing a large doe rise up out of the snow to 

 look what occasioned the noise she heard, I shot her dead. 

 We agreed to stay there all night ; and, having an axe, 

 we cut a spreading spruce-pine, it falling parallel with an 

 old log, but leaving room sufficient for us to lay between 

 the two trees. We then cut limbs, with which we constructed 

 a shed on the windy side, made a strong fire in front, cut 

 more limbs, laid them on the snow, and trampled them 

 down with our feet. In falling, the tree broke another, 

 which was very dry, and also rotten. This rotten wood 

 we beat fine with our axe, covered our spruce limbs en- 

 tirely over with it, and then laid our blanket over the 

 whole. After roasting as much venison as we could eat, 

 we laid ourselves down, and slept warm and comfortably 

 until morning. 



I enjoyed the best night's rest I ever had, considering 

 the appearances when we began to cm down the spruce- 

 tree ; the rotten wood, being dry and dusty, kept the cold 

 out, while the limbs under us, being elastic, made an ex- 

 cellent wilderness-bed. 



When daylight came, we almost hated to rise from our 

 couch, where we had all night been sheltered so nicely 

 from the storm ; and although the snow had ceased to fall, 

 the wind still blew almost a hurricane. But we got out of 

 our nest at last, and roasted some more venison, basting it 

 well with butter ; for, not being as fat as we liked it. butter 

 made it ve'*v palatable. 



After breakfast was over, and Hugh had taken a sober, 

 serious look at the snow on the laurels, and on the limbs 

 of the tall pines which were drooping down under their 

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