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 ice and while I tried 

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

 nearly broke my hold. Shaking off the snow I 

 put forth all my strength and finally pulled my 

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

 bris. This was a close call and at last I 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 difirculty 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 wreckage 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 



