Georgies Present | Page 6

each side of his cavern, and the surrounding trees, may
afford."
"I wonder," said George, "how they got a light to make the fire with;
perhaps by rubbing two pieces of wood together."
"Your guess, though ingenious, is not correct, my dear," said Mrs.
Ward, "there is a certain yellow fungus which grows on the hazel tree
that supplies tinder to the Indian, who is never without flint and steel;
and he has a very expert method of rapidly whirling moss and dry
leaves and bark in his hands, so as to cause a draught, and in a
wonderfully short time he succeeds in making a cheerful blaze."

"And what has he to eat?"
"Plenty of venison, for there are large flocks of deer in the country.
You will wonder where these creatures find pasture; I will tell you. At
the time when your grandfather travelled, the whole land was covered
with snow, excepting on the tops of some of the hills, from which the
snow had melted. These lofty, bare spots are called 'naps,' and they
resemble island meadows in an ocean of snow. Upon these, the deer
were grazing leisurely, like cattle, in numerous herds. They go in quest
of food from one of these naps to another, in places near water, which
after long frost becomes exceedingly scarce; in the interior, the tracks
of the deer were as thick as of cattle in the snow in a well-stocked
farmyard. There were, beside, plenty of ptarmigan, which abounded on
these hills, searching for a species of cranberry, a food of which they
are very fond."
"Vension and grouse! dainty dishes, indeed, dear granny; after all, that
is not quite a land of barrenness."
"Nay, child! there is provision made in all places of our heavenly
Father's dominions for the supply of the necessities both of man and
beast. But I must hasten on, or you will be weary of my tale."
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CHAPTER III.
"In addition to the first guide, your grandfather now engaged one of the
Indians with whom they had passed the night, to accompany him. The
three cheerfully proceeded on their route, and for the first few days
enjoyed very brilliant weather, and made so much progress upon the
hard snow, that I believe they had nearly traversed a third of their
destined route across to St. George's Bay.
"But now they began to suffer severely from the state of their eyes
which became exceedingly painful, and no wonder; for by day they

were exposed to the full glare of the sun upon the wide expanse of
snow, and all night to the red glare of the fire, together with the
pungent wood-smoke, which proved a constant trial to the sight. At
length they became almost blind, and to add to their distress, provisions
began to fail them. They had counted on securing plenty of game as
they went along, and no one ever thinks of carrying provisions for more
than a day or two into the interior with them. Now, unhappily, this
resource was at an end; for not one of the three could see well enough
to use a gun, or, indeed, bear to look upwards.
"What follows is very sad; it is touchingly told in the journal, and I will
read the account as it is there given:--'The atmosphere now became so
thick, that, had we not been troubled with snow-blindness, we could not
have seen more than a few yards, and could not possibly have made our
way in an unknown country.
"'These Newfoundland fogs are fearful things; they surpass, indeed, the
imagination of Europeans. You seem to be actually in cloud-land; for
nothing but cloud is visible above, around, and beneath. This state of
things lasts often for days; now it is a bright white, as though the day
were struggling through; now it becomes shaded, and now almost night.
Sometimes there are little openings, and you catch a clean vista
between two walls of vapour, but it is presently shut out by the rolling
masses of fog. I could compare it to nothing but ghost-land; nothing is
real except the danger!"
"Were you ever in such a fog as that, grandmamma?" asked George.
"Yes, George; once at sea we were overtaken by a most fearful and
prolonged fog; never in my life did I experience such feelings of awe
and alarm as during that weary week.
"But I must tell you of that another time. Your grandfather often used
to recall his emotions when travelling in that thick cloud. One day they
rested in the icy chamber they had dug for the night's resting-place, and
he said, 'That was indeed an oratory;' and fervently did we pray, 'Give
us our daily bread,' and 'Lighten our darkness we beseech Thee, O