Snow Shoes and Canoes | Page 8

for an instant.
I sheathed my knife, and again walked on. Shortly after this the storm
sensibly abated. The snow ceased, the wind fell; and as the atmosphere
became clear I found that I was on the edge of the plateau, and I saw
before me in the far distance a thick wood extending away to the south.
It bordered a stream flowing, I concluded, into the Saskatchewan. I
could find shelter within the wood should the storm again come on, and
I might be able to kill some creature or other to satisfy the cravings of
my appetite.
The hope that I might still preserve my life raised my spirits. My horse,
too, appeared to be somewhat recovered; so I again climbed up on the
saddle, and this time the animal consented to move forward, its instinct
telling it that food was to be found in the direction we were going. Had
I possessed my gun I should have been better satisfied, as I could thus,
without difficulty, be able to obtain provisions and defend myself
against any wild beasts or Indians I might encounter. My impatience
made me fancy that my horse was moving at a very slow pace. He
seemed to gather strength as he advanced, or rather his muscles became
more pliable, and he moved with less pain. I was still, I calculated, at
least two days' journey from the fort. It would be impossible for either
my steed or me to perform the distance in our present condition.
About the animal I had no fear, as it would be able to pick up grass
from under the snow, even should that not disappear; but my chance of
obtaining food was far more problematical. At last the sun shone forth

and warmed my well-nigh frozen body. Its bright rays cheered my
spirits, and I could look more hopefully to the prospect of getting back
to the fort. I had not given up all expectation of falling in with some of
my companions. It occurred to me that they might at once have put
before the wind, as sailors say, and steered for the wood towards which
I was directing my course.
I looked out, almost expecting to see a wreath of white smoke curling
up from amidst the trees. No signs of human beings, however, could I
discover. As we advanced my horse increased its pace, and at last the
wood was reached, but on the weather side the snow was piled up more
thickly than even in the open ground. I had, therefore, to make a circuit,
till I could get to the lee side.
In course of time, however, I reached it, and found a deep bay or
hollow formed by the trees. Here the snow was comparatively shallow.
As I threw myself from my horse and took off the bridle, the sagacious
animal immediately began to grub away with its nose in the snow, and
soon got down to the green grass which grew there abundantly.
I was very sure that my steed would not stray away, so that there was
no necessity for hobbling it. Fastening the bridle over my shoulder, I
hurried into the wood to collect sticks to light a fire, at which I might
thaw my shoes and warm myself thoroughly. I was satisfied that, in
spite of the cold I had endured, I was nowhere severely frostbitten. As I
came along I had rubbed my ears with snow, which had restored
circulation. Even my feet and fingers, though bitterly cold, had
escaped.
Having collected a number of sticks, I scraped away the snow at a short
distance from the trees, and piled them up. I then felt in my pocket for
my flint and steel and tinder box. I at once found the latter, but to my
dismay I could not discover the flint and steel.
I remembered giving it, the last time we encamped, to Pat Casey, but I
could not recollect whether he had returned it. I was almost in despair. I
feared that, should I attempt to pass another night without fire, I must
perish, even were the cold less intense than it had been previously.

Pat Casey was bound to give them back to me. He must have done so.
I remembered that I had pockets in my waistcoat. I unbuttoned my coat,
and there at the bottom in the left-hand pocket of my waistcoat I found
my flint and steel. They were of more value to me just then than a purse
of gold.
I quickly struck a light, and going down on my knees, by the aid of
some dried moss and leaves, and by dint of careful blowing, I soon had
a fire started, as we say in the Far West. Eagerly I