terms, and
swore that he would accompany me no farther; which, being conscious
that I was partly the cause of his misfortune, I bore with as much
equanimity as I could; and arriving at the opposite side of the lake,
we kindled a fire, and I proceeded to treat his case according to the
usual practice; that is, rubbing the part affected with snow, or
bathing it with cold water until it is thawed, and the circulation
restored. Having happily succeeded, I forthwith dismissed him, and
determined to find my way alone; and having a tolerable idea of the
direction in which I should go, and the weather being clear, I
entertained no doubt of falling somewhere on the river whereon the
post is situated. I came upon it, as it seemed to me, a considerable
distance below the establishment, just as the sun was setting.

Having travelled in deep snow the whole day, I felt so much fatigued
that I could scarcely exert myself sufficiently to keep my body warm,
the cold being intense. I walked as briskly as my diminished strength
would allow; but at length became so weak, that I was obliged to lay
myself down at short intervals. In this wretched state,--my limbs
benumbed with cold, and thinking I should never see daylight,--I
suddenly came upon a hard beaten path: this inspired me with new
vigour, as it indicated the close vicinity of a shanty. I soon
discovered the desired haven, and crawling up the steep bank that led
to it, I knocked at the door with my snow-shoes, and was immediately
admitted.

The noise I made roused the inmates, who had been sound asleep; and
who, seeing my helpless condition, exerted themselves in every
possible way to relieve me. I was nearly in the last stage of
exhaustion, being unable to take off my snow-shoes, or even articulate
a word. One of these noble woodsmen guided me next day to the post;
when, as a small mark of gratitude for his generous kindness, I
presented him and his companions with what is always acceptable to a
shanty-man, a liberal allowance of the "crathur," to enjoy themselves
withal.

If it be asked why I did not make a fire, when I had the necessary
apparatus; I answer, that I had but a very small axe, quite unfit for
felling so large timber as grew on the banks of this river; and I was,
besides, so benumbed and exhausted as to be unequal to the task even
of lighting a fire.

Sometime after my return from Montreal in the autumn of 1830, I went
to pay a visit to one of my customers whos