a stone.

All hands were now called from the fire, and an attempt was made to
carry them to it, but every man was so weak from cold, hunger, and
fatigue that the united strength of the whole party was not sufficient
for this. The night was extremely dark, the snow was very deep, and
although they were but a short distance from the fire, it was as much as
each man could do to make his way back to it, stumbling and falling as
he went through bogs and bushes.

Thus the poor negroes were left to their sad fate, and some of the
others were so near sharing that fate with them that they began to lose
their sense of feeling. One of Mr Banks's servants became so ill, that
it was feared he would die before he could be got to the fire.

At the fire, however, they did eventually arrive, and beside it passed a
dreadful night of anxiety, grief, and suffering. Of the twelve who had
set out on this unfortunate expedition in health and good spirits two
were dead; a third was so ill that it was doubtful whether he would be
able to go forward in the morning; and a fourth, Mr Buchan, was in
danger of a return of his fits. They were distant from the ship a long
day's journey, while snow lay deep on the ground and still continued to
fall. Moreover, as they had not expected to be out so long, they had no
provisions left, except a vulture which chanced to be shot, and which
was not large enough to afford each of them quarter of a meal.

When morning dawned nothing was to be seen, as far as the eye could
reach, but snow, which seemed to lie as thick upon the trees as on the
ground, and the wind came down in such sudden violent blasts, that they
did not dare to resume their journey. How long this might last they
knew not. Despair crept slowly over them, and they began gloomily to
believe that they were doomed to perish of hunger and cold in that
dreary waste. But the Almighty, who often affords help to man when his
case seems most hopeless and desperate, sent deliverance in a way most
agreeable and unexpected. He caused a soft, mild breeze to blow, under
the influence of which the clouds began to clear away, the intense cold
moderated, and the gladdening sun broke forth, so that with revived
spirits and frames the wanderers were enabled to start on the return
journey to the coast.

Before doing so, they cooked and ate the vulture, and it is probable
that they devoured that meal with fully as much eagerness and
satisfaction as the