my voice
to any distance. Still I went on, like a hawker crying his wares in a
town, but I had lost all hopes of hearing an answer to my calls. At
last so great became my exhaustion that I thought of killing my horse,
opening him, and getting into his body, fancying that I might thus save
my life. I drew my hunting-knife, and was about to plunge it into the
poor brute's chest, though even then I felt a great repugnance to kill
the faithful creature; when it occurred to me, should I get inside,
that, after the heat had left the body, it would freeze, and I might be
unable to extricate myself. I should thus be immured in a tomb of my
own making. The idea was too dreadful to contemplate 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