e coast, worn with hard
travel, and our clothing uncomfortably ragged, the spring was well
advanced--rivers were breaking up, ducks and geese were passing to the
north, and there were thousands of deer, so that we found ourselves
suddenly in the midst of abundance. Just before reaching the gulf I
witnessed the breaking up of a river, which was one of the grandest
sights I ever saw.

"The river was not a very large one. On reaching it we were much struck
with a curious barrier of ice that was jammed across it. On examination
I saw that the ice had given way some time before we arrived there, and
an enormous cake, of many yards surface and fully six feet thick, had,
while being hurled along by the swelling water, caught upon the rugged
rocks and been tilted upon end. Thus it formed a temporary barrier,
against which other masses were forced until the outlet was completely
checked, and the water began to rise with great rapidity. As we stood
on the high cliff, looking down on the wild ravine in which this was
going on, I heard a loud crack. In another instant the obstructing
barrier burst like a thunderclap, and the pent-up waters leaped with one
mighty roar into their accustomed channel! The devastation created was
inconceivably grand. Rocks of many tons weight were torn up, cast like
playthings on the rushing ice, and hurled on the cliffs below, while
trees, and ice, and water swept down the gorge in a mad whirl, that made
my brain reel as I gazed at it. In an hour the worst of this awful
scene was over, but the unutterable desolation that was left will remain
for centuries, I believe, to tell of the mighty _rush_ that happened
there.

"Our first experience of Richmond Gulf was not by any means pleasant.
When we arrived it was covered with ice; but we did not know that,
although it appeared to be solid enough, it was in reality little better
than frozen sludge or foam. Oolibuck happened to be walking first, with
the line of his little sled over his shoulder. For a short distance we
plodded on, intending to cross the gulf; but I was suddenly aroused from
a reverie by a shout from Maximus. Looking hastily up, I beheld nothing
of Oolibuck except his head above the ice, while Maximus was trying to
pull him out by hauling at the tail-line of the sled. Luckily Oolibuck
had kept fast hold of the line which was over his shoulder, and after
much trouble we succeeded in dragging him out of the water. A sharp
frost