After quitting York Fort, the three friends followed the track leading
to the spot where the winter's firewood was cut. Snow was still falling
thickly, and it was with some difficulty that the accountant kept in the
right direction. The night was excessively dark, while the dense fir
forest, through which the narrow road ran, rendered the gloom, if
possible, more intense.
When they had proceeded about a mile, their leader suddenly came to a
stand.
"We must quit the track now," said he; "so get on your snow-shoes as
fast as you can."
Hitherto they had carried their snow-shoes under their arms, as the
beaten track along which they travelled rendered them unnecessary; but
now, having to leave the path and pursue the remainder of their journey
through deep snow, they availed themselves of those useful machines by
means of which the inhabitants of this part of North America are enabled
to journey over many miles of trackless wilderness, with nearly as much
ease as a sportsman can traverse the moors in autumn, and that over snow
so deep that one hour's walk through it _without_ such aids would
completely exhaust the stoutest trapper, and advance him only a mile or
so on his journey. In other words, to walk without snow-shoes would be
utterly impossible, while to walk with them is easy and agreeable. They
are not used, after the manner of skates, with a _sliding_, but a
_stepping_ action, and their sole use is to support the wearer on the
top of snow, into which without them he would sink up to the waist.
When we say that they support the wearer on the _top_ of the snow, of
course we do not mean that they literally do not break the surface at
all. But the depth to which they sink is comparatively trifling, and
varies according to the state of the snow and the season of the year.
In the woods they sink frequently about six inches, sometimes more,
sometimes less; while on frozen rivers, where the snow is packed solid
by the action of the wind, they sink only two or three inches, and
sometimes so little as to render it preferable to walk without them
altogether. Snow-shoes are made of a light, strong framework of wood,
varying from three to six feet long by eighteen and twenty inches broad,
tapering to a point before and behind, and turning up in front.
Different tribes of Indians modify the form a little, but in all
essential points they are the same. The framework is filled up with a
netting of deer-skin threads, which unites lightness with great
strength, and permits any snow that may chance to fall upon the netting
to pass through it like a sieve.
On the present occasion, the snow, having recently fallen, was soft, and
the walking, consequently, what is called heavy.
"Come on," shouted the accountant, as he came to a stand for the third
time within half an hour, to await the coming up of poor Hamilton, who,
being rather awkward in snow-shoe walking even in daylight, found it
nearly impossible in the dark.
"Wait a little, please," replied a faint voice in the distance; "I've
got among a quantity of willows, and find it very difficult to get on.
I've been down twice al--"
The sudden cessation of the voice, and a loud crash as of breaking
branches, proved too clearly that our friend had accomplished his third
fall.
"There he goes again," exclaimed Harry Somerville, who came up at the
moment. "I've helped him up once already. We'll never get to North
River at this rate. What _is_ to be done?"
"Let's see what has become of him this time, however," said the
accountant, as he began to retrace his steps. "If I mistake not, he
made rather a heavy plunge that time, judging from the sound."
At that moment the clouds overhead broke, and a moonbeam shot down into
the forest, throwing a pale light over the cold scene. A few steps
brought Harry and the accountant to the spot whence the sound had
proceeded, and a loud, startling laugh rang through the night air, as
the latter suddenly beheld poor Hamilton struggling, with his arms,
head, and shoulders stuck into the snow, his snow-shoes twisted and
sticking with the heels up and awry, in a sort of rampant confusion, and
his gun buried to the locks beside him. Regaining one's perpendicular
after a fall in deep snow, when the feet are encumbered by a pair of
long snow-shoes, is by no means an easy thing to accomplish, in
consequence of the impossibility of getting hold of anything solid on
which to rest the hands. The depth is so great that the outstretched
arms cannot find bottom, and every successive struggle only sinks the
unhappy victim deeper down. Should no assistance be near, he will soon
beat the snow to a solidity that will enable him to rise, but not in a
very enviable or comfortable condition.
"Give me a hand, Harry," gasped Hamilton, as he managed to twist his
head upwards for a moment.
"Here you are," cried Harry, holding out his hand and endeavouring to
suppress his desire to laugh; "up with you," and in another moment the
poor youth was upon his legs, with every fold and crevice about his
person stuffed to repletion with snow.
"Come, cheer up," cried the accountant, giving the youth a slap on the
back; "there's nothing like experience--the proverb says that it even
teaches fools, so you need not despair."
Hamilton smiled as he endeavoured to shake off some of his white
coating.
"We'll be all right immediately," added Harry; "I see that the country
ahead is more open, so the walking will be easier."
"Oh, I wish that I had not come!" said Hamilton, sorrowfully, "because I
am only detaining you. But perhaps I shall do better as we get on. At
any rate I cannot go back now, as I could never find the way."
"Go back! of course not," said the accountant; "in a short time we shall
get into the old woodcutters' track of last year, and although it's not
beaten at all, yet it is pretty level and open, so that we shall get on
famously."
"Go on then," sighed Hamilton.
"Drive ahead," laughed Harry; and without further delay they resumed
their march, which was soon rendered more cheerful as the clouds rolled
away, the snow ceased to fall, and the bright, full moon poured its rays
down upon their path.
For a long time they proceeded in silence, the muffled sound of the
snow, as it sank beneath their regular footsteps, being the only
interruption to the universal stillness around. There is something very
solemnising in a scene such as we are now describing--the calm
tranquillity of the arctic night, the pure whiteness of the snowy
carpet, which rendered the dark firs inky black by contrast; the clear,
cold, starry sky, that glimmered behind the dark clouds, whose heavy
masses, now rolling across the moon, partially obscured the landscape,
and anon, passing slowly away, let a flood of light down upon the
forest, which, penetrating between the thick branches, scattered the
surface of the snow as it were with flakes of silver. Sleep has often
been applied as a simile to nature in repose, but in this case death
seemed more appropriate. So silent, so cold, so still was the scene,
that it filled the mind with an indefinable feeling of dread, as if
there was some mysterious danger near. Once or twice during their walk
the three travellers paused to rest, but they spoke little, and in
subdued voices, as if they feared to break the silence of the night.
"It is strange," said Harry, in a low tone, as he walked beside
Hamilton, "that such a scene as this always makes me think more than
usual of home."
"And yet it is natural," replied the other, "because it reminds us more
forcibly than any other that we are in a foreign land--in the lonely
wilderness--far away from home."
Both Harry and Hamilton had been trained in families where the Almighty
was feared and loved, and where their minds had been early led to
reflect upon the Creator when regarding the works of His hand: their
thoughts, therefore, naturally reverted to another home, compared with
which this world is indeed a cold, lonely wilderness; but on such
subjects they feared to converse, partly from a dread of the ridicule of
reckless companions, partly from ignorance of each other's feelings on
religious matters, and although their minds were busy their tongues were
silent.
The ground over which the greater part of their path lay was a swamp,
which, being now frozen, was a beautiful white plain, so that their
advance was more rapid, until they approached the belt of woodland that
skirts North River. Here they again encountered the heavy snow, which
had been such a source of difficulty to Hamilton at setting out. He had
profited by his former experience, however, and by the exercise of an
excessive degree of caution managed to scramble through the woods
tolerably well, emerging at last, along with his companions, on the
bleak margin of what appeared to be the frozen sea.
North River, at this place, is several miles broad, and the opposite
shore is so low that the snow causes it to appear but a slight
undulation of the frozen bed of the river. Indeed, it would not be
distinguishable at all, were it not for the willow bushes and dwarf
pines, whose tops, rising above the white garb of winter, indicate that
_terra firma_ lies below.
"What a cold, desolate-looking place!" said Hamilton, as the party stood
still to recover breath before taking their way over the plain to the
spot where the accountant's traps were set. "It looks much more like
the frozen sea than a river."
"It can scarcely be called a river at this place," remarked the
accountant, "seeing that the water hereabouts is brackish, and the tides
ebb and flow a good way up. In fact, this is the extreme mouth of North
River; and if you turn your eyes a little to the right, towards yonder
ice-hummock in the plain, you behold the frozen sea itself."
"Where are your traps set?" inquired Harry.
"Down in the hollow, behind yon point covered with brushwood."
"Oh, we shall soon get to them, then; come along," cried Harry.
Harry was mistaken, however. He had not yet learned by experience the
extreme difficulty of judging of distance in the uncertain light of
night--a difficulty that was increased by his ignorance of the locality,
and by the gleams of moonshine that shot through the driving clouds, and
threw confused, fantastic shadows over the plain. The point which he
had at first supposed was covered with low bushes, and about a hundred
yards off, proved to be clad in reality with large bushes and small
trees, and lay at a distance of two miles.
"I think you have been mistaken in supposing the point so near, Harry,"
said Hamilton, as he trudged on beside his friend.
"A fact evident to the naked eye," replied Harry. "How do your feet
stand it, eh? Beginning to lose bark yet?"
Hamilton did not feel quite sure. "I think," said he, softly, "that
there is a blister under the big toe of my left foot. It feels very
painful."
"If you feel at all _uncertain_ about it, you may rest assured that
there _is_ a blister. These things don't give much pain at first. I'm
sorry to tell you, my dear fellow, that you'll be painfully aware of the
fact to-morrow. However, don't distress yourself; it's a part of the
experience that every one goes through in this country. Besides," said
Harry, smiling, "we can send to the fort for medical advice."
"Don't bother the poor fellow, and hold your tongue, Harry," said the
accountant, who now began to tread more cautiously as he approached the
place where the traps were set.
"How many traps have you?" inquired Harry, in a low tone.
"Three," replied the accountant.
"Do you know I have a very strange feeling about my heels--or rather a
want of feeling," said Hamilton, smiling dubiously.
"A want of feeling! what do you mean?" cried the accountant, stopping
suddenly and confronting his young friend.
"Oh, I daresay it's nothing," he exclaimed, looking as if ashamed of
having spoken of it; "only I feel exactly as if both my heels were cut
off, and I were walking on tiptoe!"
"Say you so? then right about wheel. Your heels are frozen, man, and
you'll lose them if you don't look sharp."
"Frozen!" cried Hamilton, with a look of incredulity.
"Ay, frozen; and it's lucky you told me. I've a place up in the woods
here, which I call my winter camp, where we can get you put to rights.
But step out; the longer we are about it the worse for you."
Harry Somerville was at first disposed to think that the accountant
jested, but seeing that he turned his back towards his traps, and made
for the nearest point of the thick woods with a stride that betokened
thorough sincerity, he became anxious too, and followed as fast as
possible.
The place to which the accountant led his young friends was a group of
fir trees which grew on a little knoll, that rose a few feet above the
surrounding level country. At the foot of this hillock a small rivulet
or burn ran in summer, but the only evidence of its presence now was the
absence of willow bushes all along its covered narrow bed. A level
tract was thus formed by nature, free from all underwood, and running
inland about the distance of a mile, where it was lost in the swamp
whence the stream issued. The wooded knoll or hillock lay at the mouth
of this brook, and being the only elevated spot in the neighbourhood,
besides having the largest trees growing on it, had been selected by the
accountant as a convenient place for "camping out" on, when he visited
his traps in winter, and happened to be either too late or disinclined
to return home. Moreover, the spreading fir branches afforded an
excellent shelter alike from wind and snow in the centre of the clump,
while from the margin was obtained a partial view of the river and the
sea beyond. Indeed, from this look-out there was a very fine prospect
on clear winter nights of the white landscape, enlivened occasionally by
groups of arctic foxes, which might be seen scampering about in sport,
and gambolling among the hummocks of ice like young kittens.
"Now we shall turn up here," said the accountant, as he walked a short
way up the brook before mentioned, and halted in front of what appeared
to be an impenetrable mass of bushes.
"We shall have to cut our way, then," said Harry, looking to the right
and left, in the vain hope of discovering a place where, the bushes
being less dense, they might effect an entrance into the knoll or grove.
"Not so. I have taken care to make a passage into my winter camp,
although it was only a whim, after all, to make a concealed entrance,
seeing that no one ever passes this way except wolves and foxes, whose
noses render the use of their eyes in most cases unnecessary."
So saying, the accountant turned aside a thick branch, and disclosed a
narrow track, into which he entered, followed by his two companions.
A few minutes brought them to the centre of the knoll. Here they found
a clear space of about twenty feet in diameter, around which the trees
circled so thickly that in daylight nothing could be seen but tree-stems
as far as the eye could penetrate, while overhead the broad, flat
branches of the firs, with their evergreen verdure, spread out and
interlaced so thickly that very little light penetrated into the space
below. Of course at night, even in moonlight, the place was pitch dark.
Into this retreat the accountant led his companions, and bidding them
stand still for a minute lest they should tumble into the fireplace, he
proceeded to strike a light.
Those who have never travelled in the wild parts of this world can form
but a faint conception of the extraordinary and sudden change that is
produced, not only in the scene, but in the mind of the beholder, when a
blazing fire is lighted in a dark night. Before the fire is kindled,
and you stand, perhaps (as Harry and his friend did on the present
occasion) shivering in the cold, the heart sinks, and sad, gloomy
thoughts arise, while your eye endeavours to pierce the thick darkness,
which, if it succeed in doing so, only adds to the effect by disclosing
the pallid snow, the cold, chilling beams of the moon, the white vistas
of savage scenery, the awe-inspiring solitudes that tell of your
isolated condition, or stir up sad memories of other and far-distant
scenes. But the moment the first spark of fire sends a fitful gleam of
light upwards, these thoughts and feelings take wing and vanish. The
indistinct scenery is rendered utterly invisible by the red light, which
attracts and rivets the eye as if by a species of fascination. The deep
shadows of the woods immediately around you grow deeper and blacker as
the flames leap and sparkle upwards, causing the stems of the
surrounding trees, and the foliage of the overhanging branches, to stand
out in bold relief, bathed in a ruddy glow, which converts the forest
chamber into a snug, _home-like_ place, and fills the mind with
agreeable, _home-like_ feelings and meditations. It seems as if the
spirit, in the one case, were set loose and etherealised to enable it to
spread itself over the plains of cold, cheerless, illimitable space, and
left to dwell upon objects too wide to grasp, too indistinct to
comprehend; while, in the other, it is recalled and concentrated upon
matters circumscribed and congenial, things of which it has long been
cognisant, and which it can appreciate and enjoy without the effort of a
thought.
Some such thoughts and feelings passed rapidly through the minds of
Harry and Hamilton while the accountant struck a light and kindled a
roaring fire of logs, which he had cut and arranged there on a previous
occasion. In the middle of the space thus brilliantly illuminated, the
snow had been cleared away till the moss was uncovered, thus leaving a
hole of about ten feet in diameter. As the snow was quite four feet
deep, the hole was surrounded with a pure white wall, whose height was
further increased by the masses thrown out in the process of digging to
nearly six feet. At one end of this space was the large fire which had
just been kindled, and which, owing to the intense cold, only melted a
very little of the snow in its immediate neighbourhood. At the other
end lay a mass of flat pine branches, which were piled up so thickly as
to form a pleasant elastic couch, the upper end being slightly raised so
as to form a kind of bolster, while the lower extended almost into the
fire. Indeed, the branches at the extremity were burnt quite brown, and
some of them charred. Beside the bolster lay a small wooden box, a
round tin kettle, an iron tea-kettle, two tin mugs, a hatchet, and a
large bundle tied up in a green blanket. There were thus, as it were,
two apartments, one within the other--namely, the outer one, whose walls
were formed of tree-stems and thick darkness, and the ceiling of green
boughs; and then the inner one, with walls of snow, that sparkled in the
firelight as if set with precious stones, and a carpet of evergreen
branches.
Within this latter our three friends were soon actively employed. Poor
Hamilton's moccasins were speedily removed, and his friends, going down
on their knees, began to rub his feet with a degree of energy that
induced him to beg for mercy.
"Mercy!" exclaimed the accountant, without pausing for an instant;
"faith, it's little mercy there would be in stopping just now.--Rub
away, Harry. Don't give in. They're coming right at last."
After a very severe rubbing, the heels began to show symptoms of
returning vitality. They were then wrapped up in the folds of a thick
blanket, and held sufficiently near to the fire to prevent any chance of
the frost getting at them again.
"Now, my boy," said the accountant, as he sat down to enjoy a pipe and
rest himself on a blanket, which, along with the one wrapped round
Hamilton's feet, had been extracted from the green bundle before
mentioned--"now, my boy, you'll have to enjoy yourself here as you best
can for an hour or two, while Harry and I visit the traps. Would you
like supper before we go, or shall we have it on our return?"
"Oh, I'll wait for it, by all means, till you return. I don't feel a
bit hungry just now, and it will be much more cheerful to have it after
all your work is over. Besides, I feel my feet too painful to enjoy it
just now."
"My poor fellow," said Harry, whose heart smote him for having been
disposed at first to treat the thing lightly, "I'm really sorry for you.
Would you not like me to stay with you?"
"By no means," replied Hamilton quickly. "You can do nothing more for
me, Harry; and I should be very sorry if you missed seeing the traps."
"Oh, never mind the traps. I've seen traps, and set them too, fifty
times before now. I'll stop with you, old boy, I will," said Harry
doggedly, while he made arrangements to settle down for the evening.
"Well, if _you_ won't go, I will," said Hamilton coolly, as he unwound
the blanket from his feet and began to pull on his socks.
"Bravo, my lad!" exclaimed the accountant, patting him approvingly on
the back; "I didn't think you had half so much pluck in you. But it
won't do, old fellow. You're in _my_ castle just now, and must obey
orders. You couldn't walk half a mile for your life; so just be pleased
to pull off your socks again. Besides, I want Harry to help me to carry
up my foxes, if there are any;--so get ready, sirrah!"
"Ay, ay, captain," cried Harry with a laugh, while he sprang up and put
on his snow-shoes.
"You needn't bring your gun," said the accountant, shaking the ashes
from his pipe as he prepared to depart, "but you may as well shove that
axe into your belt; you may want it--Now, mind, don't roast your feet,"
he added, turning to Hamilton.
"Adieu!" cried Harry, with a nod and a smile, as he turned to go. "Take
care the bears don't find you out."
"No fear. Good-bye, Harry," replied Hamilton, as his two friends
disappeared in the wood and left him to his solitary meditations.