Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 8).djvu/92

was, that we might be ready to start on the lake early in the morning, when there is generally but little wind, it being then easier and safer, the water being smooth. We then returned back to our boat, rekindled our fire, took our supper, dried my clothes as well as I could, and camped for the night. But soon the wind began to blow, and the snow fell very fast; within two hours it blew a heavy gale; our fire was blown away, the boat fell over, and our only course was to run back and forth upon the beach to prevent our perishing in the storm, which sometimes appeared impossible for me to do. At length, to our great joy, the morning came, the wind ceased, and the snow abated. The ice, which we crossed in the afternoon, was broken up and driven into heaps, with the addition of what had driven from the lake, and all up and down the lake shore presented the same dreary appearance. We were now hemmed in on all sides, and it was impossible to cross either with a boat or on foot, and our only resource was, to prepare a camp in the woods, which we did by cutting down trees and bushes, sticking the ends into the ground which was not frozen, and forming the tops together over our heads. We thus made us a comfortable cabin, built a large fire, ate our {56} breakfast, and dried our clothes. We here remained seven days, when all our provision had become exhausted, except some dry beans; these boiled in water were made to supply the place of every other necessary; and although we were compelled to acknowledge the flavor was not quite so good, yet we were thankful that we had this means of preserving ourselves from complete starvation. We were now in sight of the village, and kept a large fire burning in the night to satisfy the people that we were alive. During the day we were constantly watching for the separation of the ice, so that we might pass; and on