Towards morning the storm seemed to have expended its fury; and, strange to say, in the midst of it I enjoyed two or three hours’ sleep.  Nature had been so exhausted by protracted sufferings, that (though the flies were driven to their covert) I believe I could have slept upon a bed of thorns, covered with gnats and mosquitoes.  As soon as it was sufficiently clear to enable me to find my way, I quitted my hemlock and fell on the portage path, which soon led me to another small lake, and which I proceeded to circumambulate as usual, keeping a sharp look-out for the path that led to the post; when suddenly the report of a gun burst from an adjoining hill.  At the same instant, I observed a net pole standing in the water at the bottom of a small bay close by, and directed my steps towards it; when on approaching it I discovered a broad path ascending from the water’s edge, and immediately after the buildings of a sugar camp.

Allowing the party on the hill to blaze away, I followed the path, and in less than half-an-hour came out upon the Riviere aux Lievres, immediately opposite the house.  I perceived the men of the establishment, with some Indians, all in a bustle; some preparing to embark in a canoe, others firing.  I sat down to gaze for a moment on the most interesting scene I had ever witnessed, and then gave a loud cry, which it was evident nobody heard, although the river is not more than a stone-cast across.  I made a second effort with better success.  The Indians raised a shout of triumph; the men hallooed,

“Le voila! le voila!  Je le vois!  Je le vois a l’autre bord!  Embarquez! embarquez!”

A few minutes more, and I found myself restored to at best a prolonged life of misery and exile.  Let it not be inferred from this expression that I felt ungrateful for my deliverance; on the contrary, my escape from a death so lingering and terrible made a deep impression upon my mind.  I afterwards gave a holiday to my men in remembrance of it, and made them all happy for one day.

CHAPTER XIII.

NARROWLY ESCAPE DROWNING—­ACCIDENT TO INDIAN GUIDE—­AM NEARLY FROZEN TO DEATH—­MISUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN ALGONQUINS AND IROQUOIS—­MASSACRE AT HANNAH BAY.

Nothing occurred this year out of the usual routine, save an accident that happened to myself, and had nearly proved fatal.  A couple of hounds had been presented to me by a friend, for the purpose of hunting the deer that abounded in the neighbourhood.  The dogs having one day broken loose from the leash, betook themselves to the hills; and the first intimation we had of their being at liberty, was the sound of their voices in full cry on an adjacent hill.  I instantly seized my gun, and following a beaten track that led to a small lake at the base of the hill, I perceived a deer swimming towards an island in the middle of the lake, and only a little beyond the range of gun-shot.  An old fishing-canoe happening