The Arkansas advocate., 1835-05-01
I Continued.1


 hear BYRON.
 Continued.
 Es Aftreaching the top of the mountain, saw fore me the wide prairie through which had to travel about six miles to timbef My thin pantaloons were torn into strips ierywhere, and there was hardly place ere you could put your finger down withottouching flesh. Added to this, about in inches of my legs above my moccns were entirely bare The snow tiiirouIItthh tiiirouII tthho prairie was generally about to my able, and whenever missed the road, whicvas beaten hard underneath, though covei with soft snow above, then I took 1t pub to my neck, and had all sorts of kickI to get out of 1t at all The air kept grovg colder as l went, and I thought that , timber receded. I was sure that somlower or other was holding back my feet.My heart leaped when l got into the tilnb and heard the tall trees singing abodne. l turned in and blowed up my chuIof fire, packed big logs and made a pretgood fire. Then 1 took off one of my W deer-skin, spread 1t out and sat
 dowupon 1t, and there I sat all night, turrg every now and then, as some side of nwould get to freezing. had nothing elseb do but to watch the stars, whenever the snow ceased blowing on me from the mountains, except making the old pines and hemloclzs smoke.
 7.-Just after daylight the wind began to blow. It knows exactly ho,e to blow, and where to hit to cut deepest. But il was death or victory, and l was obliged 10 start any how. gathered my chunk, look ed at my fire awhile, and started. used to hate to leave my fire in the morning, not Knowing where the next fire was to be- After travelling about three hundred yards, l came upon little hollow, where could see mule sign" (They had been out to our wagons .sI could see where they had sunk to their bellies, and as they raised Tiheir knees, had pushed up the big pieces of crusted snow on end. But was glad to see any sign of the road for never knew whether l was in 1t or out 1t. Andrews had given me all directions he could about the road, but he could not find the way in himself, much less tell me. had not got fifteen steps across the hollow, when came to a big hemlock, which was lying in the edg of thicket of mountain cottonwood and hemlock. found I was freezing to dedh, and had to stop. I tumbled old briidle (his gum to the ground, and tried to drq my chunk, but could not do so for sone time, my fingers were so froze. I gd 1t down at last, and tried to straighten olt my fingers by rubbing them up and dswn my legs, but could not do 1t and had topick up chunks between my two fists, and palk them to my fire along side of the henlock. There like to have been no cal- ling of the dogs that time. laid here till I git thawed out little, and then moved furher down among the hemlock, where I mae me real comfortable place to stay in Il day. I had not been there long be- foe shot a wbite wolf, intending to eat him, but he went tumblng over and oyer, till he gst out of the way. l did not care much about 1t, though, for was not hungry at all. Ihad other things to think of than getting hingry. Ii clouded up towards morning, ald just after the sun rose 1t began to snow. S.-I was right glad to see it turn warm etough for snow 10 fall; so shoudered old bindle, gathered a chunk and started. Ir travelling about eight miles I came 10 the edge of what Andrews had described to me as the Black Lake. It Is hollow prairie, where water IS sometimes. do not know how far 1t is across if, for took no notice of the distance. When got into ii never expected to see any other place. It heads all cold places l ever saw, at any rate and l think 1t Is about six miles across it. Just as entered it, 1 found was freezing, and stopped in cliff of rocks, and made a little fire of choke-cherry bushes. could have put the whole of it in my hat. I pulled of my moccasins, and began to thaw them; but before they were half thawed, my feet began to swell, and was obliged to put on my hard moccasins again. l stayed here about an hour, and then took few sprips of choke cherries and lighted them. 1t was showing violently. l had got so as not to care much about life now, and did not take any particular pains to keep my sprigs alive as l walked, and had they gone out, never should have struck fire again. had not gone moro than half a mile, when reached a elump of eight or ten pine trees, and determined on stopping here. gather ed few pieces of pine, and blowed up my sprigs, now almost extinguished. After