Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1867-01-17
NUMBER SO.

But it was not the hard, smooth sur
face of the road we could feel that
the ground was uneven, and covered
with roots and bushes. Bidding Ak
ell stand still, Lars jamped out of the
sled, and began wading around among
the trees. Then / got out ON the 9th
er side, but had not proceeded ten
steps before ] began to sink so deep
into the loose snow that | was glad
to extricate myself and return. Il
was desperate situation, and | won
dered how we should ever get out
of it. r. ...qs. 5laaEa ...
! shouted to Lars, in order to guide
him, and it was not long before he
also came back to the sled. of |
knew where the road is" said he, al
could get into it again But don't
know and | think we must stay
here all night" E. -
we shall freeze to death in an
hour |" cried | was already chill
ed to the bone. The wind had made
me very drowsy, and knew that if l
slept | should be frozen. ..s ..
30, no p exclaimed Lars, cheer
fully. Il am a Norrlander, and Norr
landers never freeze. / went with
the men to the bear-hunt, last win
ter up in the mountains, and we were
several nights in the snow. Besides,
know what my father did with
gentleman from Stockholm on this
very road, and we'll do it tonight
What was it 2" e&.rt..- aE-.
Let me take care of Axel first"
said Lars. "We can spare HIM some
hay and one reindeer-skin."
1t was slow and difficult task to
unharness the horse, but we accom-
plished it at last. Lars then led him
under the dropping branches of fir
tree, tied him to one of them, gave
him ali armful of hay, and fastened
the reindeer-skin npcn his back. AK
el began to eat, as if perfectly salts
fed with the arrangement The Norr-
land horses are so accustomed to
cold that they seem comfortable in a
temperature where one of ours would
freeze. ' #-.
When this was done, Lars spread
the remaining hay evenly over the
bottom of the sled and covered it
with the skins, which he tucked in
very firmly on the side towards the
wind. Then, lifting them on the 9TH
er side, he said "Now take off your
fur coat, quick, lay it over the hay,
and then creep under it."
| obeyed as rapidly Is possible
For an instant I shuddered in the icy
air :; but the next moment I lay
stretched in the bottom of the sled,
sheltered from the storm. | held up
the ends of the memberships while
Lars took off his coat and crept in
beside me. Then we drew the skins
down and pressed the hay against
them. When the wind seemed to be
entirely excluded, Lars said we must
pull off our boots, unite our scarfs,
and so loosen our clothes that they
would not feel tight upon any part Of
the body. When this was done, and
we lay close together, warming each
other, l found that the chill gradual
ly passed out of my blood Ny hands
and feet were no longer numb !; de-
lighttul feeling Of comfort crept over
me and | lay as snugly as in the
best bed. | was surprised to find
that, although my head was covered,
| did not feel stifed. Enough air
came in under the skins to prevent
us from feeling oppressed. ~ IA
There was barely room for the two
of us to lie, with no chance of turn
ing over or rolling about. In five
minutes, think, we were asleep, and
| dreamed of gathering peaches on
warm August day, at home. In fact,
j did not wake up thoroughly during
the night neither did Lars though
it seemed to me that we both talked
in our sleep. But as must have
talked English and he Swedish, there
could have been no connection be-
tween our remarks. l remember that
his warm, soft hair pressed against
my chin, and that his feet reached no
further than my knees. Just as
was beginning to feel a little cramp-
ed and stiff from lying so still | was
suddenly aroused by the cold wind
on my face. Lars had risen up on
his elbow, and was peeping out from
under the skins. # H.l s.a.as |
"I think it must be near six o.
clock" he said The sky is clear, |
and l can see the big star. We can
start in another hour" t+
felt so much refreshed that | was
for setting out Immediately; but |
Lars remarked, very sensibly, that it |
was not yet possible to find the road.
While we were talking, Axel neigh
ed.
"There they are p cried Lars, and
Immediately began to put on his
boots, his scarf and heavy coat | did
the same, aud by the time we were
ready we heard shouts and the crack
of whips. We harnessed Axel tothc
sled, and proceeded slowly in the d.
rection of the sounds, which came, as
we presently saw, from company
of farmers. out thus early to plough
the road. They had six pairs of hor-
ses geared to a wooden frame, some
thing like The bow of ship, pointed
in front and spreading out to
breadth of ten or twelve feet This
machine not only cut through the
drifts but packed the snow, leaving
a good, solid road behind After it
had passed. we sped along merrily
in the cold merning twilight, and in
little more than an hour reached the
post house at Umea, where we found
Lars's father prepared to return home.
H. nm aito6 nnuorthnlnSS 1,util Lars