The passengers were about twelve in number, with four horses; the boat’s crew consisted of seven blacks; three of whom, with large clubs, stood upon the bow of the boat, and broke the ice, whilst the others, with iron-headed poles, pushed the boat forwards. So very laborious was the task which the men at the bow had to perform, that it was necessary for the others to relieve them every ten minutes. At the end of half an hour their hands, arms, faces, and hats, were glazed entirely over with a thick coat of ice, formed from the water which was dashed up by the reiterated strokes of their clubs. Two hours elapsed before one half of the way was broken; the ice was found much thicker than had been imagined; the clubs were shivered to pieces; the men were quite exhausted; and having suffered the boat to remain stationary for a minute or two in a part where the ice was remarkably thick, it was frozen up, so that the utmost exertions of the crew and passengers united were unable to extricate it. In this predicament a council was held; it was impossible to move either backward or forward; the boat was half a mile from the shore; no one would attempt to walk there on the ice; to remain all night in the boat would be death. Luckily I had a pair of pistols in my holsters, and having fired a few signals, the attention of the people on shore was attracted towards us, and a small batteau, which is a light boat with a flat bottom, was dispatched for our relief. This was not sent, however, for the purpose of bringing a single person back again, but to assist us in getting to the opposite shore. It was slipped along a-head of the large boat, and two or three men having stepped into it, rocked it about from side to side until the ice was sufficiently broken for the large boat to follow. The batteau was now in the water, and the men seating themselves as much as possible towards the stern, by so doing raised the bow of it considerably above the ice; by means of boat hooks it was then pulled on the ice again, and by rocking it about as before a passage was as easily opened. In this manner we got on, and at the end of three hours and ten minutes found ourselves again upon dry land, fully prepared for enjoying the pleasures of a bright fireside and a good dinner. The people at the tavern had seen us coming across, and had accordingly prepared for our reception; and as each individual thought he had travelled quite far enough that day, the passengers remained together till the next morning. [Sidenote: DISPUTATIONS.]