It rained,
snowed, and hailed all at the same time, and the pelting hard stones
cut our faces nearly all the morning. The party consisted of "Sam,"
another of Joe's friends, his two younger brothers, Koumania, and
myself. I took a blanket and some little provisions, in case I should
be out over night. We walked along, without stopping, a distance of
about eight miles across the hardest country to travel over I had ever
seen, and when we halted to rest I was indeed tired. The rocks and
hills were hard enough to walk over, but the worst of all were the
moss-covered meadows. Your foot would sink at every step, and it was as
much like walking in loose, wet sand as anything with which I could
compare it. I wore native boots, or kummings, as they are called, for I
knew it would be impossible to get along with anything else; but the
sharp edges and points of the stones could be felt through them almost
as if one were barefooted. Do not think that the mossy meadows were a
relief after the rocks. On the contrary, they were but a delusion and a
snare, for beneath the velvet cushion was concealed the sharp and
jagged rock that cut the foot all the same, and proved a more deadly,
because a hidden foe. Though tired when I sat down to rest, I was more
so when I got up to walk again; but, ashamed of my weakness, I kept on,
gritting my teeth and determined to do or die.
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