sleigh and horses go to the bottom; and the men too, if they cannot extricate themselves in time. There was an instance of it on Lake Champlain, a few days before I crossed it.

These weak places of the ice, which prove so treacherous, have been later in freezing, than the surrounding ice. In all lakes, and large bodies of fresh water, there are some places which never freeze; and some which freeze much later than others. It is to be accounted for, probably, in this way. The great body of the water, is of a higher temperature than the atmosphere, although the surface has been cooled down below the freezing point, and become ice. The water is constantly giving out its heat to the atmosphere, at some particular place, which thereby is kept from freezing for a considerable time; by and by, when the frost becomes very intense, that place at length freezes, but does not acquire the strength necessary to support the horses.

There is another source of danger to the traveller on the lakes, which it is difficult to account for: viz. large cracks or openings, which run from one side of the lake to the other; some of them, six feet

broad at least. I had not proceeded many miles on the lake before I met with a crack; but instead of an opening, I found that at this place the ice had shelved up to the height of several feet; and I learned that this was an indication of there being an opening further on. At the distance of eight or ten miles from this place, I was surprised to observe the driver put his horses to their full speed: I could see no cause for it. In a few minutes,

however, I saw the

crack or opening,

about five feet broad: we were at it in a moment; it was impossible to check the horses, or to stop and consider of the practicability of passing, or of the consequences; the driver, without consulting any one, had made up his mind on the subject, the horses took the leap, and cleared the opening, carrying the sleigh and its contents with them. The concussion on the opposite side was so great, however, that the runners of the sleigh were broken, and there was a great chance of our being thrown, by the violence of the concussion, out of the sleigh, into the gulf we had crossed: this had very nearly taken place; but I was fortunate enough to regain my

seat. By the help of some cords, we repaired our damage, and proceeded on our journey. We met with several other cracks, but as they were not in general above a foot or two in breadth, we passed them, without fear or accident. When the ice is cleared of snow, which was frequently the case, I could see that it was about a foot in thickness; yet it made a crackling noise as we went along, and seemed to give to the weight of the sleigh and horses, as we advanced, which produced sensations not very pleasant.

There are a great many islands in Lake Champlain, which are generally inhabited; you find inns on them, too, where you can get provisions, and beds if necessary. I shall embrace another opportunity of making some observations to you about this Lake and the surrounding country; but for the present, shall, in my next letter, communicate to you some further particulars relative to the Canadian winter.

LETTER XIX.

Quebec, 1808.

THE range of the thermometer in Canada,

is very extensive.

The heat in summer

runs into as great an extreme, as the cold in winter. The range, during the last twelve months, has been no less than 120 degrees; and, what is not a little surprising, it has reached 60 degrees precisely, on each side of the freezing point (32). In summer the thermometer rose to 92, and in winter it fell to 28 below zero. I have been told, that the cold has been known in this country to freeze mercury, the thermometer having fallen below 40 under zero.

The severity of the cold has its advantages as well as disadvantages. The quantity of snow with which the ground is covered, renders it necessary for the farmer to house all his cattle and sheep, and to put

his hay, straw, and corn, under cover.So soon as the ground is covered, and the frost completely set in, the cattle and sheep, which are destined for winter use, are killed; and also poultry of all kinds, before they have lost any of the fat they had acquired during the summer and autumn.No salt is necessary to preserve them: they only require to be exposed to the frost for a short time, and they become as hard as ice. When in this state, the poultry, and indeed the beef and mutton too, are packed in casks or boxes amongst snow, and at the end of four or five months, are still perfectly sound and good. I have to-day (10th May) eat of a fowl which has been killed upwards of four months; and I really think it could not easily be distinguished from a fowl killed but a few days. Frozen meat is thawed by keeping it in cold water about twelve hours-warm water would render it useless.

After the meat is hard frozen, the principal thing to be attended to, is, to preserve it from the external air when the temperature is above the freezing point, which is frequently the case in March and April.—