A wolf-hunt in the prairies--Charley astonishes his father, and
breaks in the "noo 'oss" effectually.

During the long winter that reigns in the northern regions of
America, the thermometer ranges, for many months together, from zero
down to 20, 30, and 40 degrees _below_ it. In different parts of the
country the intensity of the frost varies a little, but not
sufficiently to make any appreciable change in one's sensation of
cold. At York Fort, on the shores of Hudson's Bay, where the winter
is eight months long, the spirit-of-wine (mercury being useless in so
cold a climate) sometimes falls so low as 50 degrees below zero; and
away in the regions of Great Bear Lake it has been known to fall
considerably lower than 60 degrees below zero of Fahrenheit. Cold of
such intensity, of course, produces many curious and interesting
effects, which, although scarcely noticed by the inhabitants, make a
strong impression upon the minds of those who visit the country for
the first time. A youth goes out to walk on one of the first sharp,
frosty mornings. His locks are brown and his face ruddy. In half-an-
hour he returns with his face blue, his nose frost-bitten, and his
locks _white_--the latter effect being produced by his breath
congealing on his hair and breast, until both are covered with hoar-
frost. Perhaps he is of a sceptical nature, prejudiced it may be, in
favour of old habits and customs; so that, although told by those who
ought to know that it is absolutely necessary to wear moccasins in
winter, he prefers the leather boots to which he has been accustomed
at home, and goes out with them accordingly In a few minutes the feet
begin to lose sensation. First the toes, as far as feeling goes,
vanish; then the heels depart, and he feels the extraordinary and