I entered the hut, and saw a dirty woman half-naked, and slumbering upon a stool, by the corner of the chimney.
“Any milk?” I inquired, rousing her up.
She looked at me and shook her head; evidently she did not understand me; however, she brought me a stone jug full of whisky, a horn tumbler, and a pitcher of water.
“Can you give my horse a pail of water?” I asked again.
The woman bent down her body, and dragging from under the bed a girl of fourteen, quite naked, and with a skin as tough as that of an alligator, ordered her to the well with a large bucket. Having thus provided for my beast, I sat upon a stump that served for a chair, and once more addressed my hostess.
“Now, my good woman, let us have the ice.”
“The what?” she answered.
As I could not make her understand what I wanted, I was obliged to drink the whisky with water almost tepid, and my horse being refreshed, I paid my fare and started.
I rode for three hours more, and was confident of having performed twice the distance named by mine host of the morning, and yet the prairie still extended as far as the eye could reach, and I could not perceive the city of Caledonia. Happily, I discovered a man at a distance riding towards me: we soon met.
“How far,” said I, “to Caledonia city?”