108 CAROLINE.
Description of the fording-place. Bad road. Great white rock.

house, whistled to Jasper, his dog, to follow him, mounted
upon. his horse, and rode away.

* About a mile from his house there was a river which
he always had to cross, when he went to the settlements.
There was no bridge across this river, and so Mr. Wood-
man was obliged to ford it when he wished to go over.
There was an island in the middle of this river, and Mr.
Woodman in fording the stream usually went first over
to the island, and then after passing across the island, he
would ford the other part of the stream, and so reach the
shore on the farther side.

“The road which led to this river from Mr. Wood-
man’s house, was not much more than a path through
the woods. It was rough, rocky, and crooked; and in
wet weather it was in many places almost impassable, for
there were certain swampy spots where, in riding across,
the horses’ feet would sink down deep, among stones,
roots, and mire.”

“What a road!” said Phonny-.

“« Mr. Woodman, however, proceeded,” continued
Beechnut, “notwithstanding these difficulties. The horse
tramped steadily on in the middle of the path, sometimes
slipping on the rocks, and sometimes sinking in mud and
water; while Jasper chose his way, now on one side of
the road and now on the other, wherever he could find
firm and dry footing.

«“ There was a great white rock forming a sort of preci-
pice near the shore, at the place where the road came
down to the river. When Mr. Woodman arrived at this
point, he found that the water of the river was much
higher than usual. The stream had been swollen by the