Poor Friday was frightened when he saw the mountains all cover'd with snow and felt cold weather, which he had never seen or felt before in his life. That he could be brave in so many things, yet scared at the sight of snow, I found very amusing, and eventually he did laugh with me, tho' I could tell the cold did have a severe affect on one of his nature.
To mend the matter, when we came to Pampeluna, it continued snowing with so much violence the people said winter was come before its time. The roads which were difficult before were now quite impassable. In a word, the snow lay in some places too thick for us to travel, and being not hard frozen, as is the case in the northern countries, there was no going without being in danger of being buried alive every step.
We stayed no less than twenty days at Pampeluna. Much to his displeasure, Friday spent the three nights of the moon within a barn with only a small fire to warm his cold limbs. These same nights I spent myself bound to the beams of the barn, for I had shewn my man the tricks of silver coins and knots my father had long ago taught me. Most pleased were we both when these nights ended and we could rejoin to the inn, altho' it was clear the beast found such weather to its liking.
When seeing the winter coming on, and no likelihood of its being better, I proposed our little company should all go away to Fontarabia and there take shipping for Bourdeaux, which was a little voyage.
But while I was considering this, there came in four French gentlemen, who having been stopped on the French side of the passes, had found out a guide who had brought them over the mountains by such ways they were not much incommoded with the snow. Where they met with snow in any quantity, they said it was frozen hard enough to bear them and their horses.
We sent for this guide, a man named Etienne, who told us he would undertake to carry us the same way with no hazard from the snow, provided we were armed sufficiently to protect ourselves from wild beasts.
"For," he said, "upon these great snows it is frequent for some wolves to show themselves at the foot of the mountains, being made ravenous for want of food." We told him we were well enough prepared for such creatures as they were. One of the young Portuguese gentlemen, by name of Dacosta, then ask'd if our guide would ensure us from a kind of two-legged wolves which he had been told we were in most danger from on the French side of the mountains by Languedoc, and at which I saw Friday narrow his eyes in concern. My man's hand wrapt on the hilt of his wooden sword, yet I assur'd him with a glance and a shake of my head that this was meer folklore and no threat to us.
Etienne satisfy'd us there was no danger of that kind in the way we were to go. So we agreed to follow him, as did also twelve other gentlemen, with their servants.
Accordingly, we set out from Pampeluna, with our guide, on the 15th of November. I was surprised, when, instead of going forward, he came back with us on the same road we came from Madrid, about twenty miles. When having passed two rivers and come into the plain country, we found ourselves in a warm climate again where the country was pleasant and no snow to be seen. Turning to his left, Etienne approached the mountains another way. Tho’ it is true the hills and precipices looked dreadful, yet he made so many tours, such meanders, and led us by such winding ways, we past the height of the mountains without being much encumber'd with the snow. All on a sudden, he show'd us the pleasant fruitful provinces of Languedoc and Gascony, all green and flourishing, tho’, indeed, at a great distance, and we had some rough way to pass still.
We were a little uneasy, however, when we found it snowed one whole day and a night so fast we could not travel. Etienne bid us be easy. We should soon be past it all. We found, indeed, we began to descend every day and to come more north than before.
It was about two hours before night when, Etienne being something before us and not just in sight, out rush'd three wolves of a hollow way adjoining to a thick wood. Two of the wolves made at the guide, and had he been far before us he would have been devoured before we could have helped him. One of them fastened upon his horse and the other attacked the man with such violence that he had not time to draw his pistol, but hallooed and cried out to us. My man Friday being next me, I bade him ride up and see what was the matter. As soon as Friday came in sight of the man, he hallooed out as loud as the other, "O master! O master!" but, like a bold fellow, rode up to the poor man.