we met an officer coming down the river, picking his way among the holes in the ice. He asked us, what troops we belonged to. We told him. He bid us be careful, for, said he, "you are too good looking men to be drowned." We thanked him for his compliment, and passed on—arrived safe at Newburgh, got our clothes, and set off on our return. When we came to New-Windsor, about three or four miles below Newburgh, we conceited we were growing thirsty. We concluded, thereupon, to go on shore and get something to make us breathe freer. We could not get any thing but cider, but that was almost as good and as strong as wine. We drank pretty freely of that, and set off again. It was now nearly sun down, and we had about seven miles to travel. Just before we had arrived at the before mentioned rent in the ice, we overtook a sleigh drawn by two horses, and owned by a countryman that I was acquainted with. He had in his sleigh a hogshead of rum, belonging to a suttler on West point. There were two or three other citizens with him, one of whom was, to appearance, sixty or seventy years of age. When we arrived at the chasm in the ice, the teamster untackled his horses in order to jump them over, and we stopped to see the operation performed. He forced them both over at once; and when they struck the ice on the other side, they both went through, breaking the ice for a rod round. The poor man was in a pitiful taking: he cried like a child. Some of our party told him to choke them out. He had but little faith in the plan; we, however, soon got his leading reins, which happened to be strong new cords, and fixed one round each of the horse's necks, with a slip noose. They did not require much pulling before they both sprang out upon the ice together. The owner's tune now turned; he was as joyful as he had been sad before. The next thing was, to get the sleigh and rum over. We got it to a narrow spot in the chasm, and all hands taking hold, we ran it over; but when the hinder ends of the sleigh-runners came near the edge of the ice, they, with their own weight, broke the ice as bad as the horses had done before. The sleigh arrived safe on the other side, but we were, mostly, upon the broken floating ice; but by the aid of Providence, we all survived the accident. The old man that I mentioned, happened to be on the same fragment of ice
