At the age of fifteen, a fall from a horse severely injured his spine and gave a shock to his nervous system from which he never completely recovered. After having been confined to bed for a year, he returned to school but found himself so far behind his classmates that he became discouraged and dropped out. Until the family left for Montreal and it became clear he would have to earn his own living, he passed his time in the countryside, fishing, shooting and hunting rabbits with his ferrets.