White. — Snoio Scenes on the Southern Alps. 401 



it in cutting drifts against the outermost sheep, causing 

 them to crush and trample underfoot some five hundred 

 of their number. The dead became frozen and her- 

 metically sealed up in the icy floor. On the accident 

 becoming known an attempt was made to drive the sur- 

 vivors over the top of the range to the sunny side ; but the 

 summit rocks proved to be perpendicular, and, the snow giving 

 way on their steep face, about ninety of the leading sheep 

 were precipitated over the cliffs on the opposite side, and 

 killed. After this it was found necessary for all hands — five of 

 us — to climb up the mountain through the snow for five suc- 

 cessive days, and, it being useless to attempt shovelling the 

 loose snow, all were employed treading it hard to a width of 

 18in., forming a solid track along the mountain-side for fully a 

 mile and a half, towards the termination of the range. Here 

 it was almost free from snow owing to its facing the sun. On 

 the sixth day the sheep were coaxed along this line in single 

 file, and so taken out to the clear grass. Here and there one 

 would leave the track and become buried in the snow, requir- 

 ing to be searched for, pulled out, and the snow adhering to 

 its head scraped away from over the eyes, and started again 

 on the track. A few suffered from snow-blindness. 



A man undertook to skin the dead sheep during the ensuing 

 summer, and used to dig the bodies out with a j)ick, then roll 

 them down the hill and allow a few days for them to thaw 

 out. They remained fresh quite into the autumn. 



Two or three sheep snowed in are found by seeing a small 

 round hole in the snow, about Sin. in diameter, and having 

 the edges discoloured. On breaking down the snow the sheep 

 are seen in a small circular dome-shaped hollow. If the frost 

 has hardened the snow-surface, on lifting them out they 

 scamper off, having been shut up without food for possibly a 

 fortnight. I never noticed instances of their eating each 

 other's wool, as is said in books to be the case, but have seen 

 the wool thick on the ground, having been frozen tight when 

 the sheep were lying down, and so pulled out in locks on the 

 sheep rising. This might give the impression that the sheep 

 had pulled it to eat, to persons who did not observe closely. 



Sheep are difficult to see on the snow at a distance, owing 

 to their carrying a coating of snow or frost on the tips of the 

 wool, and sometimes having long icicles attached to their 

 sides. The discolom-ed tracks made for short distances back 

 and across the limit of their snow-yard is what mostly leads 

 to their discovery from any distance. 



