24 
for any nourishment, he turned homewards for his evening service. 
By the time of his return journey, however, the weather had 
completely changed ; the sun had gone down and a fierce gale 
had sprung up from the E.S.E., driving clouds of snow and icy 
sleet before it. He had travelled but a few minutes when a fall 
made him lose his bearings, and strike out in a wrong direction. 
He left Rattlinghope at four, and then commenced one of the 
most thrilling experiences anyone had ever passed through and 
survived. He lost his way completely, and had to continue 
walking and often falling all through that evening and night, and 
late into the afternoon of the next day. Snow blindness very soon 
came on ; he fell down several of the deep ravines, losing his 
gloves, his hat, and later on his boots, and still he had to go on 
and on, never daring to rest a moment, lest the sense of oncoming 
fatigue should cause him to fall asleep, and die. In his own 
words he says, “ After travelling some distance, suddenly my feet 
flew from under me, and I found myself shooting at a fearful pace 
down the side of one of the steep ravines which I had imagined 
lay far away to my right. As I made my way upwards again I 
saw just in front of me what looked like a small shadow flitting 
about, for owing to the snow-white ground it was never completely 
dark. I put my hand upon the dark object and found it to be a 
hare. I saw many of these animals during the night. They 
made holes in the snow, and sat within well protected by their 
warm coats. By this time I was cold and numb, and my whiskers 
were frozen into a solid crystal beard, hanging half way to my 
waist. I had lost my hat, and tried to tie my handkerchief over 
my head, but it was impossible to make a knot, so I could only 
hold it on my head by keeping the corners between my teeth.”’ 
Thus he spent the night, walking, crawling, falling, but never 
still. The day broke calm after the gale of the night had spent 
itself, and on he went in stocking feet, as it afterwards proved, 
injuring his feet in the gorse bushes, but never being conscious of 
it. The whole of Monday morning, as best he could, he tried to 
steer towards the Carding Mill Valley, and it was well he did, for 
it was here, when struggling in a drift up to his neck, that he first 
heard the sound of human voices. Children’s voices talking and 
laughing, and apparently sliding not far off With what remaining 
strength he had he shouted to them, but the unearthly sight of a 
figure protruding from a deep snow drift, crowned and bearded 
with ice like a ghostly emblem of winter, caused a panic amongst 
the children, and they ran off and communicated the news that 
there was a bogie in the snow. Help was quickly at hand, and 
he was taken to the carding mill, and provided with nourishment 
and clothing. His friends were shocked to find he could neither 
see nor taste the food. He was soon driven towards his home, 
and arrived at Wollaston ‘wenty-seven hours after he had left, just 
