Descending a Cliff—Whistle Signals 85 
stone or sandstone country where a rope cannot be thus secured; if 
not to a rock, then to some tough tree or bush. When no such place 
can be found, the rope should be passed round the waist of the biggest 
and heaviest man of the party, who should ensconce himself in rear 
of the rest in a billet whence he cannot be ousted by a sudden jerk. 
I have adopted this plan with excellent results when working over 
very high cliffs. All shouting and hailing should be avoided on 
the part of the man down the rope. I always carry an “Acme ” 
dog whistle on a short lanyard round my neck. One blast signifies 
“ Hold hard.” Two blasts: ‘‘ Lower away.” Three blasts : ‘“ Haul 
up.” Where there is reason to apprehend any complications, the 
whistle should be carried in the mouth. It is easy then, if in 
sudden troubie, to give one blast and cause the party above to 
hold hard. 
It is marvellous how clearly a whistle can be heard when the 
human voice some little way down a cliff is utterly unintelligible 
to those above. Nothing is so demoralizing to a lowering party 
as to hear a man far out of sight shouting inarticulately ; in 
such cases it may make all the difference in the world whether 
they chance to do the right thing and at the right moment. 
The climber, having been lowered over the cliff until he arrives 
at the nest or at a cavern or ledge which conducts to it, may 
find it necessary to move laterally along the face of the cliff for 
some yards. If the local conditions permit, the safest course is for 
him to give the signal ‘“ Lower away” and, after hauling in all 
the slack he may require, signal ‘‘ Hold hard” and coil down the 
spare rope. He then crawls along to the point which he wishes 
to reach, 
But sometimes there may be a very extensive terrace or 
portion of the cliff climbable without a rope from his point of 
vantage. In such a case the safest course is to unbend the rope 
and make it fast to some bush or crag and then proceed to 
