134 ON THE FEONTIEE. 



bold, and great nuisances, pilfering our meat, springing our 

 traps, and alarming game that we were stalking by scream- 

 ing out at us ; in short, by making themselves generally 

 detestable ; and small birds, not game, abounded in every 

 wood and thicket many of familiar kinds, many of strange 

 ones. 



Until within two weeks of Christmas we had most 

 charming weather; occasional snow showers were seen to 

 fall amongst the mountain-peaks, but in the valley neither 

 snow nor rain fell, and almost all the time the sky was a 

 clear cloudless blue. The middle of the day was quite hot 

 we were pretty far south but owing to our elevation and 

 the time of year, the nights had been sharply cold ; our 

 huge log fire had, however, kept us warm and comfortable, 

 and our spare time been well enjoyed in hunting. 



One morning we were surprised by finding that snow 

 was falling, and had apparently been doing so all night. 

 Our animals, except those tied up, had run off before the 

 storm, and their tracks were of course snowed over and 

 not visible. The storm lasted until next morning, when 

 the weather cleared up bright and fine, the ground being 

 covered a foot deep with snow. That day was spent 

 seeking in vain for the missing animals, but they were 

 found the following one, in a little nook they had dis- 

 covered, where there was good shelter and abundance of 

 tall bunch-grass, unburied by snow. They were doing 

 famously, and there we left them. While looking for the 

 animals a very unwelcome fact was revealed. The game 

 had all disappeared. Not a track was to be seen but those 

 of beasts of prey. That they would return, having only 



