piece was but an episode; the event 

 of that journey was the intimate ac- 

 quaintance we made of the Great Gla- 

 cier of the Selkirks, and the nice op- 

 portunity I had to lose my life. And 

 the only reason this tale is not more 

 tragic is because, given the choice, I 

 preferred to lose the opportunity rather 

 than the life. 



I wonder if I can give any idea to 

 one who has not seen it what a snow 

 slide really is; how it sweeps away 

 every vestige of trees, grass, and roots, 

 and leaves a surface of shifting, un- 

 stable earth almost as treacherous as 

 quicksand. 



Nimrod and I had paid a superficial 

 visit to the Glacier the day before : that 

 is, we had gone as far as its forefoot, a 

 hard but thoroughly safe climb, and 

 had explored with awe the green glass 



