302 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. 



and they were just driven out. The weather was mild, 

 and the grass had appeared ; but the wind was bitterly 

 cold in the evening, and it began to rain. The rain 

 soon turned to snow, and our wet cloaks were frozen 

 as hard as boards. A few hours after, came a Siberian 

 viuga, or snowdrift, from the north-east, whistling about 

 our ears till seeing or hearing was impossible. We 

 tried to find our way home, from which we were not 

 far distant ; but the sheep would not face the wind, 

 and even the goats, who will face anything but a viuga, 

 began to run before the storm. To prevent the flock 

 from scampering away was impossible, and all that 

 could be done was to keep them together. We had 

 to race all night, and in the morning there was nothing 

 but snow all round us. The viuga raged all that day, 

 and the poor sheep were even more wild and frightened 

 than in the night. Sometimes we gave up all as lost, 

 but roused ourselves again, and ran with the screaming, 

 bleating flock, while the oxen trotted after with the 

 waggon, and the dogs came howling behind. The poor 

 goats were all lost or frozen to death the first day, in 

 which we ran at least fifty or sixty yersts, leaving a 

 track of dead sheep behind us. In the evening the 

 poor beasts were less wild, being exhausted by hunger 

 and fatigue. Two of our party reported themselves 

 sick, and crept under the mats and skins in the waggon ; 

 and the rest had only time to take a little bread and 

 snow to save life. 



4 Night came, no house was near, and this was worse 

 than the preceding. The storm was driving us upon 

 the coast, and we expected to be blown with our stupid 

 cattle into the sea. Another shepherd fell sick, and we 

 thought that night would have been the last for us all 



