THE REIN-DEER. 14? 



tightly round my arm, to prevent dropping it, I fol- 

 lowed the example of my wappus, flanking the sides 

 of the animal to increase its speed. The whole 

 party did the same, and redoubled their swiftness. 

 Two stars in the south-east had hitherto served as 

 steering points ; all around us, however, became 

 quickly obscured. The fog overtook us in our ca- 

 reer, and in a few minutes the heavenly bodies were 

 no longer visible. Our confusion was now greatly 

 increased ; we were suddenly enveloped in a dense 

 mist, and were unable to discern our nearest neigh- 

 bours. Our speed, notwithstanding, was unrelaxed, 

 and it was a complete helter-skelter race in the dark, 

 every one minding himself. The utility of the deer's 

 bells was here fully shewn, since without them half 

 our party would probably have been lost. 



" in this manner we scampered along the top oC 

 the Sohvara, bewildered and dreading lest the mist 

 should be succeeded by the snow-drift. By the in- 

 clination of the ground, our foremost guide perceived 

 we were now coming to the descent of the range, 

 and for the first time was sensible, that the darkness 

 had brought us into a part of the mountains with 

 which he was unacquainted. This unpleasant intel- 

 ligence made us proceed step by step with the ut- 

 most caution, till we found our progress suddenly 

 arrested. The foremost deer had reached the brink 

 of a precipice, and had stopped from instinct. We 

 had fortunately relaxed from our usual pace, or the 

 whole party would have been over. We now turned 



