on were not there ; and, when apparently passing 

 others, I bumped into them. Several times I fell 

 headlong by stepping out for a drift and finding 

 a depression. 



In the midst of these illusions I walked out 

 on a snow-cornice that overhung a precipice ! 

 Unable to see clearly, I had no realization of my 

 danger until I felt the snow giving way beneath 

 me. I had seen the precipice in summer, and 

 knew it was more than a thousand feet to the 

 bottom ! Down I tumbled, carrying a large frag- 

 ment of the snow-cornice with me. I could see 

 nothing, and I was entirely helpless. Then, just 

 as the full comprehension of the awful thing 

 that was happening swept over me, the snow 

 falling beneath me suddenly stopped. I plunged 

 into it, completely burying myself. Then I, too, 

 no longer moved downward ; my mind gradually 

 admitted the knowledge that my body, together 

 with a considerable mass of the snow, had fallen 

 upon a narrow ledge and caught there. More of 

 the snow came tumbling after me, and it was a 

 matter of some minutes before I succeeded in 

 extricating myself. 



17 



