THE RISS. 157 



their scouts are at the appointed places on the moun- 

 tains, and at a certain time at the hour when it is 

 calculated the several sportsmen have reached their 

 stations they are all on the move. Here and there a 

 stone is let drop ; further on a young mountaineer will 

 pass along the perpendicular descent, holding on by 

 the trusty latschen, in order to drive out the chamois, 

 and also to reach a spot inaccessible in any other 

 way. 



On such a day perilous places are passed. Each 

 one takes an interest in the work, anxious that the 

 day's sport should be satisfactory ; and as the chamois 

 love to lurk in the wildest retreats, and nooks guarded 

 by precipices, if the men do their work well they are 

 sure to be led along some dangerous passes. None 

 of course is willing to lag behind or avoid the peril, 

 but, trusting to his steady foot and unreeling brain, 

 each dares whatever may come in his way. Thus led 

 on by an adventurous feeling, a hunt of this kind 

 hardly ever passes without an accident of some sort 

 happening to the men employed. Occasionally too 

 the mists will rise suddenly, and spread their impene- 

 trable covering over the whole mountain range. They 

 lie upon the air like a solid thing, and then to move 

 even is indeed perilous : a single step, and the beater 

 may tread, not on the firm ground, but on yielding 

 cloud, and toppling over go sinking through an ocean 

 of vapour to the craggy bottom. 



About such matters I heard much from my guide 

 as we walked on towards the Riss ; for as soon as I 



