No. 6. 



Farmers' Visits. 



207 



which they enjoy in this favoured country, 

 they do not deserve them. 1 can vouch for 

 the truth of the narration, so far as having 

 heard the storm described by Scotch shep- 

 herds who were on the spot at the time, and 

 suffered the horrors of that frightful night; 

 several of their companions having been 

 overwhehiied by it and lost. 



Subscriber. 



15 Dec. 1840. 



NARRATIVE OF A SCOTCH SNOWSTORM. 



" But of all the storms that ever Scotland witnessed, 

 or, I hope, ever will again, there is none that can once 

 be compared with that of the memorable night between 

 Friday the 24th, and Saturday the 25th of January, 

 1794 ; and which fell with peculiar violence on that 

 division of the south of Scotland that lies between 

 Crawford Muirand the Border; in these bounds, seven- 

 teen shepherds perished, and upwards of thirty were 

 carried home insensible ; the number of sheep that 

 were lost far exceeded any possibility of calculation ; 

 whole flocks were overwhelmed, and no one knew 

 where tliev were, until the snow was dissolved, when 

 they wereall found dead. I saw twelve scores of ex- 

 cellent ewes, all of one age, lying dead, all with their 

 heads one way, as if a whole flock had dropped dead, 

 going from the washing! many hundreds viere driven 

 into the rivers by the violence of the storm, and these 

 the floods carried away, so that they were never found 

 at all. The greater part of these rivers, on which the 

 storm was most deadly, run into the Solway Frith, on 

 which there is a place called the Beds of Esk, where 

 the tide throws out and leaves whatever is carried into 

 it by the rivers: where, after the storm subsided, there 

 were found on that place, and shores adjacent, 1840 

 sheep, 9 cattle, 3 horses, 2 men, 1 woman, 45 dogs, and 

 ISO hares, besides a vast number of smaller animals. 



" I went to bed in the byre-loft, where I slept with a 

 neighbour shepherd, Borthwick ; but, although fatigued 

 with walking through the snow, I could not close my 

 eyes, so that I heard the first burst of the storm, between 

 one and two o'clock, with a fury quite inconceivable 

 and indescribable ! It began all at once, with such a 

 tremendous roar, that I imagined it a peal of thunder, 

 until I felt the house rocking to its foundations. In a 

 few minutes I thrust my naked arm through the roof, in 

 order, if possible, to ascertain what was going on 

 without, for it was perfect darkness — but I could not 

 then, nor can I now, express my astonishment — I felt 

 a-s though I had thrust my arm into a body of snow. I 

 deemed it a judgment from Heaven sent upon us, and 

 went to bed agaiti, trembling with agitation. After 

 three quarters of an hour, I rose and went to the 

 house, where I found our master, the ploughman, 

 Borthwick, aiul two maidservants, sitting round the 

 kilclien fire, with looks of dismay and despair! we 

 agreed that the sooner we could reach the sheep, the 

 better chance we had to save a remnant ; we therefore 

 resolved to make a bold effort, and endeavour to reach 

 an excellent lot of f-OO ewes, which lay a long way 

 distant. Our excellent master made family worship a 

 duty never to be neglected, but that morning the man- 

 ner in which he expressed our trust and confidence in 

 Heaven, was particularly affecting. We then took our 

 breakfast, filled our pockets witli bread and cheese, 

 sewed our plaids about us, tied down our hats with 

 napkins coming under our chins, and each taking a 

 strong staft' in his hand, we set out on our attempt ; 

 but no sooner was the door olosed upon us than we 

 lost sight of each other — it was impossible for a man 

 10 see his hand held up before him, and it still wanted 

 two hours till day-light — we had therefore no means 

 of keeping together, but by following to one another's 

 voices, nor of working our way, save by groping before 

 us with our staves — a hopeless concern, for ere we got 

 clear of the houses and hay-stacks, we had to roll our- 

 selves over two or three wreaths or banks of snow, 

 which we found it impossible to wade through ; and 

 all the while the wind and drift were so violent, that 

 every two or three minutes we were compelled to 

 hold our mouths between our knees, to recover our 

 breath; and then we got into an eddying wind that 



was altogether insufferable ; at the same time we were 

 struggling amongst snow so deep, that our progress in 

 the way we should go was quite equivocal, having by 

 this time lost all idea of east, west, north, or south. 

 Still we were determined, and jiersevered, not knowing 

 whither, sometimes rolling over the snow, and welter- 

 ing in it up to the chin. There was an enclosure 

 around the house to the westward denominated the 

 " Park," which did not extend to more than three hun- 

 dred yards beyond it, but to this small space were all 

 our exertions confined until daylight — two hours after 

 we had left the house ! — 



" After we got clear of the Park, we also got free 

 of the eddy of the wind, which now drove full in our 

 faces; we therefore proceeded in a line one bct'ore the 

 other, changing places every two or three minutes ; and 

 at length, after the greatest fatigue, reached the ridge 

 of a long hill where the snow was thinner, having been 

 blown off by the force of the wind, and by this, we 

 hoped to reach to within a short space of tlie ewes, 

 which were still a mile and a half distant. Our mas- 

 ter had taken the lead; I was next him, but soon be- 

 gan to suspect, from the depth of the snow, that he was 

 leading us quite wrong; but as we always trusted im- 

 plicitly to the person that was foremost for the time, I 

 said nothing, until satisfied that we were going in a 

 direction very nearly opposite to that we intended; I 

 then tried to expostulate with him, but he did not seem 

 to understand what I said, and on getting a glimpse of 

 his countenance, I perceived that it was quite changed ! 

 Not to alarm him or the others, I said I was becoming 

 terribly fatigued, and proposed that we sliould lean on 

 the snow and take each a little spirit (having brought 

 a small quantity with me, fearing the worst,) and some 

 bread and cheese : this was unanimously agreed to, and 

 1 remarked that he swallowed the spirit rather eagerly, 

 a thing not usual with him ; and when he tried to eat. 

 it was long before he could swallow a morsel : I felt 

 convinced he would fail altogether, but as it would be 

 easier to get him to the shepherds' house — which was 

 before us — than home, I made no proposal to return, 

 but said, if they would trust themselves to me, I would 

 engage to lead them to the ewes without going a foot 

 out of the way ; to this the other two consented, ac- 

 knowledging they knew not where they were, but he 

 never opened his mouth, nor did he speak a word for 

 two hours after: it was only a temporary exhaustion, 

 however, for he recovered, and wrought until right as 

 well as any of us, but could never recollect a single 

 circumstance that occurred during that part of the jour- 

 ney. At half-past ten we reached the sheep, just in 

 time to save some of them. It was now wearing to- 

 wards midday, and there were occasionally short inter- 

 vals, when we could see around us, perhaps for tvi'enty 

 yards; I grew quite impatient to l^nd my own charge, 

 and, leaving the rest, I went away to them myself; I 

 found them in miserable circumstances, but by making 

 the greatest exertions, I got about one-half of them 

 out of the snow, and left them in a place of safety, and 

 made towards home, for it was growing dark, and the 

 storm was again raging in all its darkness and fury. 

 I was in no fear of losing my way, for I could have 

 found it with my eyes bound up, and, indeed, long be- 

 fiire I reached home, they were no use to me. I was 

 terrified for the water, (Douglas Burn) for in the morn- 

 ing it was flooded and gorged up with snow in a fright- 

 ful manner, and I was fearful it was now quite impass- 

 able ; at length I came to a place where I thought the 

 water should be, and fell a boring and groping with my 

 long staff, but no water could I find; I then began to 

 dread, that in spite of my supposed accuracy, I had 

 gone wrong: this greatly surprised me, and, standing 

 still to consider, I looked up towards Heaven— I shall 

 not say for what cause— and, to my utter amazement, 

 thought I beheld trees over my head, flourishing abroad 

 over the whole sky 1 I never liad witnessed such an 

 optical illusion before ; it was so like enchantment 

 that I knew not what to think, but felt the dread that 

 some extraordinary thing was coming over me, and 

 that I was deprived of my senses! I concluded that 

 the storm was a great judgment, sent on us for our 

 sins, and that this strange phantasy was connected 

 with it— an illusion effected by evil spirits ! I stood a 

 good while in this painful trance, but at length, on 

 making a bold exertion to escape from this fairy-vision, 

 I came, all at once, in contact with the Old Tower ! — 

 never in my life did I experience such relief! I was not 

 only all at once freed from the Fairies, but from the dan- 



