44 VHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [anNO 1756. 



thus buried, they saw not one ray of light ; yet for about 20 days they had some 

 notion of night and day ; for when the fowls crowed, they imagined it was 

 break of day : but at last the fowls died. 



The 2d day, being very hungry, they eat all the remaining chestnuts, and 

 drank what milk the goat yielded, which for the first days was near 2lb. a day, but 

 the quantity decreased gradually. The 3d day, being very hungry, they again en- 

 deavoured to get to the place where the loaves were, near the stable, but they 

 could not penetrate to it through the snow. They then resolved to take all pos- 

 sible care to feed the goats, as very fortunately over the ceiling of the stable, 

 and just above the manger, there was a hayloft, with a hole through which the 

 hay was put down into the rack. This opening was near the sister, who pulled 

 down the hay and gave it to the goats as long as she could reach it, which when 

 she could no longer do, the goats climbed upon her shoulders, and reached it 

 themselves. 



On the 6th day the boy sickened, complaining of most violent pains in the 

 stomach, and his illness continued 6 days, on the last of which he desired his 

 mother, who all this time had held him in her lap, to lay him at his length in 

 the manger, where he soon after died. In the mean time the quantity of milk 

 given by the goat diminished daily, and the fowls being dead they could no 

 more distinguish night and day ; but according to their calculation the time was 

 near when the other goat should kid, which as they computed would happen 

 about the middle of April ; which at length happened accordingly. They killed 

 the kid, to save the milk for their own subsistence. Whenever they called this 

 goat, it would come and lick their faces and hands, and gave them every day 

 2lb. of milk. 



They say, during all this time, hunger gave them but little uneasiness, except 

 on the first 5 or 6 days : that their greatest pain was from the extreme coldness 

 of the melted snow water, which fell on them, and from the stench of the dead 

 ass, dead goats, fowls, from lice, &c. but more than all from the very uneasy 

 posture they were obliged to continue in : for though the place in which they 

 were buried was 12 English feet long, 8 wide, and 5 high, the manger in which 

 they sat squatting against the wall, was no more than 3 feet 4 inches broad. 

 For 36 days they had no evacuation by stool after the first days : the melted 

 snow water, which after some time they drank without doing them harm, was 

 discharged by urine. The mother said she had never slept, but. the sister 

 and daughter declare they slept as usual. The mother and sister say, that on 

 the day they were buried their monthly evacuations were upon them, but they 

 had not the least sign of them afterwards. 



