AVALANCHES. 313 



the stoutest timber reft into splinters, and 

 hill sides laid bare, marked their course, 

 and bore ample testimony to the unusual 

 severity of the past season. In the forests 

 the snow in many parts was still deep, the 

 ever hardy rhododendron bushes were just 

 strugghng into daylight, and every visible 

 green spot bore the marks of bears in 

 unusual numbers, deprived of much of their 

 usual feeding ground. The village of Jacka, 

 through which we had passed the year 

 before, had suffered severely ; more than 

 half of it, having been carried away. 



One morning when shooting in the Buspa 

 valley, I had an oportunity of witnessing 

 the effect, which the fall of an avalanche 

 had upon a flock of burrell in its vicinity. 

 We had followed about thirty burrell into an 

 enormous abyss in the mountain's side. On 

 reaching the highest accessible point, such 

 a scene of utter desolation as lay around, I 

 never beheld ; masses of rock, heaps of slate, 

 and rocky de'bris on all sides ; apparently 

 there was no outlet, and the mountains 



