CH. XXXIV. SNOW-STORM. 237 



there just as another storm caine on, which lasted 

 till after dark, and through which, in our tired state, 

 we never could have made our way. Donald and 

 the shepherd's family were in a state of great anxiety 

 about us, knowing that there would have been no 

 possible means of affording us assistance, had we 

 been bewildered or wearied out upon the moun- 

 tain. The shepherd himself was fairly knocked 

 up, and could scarcely be prevailed upon to take 

 either food or drink, or even to put off his frozen 

 clothes, before flinging himself on his bed. For 

 my own part I soon became as comfortable as pos- 

 sible, and slept as soundly and dreamlessly as such 

 exercise only can make one do. I must candidly 

 confess, however, that I made an inward vow 

 against ptarmigan shooting again upon snow- 

 covered mountains. 



No person who has not been out in a snow-storm 

 on lofty and exposed ground can form an idea of 

 its force, and the difficulty there is in ploughing 

 through the drifts and deep places ; I certainly had 

 no conception of what it was until that day. A 

 change of weather came on during the night, and 

 by noon the next day all was again bright and 

 clear, and we reached home with little difficulty. 

 The wind and drift had been much less severe 

 near the house, and the tops of the trees were still 



