EXPEDITION TO THE TYEOL. 267 



as we were turning an abrupt angle very carefully, we 

 suddenly heard a rushing sound, and a shadow passed 

 before the sun. Glancing upwards, I saw not a hundred 

 paces from me an enormous vulture, with the fiercest of 

 eyes and the most terrible of talons. With a few flaps of 

 its broad wings it soared away, and a neighboring peak 

 soon hid it from our sight. These great birds are much 

 dreaded by the herdsmen, and strange tales are told of 

 their daring attacks. 



Beaching the end of the slippery pass, we found our- 

 selves in a wild valley, entirely shut in by ranges of lofty 

 cliffs, with here and there patches of snow. Far above 

 us, in front, towered the summit of the Wildgrad Kogle, 

 ending in a sharp peak. The floor of the valley was strewn 

 with masses of rock, which seemed to have ben hurled 

 from the surrounding cliffs. We advanced stealthy, con- 

 cealing ourselves behind the boulders, and searched valley 

 and cliff" for our prey. Spiegle had a rude telescope 

 which he used a great deal, but to no purpose. Our only 

 chance now^was that the chamois might be feeding in 

 some of the smaller valleys, between the cliffs and the 

 Kogle itself. I could not see what these animals found 

 for food in this sterile region. But at the head of the 

 valley, Spiegle showed us the plant on which these ex- 

 traordinary animals live. It had a thick green tribolate 

 leaf, and a flower so delicate and gauze-like, that I won- 



