tc». 



•"^IJV 



Wp 



:fiM 



'^niu, 



•Qt 



a 



h 



n 



8 '4 





1>* 



if ] V, 



M 



T 



' ^**ui 



n 



m 



■^ "^liir 



itte. 



e. 





IT 



(Vk 



Their 

 r to broOed 



t t:s been 



' ' o wliich 

 of charred 

 ir ch?'^al 



, . : : :!readT 



^u^? in tie 



c produce, 



■ 7r 1 iLiii^ ; 



jreu 



.c too 



r 



t-bo?s, 



ac ilOU 



of 



in ^^^ 



p.^" 



'?!■ 



I. 



34iJ 



3i^' 



\ 



Ch. xliv.] blown sand, and volcanic ejections. 



503 



underlying a turfy surface upon wliicli tliey have rashly 

 ventured^ or^ at other times, as we shall see in the sequel, 

 a bog ^bursts/ and animals may be involved in the peaty 

 alluvium. 



In the extensive bogs of Newfoundland, cattle are some- 

 times found buried alive with only their heads and necks 

 above ground ; and after having remained for days in this 

 situation, they have been drawn out by ropes and saved. In 

 Scotland, also, cattle venturing on the ^ quaking moss,' are 

 often mired, or '^ laired,' as it is termed ; and in Ireland, Mr. 

 King asserts that the number of cattle which are lost in 

 sloughs is quite incredible.^ 



Solway moss. — The description given of the Solway 



grounds 



moss 



miles in circumference 



b 01 way moss 

 er of these boggy 

 a flat area, about 



of England and Scotland. Its surface is covered with grass 

 and rushes, presenting a dry crust and a fair appearance ; 



but it shaken undei 

 unsound and semifluid 



bottom beii 

 The adventurous passenger, there- 



fore, who sometimes in dry seasons traverses this perilous 

 waste, to save a few miles, picks his cautious way over the 

 rushy tussocks as they appear before him, for here the' 

 soil is firmest. If his foot slip, or if he venture to desert 

 this mark of security, it is possible he may never more be 

 heard of. 



' At the battle of Solway, in the time of Henry VIII. (1542), 

 when the Scotch army, commanded by Oliver Sinclair, was 

 routed, an unfortunate troop of horse, driven by their fears 

 plunged into this morass, which instantly closed upon them. 

 The tale was traditional, but it is now so far authenticated 



that 



a 



man and horse, in 



com 



armour, have been 



found by peat-diggers, in the place were it was always sup- 

 posed the affair had happened. The skeleton of each was well 



armour 



ty 



i.'t 



same moss 



Decembe 



o 



\, 



* Phil. Trans, vol. xv. p. 949. 



t Gilpin, Observ. on Picturesque Beauty, &c., 1772 



