THE DOG TRIBE. 



63 



liai to these regions suddenly come on, and form an insurmount- 

 ible barrier, or sweep away or bury the unfortunate traveller. 

 Should he escape these dangers, the path is now become trackless, 

 and he wanders amid the dreary solitudes until night overtakes 

 him ; and then, when he pauses from fatigue or uncertainty with 

 regard to the path he 





should pursue, his limbs 

 are .speedily benumbed. 

 Fatal slumbers, which he 

 cannot shake off, steal 

 upon him, and he crouches 

 under some ledge, and 

 sleeps, to wake no more. 

 The snow drifts on. It 



is almost continually fall- St. Bernard Dog. 



ing, and he is soon concealed from all human help. 



On the top of Mount St. Bernard, and near one of the most 

 dangerous of these passes, is a convent, in which is preserved a 

 breed of large dogs trained to search for the benighted and frozen 

 wanderer. Every night, and particularly when the wind blows 

 tempestuously, some of these dogs are sent out. They traverse 

 every path about the mountains, and their scent is so exquisite 

 that they can discover the traveller, although he may lie many feet 

 deep in the snow. Having found him, they set to work and en- 

 deavor to scrape away the snow, uttering a deep bark that revtrr- 

 berates from rock to rock, and tells those who are watching in the 

 convent that some poor wretch is in peril. Generally, a little flask 

 of spirits is tied round the neck of the animal, by drinking which 

 ihe benighted traveller may recruit his strength, until more efioctual 

 rescue arrive. The monks hasten in the direction of the sound, 

 and often succeed in rekindling the vital spark before it is quite 

 extinguished. Very many travellers have been thus rescued from 

 death by these benevolent men and their intelligent and interesting 

 quadruped servants. 



The Newfoundland is often confounded with the Labra- 

 dor Dog, a larger and more powerful animal. Both these dogs are 



