JO WOLF'S WILD ANIMALS. 



the side of the gully "gave notice of its coming by a prodigious roar, and the 

 appearance of an exceedingly menacing cloud of snow-dust, that was shot out 

 far above my head. I knew not what was coming, and ran away as fast as 

 I could, till I was reassured that all was right by the appearance of the ice- 

 cataract in its wonted channel; when I hurried back again to its side, to rejoice 

 in the storm and uproar. . . . The hurtling of the ice-balls in the depths of 

 the ravine, and the crash of the huge hail-storm that issued at its foot, were 

 almost frightful. The storm was remarkable for the irregularities of its outbursts. 

 Frequently these were accompanied by vast gushes of water, due, I suppose, to 

 some sub-glacial reservoir, whose foremost wall had toppled away and partly 

 supplied the avalanche. Wind, in moderate blasts of cold air, accompanied each 

 outburst." 



The terms ' ground,' and ' dust '-avalanches are applied to different varieties 

 of snow-slips or slides. They are avalanches properly so-called, and the effects pro- 

 duced by them are vastly more disastrous than those caused by ice-avalanches, as 

 they will frequently descend to inhabited regions, and mow down thousands of 

 trees^-whole forests — at a blow, overthrow solid buildings, and bury up entire 

 hamlets. Even the wild animals that make the mountain's side their home, who 

 are accustomed to the changing seasons, and alive to the perils that menace them, 

 are sometimes surprised and overwhelmed by these snow-scourges. Notwithstand- 

 ing their fleetness, the sure-footed and agile chamois perish like less gifted quadru- 

 peds, and their skeletons or carcases are sometimes found in the spring-time im- 

 bedded in avalanches. Instances ha,ve been known, too, of chamois being snowed- 

 up, and starved to death, near the trunks of trees, beneath whose branches they had 

 sought shelter. The branches, pressed down to the ground by the weight of the 

 snow, have enclosed them as it were in a cage, and prevented their escape. Such 

 cases, however, are rare, though it is common enough for chamois to take up their 

 abode underneath fir-trees in the winter-time. 



Birds like the Grouse and Ptarmigan often perish in the snow. They fre- 

 quently dive under it, when it is loose, either to take refuge from the cold, or 

 from some winged enemy, and if it be towards evening when they enter it, they 

 remain until the morning. Should then a sharp frost come on during the night, a 

 hard crust is formed on the surface, through which the birds find it impossible to 

 penetrate, and they then die of hunger. 



