NOTES EEOM DIARY KEPT AT QUICKI0CK. 131 



and then slaked my thirst ; so I had no fear on 

 this account. My whole life, as I thought, de- 

 pended upon whether or not I could hold on till 

 morning, and keep myself from being frozen ; for 

 now I dare not rest for five minutes, or I would 

 have scraped a large hole in the snow and crept 

 in; but every time I rested I felt that queer 

 drowsiness coming over me, which I knew wa& 

 the precursor of sleep. 



Galton, in his " Art of Travel," I see, expresses 



his decided opinion that men may live many days 



buried in a snowdrift. Had I known this, I 



should have suffered no more anxiety on the 



night in question than I had ever done when 



bushed in Australia ; but I never referred to 



Galton till I came home. If such is really the 



case, all my fine tale of anxiety and sufferings is 



nothing but a romance ; however, it was my firm 



idea that if I once rested in the snow I should soon 



become benumbed, . and gradually pass off into 



an unawaking slumber. So, as I dare not try the 



remedy, it was the same to me as if it had never 



existed. It is strange up here that mine is the 



general opinion, and every peasant to whom I 



have spoken on the subject, says that your only 



chance of saving life is to keep going. I know 



black grouse often bury themselves in the snow, 



and remain there for days, as we can see by their 



