120 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



leys we had to cross, did not reach it until 

 late in the afternoon. We would have 

 encamped, but did not like to pass a second 

 night without fire ; and though scarcely 

 able to drag our limbs after us, we pushed 

 on to a clump of pines about a mile to the 

 southward of the rock, and arrived at them 

 in the dusk of the evening. During the 

 last few hundred yards of our march, our 

 track lay over some large stones, amongst 

 which I fell down upwards of twenty times* 

 and became at length so exhausted that I 

 was unable to stand. If Hepburn had not 

 exerted himself far beyond his strength, 

 and speedily made the encampment and 

 kindled a fire, I must have perished on the 

 spot. This night we had plenty of dry 

 wood. 



On the 29th we had clear and fine wea- 

 ther. We set out at sunrise, and hurried 

 on in our anxiety to reach the house, but 

 our progress was much impeded by the 

 great depth of the snow in the valleys. 

 Although every spot of ground over which 

 we travelled to-day had been repeatedly 



