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    looks round affrighted , conscious of the neighbourhood of an enemy , utters a shnll whistle , and , mounting over the sharp ridge of an opposite mountain , is seen for one moment in bold relief against the * sky , and then disappears on the other side . But we had no cause to fear that our hopes would be marred t > y such , a circumstance . , „ . # # # # * * ' " We had now wound upwards for about an hour , when we left the path and turned off to our right among some latschen and huge blocks of stone . We had not gone many yards when Berger . dropped to the earth , as though a shot had passed through his heart . He raised his finger to indicate silence , his eyes were opened wide with expectation , and his lips drawn apart as if uttering a ' Hush ! though not a breath passed over them . We cowered behind the stones , and he whispered , ' There are chamois ! ' We crept on a little further ; the end of nay pole shod with iron touched a stone and made the metal slightly ring . Berger turned

    round with a reproving look , and made me a sign to exchange mine for his , which was not shod . We advanced and lay behind a bush , and drew out our glasses . Five chamois were there , grazing on the slope , skirted by a wood . Berger ' s whole frame was alive with expectation ; his face wore quite a different expression to what it had before ; his eyes seemed larger , his body more supple , his powers of motion other than in everyday life—the whole creature was changed . ' Now then / he said , ' come along , quick und scldn stad ! ' ( quickly and nicely quiet ) . We moved on , but a breath of air stirred , and they must have got wind of us , for they began to move towards the wood , and soon disappeared within it . There was now nothing to be done but to go round and get above them , for it was late , and the current of air had already set in from below . Just as we had reached the top , I heard a slight rustle , and stopped to listen , when in an instant there was a rushing down the steep and over the broken ground , as of an animal in full flight . By the step I was sure it was deer ( hinds ) , and said so to Berger . c They were not chamois—they made too much noise ; nor was it the rush of a stag . It must have

    been a hind . * "' You are right , ' he cried ; * there they go ! I see them down "below—two hinds—they heard us moving along above them . ' " ' Do you think they will take the chamois along with them V " ' No , I think not . We shall most likely meet them further on ; if not , we will sit and watch for them . ' " This is one of the great difficulties of stalking in the mountains , —to do so almost unheard . Fragments of stone are lying about , latschen with their long 1 trailing branches and dense foliage , or steep beds of Geroll , cross your path , which the lightest step will set in motion , and yet you must advance quickly , and pick your way quite noiselessly . I always found the exertion and attention this required fatigued me more than climbing for a longer time when such caution was unnecessary . " As nothing more was to be seen of the five chamois we had met ¦ with on the

    Steinberg , we sat down and peered into the vast hollow that lay before us . Rising upwards to our left was barren rock , sharp and broken , grey , bare , and weatherbeaten : it looked hoary with age . " Where the rocks ceased to be perpendicular the geroll began , and continued far downwards , till here and there latschen began to show themselves . We sat in silence , examining with strained eyes every inch of ground , and looking down among tVie stunted bushes , and upwards among the crags , in hopos of seeing a chamois that might be lured forth by the cheering sun . From time to time , as one of us fancied that some spot at a distance looked like the object of his search , suddenly out flew the glass , and the other , full of hope and expectation , with eyes

    turned from the mountain-side to his comrade ' s face , would watch Ins countenance as lie looked through the telescope , to learn , before he spoke , if a chamois were there or not . He needed not to say , ' "fia nothing ! ' the other saw this at once , by his expression . But when the glass remained up to the eye sonic seconds longer than usual , and the Jiiger , as ho still looked , said , ' "fis chamois ! there are three together ! ' how exciting was the expectation . The glas . s of each would then instantly be turned in the same direction , to find the spot on which the hopes of both were now centred . ' I have them ! One is at rest ; the one to the right is a yearling , I think . Now it's among the latschen ; now—now he has come forward again . What high horns that other one has !'

    " Such are the remarks to be heard on these occasions , made in a subdued voice , uttered quickly , and broken into short sentences—mere ejaculations called forth by the stir of the emotion , by the feelings of the moment , and leaving- no time for them to bo fashioned into a connected form . But neither of us heard from the other such pleasant tidings ; nnd after having eaten a slice of brown bread and a morsel of goat ' s-inilk cheese , we ( lung our rifles over our shoulders , and each taking his staff , went down the mountain . " Wo looked around on all sides , but not a chamois was to be seen . Before us rose the Itoth Waud , now ( October 10 th ) covered with snow ; on u verdant patch of paature land where wo stood was a solitary but , long deserted , and on the mountain side , to our right ; , it seemed us if some fiend bad dug bin nails into the ground , and torn away from top to bottom all the earth that ho could clutch Right through the green lidschcu came a long broad atrip of looso stones , Koine hundred feet in width .

    <* On going along at the foot of this geroll , Merger suddenly stopped , and dropping behind a large block of stone , whispered , ' Them ' s a chamois ! ' High up among the debris n bluck spot wan visible , and this was the chamoin . We kuw by our glasses that it was » i ytmrling buck , and for a time watched him at , our ease , us wo lay on the ground protected by the fragment of fallen rock . It , stood at guzo for a moment . " ' Doca it ho . c uh ? ' 1 asked ; ' iIoch it look this way ?' " 'No , ' . said Merger , ' but the thing is how to get near it . Up tho stones we can't go—it will make too much nolso ; and if wo cross over the crest of the mountain , nnd ho work down towards him , it will bo too far to fire . If we could only get up through the latsohen ! but I tour it is impossible , —ho would bo mire to Hee us . However , lot uh try : be still , very Htill . '

    " Wti wm ! just on the point of making the attempt , when , on looking round to Bom Urn sides of the ; Uoth Wand , I huw a chamois about five hundred foot below th « summit , ou a green upot quite free from hiiow , and at the foot of a wall of rock . ' Hint , Hevgor ! thorn aro chamois !' " whi'i-o r Look un yonder ; don't you hco them ?' «¦ ' No . ' Jjoqk , don't ; you hc

    « ' I see them now 1 Confound it ,-they see us ! Let us move on—don t stop or look ; keep away from them , up to the right . * And up we went , keeping in a contrary direction , and then stopped among some large loose stones , "' Look , Berger , now you can see them well ; they are crossing the snow , but not quickly . What ! don't you see them ? Why , now they are movrag round the wall of rock that goes down quite perpendicularly ; yet now 1 see but two , —where can the third be ?' " < Now I see them . Give me your glass . Make haste and reach those latsehen yonder ; when once among them , all ' s right . I'll lie here and watch them , and come after you directly . But for heaven ' s sake get up the geroll quietly , for if a stone move , they'll surely hear it , though so far off ; and be quick , and get among the latschen . ' Giving him my telescope , which was much the better ona , I moved on over the slanting mass ot loose stones . dared

    « With body bent as low as possible I tried to creep noiselessly upwards . I not use my pole to steady myself , for the weight would have forced it among the loose rubble , and made as much or more noise than my footsteps occasioned . Taking it in my left haqd , on which side also my rifle was slung , I steadied myself with the right , and so at last reached some larger fragments of stone , which were firmer to the tread , and over which I could consequently get along more rapidly The sheltering latschen were at length gained , and I flung myself down behind them , quite out of breath with excitement and from moving thus doubled up together . , , , . ., , -. « In this safe haren Berger soon joined me . < They are at rest , he said . Now all's right ! we have them now ! But how shall we get across ? he asked , as he looked around to reconnoitre our position . « Yonder they'll see us ; we must pass over the ridge above , and go round and see if there is a way . sufficientllow down to

    " This we did , and , once on the other side , kept just y prevent our heads being seen above the sky-line . But after advancing some hundred yards , we came to a spot where the ridge swept suddenly downwards , forming a gap between us and the chamois . To proceed without being seen was impossible On our right it was rather steep , but we were obliged to descend a good way , and then the iame distance up again further on , in order to reach the Roth Wand unobserved . , , , ,, , « < Here we are at last ! Are they still at rest , Berger ? just look across through the branches of yonder latschen above you . ' # « < Yes , they are still there ! Now then , we must get to the pinnacle right over our heads , and they along the ridge , and so have a shot at them from above . _ " The shoulder of the mountain where we stood was steep enough certainly , but it still presented sufficient inequalities to enable us to clamber up it . Elsewhere , except on this projecting , buttress-like shoulder , the declivity was so there

    steep as to be not many degrees from the perpendicular . I proposed , - foref that we should choose this less steep ridge to reach the broken rocks above us , on whose jagged forms we might obtain a firm hold and so creep upwards to the very crest of the mountain . 'Oh , no , ' answered Berger ; we dare not venture that : they would be sure to see us , for we should be quite unsheltered , and our bodies being thrown against the sky , would be distinctly visible . No , we must try yonder—up that lahne , ' pointing to the steep declivity before us , to see the summit of which , it was necessary to fling the head quite backwards . I confess it was not with the plea-santest feelings that 1 saw what we had undertaken , for the slope was covered with snow , making the ascent doubly difficult , and upwards of two thousand feet below was a huge rocky chasm , into which I could look and calculate where J might at last stop , if ray foot slipped , and I happened to go sliding down . Where the lahne ended , beds of loose stones began , and , as if to remind one of their instability , and how hopeless it would be to think of holding fast even for a moment on their moving surface , there rose from minute to minute a low , dull sound , made by some rolling stone , which , set in motion by its own weight , went pattering downwards into the

    melancholy hollow . " However , to stand looking upwards at the steep snowy surface of the mountain , or gazing at the depth below , was not the way to get a shot at the chamois ; so civile , my rifle a jerk to send it well Tip behind my back , and leave the left arm free , I began to mount , keeping in an oblique direction in order to lessen the steepness of the ascent . Berger was before me , sometimes on his hands nnd knees , sometimes on his feet , and looking every now and then anxiously behind to see what progress I made . Neither of us got on very fast , for a firm footing was impossible . If you slipped , down you camo on you r face , with both fret nowhere , and the rifle swinging over the lef t nrrn into the snow , most inconveniently . Once ,

    when I was quite unable to p lant cither foot firmly , Berger , who was just above me and had , as it seemed , u safe spot on which to stand , was obliged to let down his long pole that I might hold on by it , and , with his heels well dug into tho ground , gave mo u helping pull . Wo had mounted half-way wli-.-n suddenly both my feet lost their bold on tho miow , and somehow or other down 1 went over the steep declivity on my back , liko an arrow sent from a stron-ly-druwn bow . It was disagreeable / for 1 knew how difficult it is to stop when once gliding » t hill speed down a labne : and all my endeavours to do so , with help of my heels or my hands Kobell had

    were ineffectual , But I remembered the advice my friend once given me : ' Should you ever be unlucky enough to slip when upon a Inline , turn round no n » to get on your ntoinacb as quickly as possible , or else you uro lost . While shooting downwards therefore I turned , and grasping my stick , winch was well Hbod with an iron point , I dashed it with all my force into the ground . It , stuck fjtsf ;; T held on by it , and was stopped in my career . While gliding down , my eyes ' were turned upwards to Bergor . I saw fright expressed on his countenance our eyes met , hat noithor uttered a word . Only when I bad arrested my further progress , and wna cautiously preparing to find a sure footing , he culled out , ' It wan lucky you were able to stop—for hoaven ' H suko bo careful , it Is dreadfully wlippcry . ' At last , by making a zigzag line , wo reached the top of tho luhiiis . lhiro wuro rocks by which we could hold , and getting amongst them mine to a perpendicular wall about seven font high . Itu face was as straight as a plummet-line , but if , wan

    rough , so that some crevices were to bo found which might nerve as n | , eps in passing over it . At its Va . se was a small ledge , on which one person could . stand , holding on with his own fiico and the face of the rock close against each other , and behind , below , was—what was not quite plmsnnt to think nbout . Merger got over first , having previously with ono band laid bin rifle und pole on a ledgo of rock above him to have both bunds t ' ren . Hiuidiiigup my riflo to him I followed ; Jind though tho place Boomed rather formidable , in reality it wan oaay enough to climb . As 1 Htood on tho lodge face to face with Hie perpendicular rock , I debated within myself whether I nhould look behind me or not . I know that below and behind wan nothing but nir , and I decided on proceeding without turning round ; « o I looked

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    S 80 THE LEADER . [ Satpbpay ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), April 16, 1853, page 380, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1982/page/20/