o work, sometimes up to our knees
in icy water, digging at the bank of snow above us--if you can call it
digging when we had nothing but our hands to dig, or rather scratch,
with. Oh, how hot we were in five minutes! the sun beating on us, and
the reflection from the snow making its rays almost blinding. It was
of no use my attempting to rescue the sheep, for I could not move them,
even when I had _scrattled_ the snow away from one. A sheep, especially
with its fleece full of snow, is beyond my small powers: even the lambs
I found a tremendous weight, and it must have been very absurd, if an
idler had been by, to see me, with a little lamb in my arms, tumbling
down at every second step, but still struggling manfully towards the
dry oasis where we put each animal as it was dug out. The dear doggies
helped us beautifully, working so eagerly and yet so wisely under their
master's eye, as patient and gentle with the poor stiffened creatures as
if they could feel for them. I was astonished at the vitality of some
of the survivors; if they had been very far back and not chilled by the
water, they were quite lively. The strongest sheep were put across the
stream by the dogs, who were obedient to their master's finger, and not
to be induced on any terms to allow the sheep to land a yard to one side
of the place on the opposite bank, but just where they were to go. A
good many were swept away, but after six hours' work we counted 1,400
rescued ones slowly "trailing" up the low sunny hill I have mentioned,
and nibbling at the tussocks as they went. The proportion of lambs was,
of course, very small, but the only wonder to me is that there were any
alive at all. If I had been able to stop my scratching but for a moment,
I would have had what the servants call a "good cry" over one little
group I laid bare. Two fine young ewes were standing leaning against
each other in a sloping position, like a tent, frozen and immoveable:
between them, quite dry, and as lively as a kitten, was a dear little
lamb of about a month old belonging to one; the lamb of the other lay
curled up at her feet, dead and cold; I really believe they had hit
upon this way of keeping the other alive. A more pathetic sight I never
beheld.

It is needless to say that we were all most dreadfully exhausted by the
time the sun went down, and it began to freeze; nothing but the
sheer impossibility of doing anything more in the hardening snow and
approaching darkness m