Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1845-02-21
MISCELLANEOUS.
From tho " Chronicles of Seasons
SNOW STORMS.

The snow storms of England are seldom so dam
gerous and perhaps we may say so grand, as those
Of mountainous countries. We are not, therefore,
SO forciby impressed by these phenomena as high
landers and the inhabitants of Alpine countries
and indeed, unless attend to the recorded in
stances of celebrated snow-storms in Scotland and
other countries, form but faint idea of the
subject.
The shepherds OF Scotland hand down from ia
Their to son the terrors of the " Thirteen Drfty
Days." term applied TO a period when Scotland
was visited by fearful snow-storm, in the year
1860; indeed, it is said that now, the men
ton of this period to an old shepherd a stormy
winters night, seldom fails to impress his mind
with religious awe, and often sets him on his knees
before that being who alone can avert such another
calamity. For thirteen days and nights the falling
and drifting of the snow never abated the ground
was covered by frozen snow when it commenced,
and during all the time of its continuance, the
sheep were without food. The shepherds had the
pain oil seeing their poor helpless iocks die off,
without having the power to shield them either
from cold or from hunger About the fifth day of
the storm, the younger sheep became sleepy and
torpid, which was generally followed by death in
the of few hours or if exposed to the cut
ting wind, they were sometimes deprived OF life
almost Immediately after the torpor commenced.-
But the tenth day of the storm, so many sheep had
died that the shepherds began to build up large
semi circular walls of the frozen dead bodies, in
remained alive. But these began by this time to
suffer much from want of food, that they tore
one another's wool with their teeth.
At the termination of the storm, on the thirteenth
day, there were many farms on which not a single
one was left alive. Msshapen walls of dead bodies,
surrounding central knot of other sheep, also
dead, was the sight which in too many instances
met the eye Of the ruined shepherd or farmer. On
those farms which were situated in the glens be-
tween the mountains, many of the sheep survived
the storm, but their constitutions suffered so Sc
verely, that few ultimately recovered. Nine tenths
of the sheep in the South of Scotland supposed
to have persisted by this snow storm. In the pas
tora district of Eskdale-Muir, out of twenty thou
sand sheep, only forty wethers and five old ewes
were preserved. Many of the farms ut
terly ruined as TO become tenantless and valueles
for several years.
About sixty or seventy years after this event, ON
single day OF snow was so extraordinarily severe
that upwards Of twenty thousand sheep, as well a
some Of the shepherds, were destroyed An aneC
dote has been related in connection with this storI
which shows the degree of attention with whc
the Scottish shepherds notice the appearances
the sky.
The day in question was on the 9th of Marcel
it was Monday, and on the previous day IT,
weather remarked to be unusually warm.
party of peasants, going ONE from Yarrow churc
on Sunday evening, a shepherd who had CO
lected all his sheep by the side of the wood
knowing tndl ne was feIlblOuS man ana unaccu
toned to collect his sheep in that manner on II
Sabbath, they asked him his motive, TO which
replied, that he had noticed certain appearances
the sky which led him to conclude that a snoy
storm was approaching. All the villagers luught
at him but he bore their jokes good humoredl
and provided for the safety of his sheep. The fat
storm occurred on the following day. and this she
herd was the only one who saved the whole of h
sheep We may remark, in reference to wealth
observations such as these, that provided they
kept within reasonable limits, they are exceedin
ly valuable. Persons who put undivided faith
"weather amanacs" and in the popular omens al
prognoscs which are so abundant are liable to
duped and led into repeated errors; but those w
pretend TO despise the experience of humble obse
vers, and to lay down doctrines relating to t
weather, from theory only, err almost as much
the other side.
Perhaps the most extraordinary snow-storm wi
which Scotland was ever visited was that whit
occurred on the Gath of January, 1884 extraort
nary both in relation to the enormous depth
which the snow accumulated in a few hours and
the devastation which it occasioned