The Portland daily press., 1867-12-18
Miscellany.
A scoiii.h Snow-Siorm.
LANES HoeG's NARnArIvp

JAMES HOGG 9 NARRATIVE.
The most remarkable narrative of snow
storm is that written by James Hogg, the
Ettrlck Shepherd, of one which took place
January "a, $780, James Hogg at this time
belonged to sort of literary society of
young shepherds, and had set out, the day
previous, to walk twenty miles over the hills
to the place of meeting; but so formidable
was the look of the sky that he felt anxious
for his sheep, and finally turned back again.
There was at this time only slight fall of
snow in thin fakes, which seemed uncertain
whether to go up or down; the hills were
covered with deep folds of frost-fog, and in
the valleys the same fog seemed dark, dense,
and, as it were, crushed together.
An old shepherd, predicting storm, babe
him watch tor sudden opening through the
fog, and expect wind from that quarter; vet
when he saw such an opening suddenly form
at midnight (having then reached his own
home) he thought it all delusion, as the
weather had grown milder and thaw seem
ed setting in. He therefore went to bed,
and felt no more anxiety for his sheep; vet
he lay awake in spite OF himself, and at two
o'clock he heard the storm begin. 1t smote
the house suddenly, like great peal of thun-
der, something utterly unlike any storm he
had ever before heard. On his rising and
thrusting his bare arm through hole IN the
roof, it seemed precisely as though he had
thrust it into snow bank, so densely was
the air filled with the falling and driving
snow.
He lay still for an hour, while the house
rocked with the tempest, hoping it might
prove only hurricane; but as there was no
abatement, he awakened his companion shep-
herd, telling him it was "come on such a
night or morning as never blew from the
heavens" The other at once arose, and
opening the door of the shed where they slept
found a drift as high as the farm house al
ready heaped between them end its walls,
distance OF only fourteen yards. He fOun-
dered through, Hogg soon folIawing, and find
ing all the family up, they agreed that they
must reach the sheep as soon possible espec-
tally eight hundred ewes that were In one lot
together, at the urthest end of the farm. So
alter family prayers and breakfast four OF them
stuffed their pockets with bread and cheese,
sewed their plaids about them tied down their
hats and taking each his staff, set out on their
tremendous undertaking two hours before
day.
Day dawned before they got three hundred
yards from the house. They could not see
each other and kept together with the great
est difficulty. They had to make paths with
their slaves, roll themselves over drifts other
wise impossible, and every three or four min
utes had to hold their heads down between
their knees to recover breath. They went in
single file, taking the lead by turns The
master soon gave out and was speeches. and
semi-conscious formore than an hour, though
he aiterward recovered and held out with the
rest. Two OF them lost their head gear, and
Hogg himself fell over high precipice, but
they reached the flock at half past ten.
They found the ewes huddled together in q
dense body, under ten feet OF snow-packed
SO closely, that, to the amazement of the
shepherds, when they had extricatcd the first
the whole flock walked out one after another.
in body through the hole. How they got
them home it is difficult to tell 1t was now
noon, and they could sometimes see
through the storm for twenty yards, but they
had only one glimpse of the hills through all
that terrible day. Yet Hogg persisted in
going by himself afterward to rescue some
focks of his own, barely escaping with his
life his eyes were sealed up with the storm,
and he crossed a formidable torrent, without
knowing it, on wreath of snow. Two of the
Others lost themselves in deep valley, and
would have persisted but for being accident
ally heard by neighboring shepherd who
guided them home, where the female portion
OF the family Lad abandoned all hopes Of ever
seeing them again.
The next day they set forth again to seek
the remainder of the flock. The face of the
country was perfectly transformed; not hill,
brook or lake could be recognized. Deep
glens were filled with snow, covering the yery
tops of tie trees, and over a hundred acres of
ground, under an average depth of eight feet,
they were to look for four or five hundred
sheep. The attempt would have been hope
less but for a dog that accompanied them
Seeing their perplexity, he began shifting
about, and presently scratching in the snow
at certain point, and then looking around
at his master. Digging at the spot, they found
sheep beneath; and so the dog led them all