Benumbed with cold, weary in the search of a lost track, his senses
yielding to the stupefying influence of frost, the unhappy man sinks
upon the ground, and the snow-drift covers him from human sight. It is
then that the keen scent and the exquisite docility of these admirable
dogs are called into action. Though the perishing man lie ten or even
twenty feet beneath the snow, the delicacy of smell with which they can
trace him offers a chance of escape. They scratch away the snow with
their feet; they set up a continued hoarse and solemn bark, which brings
the monks and labourers of the convent to their assistance.
To provide for the chance that the dogs, without human help, may succeed
in discovering the unfortunate traveller, one of them has a flask of
spirits round his neck, to which the fainting man may apply for support;
and another has a cloak to cover him. Their wonderful exertions are
often successful; and even where they fail of restoring him who has
perished, the dogs discover the body, so that it may be secured for the
recognition of friends; and such is the effect of the cold, that the
dead features generally preserve their firmness for the space of two
years. One of these noble creatures was decorated with a medal, in
commemoration of his having saved the lives of twenty-two persons, who,
but for his sagacity, must have perished.
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