The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-09-09 00:00:00

ALPINE DANGERS.

A correspondent, " J.T.;" writir.g from Pontresina,
-the 31st ult., has sent the following to The Times:—

Three young students of the Polytechnic School at Zurich
hail been staying at PontreMei, and On Monday. the 21st of
August, one tit them, despite the opposition of his com-
panions, quitted the village with the avowed intention of
climbing the Pita Ischierva Mono. This mountain is the
neighbour of the Pitt Moderatsch, and like it, rises between
the Morterutsch awl Itosegg glaciers. On Tuesday, the
22nil, the young man had not returned. Three guides went
out to seek 11:in, anil on Tuesday night it was known that Ile
had not bees found, but that the traces id a single traveller
hail been observed upon some old snow whichtilled
one of the erecallaeS of the Rose= glacier. An inter.
View Waft immediately sought with Peter Jeni, the
eiperienceil guile in Pontresina, and with Ids aid a
party id saikers was organized. ha the We,llleadayjnortling
12 ~:rc niqctg,,l,4l, according to appointment, at the Misanna
chillet, near the foot of the Isellierva, and were scattered
thence some over the Marna:dna to (wag its ',M-
ende., and some over the Rosegg glacier to examine its
crevasses. Tile glacier party found the traces in the old
now. Being surronnileil by hard ice theiy were isolated,
and up to the present tinte their real origin is unknown.
chripla lowered upon the peaks and rain fell upon the
glacier. The seekem worked across it, estimating the
chances of aecident, and examining sueh &sures aS came
lii their way. They ultimately found a temporary shelter
under the boulders of tioi lateral moraine, end enme.
intently &ion to a little hut beside the glacier, where they
huddled together till the rain ceased. While halting here
an active and willing young glade, Harnett Gross, who, In
eolnpany leith One of the comrades of the missing youth,
had goima to the top of the Isehierva that day, Joined the
Irony. He had found upon the subunit, trodden into the
a parchment envelope containing a leaf of a note-hook
on which was written in pencil that F. Bodiner, the person
sought, binl reached the top on :Monday, at 2 p.m. It is
usual thus to note an arrival at an Alpine summit ; but, as
If warned hy a sense of danger, the writer went on to de,
crlhe the rialto by which he proposed to return. it was
certain, therefore, that the young man had reached the top,
and that if disaster had occilrred, It must have been during
hit descent.

The day was too far spent to push the ingairy (nether, so
the party deseended to the M Isauna ehdlet, where they were
p.incd by the others, who had been nnsuccestal in their
search. Here. untortunakly, an ill-advised remark by one
of the leading guides introduced anger, bad language, and

general disunion among the men. It was, however, to some
extent stilled, and on reaching Yontresina M. Susie, ex-
'resident of the Engadln, was requested to use his influence
to re-establish concert. This he lii efficiently, and on the
following day accompanied the.party himself. Further traces
of a single traveller were found it the fine rubbish of it mo-
raine leading down from the lathJerre. These traces were
said to resemble those observed on the 1010 W near the BM.
nig, and they were followed down to the Ibusegg glacier.
Thry seemed, therefore, to point to the crevasses of that
glacier as the tomb of the missing man. A aunsequent
day's search added nothing to what had been previously
known.
-

But the proof of identity between the tracks ln-low and
those above was by no means satisfactory : neither was there
sufficient surety that the upper regions of tile lachierva had
been properly explored. The chasms of the kostaxg, more-
over, merited a more scars-king examination. It is not easy
to see into us deep crevasse from its edge, as the necessary
leaning yver imperils the observer. It was therefore proposed
to throw ladders ateross the fissures, and from the ladders ti
look directly into the depths. Two parties, each furnished
with a ladder, and all tinder the general control of Jenni,
undertook this duty, while the writer, with the young man
Gross, already referral to, and an excellent guide named
Hans Grass, undertook the examination of the higher por-
tions of the mountain.

Both parties had been held back for a day by rumours,—
first that the young man had been seen at Sarnaden, and
al terwards that he had turned up at a village near Mai:Mayo,
at the other side of the Benno& Pali. Hut the minima on
examination melted into nothing. Early on Sunday wont-
ing, therefore, the two parties just referred to started ; the
11111.1 up the Iseltierva the other rip the Itosegg glacier. Quit-
ting the Misamta ehalet, the force-r party sent straight up
towards the overhanging NI isautat Grass, after some
time, bore to the right, taking thus the real left aide of the
glacier, while the others worked upwards along the right
side. These at a certain place crossed the glacier, the whole
party thus c 1111 l ing under the leadership of Grass. They
ascended fir a time among excessively riven ice and snow,
and were finally fairly stopped by the pitfalls. An attempt
was made to turn the chasms by resorting to the adjacent
nicks, but those were fur the most part if clear-cut granite,
and rtfused a passage. The party had accordingly to re-
descend for some distance to cross the glacier, to mould,
along the other shle until the partirular crevasses which
stopped them were placed below them, there to re-cross the
glade arid continue the ascent. Here the ridge of the
Ischierva was to their right, and hail a human looly fallen
from the ridge it conlil handy haveescapeil their observation.
Along the schlonvtroilden ti gh beautiful snow-flebis of the
Misatina glacier they continued to ascend constantly bean-
ning the adjaimut slopes, and at length bent round to the
right to get upon the ridge. Here the covered crevasses be-
came 80 frequent and so perilous that the rope, Whiell trail
been previously unemployed, ens resorted ti. Along the
snow ridge the party proceeded to the top.
l'he Mint traces of the lost man were still in the snow near
the summit. and it seemed that in descending lie had not
pursued quite the same node as that by which lie bad as-
cended. lothing, nevertheless, WM ob.rveil attire • wit.
In descending, the searching party followed torch gullies of
the mountain . mield be expected to tempt a traveller into
danger, and they closely scanned the adjacent precipices
from leittom to top. Once or twice Grass detached himself
fnon the party to look into a more than unlinary repellent
hole. But it Was all to no purpose, they slowly hopped don II
the mountain and met at the beaten of the Rosegg glacier
the party which had been engaged among the 0811111,1:13, awl
winch hail Leen equally unsuccessful, Five days had already
been apent in searching, all hope hail vanished aiming the
leading guides off Sunday evening, accordingly the investi-
gation came to an end.

The visitors at the three hotels of 'Pontrtreina, the Krone,
the Mae= am! the Weisse K rem, behaved very liberally.
The English Chaplain, Mr. Wade, undertook the collection
at the Krone, Mr. Crocker undertook that at the Rosegg,
while the collection at the Kranz was made by Dr. Schwerin,
of Berlin. A sum of Bilf. was gathered together, which
formed an ample remuneration for the guides. The payment
war entirely the result of private effect, for the Commune of
Pontresina took no action in the matter. M. Sands, how-
ever, incurred a share of the caucus. a, he *also gave his per-
annul . twice, for a whole day, and in various other nays
forwarded the investigation.
The name of the lost youth was Frodmick Bodmer ; he
wits Is years and two months old, and was the only child of
his father, who a teacher in a secondary school at Neu.
milmter, near Zurich. His father describes him no having
but one defect," a in eakneek ntsliness."