The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-07-13 00:00:00

A FATAL MOUNTAIN ASCENT.

The South Pacific Times, in a letter from Arequipa, gives
particulars of a fatal accident to two gentlemen who had
made the ascent of the Misti, a volcano about 12,520 ft. above
that city, and 20,2301 t. above the level of the Bea :

"On Saturday, the 11th of May, a party of three
gentlemen started frem Arequipa to make the ascent—
Mr. Stephen Ryder, of the house of Fletcher and Co.,
of Arequipa; Mr. Bothwell, a young man of nineteen,
who only recently arrived from Em,land as a clerk in
the same house ; and a Mr. Bulpett, lately arrived
per Cotopaxi on a tour to the West Coast with a friend.
On Sunday, the 12th, Mr. Bulpett returned to Arequipa
alone, having made the ascent He had gone on ahead
of the other two. He returned the same way he went,
and having seen nothing of the others after his first
separation, he concluded that they had given up the
idea of going to the top and gone back to Arequipa.
On Monday, the 13th, Mr. Ryder's horse, which had
been tied up at about 9,000 feet from the top returned
to Arequipa without a bridle, which at once aroused
suspicions that something must be wrong, and parties
immediately went in search of the missing pair. For
several days nothing was heard of them. They had
ta,-, en neither provisions nor blankets with them. It
was evident, however, that they had reached the top
of the volcano, as they had hoisted a flag, which was
found floating in th•l breeze. The prefect of Ai equipa
sent an officer and troops to scour the tuounta:n, and
innumerable private search parties followed. At 10
p.m. on the 17th of May news reached Arequipa that the
body of Air. Ryder hal been found far down a precipice
in a smail recess, where the Indians could hard.), get
to him, even by the help of a rope and at the greatest
ris;t. He was found in a sitting posture, with his
feet jammed into a small opening. How he got there
is a mystery. It was a point where he could neither
get down further nor yet get up again. It is thought
he had been dead above three days when found. He
had taken off his coat, hat, watch and chain, and placed
them with his pipe at his feet. His pants were torn,
probably in rolling down, for he mu-t have rolled
a long distance, and one boot was off, evidently in
the effort to get his foot free. From the traces all
about, the poor fellow must have wandered about for
days, probably at the last raving mad. Another
expedition, with ladders, ropes, and all appliances,
went out on the 18th in order to recover and bring
in Ryder's body, as the Indian who found it could not
move it, and had to leave it covered over with stones
until he could procure assistance. The expedition re-
turned on the evening of the 21st, bringing the body,
and on the 22nd it was buried at Arequipa amidst the
general regret of both natives and foreigners, by all of
whom poor Ryder was greatly liked for his kindness
of heart and gentlemanly bearing. Up to the litest
account the body of Ruthwell had not been found,
but from traces it is believed that he must have gone
over a precipice in another direction. No doubt Mr.
Ryder met his death from extreme cold, and it is too
probable that Mr. Rothwell shared the same fate.
This opinion is strengthened by the fact, as stated
above, that the unfortunate pr.rty was unproyided
with blankets and other necessaries for such a dan-
gerous and, we might add, useless expedition."

In reference to the above, The Times of Wednesday
publishes the following letter :

_
Sir,--The melancholy death of my brother, Mr. Stephen
Ryder, is sufficiently distressing to his relatives without
the sensational horrors added by the correspondent of the
South Pacific Times, as related in your issue of the oth
inst. From the account sent me by Mr. Fletcher, who
lsimself headed the search party, it appears that my
brother, who bad twice made the ascent before, was anxious
to make the descent on the other side, a feat never attempted
except by the Indians, and for this purpose sent the saddle
horses rwund. In making the ascent, his young companion
got very sick witn "seroche," arid my brother waited wita
him, thus not reaching the crater until 3.30, at which time
it was hazardous to make the trial descent, because night
comes on early and at once. They were traced in their
descent to a spot where rocks and precipices caused them
to turn back, when, no doubt, darkness overtook them, and
they together fell over the precipice where the body was
found.
"[he statement that they wandered for days is pure inven-
tion. They had no remedy but to attempt to descent even
in darkness, for to sit down was to fall asleep not to wake
again. The spot at which the body was found is con-
siderably higher than the summit of Mont Blanc. At the
elevation it is not possible to eat, hardly to speak.. There is
a great desire to sleep, and no one could survive the night
without Cuvrriug. That my brother, stunned by his fall,
sat down and fell asleep, and so died before sunrise the
position and state of the body amply prove. Efforts were
still being made to discover the body of poor Mr. Rothwell.
—I am, Sir, your obedient servant, E. A. RYDER.
- • - -

„ -
Thatched-house Club, St. James's-street, London,
July 9.