The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1866-11-10 00:00:00

WHAT HAS BECOME OF HIM?

A gentleman, signing himself "If D," has sent the
following account of the mysterious disappearance of a
gentleman on one of the Swiss moan

Your readers may perhaps be interested by a few
particulars of a sad and strange occurrence which was
briefly noticed in the mere a week or two since—
the disappearance of an English gentleman who had
;started from Lucerne and commenced the ascent of
the Pilatu-. Altogether, this le one of the most mys-
terious affairs which are recorded in the annals of
Swiss mountaineering.
The( ;Pilatus has of late years become a perfectly
well-known mountain, with two distinctly marked
;tracks ascending to its principal (though not highest)
'summit —one from Ifergiewigl on the north east, the
;other from Alpenach on the south west—and hundreds
of persons ascend it in the course of every Reason ;
in
Sfact, the excursion is thought little snore of than is the
;ascent of the Righi. There are two hotels on the moan-
ltaM, one about three-fourths of the way up, the other
at the moot freqnented summit. Mr. Iselin, a clerk in
H.M. dockyard at Southampton, arrived at Lucerne on
the 21st of September last, and, leaving his baggage and
his travelling companion at the hotel, started, the
same day, alone, for the ascent of Pilatus expressing
his intention to return on the following day. He was
in excellent health and spirits at the time. His long
continued absence excited alarm, and various futile in-
quiries were. made. Ills brother, Mr, .j, Iselin, was
then eunimoned from England, and availing hinneelf of
the advice of various S wies friends, and of the British
Minister at Berne, instituted an elaborate search for
the lost gentleman, with all the help which was attain-
able. The results were atrsngely ernalk Mr. IL Iselin
appears to have landed from the steamboat at Alp-
nacht, where he was recognised and described by several
persons. Thence he commenced the ascent of the moon-
tain,,bat soon leaving the usual road, he 'weirs to have
struck into a more direct path, which is used
only by shepherds and eowkeepent He was
next eeen at the chalet on the Kreuz Alp,
where he bought bread and milk, and was directed
to the Bellevue, the highest of the two hotels. Hence
he appears to have made his way, by the Aenisigens
Alp, to a hut called Matt, the inhabitants of which
immediately recognized him from his photograph, and
described him accurately.. Here he again inquired his
way to the other hotel; which, however, he appears
Sever to have reached, for the people in charge of it
were shown his photograph, and confidently stated
that, owing to the small number of visitors at the
time, they must have remarked and remembered him,
but that they had seen no sueh-persam.
His brother caused the mountain to be diligently
searched, and the woods upon it were beaten with the
help of doge. But although the precipices, etc., were
moot diligently explored, and every place known to
be dangerous wan investigated, neither the missing
man himself nor any remnant of his clothes, or of
anything belonging to him, was found. Even within
the last few dave news has reaMed England that an
exploring expedition organized by the Swiss Alpine
Club has just return.-4, after a long and fruitless
sear Is, without gaining the eightest trace of the
Se' eased, as I fear he must now be called.
I need not point out the highly mysterious, and
even disquieting, character of this occurrence. A
young English gentleman, in full health and high
spirits, commences the ascent, not of some perilous