The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-18 00:00:00

E RANCE.

BOURSE, March 17.—The arrival of the English
funds with a rise of 4 has given buoyancy to the
market. Threes, for the Account, are now at 66g.
40c., and Mobilier at 1,075 f. Railway Market
quiet, but with slight variation in prices up to the
present time. Threes again receded towards the
close, but Mobilier was well maintained. The

market lea off as follows
41 per Cents 93 60
Do. end month
3 per Cents
Do. end month 66 25
Credit Mobilier 1067 50
no. end month —
Bank Shares 3312 50
Credit Foncier 1335
Roman

Italian Loan —
Do. end month —
New ditto —
Do. end month —
Russian
Austrian
Spanish Threes 52
Rome Debt
Deferred

BAIL

Orleans
Northern

Cash. Account.
1007 50 .. --
960 .. 960

New ditto —
Lyons and Mediterranean 943 75 .. 945
New ditto
S inthern
Western

Eastern ....
SEtrilinian
Austrian

e•
662 50 , 665
522 50 „ - -

Lmr bard

482 50 4SO
- 376 --
410 - „ 407 50

546 b 52 50

North of Spain
495 495
Saragossa bS7 50 .. 590
Ditto to Barcelona

The Late • Alpine Catastrophe,

The tourist who so marvellously escaped in the
late accident, near Sion, in the Valais, gives the
following account of the occurrence:--" On the
28th of February, Mr. Boissomet and I left Sion, at
half-past two a.m. with four guides, to mount the
Haut de Cry—a mountain of 9,700 feet high, in
the neighbourhood of Sion. My friend had as
guide Bennen, the first guide in the Valais. I
had a simple chamois hunter who knew the
mountain, but only that one. The night was
splendid; we walked up the pine forests, and a
little before seven saw the sun rise above the moun-
tains. It was one of those sights almost too beauti-
ful to describe; the air was calm, the sky cloud-
less, and the temperature a half degree above
freezing point (centigrade). We measured the
height, and found it about 7,000 feet. Our progress
found no obstacle, and about twelve we were within
750 feet of the summit. We had been enjoying the
splendid day, and we were so happy. Suddenly
the snowfield, on which we were crossing diago-
nally, tore above us, and the lower part began to
descend with us ; we had started an avalanche
under our feet. I made one desperate attempt to
stop our progress, by driving my pole deep into the
snow. It was useless. We were all six carried
down Towards the valley, and stopped only after
having passed over 1,800 or 2,000 feet of ground.
The rope tore between the first and second guide, but
this was useless, as nothing can arrest an avalanche
of the size of that which had started ; it was
several hundred yards wide, and of an enormous
length. The descent may have taken about one
minute. I had time
to think of home, and to make,
as I thought, my last prayer. During the descent
I was buried once, then I came again to the sur-
face; the motion ceased, the avalanche had stopped ;
uitps
myla armsst'a to protect y
wave covered me. I threw
in the moment
reme'
the avalanche stopped it froze. I then thought I
should be crushe:l to death. It was dark, and
I was suffocating. I could not move, for I was
frozen hard. At last I felt that my hands, as
far as the wrist, had motion. 1 uncovered
the snow above my head; at last I saw a little
light, but my hands could not reach my mouth,
the arms being imprisoned. I pierced, with a
last terrible effort, the crust of snow that was before
my mouth. I felt air again. God had saved me.
Oa my right hand Bennen, the guide, lay dead ; on
my left my poor friend. You cannot imagine how I
came down again into the plain, it took five hours,
and thence I went to Sion in a carriage. My feet
had suffered from frost ; thank God, the surface
alone has suffered, and my doctor says I shall soon
be well again. My poor friend and his guide were
found again, one on the day following, the other
tour days after. The other three guides escaped
with slight wounds, save my personal guide, who
had nothing. It was he who took me out of the
snow and ice, as be saw my hands."