The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1846-09-26

trees, stands naked and bald in the wintry
heavens. This is the old rond--the new one
goes by different route, and in summer time
can be travorscd with carriages. Such was
the road, filled with snow and avalnnches, this
army ofiiltcen thousand men marched over
in mid-winer. They went over in separate
columns. The progress and success of the
first we have already shown. The second
aud third made the attempt the second and
third of December, and achieved the ascent
in safety, the weather being clear and frosty.
Many, however, died ofcold. Their success
encouraged Macdonald to march the whole
remaining army over at once, and for this pur-
pose he placed himself nj their head, and on
the 9Th of December commenced tho nsccnt.
But fresh snow had fallen the night before,
covering up the entire path, so that the road
had all to he made over again. The guides
refused to 90 on, but MACEDONIA would not de-
lay his march, and led his weary soldiers
breast deep in the snow, up the bleak cold
mountain. They were sir hours in going less
than six miles. They could not make mile
an hour in their slow progress. They had not
advanced far in the defile before they came
upon huge block Office, and n newly-fnllcn
avalanche, that entirely filed up the PATH
The guides halted before these obstacles and
refused to 20 on, and the first that Macdonald
knew, his army had turned TO the right about
face, aud were marching back down the
mountin, declaring the passage to he closed.
fastening forward, he cheered up the
men, and walking himselfat the head of the
column with long pole in his hand, TO
sound the depth Of the treacherous mass he
was treading upon, he revived the dropping
spirits ofthe soldiers. "SoIdiers," said he,
"your destinies call you into Italy; advance
and conquer-frst the mountains and the
snow, then the plains and the armies. A
slammed 10 see their leader haZarding his life
at every step where they refused to go, the
soldiers returned cheeriully to their toll, and
cut their way through the solid hill of ice
But they had scarcely surmounted this obsta-
Gle, when the voice of the hurricane on its
march was again heard and the next moment
cloud of driving snow obliternted every
thing from their view. The path was filled
up, and all traces oft swept utterly away
Amid the screams ofthe guides, the confused
commands Of the officers, and the bowling
ofthe hurricane, was heard the rapid thnn-
der-crash ofavalanches as they leaped away,
al the bidding ofthe tempest down the precI-
pices. Then commenced again the awful
struggle of the army for life. The foe they
had to contend with was an outward one
though not Of flesh and blood. To sword
cut, bayonet-thrust, and the blaze of artillery
the strong Alpine storm was alike inVulnera-
bile. On the serried column and the stray
Cling line, it Numbered with the same rcck-
less power. Over the long black line of sol
diers, the snow lay Iikea winding-sheet, and
the dirgc seemed already chunIcd for the
dead army. No one who has not seen an
Alpine storm can imagine the reckless energy
with which il RACES through the mountains.
The light snow, borne Rlott on its bosom, was
whirled and scattered like an ocean ofmist o.
yer all things. The drifts were piled like
second mountains in every direction, and
seemed to form instantancously, as if by the
touch of magician's wand. The binding
fury ofthe tempest batlied all efforts TO pierce
the mystery and darkness that enveloped the
host clinging in despair 10 the breast OF the
mountain. The storm had sounded its trum-
pet for the charge, hut no answering note of
defiance replied. The heroes of so many
battle fields stood in still terror before this
new and inightier foe. Crowling together
as if proximity added TO their security, the
mighty column crouched and shivered To the
blast that pierced their very bones with its
chilling power But this was not all-thc
piercing cold and the drifting SNOW, and ra-
wing tempest, and concealed pitfalls, leading
to untrodden abysscs, were not enough to
complete the scene of terror. Suddenly,
from the summit of the Splugen, avnlanches
began to fall, whose path crossed that of the
army. Scaling tho breast of the mountain
with single leap, they came with crash on
the shivering column, aud bore it away to the
destruction that waited beneath. stu, with
undaunted front and unyieldng will, the
bold Macdonald struggled on in 'front.' inspir-
ing by his example, as he never could have
done by his commands. the officers and men
under him. Prodigies were wrought where
effort seemed useless. The first avalanche,
as it smote through the column, paralyzed for
a moment every heart with fear; but they
soon began to be viewed like so many dis
charges ofartilcry, and the gaps they made,
like the gapsa discharge of grapc-shot fire.
uuently made in the lines on field OF battle.
Those behind closed up the rent with unta-
terinr courage. Hesitation was death. The
only hope was in advancing and the long and
Struggling line houndered on in the snow,
like huge anaconda winding itself over the
mountain. Onceas an avalanche cut through
the ranks, bearing them away to the abyss, a
Young man was seen to wave an adieu to his
Young comrade left behind as he disappeared
over the crag. The surviving companion
slept into the path where it had swept, and
before he had crossed it, n laggard block of
ice came laundering down, and bore him a.
way TO Join his comrade in the guilt where his
crushed form still lay throbbing. The ex-
treme density of the atmosphere, filled as it
was with snow, gave ten-iold horror to these
mysterious messengers of death, AS they came
down the mountain declivities. A low
rumbing would be heard amid the pauses of
the storm, and the noXt shrek of the blast
swept by, a rushing, as if counter-blast,
smote the ear; and before the thought had
time to change, rolling, leaping, broken
mass of snow burst through the thick atmos-
phere, and the next moment, crushed with
the sound of thunder, far, far below, bearing
along part of the column to its deep, dark