The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1854-06-03


they can reach, and or telling them that we
were travelling without guide they all three
burst into an impish laugh that lasted some
minutes. One ofthc boys produced large
stone Jug full of brandy, which we declined
purchasing, and the other seemed intent m
on examining our hob-nailcd boots. which. to
say the truth. were ne,r!y cut to pieces hv
the rough debris ofthc path.
1t was still two miles to the convent and
the worst part of the Journey was before us.
1t was growing dark, too, and the wind howl
ed through the wild ravincs, and whiStlcd A.
bout the rocks, until my heart beat au.liblv
with the emotion that the scene called up.-
We could luSt see the cmmer of the snow
ahead on the rocky dcic of the pass. tha.
bent around and disappeared in tie gloom
beyond. BrStowing douceu. on .hc bows
for our brief shelter. we toilcd on. using oar
batons freely, and Drawing the iavc,inS Of
rain that aS>ailed us with chilling force. In
short time we struck the snow path, and all
around was like a great shroud \ thick
mist. too, that spread before us seemed to
rise hi cher and higher with each step, so that
VIC could scarcely see twenty yards before us
We Were literally in the clouds. and never
shall | forget the sensations of that moment.
No language can PORTRAY the bleak drsolat.
waste spread around on all sides. with it,
canopy of mist and cloud, in which we seem
ed cnvclopcl. lwoulI have given worlds to
have been safe, " at I.i,llrs. or even the Can
teen" but the dcfc and ahvSS. with its sunk
IN depths of c'no:l. mo- our gaze as We rnu>-
ed tn look back. AL ur-rd rs onward tllon.h
Al before was ciiccrlc>> and terrible.
The snow having >oftcncd lv the force Of
the rain. sunk NJ 20 orr knees at almost
every stop. Had The storm not asSaucc,! We
should never have been al" to battle with
the two elements. and in despair must either
have rrtraccl or >trrS - The hamlet or ,rr
l>hrd on The spot But the rain diminished
IN Violence. anl The >now-covcrcl mountains
that >hu: IN the pass on cithor side. scnrcI
to chok" the force of The winl We alyanr-
cd cau'iouS'v. sometimes with difficulty res
rnlr'@ our limbs from thc snow in which :l.cv
We're m'cllr', \ new difficulty here ,rcsnn
ted i:>rlt. Nrco,!ld ROT trace tho ,,,,l o-I
soon were without the Slightest mark 70 ii
rect orr wav. In vain searched for foot
steps. thinking that the travellers that hal
passed Us in the morning must have left an
imprint: hut. fortunately. we soon rca, he'd
shelf Of rocks '|at formed a lohv terrace
overlooking a chaSm of considerable depth.
And here IL" awfl peril Of onr journey
arose. Far. far above n least 50 The sound
Indicated. as III" mountain Itself was folded
''v dense curtains of cloud. we heard con
fused rumhlinr sound Ike distant Thunder
In moment it SCENE! % increase. and, look
mo above. di~rcrncI tlrorch tie mis-. A vas.
body that seemed 10 l,c slowly r,ovinc down
NV H''"':''Ih Sfi'. VI NJ Nrol IT was an
avalanche. a:d we seemed n ho under II I.
was moment of in.c,l>c arnrv. AMI in tho
wl'dnc>S OF my tror loun led along the
rocks, calling 10 my companion to follow In
another instant it had rolled over the rrcci-
nirc with torritir crash and seemed to I've
horne with it. This was nv last sensation.
tor had Swooncl. and on recovering found
that | was lying. halt-covcrcd with snow. on
ledge of rocks. with nv knap~ack half torn
from me and nv baton cone. Forlorn and
terrified. ] staggered to my feet. and bv the
misty twilight sought my companion. whom
! imagined had been dashed to pieces
Climbing over The great masses of>now that
were strcwn on all sides. | returned to the
spot where we must have stood when tie mas
scs fell. and called as loudly as nv exhausted
state would permit, but received no reply
1t length heard a choking sound. ard saw
the chamois horn of his baton protrudinr the
snow. My heart lcapcd at these evidences
OF his existence aud with desperate effort
| drew the baton from is lev sheath and be-
gan to dig the snow from around nv comran-
ION. He was not much harmed hv the force
of what had fallen on him. but was nearly
Suilocatcd by mass Of ice that half covered
his face, Which his buried arms prevented
him from removing \ few moments work
suiliced to put him on his feet once more. and
with thankful PRAYER for our miraculous de
livcrancc, we looked about TO note the dcso
ton of the occurrence
twas evident. from the amount of snow
that had left its traces on the rocks, and the
crags of the prcci pee some fifty yards to the
right of us. that the bulk of the avalanche
had not extended to the terrace on which we
stood, and that we had only experienced the
edge oft, as it were, onr supplementary por-
ton that had found its way to the place where
We were stationed. Had we been but a few
feet further in its direction We must have in
evltahly persisted, as The vast MASSES of snow
intermingcd with rocks abunlantIv testified.
My blood ran cold as cazcd down the abvSs
and saw what seemed thousand tons Of
shapcless snow and ice, rent as with the force
CT some dread convul>ion Of nature. The
darkness of the abyss prevented us from trac-
ing the catastrophe to its remotc>t depths. but
We saw enough to cause a bcwi.dcrins >hul-
der at the danger we had escaped