New Orleans daily crescent., 1860-11-07
NUMBER 21I.
DOWN A cREvAssE.

Il DOWN A CREVASSE.
arrived in Chamouny on the 9Th Of August,
1853, with friend and companion, an Englishman.
we two had been about five weeks in Switzerland,
and in that time had edonen everything considered
necessary BY our countrymen. We had acquired
some experience in glacier work, having ascended
tne Aitsch Horn, whose summit had been reached
Il. .9r lne mrs. time by an Englishman, member Of
1le Alpine Cluo, only two months before. We
made the ascent successfaIIy. and were proud Of
having been the second exploring party TO stand
on its lofty peak, nearly fourteen thousand feet
h gn. On mat occasion we passed two whole days
Ir. membered well the first glimpse had had
into OF 1hese terrible crevasses which intersect
glaciers. Getting guide to hold my hand
leaned ovsr US yawning brink and gazed care
dicular walls of ice appeared to join together
about three hundred feet down; an appearance
resulting from the convexity Of the crevasae.
Usually, believe, the great split ends only where
the glacier touches the ground beneath
"No one who falls into one of these ever comes
ont alive" said one Of our guides. "Yes,n said
another, .'a man once escaped, and lives still at
| the Grindelwaid; +; he was a chamois hunter, and
when coming home alone over the glacier, his foot
| slipped, ana he was precpitated into crevasse.
His fall was broken by projecting hedges and
blocks Of ice, which, however, gave FAY as he
the bottom Of the glacier with leo and M % an arm
broken He found hollow VS. SPACE s between r - liz
eaouhIi anu ice, through which stream of water
ran M -astnctiyey he followed its course, despite
s.e greatpain he endured and after crawling along
cier.n
Ordinary crevasses are from three to eight feet
VIDE at the top, but the sides approach each other
rapidly, SO that a man would be wedged in between
the two walls of ice long before he could reach the
4 bottom. And then, unless there should be ropes
at hand long enough and strong enough, what an
awful death An unfortunate Russian gentleman
4 perished thus in a creyasse only last year half
"a ftoh haa tnfh hic boIr
ing the ice. he sinking deeper and deeper into
| his dreadful grave
/ My companion and assembled the BreVant and,
| as few climbing travellers leave Chamouny without
4 visiting the Mer de Glace and the Jardin we ar
| ranged to make that excursion. To shorten our
| days work, We left Chamouny in the evening and
slept at Montanvert, solitary little mountain inn
| on the edge of the Mer de Glace.
/ We were up betimes in the morning. We pro-
yided ourselves with some eatables and wine and
started with our guide, whom we had brought from
| CouTmaveur It was glorious morning, and
| promised well for our expedition. Our road for
| about half an hour, was along an uneven path
skirting the glacier which lay below on our left
hand very much crevassed and covered with debris.
| The path then came to an end, and the guide said
we must now take to the glacier. We descended
| on to it, and threaded our way among the numer-
/ ous ereyasses.
! The excursion to the Mer de Glace not being
| looked upon as regular glacier expedition, Is not
made with the attendant precaution Of axes or
| ropes. We had neither We were in high spirits,
/ and went along at great rate; SO quickly, indeed
1 that our guide, who had fallen behind, cautioned
us once or twice, and requested to allow him to
take, and keep, the lead just then, our progress
j was arrested by a wide creyasse. Looking to the
/ left, perceived that it terminated some twenty
/ feet from u.s. in steep slope Of ice, which
| about sixty yards long, determined to try this
slope rather than go round by the other end.
/ Using my Alpenstock instead of an axe, there
fore, began making foot holes in the ice with it.
4 Fhp
| at the ice slope and the wide crevasse, and said,
very seriously, sit is very dangerous, let us go
round.n BY This time had, with the aid Of my
| Alpenstock, clirned about half way up the slope.
/ l had already come to the conclusion that it was
| much too steep to scale without an axe, and had
/ determined to retrace my steps So when the
| pulde had spoken, carefully stretched back my
right leg feeling for the last hole had made in the
i ice My foot went past the place, and felt that
1 was slipping. There was not the least projection
that could grasp. The slope became perpen-
dieulsr, and fell head foremost into the yawning
i erevasse below.
4 heard loud cry of despair from my fellow
traveller end the guide. Ny own sensations cannot
be described or even distinctly separated from the
whirl and shock. / felt that was being bumped
from side to side between the two walls of ice;
that was falling great depth; that was being
hurled by utter destruction to a horrible death.
Suddenly felt that was caught by something
that hung suspended, | was able TO take breath
/ and call out for "a A rope a ropel1
BY the most extraordinary chance my fall had
the crevasse like bridge. On this frail structure,
not more than two inches wide at the top, and Gas
we'll as could judge) abouttw feet deep, i had
fallen, SO that my head hung downon one side, my
legs on the other. Instinctively and Immediately,
by means which / cannot at all recall, / raised
myself from this dreadful position to standing
one on the ledge, in which there was little niche
sufficiently wide to admit one foot. was now SO
far collected that could hear my fellow traveller
| saving from above Fl" We never hoped to hear vonr
voice again. For Gods sake, take heart. The
guide is running to Montanyert for men and ropes
| and will soon be baek.n
/ !" If he is net,''1 answered, /" / shell never come
up ahVe.n
NV position was an awful one. The little ledge
was SO narrow that could not getbeth of my feet
upon it. Twas, in fact, supporting myself on one
leg half leaning against side of the crevasse,
, | and pressing my hand against the opposite side.
1t was perfectly smooth, and there was nothing to
| grasp A stream of water poured over my shoul-
| ders, frenehing to the skin, and freezing me
with its icy GOODNESS. Overhead, Ieoald see the
! long narrow strip of blue sky, bounded by the
mouth of the erevasse. There terribly stolid
unrelenting look in the intensely blue ice that
| rounded me on all sides. The grim walls Of the
crevasse looked as if they would unite to crush me
rather than relinquish their victim. Numerous
rlls of water poured into the creVasse, but in the
whole sixty yards of its length could see pro
' lection except the little ledge onWhich had sc
miraculously chanced to fall.
ventured to look down, only for an instant, into
2 the fearful chasm in which was suspended. A
! the depth to which had fallen the crevasse wa
L barely two feet wide, but downward it narrowed
rapidly and about two hundred, feet below me tn,
> sides appeared to join. | believe that if | ia,
fallen six inches on either side Of the little ledge
!, must inevitably have been jammed in head down
!; ward at q depth where ropes that could hay
been brought there could possibly have reache
| me.
: had now been about twenty minutes standin
Z in this periious position straining every nerve
prevent myself from giving way, looking up at th
+ blue sky above me and the clear ice ON all sides
7 but seldom daring to cast glance into the abys
!. below Blood was tricking over nae from a cut i
U nv cheek and felt that my right leg (fortunatel
u the idle one) was badly bruised. In the NEAR
:, while my left leg was becoming exceedingly pair
I full fram the strain upon it, and was afraid q
y losing my baance If l tried TO relieve myself b
changing to the other. / felt that was CROWN
10 benumbed by the intense cold of the ice agains
e which was leaning, and of the stream of waite
y from under which aurst not moye
e Icaed to my fellow traveller to know il any on
~ were in sight. There was no answer. l cele
III again, No human being seemed to be within hea
ing A dizziness came over me- as the thoagl
N struck me, . He has gone to look if any help
rs coming, and he cannot and his way baoks to I'll
creyasse There are Hundreds of them. q
I lost.
q = Again had to strain my nerve to kespmyst
~ from sinking; almost gave up ] felt Inclined
= throw myself down and have the agony, over.
~, that miserable time suddenly heard nay friel
f,1 abnpa Tia hnl tr=l