Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1861-07-11

near. But little Marianne, who had only fal-
len asleep, now awoke, and began to weep and
moan again these feeble sounds, coming from
u human voice, reused the fanting Frances,
who, struggling with all her might, finally freed
one ofh feet from the mass Of rubbish, ind
having thus succeeded in changing her position
she felt so tar relieved as to be able to take
little rest. She fell into q kind of sIumber,
from which she had been startled by the sound
OF my voice. When got hold of her. it was
with the utmost difficulty that | succeeded in
extrlcatlRg her from the ruins. She supposed
all her limbs to be broken, aud, as she suffer
ed intoleraOly from thirst, she begged and
prayed for water. | brought her to the child
ut.der the aperture had made, and bade her
look up at the stars but she could not see
them. aud told me she thought she had lost
her sight. bade her reinn where she was,
and promised that would return to save her;
but she laid hold of me, and implored me not
to leave her. 1t was sometime before | could
quiet Der fears +; but, on being assured that
there was no longer any danger, and that |
would come back to her as quickly as possible
she allowed me TO endeaVor TO escape with the
child in the first instance.
Then took her apron from her. and tying
up Marianne within it, Slung it round my neck
holding it also as firmly as | could with my
! teeth. Having thus my hands at liberty. L
was able to sway myself up along the beam
which had slidden Down, and so got out with
the child. made all haste to the foot of the
cross where had left my father on my way
thither | again fell in with the poor bride
groom from Busngen. who still with flowers in
hand was searching for his bride:
"Where is Catherine 7? said her " have
you seen Catherine 2"
Come along with me, said, Il am 60
ing to the cross"
mo, no." he returned sharply, " l must
1 find her | must find her = and he ran of, cal
| ling loudly for Calharine
At the foot of the cross | found not only
my father and the two little ones, but several
other persons who had escaped, and had ran
thither for safety. | gave Marianne in charge
of her brother and sister who were older, aud
! promised TO take care of her, and then | told
the people that our servant Frances was still
in the ruins Of our house, and that | did not
know how TO get her out. One of them direc-
! ted me to a lone house which was standing
ut some distance land said might get there
a ladder and ropes ran to the house, and
/ found it empty, with the doors wide open, the
! inmates having fled. Hearing a noise up stairs
/ called out, when a voice replied, Is that
/ you, Catherine p knew it was the poor young
man looking for his bride, and it almost broke
/ my heart 10 hear him. TO avoid meeting him.
| | ran out into the courtyard there | found a
ladder, which | seized, and also gourd, which
| filled with water, and then ran back to
Frances
found her a little revived by the fresh air
and sue was standing upright under the hole,
expecting me. | put down the ladder till it
touched the ground, and then carried down
the water, OF which poor Frances eagerly
drank. | had no difficulty then in guiding her
up the ladder, although she could not see and
thus, after being buried alive for fourteen hours
/ she rescued. She continued quite blind
tor several days and during a much longer
period was subject to nervous convuIsions.
When at length the sun rose upon that fear
tU scene no language can describe the aw.a
spectacle it shone upon. Three villages had
entirely vanished u hundred dwellings aud
two churches had been swallowed up: aud four
hundred of the inhabitants had heen buried
alive. A vast portion of the mountain, roll
ing down in the Lake of Lowerz had driven
/ forward the mass OF water in wave L hun
dred feet high and three miles long, which,
sweeping over the Island of Schwadau, had
washed away all its inhabitants and their
dwellings,, The wooden chapel OF Otter was
seen floating on the waters OF the lake T.; and
the bell Of Godau church was hurled through
the air to Il distance of more than half mile
OF more than four hundred persons who dwealt
in the doomed villages, ouly seventeen suTVv
ed the catastrophe.
This narrative was written by me at Art
on January 10TH 1907. for the sake of my
little daughter Marianne, that she may not
forget when | am no longer living to remind
ner of it, that though we were chaStised by
the Lord, he remembered us in mercy.
JOSEPH WIGELo.