The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1863-10-14
GLACIERS GIVING UP THEIR pnAB.
THE MUMMIEs OF MONT BLANc.
-----.--
The Esentiui Season af IsBa.


VALLEY OF CntNorNlN, Savoy,
September g. 1863,
Tho past week. in this tar-lamod 2lc,
has been marked by two events which can
hc parallclcd no where olsc in the world.
The glaciers of Mont Blame have given up
thcir dead, and the bodies of men who per.
ishcd q generation ago have been brought
70 light almost as fresh and natural as When
living.
In the year 1914 man of the commune of
Passy, situated between Chamounix aud
Scllcnchcs, went on pilgrimage cf dcvo.
ton TO the celebrate hospcc of st. Bernard.
He accomplished his Journey, paid his de.
votions at the pcrilous shrine, and return.
cd 10y tho mountain road to Martignv,
where he purchased ut the fair then hold.
inS thero n large roll OF cloth, which he
intended to smugglo into Savoy, then be.
longing TO Sardinia, while Martigny was.
as now, in the canton OF Valais, in Switser.
land. Let no one be surprised at this mix
turc OF devotion and smuggling for il there
bc avcnial crime, it is the latter; otherwise
may mercitul Providence take caro- Of
the myriads of American tourists who every
day OF the year enter New York with trunks
half full OF knick.knncks purchased 1T Paris
and for which u regular importer would
have to pay heavy duties.
But the pilgrim of St Bernard never
reached his home in Passy. His wife
incurred his absence, the villagers won.
dcrcd Tor few days, and gradually, as
years glided along, he was comparatively
forgotten, and his memory began to be lost
in obsourity.
DISCOVERY OF THE BODIES.
Last Friday, however, u young Alpine
hunter was crossing the glacier 0U EHet
aud was just about to leap wide, though
not deep crevasse, when his attention was
attracted by II dark Object below, and rcer-
ing down into tho chasm he saw, beneath
transparent sheet cf pale blue ice, human
form laid as in al icy sarcophagus! The
features were ruddy and natural though in
horrid contrast to this were the eyclcSa
sockets, whence tho eyes had fallen away.
The astonishcd hunter fastened to inform
the village authorities of the discovery,
but, the CircumlCcution Chce having n
branch established at Chamounix, eight
days elapsed before tho legal iormalilics
were accomplished, after which only the
body could be raised. II was recognized
rs that of shc unfortunate resident of Passy
and further Identified ly the roll ot cloth
bought nineteen Years before at tho Mar
tgny fair, and which was lying near the
glacier-preservei corpse. 1t was evident
that the smuggling mounlainoer, in trying
to avoid the frontier authorities and regain
his home by circuitous alpine passes, had
fallen into some crevassc, and tho slow mo.
ton of the great glacier had gradually
brought the lilcless frozen body to the
track of the chamois hunter. The man
had fallen into his icy coffin, which had
borne him down the slope of Mont Blanc
for the greater part Of generation. His
funeral took place at PasSy on Sunday the
funeral of II man who had been dead fer
nineteen years
FoRTy-TuREE YEARS IN GLACIER.
But to the scientific world, and to the
general reader, the case Of Pierre Balmat
the famous guide to Dr. Hamel, is still
moro remarkable. The past week has also
been marked by the discovery of portions
Of the body of this guide, ,cho 1ras lost
gears Gqo. have before inc
Or. Hamef5 own account Of the disaster,
from which | extract enough to refresh
tho readers memory of the incident of
which almost every one has heard. DR..
llamel's ascent of Mont Blanc was attempted
in 1920, and the disaster occurred on the
second day Ct the journey. The Doctor,
who, by the way, died about year ago at
Geneva wrote thus:
"Whcn near the Rocherc Rogues, my
lI--and three of The guides
passed me, so that was now the sixth in
the line and the center man. Il---was
next before me, and as it was the first time
we had been 50 crcumstanced during the
whole morning, he remarked it, and said
we ought to have one guide at least between
l.. 1 Il
referring him to the absence of all appear
ancc of danger at that part Of our march, to
which he assented. did not then attempt
to recover my place in front, though the |
wish more than once crossed my mind find |
ing perhaps, that my present ono was less
laborious. To this apparently trivial cir
cumstancc owe my life. A few minutes
after the above conversation, my veil being
still up, and my eyes at intervals turned to
ward the summit of the mountain which
was on the right, as wo were crossing the
long slopo above described, which was to
conduct rs to the Mont Maudit the snow
4uddenly gave way beneath our feet, be.
gining at the head of the line, and carried
rs all down the slope to our left. | was
instantly thrown off my feet, but was still
on my knees and endeavoring to regain my
footing, when, ina few seconds, the snow
on our right, which was, of course, above
us, rushed into the gap thus suddenly made, |
and completed tho catastrophe by burying |
us all at once III its mass, and hurrying us |
downward two crevasscs about furlong !
below us, and nearly parallel to the line OF !
our march. The accumulation of snow in f,
stantly threw me backwards, and was
car=ied down in spite of all my struggles, |
In less than minute emerged, partly from |
my own exertions, and partly because the
;elocity of tho falling mass had suhsided |
rom its own friction. | was obliged to re- |
sign my pole in the struggle, feeling it |
'orced out of my hand. A short time af- |
tcrwards J found il on tho very brink Of ,
The crevasse. This had hitherto escaped |
ny notice, from its being so far below us,
snd it was not until somo time after the .
snow had settled that ! perceived it. At .
he moment Of my emerging was so far .
rom being alive to the danger of our situa. !
ion, that on seeing my two companions at |
some distance below me, mp to the waist in .
NOW, and sitting motionlesS and silent, u
est was rising to my lips till second glance .
showed me that, with the exception OF Math-
eu Ealmat, they were the only remnant of
he party vizibe Two more, however,
being those in the interval, between my
elf and the rear of the party, having quickly
eappeared, | was still inclined to treat
he affair rather aG q perplexing, though
ndicrous, delay in having sent MS down so
many hundred feet lower, rather than in
he light of serious accident when Math-
eu Balmat cried out that some Of the party
we're lost aud pointed 10 the crovasses,