The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-11-09

| the rocks Whch / mentioned hefore ae having
formed a restngplace durii ~ our ascent. Tue
storm nov slowly but So rely approached, and
| we hurried ON TO descend. the lover halt of the
oouIor. The guides he d chosen another way,
which was the cause 4 our being nIunred into
unforeseen dificultiee
The horrors OF tAe upper passage were re-
storm last closed Upon MS is became very diff
cult 10 plant o. n footsteps securely. we we're
lowered from rock to ice, and clambered from
ice 10 rock, Until we thought that the way coulu
not Oe Wors e; yet still we could see no sign OF
the end md II soon became certain that we
must sp end the night upon the Oftler Spltz
This WIS an appalling prospect, unprepared as
we We for such an emergency; ana well might
the laodest heart feel a shudder at encountering
the terrors of such night as we now feared
| raust be before us.
We had come to the worst spot in the de-
/ scent where we had to be lowered over a
| smooth iutting piece of rock with nothing
| to hold on by, down to the CLASSY couioir
from whence we, had to climb to little
| hollow on the side of the mountain. / took
| one look az the gulf below me, and went down,
! keeping my sell command with difficulty. II
was soon over, however, and | crept round TO
ledge overhung by rocks. We were scarcely
settled mere, when the thunder came crashing
around us, and the rain tell heavily. Schatf
pointed, Tor our comfort, to another black
chasm INTO which we had TO be lowered, and
said he feared there was no chance of our
reaching Traioi that night, in which we all
agreed. 1t would have been certain destruc-
uon to have proceeded at that hour, yet the
horrors OF having TO remain on the ledge for
me night almost overpowered us. This ledge,
or rather sloplng shelf of loose stones was
divided into two little hollows, and was COW
cred by the overbangIng rock above us, from
which, unfortunately, there was a constant
dropping OF water, SO that there was not dry
spot to he found. We could not move forward
lest we should tall over the precpce which lay
beneath; We could not sleep, for there was
no place to lie down in; and we dared not
SIepn LEANING ooainat tho rOplx inv
the danger of tumbing over also. We could
not walk backwards and forwards, so as to keep
ourselves warm with exercise, because the
shelf we were on sloped so much, and the loose
stones under our feet rolled down the height at
every step. We had no food, no drink, DO light.
and our clothes were saturated with wet by the
constant dropping from the rock over us. We
were altogether In most unenvIable condition,
Inc storm now came on In earnest: the
thunder rolled like ten thousand pieces of artil.
lery, and the echoes reveroerated through the
mountains as If they never would end. Tue
lightning was lntense-flasbing through the
dark clouds; now in bright, white zigzags, and
then in red streams OF flame that lit up the
peaks and snow-ields as though they were
on fire, while the great lce-cif near us
glowed as il it had been transmured into one
sheet of lava.
The scene was too awful for one to be able to
look at wi b compOsure, and | strove to keep
my eyes closed, but in vain - each flash
compelled me to open them, and gaze on the
brilliant spectacle around. The storm ceased
alter two hours duration, and the moon shone
out peacefully over the mountains, forming a
striking contrast 10 the preceding scene. We
were now shivering with the cold in our wet
clothes, but providentially there was no WIND
otherwise l know not what we should have
oone. Ten O'Clock arrived, and we had been
here about two and half hours l endeavored
TO obtain some sleep leaning on stone while
Schatf and kept as close as we could together,
IN IN order 70 get a little warmth into ur frames;
the other guide had retired into a nook bv him
self Eleven o'clock tWnlVa Oiclnc,-
now slowly the weary night wore on Many hours
appeared to pass by and yet when | ooked at
my watch by the moonlight, frequently not
halt an hour had real y elapsed. We ielt how.
ever, we must try and VIII through, as 1t oud
ever do to give way to despair
One O'Clock, two O'Clock passed, and our situ-
anon was becoming agonizing. Ny eyes would
not keep open, and yet each moment ] was
were about TO fail over the cliff. NV brief
doze appeared full of dreams, generally pleasant
ones of home and repose. II was evidently
now freezing; our teeth chattered with the
cold, and we trembled from head TO foot. Not
a SOUND was to be heard save the bound of
rocks or stones from the c0UlOlr, and the occa-
slo1al roll OF an avalanche. Sometimes the
stones came tumbllng over our heads, but we
banging Cliff. At o'clock the MOONLIGHT
began to fade away, and everything grew DIM. |
Schaf had gone INTO the nook with the other
guide, and j. and ] stood together intpntlv |
watching for the first gIimmer OF daybreak |
over the distant mountain tops. | scarcely |
moved my eyes now from heights over which |
knew the dawn would appear. AT O'Clock |
we saw the welcome streaks of hight, and at |
O'Clock reused the guides but to our horror |
)ne Of them told us that he feared we could not |
each TIatoi that day either. He said he was |
lck, and certainly looked worse after the nj rbt |
han any Of us, The ram that had fallen (he |
,yening before had been frozen over the snow |
If the cOWOir, and had converted ii into (one |
mooth CLASSY surface, down every yard OF |
which steps would have to be cut As dav ad. |
yanced, Schaff revived, and sent 0rter to cut |
he steps, and at 7'j0 we heard the welcome |
words, Now you 90 forwards" )" and we braced /
Up our nerves for the struggle, glad at any rate /
o leave the ledge where we had spent twelve |
uch weary hours.
We had first 10 walk across the line of stems
,ut i'll the ice, until we reached the centre of |
he coutor, when we began TO descend. We soon |
got to the end of these steps, and as fresh ones
lad 10 be cut as we descended, our progress was /
low, and the LABOR entaed on the leading
5ulde very heavy, The rocks aud stones came
pounding down all this time-the large ones
With loud crashes, and the smaller ones
win sound like the whizz of a rifle bullet
)ur guides were evidently afraid of them and |
We hurried on as well as we could; but there |
vas certain sort OF excitement as they whirled |
ast, probably like that felt by soldiers in action
Vhen the bullets are heard flying past them,
CnaI got a severe blow in the leg from stone |
nd was struck by small one in the back.
)rtier being exhausted at step-cutting, we tried \
o walk on the c0utOir without steps; hut we |
laa no sooner attempted 1t than j. who had |
osI one OF MS crampons) slipped on the ice and |
gas sliding away; but happily lad my alpen-
,ocS C|i wen IN at the time, and was enabled to
After three hours hard work we reached some
ocks, where we rested, and then we got quickly
ioWn the soft snow OF the lower slope, at the |
ooI % OF which we bade adieu to the regions OF ice