Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1870-07-29


had told us the night before. Ithad come
down from above and lodged here; the
SHOWS of the past winter had been gTasu-
ally increasing its weight, and noW the
weather had become 30 warm that might
at any moment slide over the cliff, We
therefore sat down where we were, un.
loaded our provisions from the knapsacks,
and proceeded to lunch for which meal
our mornings climb had given us q most
excellent preparation. After lunch, ia
spite of the remonstrances Of the guide,
We resolved to go on as near as possible
to the fallen avalanche--and 30 forward
we marched, the guide bringing up the
rear. We hsd advanced so far thnt we
stood close by the side of the snow white
pile when the guide shouted in voice of
horror: !" Back back it is maooing!"
Round we wheeled, and double.quick
dashed away from our peIilous station,
lesping from rock to rock, tumblipg down,
rolling and sliding down TO escape the
threatened rush, until at length we gained
our former stopping place and then with
painting breath we turned about to witness
the following spectacle; .o ....-.y
Over the edge of the cliff were tumb-
ling great Jumps of snow, and slowly fol-
10 wing them came the great heap behind.
Faster and faster it moved, and the cliff
was now hidden by the cloud of snow,
which broke into pieces at its edge, and
angcily dashed itself over into the abyss.
At length its velocity became tremendous,
and awe struck we stood speecblessly
gazing upon TIE terrific scene. 4 Huge
masses of snow wsre hurled into the air
the tall frs were snapped in two, and
went whirling along in the general chaos,
amid noise which reveTberated among
the cliffs like the mingling of thousand
thunder storms. Our senses were con-
fused-we became unconscious of the
lapse of time, and, when tho whole was
over, We could hardly form an idea of
how long the phenomenon had lasted.
The noise gradually subsided ;swhile now
and then boom down in tho valley an
nounced that pieces were etill falling.
But after while silence reigned again,
and we began to recover our scattered
senses, and tonotice the wonderful change
before Us, Where lay that monster but
little while befJre was now nearly level
field of broken snow, trunks of broken
trees here and there protruding, and bowl
ders which had resisted the power Of the
avalanche. A considerable distance off,
at that part of the avalanche which had
been the last to move, we noticed some
thing which appeared like the ruins of
building. As il was now perfectly safe to
advance, we went towards this spot-and,
on reaching it, there sure enough We
found broken.d down chalet. 1t was
small building, although very stoutly
built, and had probably been used ly the
chamois hunters as a sleeping place. A
large rock stood just behind 1t, over
which the avalanche Of the year before
had passed, completely bury ing the hut
That it was not carried along by the snow
| this time was due TO its situation Had it
been fitty yards farther down the slope, it
must have been torn up and its shattered
| beams hurled over the precipice but as
| it was, the snow had slid away and left it
| standing. The roof was stove in, and the
upright beams forced apart in various di-
| rections, and snow was piled in heaps
around it, completely blocking up the
doorway. OF course we were filled with
curiosity as to what might be inside, and
we waded around it, endeavoring to OBJ
tain view of the interior. One at length
succeeded in mounting to the top of the
snow bank, and peeped in through q rift
i'll the side Of the building.
"Anything there ?" we asked.
! He turned without speaking, his face
| pale and fall of horror, and came stagger-
ing down to where we were standing.
"What is it?" we anxiously inquired.
IA corpse" he whispered, is sitting
therep' -- --'-
For moment or two we stood speech
| less, with kind of awe at the thought of
that lonely prisoner dying there without
human being near to hear his call for
help, and now so wonderfully cxhumed
in our presence by the mighty power Of
Nature But then, Tom, who was med,
,,a 70 I,a
ship of the dead, reused us by a proposal
to clear the snow from the door way and
get inside. After the first shock had
| passed away we agreed to his proposition,
and eagerly set to work with sticks and
| hands to get away enough snow to allow
us passages; it was q long and tedious
labor, but was at length accomplished,
and the entrance stood partly open. With
an indefinable sense of horror we entered
the hut, Tom taking the lead. And there,
sitting upon rough stool, the head bent
| down and resting upon an oaken table,
was dead body, dressed in suit of black
! clothes. 1t was but very little decayed,
and the features were perfectly distin-
| guishable-so much so that when the
| guide looked upon them, he cried out,
"Mein Gottl come away! the doctor r.
But we Immediately began to make prep
arations for removing the body, and
while doing so made several discoveries.
There was in one corner about a quarter
ofa large Swiss cheese-in the fireplace
the remains of small fire-upon the
table was an old oil lantern, and per-
ceiYed under the table note book
and the stump of lead pencil. This
book instantly took possession
of, in hope of finding therein some
particulars about the man; but
there was no time to read it
then, as evening was rapidly coming on.
We made a rough bier Of bouRhs, and,
| placing the body upon it, descended the
mountain. On reaching the village the
unusual sight attracted every enc, and we
were soon followed by a procession of
men and boys-all, however, keeping si-
| lence and behaving with due decorum
| We entered the Gasthaus, shutting out
our numerous followers, and deposited
our lifeless burden in one of the private
rooms.
Mine host was greatly astonished and
shocked to hear our account. Ho had
been thinking the matter over all the
winter, and had come to q firm conVic.
ton that the man had been somethinp 9
more than mortal, and had vanished thai
day with grand crash of the elements,
| olh IL " AieAol4 VI GAAOW AnnbCdt VI 4 Ut
real fact gave too sad ending TO his mys-
terious tale. He sent for the chief men OF
the village to come that evening and form
u sort Of coroners jury, smoke pipe, and
talk the matter over. Before they ar.
rived, took the first opportunity to ex
anime in private the notebook 1 had
found. 1t was written in English, thC
first part of the book containing scientific
| notes, and the rest being diary, of which
more anon. .t' Doe.
After supper the magistrates and some
of the most prominent burgheIs assem-
bed in the public room the doors were
closed, and our party called in to tell oul
story. After the others had spoken ]
came forward and produced the book
stating where had found it. Every one
was filled with curiosity, and amid deer
silence / translated TO them, as well as
could, the contents, which were as fol
lows
"OcToBER 81, 1856, Buried aliee ! It Il
now two days, by ray watch, that / have
-