The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-10-03
THE DISASTER AT MONT BLANC.
Search for the Lost nIen.

writes:-
"a party of three tourists, three guides,
and five porters left here on Monday, the 9TH
instant, and were due here this morning.
They were seen yesterday at l o'clock on
the summit of Mont Blanc aud we're counted
by many. Later they were seen a little
way down the mountain. After that they
were not discerned again, and gathering
Snow-vLlrl obscured the mountain. This
morning they did not reach here at
the expected hour, and the roaring of falling
avalanche had been heard in the night The
anxiety grew strained and intense, and the
Chef d. patched q guide to Les Grands
Mulets, who .signalled back that they did not
sleep last night there. OF course if they
bad lost tLeir way in their descent and night
closed in With terrible storm, their destruc-
tion was certain. Thirty volunteers were
sigralled for, which showed that from LES
Grands Mulets' the ascent had been con-
sidered as full of danger to-day.
COT course we immediately Joined the anx-
ious ave struck throng, feeling as if the
eleven ill-starred men belonged to our own
households, Immediately passed into the
Bureau du Chef des Guides, and he handed
me card one of the tourists had given him
before making the ascent. l found it con-
tai1e d the name of almost O townsman, John
G. Randall, of Quincy, Mass They describe
him as man about fifty-fve or sixty, very anx-
ious to make the ascent, deslrous to go as far
as hes Grands Mulets, without q guide.
This the Chef would not allow him to do
He had gone through course of training for
the ascent, walking of late fifteen hours day.
He had spoken of some one as having seven
children, or he was so understood. He made
his will here last week. and left it, as the Eng
lish Con sui affirms, duly signed and attested.
The second was DR.. James B. Beane, of Balti-
more, Md. The third was Scotchman, G. Nc
Corkendale. The throngs in the streets grow
more silent as the volunteering goes on. A
brother of one of the missing guides claims
it as his right to go. He is secretary of the
Chef, and he allows his claim Soon he is
seen moving down the street with his KNAPP
sack of restoratives, his cords and Alpine
hatchet. Every married man is rejected.
The lost guides and part of the porters had
families. The weeping aunts and sisters
and cousins cross the street and lift their
sad, despairng eyes to the awful mountain.
They find comfort in our few choked words
of sympathy and trembling hand-grasps.
They tell us in their simple, eloquent way
how good the lads were and how their old
mothers and their wives and little children
had no one else to lean upon. The men
point in reverent, hushed way to the roofs
covering the widows and orphans, and tell
as that they are weeping there as if their
hearts would surely break. One has three
very small children around her, and the doc
tor has gone in, for they fear the premature
birth of another.
''But the accepted volunteers are all ready,
and the calm, heroio-looking fellows wind
round in single file to the mountain ascent.
They turn not back for even the guerdon of
an approving cheer, but our hearts follow
them with prayers and blessings. The 'sove-
reign Blanc lifts his white head towards the
glowing shades depending in the twilight
sky. The mourners below still go about the
streets, restlessly reaching out for some CLEAN
of hope, but finding none in the sad faces of
neighbors and friends
GA little later and night closes over ALL but
the grand, awful sovereign, to which our tear
ful eyes are so often raised, is not to be
visited all night by troops of stars Clouds
fold darkly about him and 'L'Aigrielle du
Goute' and La Mer du Glace.' Anon, and
from crag to crag leaps the live thunder
The sharp lightning lights up the crevices in
the mountains side. The rain pours down
the Arve and the Arveiron, plunging along
through all the wonderful defles, must rise
as if to overwhelm the chalets that we saw to-
day nestled so smilingly near their banks.
THURSDAY, Sept. S.-The volunteers have
safely returned. There was a chalet at two
and half hours ascent, where they found
refuge from the storm. This morn they
found it certain death to advance. They had
to tie themselves together and plant their
staffs for support, and then barely escaped
being blown into the crevasses. Several feet
of new snow bad fallen in the night, and ava
lanches were impending on every height.
Tomorrow, if the ascent is possible, they try
again for the recovery of the bodies. 1t is a
rule with guides, if they do not fall into Gre
vases, but are to be frozen to death, to plant
their Alpine stats as guide to their COM
panions who come to search for them The
clouds lift again, but the Chef des Guides will
not allow us to cross La Mer du Glace as we
had proposed. The danger of avalanches is
too great. The gentlemen and two of our
Boston daughters go off upon mules for a
shorter ascent. But first they fill as far as
they can a subscription paper for the families
of the missing guides. Most of the hotels
are empty, unfortunately for the cause, but
the little handful of Bostonians and New
Workers quickly fraternize in the matter, and
where sit writing about four hundred francs
are quickly counted out on the table. We
are called by the landlord to look over the
little bundles left by the two missing tour
lists who are registered at this house, as we
are fellow -countrymen Of one of them. The
baggage of all three was probably left, like
that of our own party, at Geneva or Mar
tigny.
'HIhe bundle of the Scotchman is put into
my hands. / find several clerical cravats.
The wide family of a parish are bereaved, il
no closer social ties are sundered. Then we
receive bundle, tied i'll handkerchief, Of
white linen. 1t is Dr. Beane's. 1t contains
his passport, made out at Washington May
18th, 1870, and forwarded it to him at No
58 Saratoga street, Baltimore, Md. We tint
he is sent out by the Smithsonian Institute
=. JaI 70 kha nj okf