The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1871-09-23
PERlLS OF ALPINE ADVENTURE.
4 Guide Lost OH the Jungfrnu.

From Tyndals Hours in the Alps
From the Rhone glacier we proceeded
down the Rhone valley to Viesch,
whence, in the cool twilight, all three
of us ascerded to the Hotel Jungfrau,
on the Eggischorn. This was made
our headquarters for some days, and
here Lubbock and [ decided to ascend
the Jungfrau. The proprietor of this
hotel keeps guides for this excursion,
but the charges are so high us to be al
most prohibitory. l, however, needed
no guide in addition to my faithful Ben
men; but simply porter of sufficient
strength and skill to follow where he
led. In the village of Laax, Bennen
found such young man nam
ed Blelander, who had the reputation
of being both courageous end strong.
He was the only son of his mother, and
she was a widow.
This young man and second porter
we sent on with our provisions to the
grotto of the Faulberg, where we were
to spend the night. Between the
| I'ggischhorn and this cave the glacier
presents difficulty which the most or
| binary caution can overcome, and the
thought OF danger in connection with
it never occurred to us. An hour and
a half after the departure of our por-
ters we slowly wended our way to the
lake of Marielin, which we skirted, and
We're soon upon the ice. The middle of
the glacier was almost smooth as a car
riage road, cut here and there by muis
cal brooks produced by the surplus
ablation To Lubbock the scene open
ed out with the freshness of a new rev.
elation, as, previously to this year, he
had never been among the glaciers of
the Alps To me, though not new, the
region had lost no trace of the interest
with which ] first viewed it. We moved
briskly along the frozen incline, until,
after q couple of hours march, we saw
a solitary human being standing on the
lateral moraine of the glacier, near the
point where we were to quit it for the
cave of the Faulberg.
At first this man excited no atten-
| ton. He stood and watched rs, but
! did not come toward us, until finally
cur curiosity was aroused by observing
that he was one of our two men. The
glacier here is always cut by crevasses,
which, while they present no real diff
y
our porter, but he never moved; and
when he came up to him he looked stu
pid, and did not speak unless spoken
| to. Bennen addressed him in the pa
tois Of the place, and he answered in
; the same patOis. His answer must
have been more than usually obscure,
/ for Bennen misunderstood the most I'M
| pOrtant part OF 1T.
My God" he exclaimed, turning
TO us, walters is killed
Walters was the guide at the Eggs
chorn, with whom i'll the present in
stance we had nothing to do.
ono, not Walters responded the
man . 1t is my comrade that is kill
/ ed -
Bennen looked at him with wild be
wildered stare. Glow killed - he ex,
claimed
Lost in the crevasse, was the re
ply.
We were al 50 stunned that for some
moments we did not quite seize the i'm
port Of the terrible statement
Bennen at length tossed bis arms in
the air, exclaiming, "Jesu Maria what
am | to DO q
With the swiftness that some ascribe
II dreams, [ surrounded the fact with
imaginary 3dlunCtS, one of which WAS
that the man na,i been drawn dead
from the crevasse, aud was now a cor.
pse in the cave Of The Faulberai fot |
took for granted that had lie still been
entOmbed, his comrade would have run
or called for our aid Several times in
succession the porter affirmed that the
missing man was certainly dead.
How does he know that he is
dead 2" Lubbock demanded.
8 man is sometimes rendered in
sensible by a fall without beng killed. -"
This question was repeated in Ger
man but met with the same dogmatic
response.
"Where is the man." I asked,
There, replied the porter, stretch
ing hisarm toward the glacier
"In the cravasse?" A stolid ola !"
was the answer. 1t was with difficulty
that l quelled an imprecation.
Lead the way to the place, you
blockhead, and he led the way.
We were soon beside wide Jagged
cleft which resembled kind of cave
more than an ordinary crevasse. This
cleft had been SPAWNED by a snow bridge
now broken, and to the edge of which
footsteps could be traced The glacier
at the place was considerably torn, but
simple patience was the only thing
needed to Unravel it's complcxity.-
This quality our porter lacked, and
hoping to make shorter work of it, he
attempted to cross the bridge. 1t gave
way, and he went down, carrying an
immense load of derbris along with him.
We looked into the hole. at one end of
which the vision was cut short by dark
ness, while Immediately under the bro
ken bridge it was crammed with snCw
and shattered icicles We saw nothing
more. We listened with strained atten-
ton, and from the depths of the gla.
clcr issued low moan Its repetition
assured us that it was no delusion-the |
man was still alive.
Bennen from the first had been ex-
tremely excited; and the fact of his |
having, as a Catholic, saints and an
gels to appeal to, augmented his mo-
ton. When he heard the moaning he |
became almost frantic. He attempted |
10 get into the creyasse. but was oblic-
9d to recolL 1t was quite plain that
1 second life was in danger, for nv
guide seemed to have lost all self-con-
,rol. Iplaced my hand heavily upon
lis shoulder, and admenished him that
lpon his GOODNESS depended the life of
lis friend. If You behave like a man
We shall save him if like a woman he
S lost"